Index – Sports – Bottas rotated into the pit lane during an F1 freestyle

There is no stopping after the last French Grand Prix, which was won by Max Verstappen, as The field is now completing its first triple weekend of the year as racing continues uninterrupted for three weeks. Two races now come at the Red Bull Circuit in Austria, with the county’s eponymous Styria Grand Prix taking place this weekend, while the Austrian Grand Prix will take place next week. This was also necessary this year after last because the pandemic led to many losing races earlier in the year. It all started with the Canadian Grand Prix, which was temporarily replaced by Turkey, but the organization was also canceled there – in the meantime, it’s back on the calendar in place of the missing Singapore Grand Prix as well – so there may be two more races between the Austrian mountains.

Since this is Red Bull’s main course, it was only natural that the leading team riders in both the Singles and Manufacturer’s Championships would take part in special programs in the days leading up to the race, as well as the AlphaTauri duo, who are also part of the power drinkers. There was definitely no shortage of adrenaline…

However, the brilliance in the usual traditional folk costume cannot be missed …

Finally, Mexican Red Bull rider Sergio Perez could become completely one with nature.

However, after the fun, from Friday onwards, the main role was to race again, and as usual two free practice sessions were held on this day. A drastic change in power is not expected, so we can probably see another Max Verstappen – Lewis Hamilton racing again in the eighth race this weekend of the season, unless the expected rain is involved in the duel. The Dutch rider currently leads the points race with 131 points, ahead of seven-time world champion and defending champion Hamilton, who has collected 119 points so far.

But in the last three races, the pace has been set by Red Bull, so Mercedes could have a clear target for this weekend’s rematch, and what’s more Red Bull already has 215 points between the teams, while Mercedes only counts 178 units.

Although the Austrian track isn’t one of the most technical of lines, it still challenges riders in several places. There are only ten bends on it, but more of it is made by gas-ground riders, who are subjected to heavy loads in several places, especially in Turn 9, where their bodies can get loads of up to 5G momentarily. Which is why proper fitness is so important on this path, too. Straight, hard braking distances are a huge challenge for the brakes, and in recent years we’ve seen riders simply slide into the gravel bed after their brakes failed and they drifted helplessly off the track. So did Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean.

Most recently, at the French Grand Prix, it was a nerve point in developing tactics, as F1 is the official supplier of rubber, Pirelli expected the race to be stopped, but Verstappen eventually pulled out with two wheel changes, ahead of Hamilton by a lap and a half before the end of the race. The lesson will be given to strategists once again, even the slightest mistake can be decisive in such a tight season of the league. Pirelli brought the C2-C3-C4 blend for the Styrian Grand Prix, and interestingly enough, the C3-C4-C5 will be made available for the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix, which is a softer customization.

Alfa Romeo celebrates an important anniversary, with the auto brand now celebrating its 111th anniversary, so it’s competing with a special plate this weekend.

As for the weather, as mentioned earlier, this time the rain may have a say in the championship race. For Friday and Sunday in particular Forecasters expected a large amount of rain and storms, while on Saturday, the day of the counter, the field may escape drought, at which point there will be the least chance of rain.

Finally, the first free practice started in dry conditions. In the inaugural training at Alfa Romeo, Robert Kubica was given the opportunity to replace Kimi Räikkönen. The Polish driver almost immediately turned his car into the triple corner.

In the first minutes, the teams tried the yellow side center midfield and the solid white wall. Ten minutes later Verstappen led with a time of 1.06.936, while AlphaTauri puller Pierre Gasly came in 42nd, but his time was voided due to him giving up 9 laps for Hamilton, Perez, Leclerc, Ocon. Verstappen. But soon after, Gasly ran again and this time on a regular lap, which really put him behind Verstappen, who was improving to 1.06.581 in the meantime.

Half an hour later, the soft mixes appeared, and on them, the two Mercedes duo, Hamilton and Bottas, seemed to dictate the speed, the first taking the lead with a time of 1.06.332, beating Bottas by 54 cohorts. At that point the fast laps were almost raining, for a moment the excellent Gasly drove as well, but the 1.06 dream limit was broken for the first time by Verstappen, who reclaimed the lead at 1.05.910, giving Gasly twenty and a half, while the two Mercedes were four tenths behind.

