F1 | GP Austria report cards, Leclerc and Norris worthy of applause: Hamilton clumsy

The Austrian Grand Prix gave us a lot of surprises, typical of the first race of the season. Let's start with Valtteri Bottas, undisputed winner of the race and always in form at the start of the championship: evidently he is very good at approaching the start of the season in the best possible way. Leclerc and Norris transform into Superman and do their best with the vehicle available, especially the Monegasque, who was in difficulty all weekend with an SF1000 bordering on embarrassment. On the other hand we have the difficulties of Vettel, Hamilton (albeit different) and Red Bull, with a sensational unexpected double zero (and retirement) for reasons of reliability, crucial in this strange season. Below are the votes for the protagonists.

Valtteri Bottas, vote 10 – The Finnish driver from Mercedes confirms his particular feeling with the Zeltweg track. Excellent performance and good both at keeping his fierce teammate behind and managing the pressure received from the garage due to the obsessive temperature management of the W11. Once again he starts very well, he also seems more comfortable than in previous years. Racing in Austria again next weekend could put him in a position to further annoy Hamilton, Verstappen and all those who want to compete for this world championship.

Charles Leclerc, 10 – We shouldn't talk about the world championship here, but the absurd performance pulled off by the Monegasque makes us eat our hands a bit: imagine what the good Charles could do with a more high-performance car, probably exalted by the difficulties of a car that can be defined as " undrivable” might even seem like a compliment. He was in his element for three quarters or more of the race, but as soon as he relished the opportunity to be able to do something important, he activated himself and achieved more than the maximum possible. Gorgeous.

Lando Norris, 10 – Speaking of splendor: the Briton's third place is in line with his entire weekend. After a great qualifying, he had to give way to the two Red Bulls in the race, but the sensational debacle of Verstappen and Albon opened the doors to the podium, kindly offered to him by Hamilton. Lando doesn't wait to be asked and on the last lap he puts out a performance of the highest level, which earns him third place and the fastest time in the race. The confirmation season couldn't have started better than this!

Lewis Hamilton, 6.5 – A bit of a mess, not exactly at ease in Austria as usual and quite distracted. Ever since the irregularity in qualifying, which was then made official only half an hour before the start (absurd, score 2 from the stewards), Lewis did not appear to be in great shape, and the problems Mercedes had in the race held him back a bit in the chase of his teammate, also in the same condition as him. The accident with Albon is a shame, both for the fate that once again befell the Thai and for the penalty inflicted on him, perhaps exaggerated, given that in the writer's opinion it could easily have been let go, but that's it: Lewis didn't bat an eyelid , he accepted fourth place and that was it, without controversy. Even 12 points can be important, but the fight for the world title certainly isn't starting in the best way for the six-time world champion.

Carlos Sainz, 7 – It probably bothers him a little given the podium conquered by Norris, but fifth position is certainly not to be thrown away. He tried to annoy Leclerc for almost the entire duration of the race, but was unable to pass him. He was involved in the contact with Vettel, perhaps his maneuver was a little too impulsive, but it's certainly not his fault if the German spun in turn 3. 10 important points to put in his pocket.

Sergio Perez, 6.5 – After the exciting performances on Friday, Racing Point (score 7) has melted like snow in the sun, even if sixth place is certainly not to be thrown away, but if we consider the Red Bull debacle, it is not that exciting after all as a performance. Well done to him, as always, in managing the situations as best as possible, even if the strategy of equipping him with the mediums was not the most satisfactory given the collapse in performance at the end.

Pierre Gasly, 7 – He takes great advantage of all the battles ahead of him and takes a seventh position that was probably unexpected on the eve of the race, given the difficulties revealed by AlphaTauri since Friday. A good start to the world championship for him and the Scuderia, but they are well aware that a lot of work is needed to replicate this result.

Esteban Ocon, 6.5 – For a returnee after a year and a half away from racing, the Frenchman performed well. At the beginning he suffered from the imposed race pace, he was probably no longer used to having so many people around him, but little by little he managed to find the right pace both to stay out of trouble and to bring home points which certainly boost his morale than to the team.

Antonio Giovinazzi, 7 – Objectively, the Apulian's match went well beyond expectations. The Alfa Romeo (score 4) seemed to be the worst car of the lot, probably tied with Williams and Haas. The pit wall strategy was totally penalizing for Antonio, who however managed to maintain calm and cool head, passed Vettel without too much difficulty at the end and secured two very important points in terms of the world championship.

Sebastian Vettel, 5 – He was never comfortable with the car this weekend, there's no point in hiding it, just look at his on board and the videos circulating on social media (thanks to Alex Brunetti), when with new medium tyres, after a few laps, he was barely able to to curve. However, this cannot be a justification for the German champion: the difficulties of a decidedly uncompetitive SF1000 (score 3) are undeniable, but the mistake in turn 3 in the attempt to overtake/avoid Carlos Sainz is there for all to see. It's unfortunate, because after everything that has been said in recent months/weeks/days there was a need for a more convincing performance, perhaps not quite at Leclerc's level, but at least in those parts. Disheartened.

Nicholas Latifi, 6.5 – In fact he completed the race in last position, but since it was his debut, after the bang in free practice among other things, with a car that was improving but still in difficulty, all things considered, we can be happy with his performance.

RETIRED

Max Verstappen, 6.5 – Objectively we don't feel like giving him more: many proclamations have been made in recent months, more by Red Bull (score 5) than by him, but his retirement after just eleven laps imposes a rating on us that probably could have been higher as the race progresses. We are sorry for how his race ended prematurely, we are certain that he will do everything he can to redeem himself in the best possible way.

Alexander Albon, 7 – After a good part of the race in silence, he takes advantage of yet another Safety Car to mount the softs, overtake Perez with finished medium tires and aim for the two Mercedes. He makes an almost masterpiece overtaking on Hamilton. The problem lies right there, in the "almost", because perhaps he too could have handled it better. Starting from the assumption that the writer believes that the Briton's penalty is excessive, not to say invented, the good Albon has potentially thrown away a very probable victory. However, the high rating is deserved for what was shown on the track.

Lance Stroll, 5.5 – He took pay from Perez all weekend. He retires due to a technical problem with the Mercedes engine.

Daniel Ricciardo, 6 – Of esteem.

George Russell, 6.5 – Ditto with potatoes.

Romain Grosjean, 4 – Well what can I say: the Frenchman between an autonomous spin, a practically non-existent race pace (3 rating for Haas) and brakes destroyed after just one free practice session. Stop. We stop here.

Kevin Magnussen, 6 – Out due to a mechanical problem. Objectively he couldn't do more.

Kimi Raikkonen, 6.5 – Unlucky, because he was there to score some points, but the very dangerous problem with his front right side put him out of the game prematurely. In terms of race pace, both he and Giovinazzi patched up the shortcomings of a car that still seemed far behind the competition.

Daniil Kvyat, 6.5 – He was also very unlucky with the left rear explosion, probably due to some debris, while he was fighting with Vettel for the points. Sin.