Mick Lives Up to the Name - Austria 2022
Source: FIA
Formula 1 returned for another round of the Red Bull Ring. The short circuit has been a fan favourite for its simple yet high-speed layout that is conducive to overtaking. And the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix did not disappoint, with three overtakes for the lead and plenty of action in the core of the midfield. This year’s change in aero regulations played another helping hand in this regard as at one point there were 5 cars competing for position going into the uphill turn 3 hairpin. Such anecdotes were emblematic of the thrill in the midfield, creating many storylines in which Mick Schumacher once again proved his mettle to grab a career-best result and consecutive points finish. With so much to cover, let’s jump straight into it.
Mayhem in the Midfield
Chart 1: Race Story - Cumulative Delta Plot
The race got underway with little drama. George Russell had a good run on Carlos Sainz, who had bitten off more than he could chew through turn 1 and had to take to the escape road for the run-up to turn 3. Russell was alongside and mounting the pressure, with Sergio Perez not far behind. Russell was compromised out of turn 3 and lost ground to Sainz, instead having to shift focus to defending against Perez going into turn 4. Russell covered the inside, while Perez hung it around the outside. The Mexican was ahead mid-corner, but Russell suffered understeer with the fully fuelled Mercedes and tagged the rear right of the Red Bull, sending him spinning across the gravel. And as a result, the young Briton was slapped with a 5 second time penalty that needed to be served at the next pitstop. This, alongside a slow stop, would drop him far down the order albeit with clean air until he closed up to the back of the mid-pack as shown in Chart 1 above.
Lewis Hamilton, like his teammate, was also caught up in defending the rear against a feisty Mick Schumacher who was eager to prove that his points finish in Silverstone was no fluke. Schumacher had a point to prove after losing the battle to Hamilton in the sprint race the day earlier. But the German would have his man in the main race, making the pass as early as lap 4. However, Schumacher’s glory was not long-lived as Haas’ typical tyre degradation issues started to take hold. As a result, Hamilton was able to overcome the top-speed deficit and retake the position through turn 6 on lap 14. With this, Hamilton’s main obstacle for the race was overcome, as the other Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon made way for the Briton by way of taking their scheduled pitstops as shown in Chart 1 above. This left Hamilton in the clean air and able to run his own race. Now that he was unleashed, Hamilton had very impressive pace, as revealed in Chart 1, lapping consistently faster than Ocon - despite being on fresh tyres - and not too shy from the pace of the front runners. Hamilton was able to extend this long enough to extend almost a pitstop’s worth gap to Ocon. Hamilton pitted on lap 28 and made easy work of overtaking Ocon before getting comfortable in the chasm between the front runners and the mid-pack. Sainz’s later retirement would promote the 7x world champion to the final podium place.
Chart 2: Tyre Strategies Summarised
Turning our attention back to the rest of the midfield and the first set of pitstops would prove to be a crucial moment in Schumacher’s race. Schumacher would take his first stop of the race on lap 16, the same time as Ocon as shown in Chart 2 above. His teammate Magnussen was ahead on the road and was given priority in the pitstop order, coming in a lap prior on lap 15 while McLaren’s Lando Norris pitted on lap 14. These may be minor differences, but this two-lap delay would prove to be very costly to Schumacher as the later stop dropped the German behind both Mclaren’s, including Daniel Ricciardo who pitted as early as lap 12 due to struggling on the first stint - as shown in Chart 1 earlier. Schumacher was able to make easy pickings of Ricciardo however getting by Norris was a slightly more complicated affair. Schumacher was stuck behind Norris until lap 27, despite having been ahead of him prior to the pitstops. Schumacher was likely racing against Ocon at the beginning of the race, but the mistiming of the pitstop meant that the German had to spend 10 laps playing catch-up to his initial position. All the while Magnussen, who was in clean air for most of this time, was struggling to make inroads against the Alpine and instead held up his teammate who had the better pace.
Chart 3: Trend Race Pace Compared - Schumacher vs Magnussen
Chart 3 breaks down the trend pace over the course of the race and clearly highlights the nature of Haas’ foley with the first pitstop as well as Schumacher’s superior pace to teammate Magnussen. With regard to the first stop, both Schumacher and Magnussen’s degradation took a sharp turn - in line with Norris. However, McLaren were assertive and stopped the Briton before too much damage was done. Haas waited too long to pit either driver, but the penalty was greater for Schumacher who’s degradation was accelerating. And while the team may have dropped the ball here, Schumacher must also share in the blame for not having better tyre management in the first stint. Be that as it may, Schumacher more than made up for this with his remaining stints. Despite making his way through traffic, Schumacher’s pace was notably superior to that of Magnussen who had the benefit of clean air. This superiority window expanded once Schumacher was allowed to clear Magnussen on lap 31 as shown in Chart 3 above.