By the way, the first training took place in fairly calm conditions, and the only event that sparked the pulse was Carlos Sainz, who sprinted with Ferrari at the exit from the pit lane.

In addition to the excellent Gasly, Japanese rookie Konoda Juki was also on top in fifth, which also shows how great the AlphaTauri started the weekend. Nobody improved in the final minutes, so Verstappen won his first practice session, ahead of Gasly, Hamilton, Bottas, Konuda, Alonso, Ocon, Stroll, Giovinazzi and Leclerc. Sergio Perez finished thirteenth with another Red Bull, more than seven tenths behind his teammate. From the midfield, in addition to the already mentioned AlphaTauri, the Alps started well with Alonso and Ocon, while Ferrari and McLaren performed very poorly.

However, it is worth noting with regard to the first exercise that Most likely, Mercedes went into heavy reserve mode, and nothing shows this better than Bottas doing better part-time in two of the three sectors. After that, we can pay special attention to the second evening training.

Promised Friday rain began to form in the afternoon, with dark clouds covering Austria’s skies, but at the start of training, the rain was still hanging.

That’s why every rider tried to take advantage of the time while the track was still dry. However, almost after the start, it started to rain.

However, the intensity of the rain was not yet sufficient to switch to intermediate tires. This allowed the contestants to begin meaningful work. In the first round, Fernando Alonso temporarily set the best lap. The two-time Spanish world champion led the Alps with a score of 1,06,651, but was below Verstappen and Hamilton early on. Meanwhile, more and more racers, including Konoda, reported on the radio that conditions had become more difficult due to the wet asphalt, Which joked Carlos Sainz the most.

It was also evident in the broadcast that the lenses of more and more cameras were fading from raindrops. But it looked like it was just a slight downpour, at times it didn’t start to get much worse. A quarter of an hour later, to his great surprise, Aston Martin took the lead with Lance Stroll at the wheel, with the young Canadian leading with 106,079, but immediately came his fellow four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who gave his “outing” a good tenth.

It also showed that the rain had stopped, but the clouds still towered dangerously above the Red Bull circuit. After a while, Hamilton took pole, setting the fastest lap of the weekend with 1,05,796, but it was also a Pentecostal kingdom, giving defending champion Esteban Ocon six cohorts. There were significantly more reserves in the cars, and as conditions improved, the confidence of passengers increased.

Nicholas Latifen’s faith in himself may have grown a lot, with another Canadian on-field rider making a blunder when exiting the four turns, but Nikita Mazepin was also nearly leisurely on the three-turn exit.

After half an hour, Verstappen led Red Bull to the top with a score of 1.05.412, while Daniel Ricciardo followed him in second, but the Australian defect was already three good tenths, and behind him were Ocon, Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Norris, Stroll, Perez and Giovinazzi took the positions first ten. In the last twenty minutes, the teams had already simulated the race, so it was expected that there would not be much change in the standings anymore. He’s made significant progress with McLaren Ricciardo and Norris, while Alftauri was nowhere to be seen this time around after shining in the first practice session, and Gasly wasn’t in a lap. A very interesting and suggestive piece of information is that artificial intelligence developed by Amazon Web Service put Lewis Hamilton in first place, with Max Verstappen in tenth place. It also shows that the defending team still has reserves left for the rest of the weekend.

Even if he was not on the field, the events in boxing took place by Valtteri Bottas, who spun precisely when he left the team. The Finn was finally set in the right direction by a McLaren mechanic

As expected, the standings remained unchanged for the rest of the time, which means Red Bull and Max Verstappen also finished the second practice session in the lead. Ricciardo came behind the Dutch, surprisingly, in second place with McLaren, followed by Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Norris, Stroll, Perez and Giovinazzi in the top ten.

Saturday’s Styrian Grand Prix will run from 12.00 with the third free practice and then from 15.00 with the trial time.

This article was published by Index Index Professional Partner, same Made by.

(Cover Photo: Valtteri Bottas in free practice before the Styrian Grand Prix on June 25, 2021. Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)