The two red cars will start the Austrian Grand Prix in second and third positions at the 4.318-kilometre Red Bull Ring in Spielberg later today. Ahead of them is only Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who, probably for the first time in the 2023 Formula One season, could be the target of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
The conditional tense remains necessary, especially after a sprint race where the Dutchman quickly took the lead, taking advantage of the mixed conditions on the track. The mix of rain and dry conditions instead put Charles Leclerc in trouble, sliding down to twelfth position at the end of Saturday’s mini-race in Spielberg.
For Sunday’s race, the sun has returned to shine on the Red Bull Ring. A good sign for Scuderia Ferrari, which performed well in the Friday practice sessions with a hotter track surface. In addition to that, the red cars will have the advantage of racing with a two-pronged attack against only Max Verstappen, as Sergio Perez will start in fifteenth position.
“It will be a two-against-one situation,” confirms English senior performance engineer Jock Clear. “It’s an excellent advantage, provided that we can keep Max constantly under pressure until the pit stop; that phase will be crucial. If, on the other hand, he manages to pull away right from the start, it will obviously be more challenging. But the performances seen on Friday have given confidence.” – the Ferrari engineer explained.
Battle of tire degradation: “Pushing Max too hard at the beginning”
Among the major uncertainties of a circuit like Spielberg, tire degradation is certainly a decisive factor for the outcome of the 2022 edition as well.
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“Last year, it was a battle based on tire degradation, which cost Max the race,” Jock Clear recalled, just a few moments before the start of the Austrian Grand Prix – “In Canada, we had excellent tire management, and our performance depended largely on this factor. If we can confirm that today… I believe the race could be interesting. “That has been our focus from the first race of the year where it was evident they had a bit of an advantage on everybody. And in a very tight battle with Mercedes and Aston every little bit counts at the moment” – he continued.
Charles Leclerc’s engineer then suggested that Max Verstappen might find himself in a situation where he has to push harder than necessary in the early stages of the race.
“If he has to push too hard to build a gap, then I think he will have degradation issues. We hope that our pressure will lead him to do so. Of course, if his pace is significantly superior, then it will be more challenging.” – the British engineer concluded.
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