Ferrari and Mercedes resurgence could make Austrian GP as enthralling as Silverstone

Verstappen (11/8 favourite win in Austria) still holds a healthy 34-point lead at the top of the drivers’ championship standings with Leclerc unable to fully capitalise on the Dutch driver’s underwhelming showing at the British Grand Prix. At this point, it would still take a dramatic turnaround in fortune for Verstappen to be knocked from top spot any time soon.

Nonetheless, there’s no room for complacency when others around Red Bull are improving. It’s not just Ferrari that Verstappen and Perez should be concerned about, but Mercedes too. The Silver Arrows have struggled badly in 2022, but the recent upgrades they have made have certainly made their troublesome W13 car more competitive.

“We have just started, for the first time, to flirt a bit with the car,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said after Lewis Hamilton finished on the podium for the second race in-a-row at the British Grand Prix.  “We just want to win races on our own. That would be great, to be there and fight with them, that would be a target, so we have a car we can develop for next year also.”

It was only a few weeks ago that Hamilton appeared to be suffering something of a crisis of confidence. The seven-time world champion endured physical issues during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with some even speculating on whether or not he would race in Montreal the following week. A lot has changed since then, though.

Mercedes have found a new set-up that has achieved better results at the Canadian and British Grand Prix, with Hamilton even in the mix for a win at Silverstone. The hope for Mercedes is that they will be able to carry this form into the Austrian Grand Prix where the profile of the circuit is similar to that of Silverstone – Hamilton is priced at 12/1 to win at the Red Bull Ring.

“We’ve made a step closer to them, so we’ve got to keep pushing,” Hamilton said when asked if he felt he was competitive against Ferrari and Red Bull for the first time this season. “The fact that we were able to follow and dice like that, lap on lap, is a testament to the direction I think that we’re now in. I was just grateful that I could be in the battle. Because I’ve not been in that fight for a while.”

Silverstone is a track with a number of high-speed corners with a good level of downforce required to succeed there. In the past, cars would struggle to make a move stick, but a different sort of race was witnessed last weekend as drivers were able to stick with each other. This resulted in a lot of genuine racing between several well-matched cars.

The Red Bull Ring has previously needed DRS to keep cars close to each other, but that might not be the case this year. If the racing at Silverstone is anything to go by, cars will be able to battle harder through the middle and final sectors. The new regulations introduced by F1 for 2022 are having an impact.

Austria will also host a Sprint race this weekend, adding a different dimension to the weekend. This will see qualifying held on Friday with the final classification decided by a shorter race on Saturday. This offers points down to eighth place and decides the grid for Sunday’s race. Drivers have more to think about, and more points to win.

Verstappen dominated both races that took place at the Red Bull Ring last year and there’s good reason to believe he will enjoy another good weekend if he can avoid the problems that stopped him from finishing higher than seventh at Silverstone. The Dutchman will certainly have the home support on his side due to Red Bull’s Austrian roots.

McLaren are targeting a strong showing at the Austrian Grand Prix and Lando Norris in particular will surely be confident of a good race after finishing on the podium at the Red Bull Ring in 2020 and 2021. Norris was edged out in the contest to finish fifth at Silverstone by Fernando Alonso, and so it’s important he gets the better of his Alpine rival in Austria to give McLaren the advantage in the midfield scrap. Alpine will also feel the layout of the Red Bull Ring suits them.

F1 wanted the 2022 season to be more open than previous campaigns, and that has generally materialised. But this has resulted in a common sense of uncertainty across almost every team. Even after 10 races, not many know where they stand. Even Red Bull, who lead the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, are unsure whether they are runaway champions or about to be pulled in by ever-improving rivals. This, however, makes the spectacle greater.