- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
After the scintillating race two weeks ago in Montreal which saw Daniel Ricciardo take the spoils, Formula One returns to Europe for the Austrian Grand Prix. Join The Roar for live commentary from 9:45pm AEST.
The A1-Ring, or Red Bull Ring as it’s been rebranded in recent years, will play host to the eighth round of the championship – the venue’s first race for 11 years.
Despite their problems in Canada, Mercedes AMG are still arguably favourites for the top honours.
Before striking the MGU-K issues which ended Lewis Hamilton’s race, both he and current championship leader Nico Rosberg were the cars to beat.
The Red Bull Ring in the Austrian hills boasts a small circuit at 4.3 kilometres. It is heavily undulated and has mostly high down-force corners, which starkly contrasts to the high speed/low down-force circuits of Monaco and Montreal.
With the relatively small layout, the drivers should expect to complete 71 laps on Sunday.
In terms of form, the Silver Arrows will be the cars to beat yet again. However with Red Bull’s strong performance in Montreal and general strength on high down force circuits, the home team will be in the hot seat to take out that final spot on the podium.
When looking at Ricciardo’s dominant form inside the Red Bull team at the moment, it would seem that he may have a better weekend than his four-time world championship-winning teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Both Ferrari and McLaren expect to have more upgrades for their cars in Austria, however their lack of overall down-force means McLaren should be expected to struggle for minor points come Sunday. Ferrari will have to throw whatever they have at their F14 T to avoid going through the race unnoticed once again.
Force India, Williams and Toro Rosso will all be in contention for points, as may Lotus if their package stays reliable through the weekend. It will be a tough start though for Sergio Perez, who was handed a five-place grid penalty for an altercation with Felipe Massa in the previous race which saw both drivers hospitalised.
A three-place grid penalty has also been handed to Max Chilton for this race after it was deemed that he was responsible for the crash with his Marussia teammate Jules Bianchi.
Unless Mercedes AMG hit problems again this weekend, there is no doubt that the top spots will be sealed by the duelling Hamilton and Rosberg. Red Bull at their home circuit will certainly be capable of a podium but with the way things unfolded in Montreal, anything could be on the cards.
Most importantly, it will be brilliant to see Formula One return to a classic circuit despite its modern rebranding.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.