Austrian GP: George Russell won, Franco Colapinto finished 15th | OneFootball

Franco Colapinto, who started from 16th, finished 15th in the Austrian Grand Prix, while the winner was George Russell in a Mercedes that had been performing at its best since the first free practice session. In a race marked by major issues caused by track temperatures, the podium was completed by Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli, who extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship because Lewis Hamilton finished fifth.

The Austrian Grand Prix had an unexpected main character besides the drivers: the asphalt temperature. The intense heat caused extremely high tire wear and dictated the strategies of every team, all of which were forced to make at least two pit stops. Ferrari even went for an even more aggressive plan and made three stops for both of its cars.

Franco Colapinto, meanwhile, had a forgettable start and lost six positions in the opening meters. However, he reacted quickly and regained three places before completing the opening lap to move up to 19th. From that point on, and with an Alpine that never showed enough pace to fight further up the field, he worked his way forward as the race went on to finish in 15th place. Pierre Gasly, his teammate, started 11th and finished 13th, on a strategy with soft tires at the end that did not pay off as he had hoped.

In a context where Ferrari could not cope with tire wear, George Russell completed a perfect weekend and turned pole position into victory to cut the gap in the Drivers’ Championship. The Mercedes driver executed a flawless strategy, neutralized Max Verstappen’s undercut attempt during the pit stops, and managed the gap all the way to the checkered flag to claim a lights-to-flag victory.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.