F1 Austrian Grand Prix – Double podium and leadership for Scuderia Ferrari at the Red Bull Ring

A race that seemed difficult to say the least, with penalties and problems at the start, resulted in a double podium for Scuderia Ferrari. Kimi second in front of Seb, who would have thought it the day before? And the credit goes not only to the drivers but also to great teamwork and strategy and to a project, the SF71H, which here proved to be particularly effective in tire management.

THE RACE FILM. Kimi on the grid in third position, left side. Sebastian – penalized on Saturday – in sixth. Both are fitted with Ultrasoft tyres. The asphalt of the track is almost 50 degrees, it had never gotten so hot over the weekend.

Kimi attacks decisively, moves into second position, but goes wide at 3 and then warns of a contact from a Red Bull and finds himself fourth. Meanwhile, Seb also had to widen to avoid an accident at the first corner, losing ground: he immediately overtook Magnussen and was seventh, then got rid of Grosjean with a borderline overtaking move. The two Ferraris increase the pace a bit, after 12 laps Hulkenberg's engine explodes and floods the track with oil at the first corner. Kimi scores the fastest pass, under one minute and 9. Two laps later Bottas stops on the track due to a breakdown: the Virtual Safety Car is activated. The team takes advantage of this to call both drivers to the pits and fit the harder (Soft) tyres. Red Bull covers the maneuver, but Kimi manages to rejoin in front of Ricciardo.

The race restarts and Vettel passes Magnussen again. The two SF71Hs are third and fifth, but Kimi blocks under braking and Ricciardo takes advantage. Hamilton goes to the pits on lap 25, on exit he finds himself between Kimi and Seb. Behind Verstappen, now in the lead, there are four cars in as many seconds. Both Kimi, who is chasing Ricciardo, and Hamilton behind him, can open the DRS, for attack and defense.

We are more than halfway through the race. From the cockpit, Kimi sees that the left rear of the Red Bull has a blistering problem. Even from the remote garage in Maranello the situation is kept under control. Meanwhile Seb approaches Hamilton, in the DRS area. The duels begin: Kimi attacks from the outside at the top of the climb, then passes Ricciardo who has to return to the pits. And on lap 39 Seb passes Hamilton!

Ferrari second and third. But now we need to "save" the tires. Seb and Lewis are elastic, while Kimi in front seems comfortable. Lap 53, Mercedes had to come back again to mount the Supersoft instead of the Softs. Ricciardo comes back behind him, but immediately afterwards he pulls over onto the pit straight. The pace of the Reds does not drop, while Kimi nibbles away at Verstappen's lead. With seven laps to go, another twist: Hamilton retires. Raikkonen forces the pace with the fastest lap (66th). It's not enough to win, but it's proof that "never give up" is not just a slogan.

*Ferrari press release