Formula 1’s Managing Director Ross Brawn casts an eye over the events which took place last weekend at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, highlighting Chares Leclerc’s excelent drive at the Red Bull Ring and also the way in which the Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver lost the race in the last laps:
“Just eight days on from a French Grand Prix that caused a degree of controversy and criticism, with Formula 1 described as boring and predictable, we find ourselves commenting on an Austrian Grand Prix that was spectacular and thrilling from start to finish.
I’m particularly pleased that the top two finishers make up the youngest pairing ever to come first and second in a Grand Prix. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc both deserved to win and if they had finished in reverse order it would have been equally laudable.
Max drove an amazing race, particularly when one considers that his start, to use a word that’s popular in this sport was ‘sub-optimal’. He produced some superbly aggressive passing moves, drove some very fast laps on tyres that had done more than 30 laps, and his race pace management was pretty much perfect. The young Dutch driver really put on a show, to the delight of the spectators at the Red Bull Ring, many sporting red caps as a tribute to Niki Lauda, but mostly a sea of Dutch orange.
Charles also put in a superb performance – dominating the opening sessions and delivering great pole laps. However, for the second time this year he saw his chances of winning evaporate almost within sight of the flag. Despite the disappointment it’s clear that the Monegasque driver is clearly getting better and better, showing great maturity in how he races and how he dealt with a far from simple post-race situation. These two kids are definitely promising a brilliant future for Formula 1 in the coming decade.
It turned out to be another disappointing weekend for Ferrari, after the team had shown it was a more than a match for Mercedes. But there were some encouraging signs for Mattia Binotto and his crew and hats off to them for thinking of the greater good of the sport by saying that the team would not appeal the Stewards’ decision. The car is certainly more competitive now than in Barcelona, Leclerc is getting better all the time and Vettel produced a determined drive after a reliability problem in qualifying meant he had little chance of winning the race. There’s still some work to do, but the team is on the right road and I’m sure the Scuderia will be rewarded soon.” – Ross Brawn said, as reported by Formula One’s official website.
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