And while McLaren timed another good pitstop, Haas was on the ball and pitted as well, helped further by Norris’ incursion of a 5-second penalty for the repeated disregard of track limits. Schumacher’s final stint was strong once again, with the German finding comfort on the hard tyre. His pace was once again superior in both magnitude and consistency to his teammate but also against Norris. But how did his race stack up against earlier rival Ocon?
Chart 4: Trend Race Pace Compared - Schumacher vs Ocon
Ocon was another driver enjoying a good performance during the Austrian Grand Prix. As Chart 4 above reveals, his pace was strong and very consistent - free of the degradation troubles that afflicted the Haas. This meant that he could extend his first stint without the impost that Schumacher suffered. Not only did this help Ocon in his remaining stints with regard to tyre life, but it also gave him a healthy gap to Schumacher that he could manage throughout the second stint. As already discussed, Schumacher’s quest through the traffic was detrimental to his pace. Yet despite this, Schumacher was still able to match Ocon’s pace - albeit the Alpine likely undergoing pace management. Alpine was prompt in responding to Haas’s undercut threat, by pitting one lap after on lap 44. Ocon’s pace at the commencement of the third stint was also stronger than Schumacher's and enough to see him cover off the threat for the remainder of the race.
But how did Schumacher fair against the other Alpine of Fernando Alonso? The Spaniard started from the back of the grid following mechanical issues at the start of Saturday’s sprint race. As a result, Alonso was on the alternate strategy and focussed on going long for the first stint. Alonso’s pace was notable, especially considering the harder tyre on a higher fuel load. The veteran went deep into the first stint, setting him up for a competitive second stint that saw him lapping much faster than either Ocon or Schumacher as shown in Chart 4 above. Alonso was another benefactor of the clean air, as shown in Chart 1, the Spaniard was either far behind the pack or at its head. The virtual safety car deployed following fellow countryman, Sainz’s engine blowout would be another helping hand for the Alpine team. However, a blunder with a loose-fitted wheel would bring Alonso back into the pits for a round 2, before recommending the race behind Ricciardo. The double incursion came at a significant cost in race time. Without this, Alonso could have restarted the race approximately 15 seconds up the order. This could have put him ahead of Norris and potentially even Magnussen (as inferred from Chart 1 prior). Combining this with the pace that Alonso demonstrated in the final stint on the medium tyre and Alpine could have easily mounted a challenge against Schumacher and finished much closer to Ocon. Given this, and despite falling into the earlier traffic, Schumacher likely extracted the maximum result this weekend, taking the chequered flag in P6.
Chart 5: Pit Stop Analysis - Russell on Ocon
Turning our attention back to Russell, the Briton was helped significantly by a well-executed strategy call from the Mercedes pitwall. After spending much of the race behind traffic, Russell was brought into the pits on lap 40 for a fresh set of tyres. The stop put the Briton back into clean air, with his competitors pitted a few laps afterwards. However, these laps were enough for Russell to get the jump on many of them, as they all resumed the race behind Russell as shown in Chart 1 earlier. Chart 5 above compares the net result against his race rival Ocon. Russell was able to reduce his 7-second gap by 5 seconds thanks to the clean air and the fresher tyres. With no traffic between himself and the Frenchman, Russell was free to mount this attack. And while the virtual safety may have helped eek more life into the tyres on his final stint, Russell had enough pace in hand to comfortably challenge Ocon and cross the line for a P4 finish. A strong result given Russell’s earlier woes, but not an optimal performance based on his qualifying position and the potential of the car.
Watchpoints for the Next Grand Prix
A short break before the travelling circus makes its way to Le Castellet for the French Grand Prix. Perhaps the opposite of Austria, France is not known for producing thrilling races due to the overtaking difficulty around the circuit. Nevertheless, the circuit could present an interesting setup challenge between trading off the top speed sectors 1 and 2 against the technical sector 3. Can Ferrari build generate some momentum or will Red Bull reign supreme with their low drag philosophy at a track that’s less reliant on traction performance. Will Mercedes continue to take steps forward and can Haas continue their run of form despite the lack of upgrades? Still, plenty to play for as we tick over the halfway point in the season. I’ll see you for the next one.
