Austria GP Race Report

It was nearly 40 degrees hot in Austria for the race so pole-sitter Russell had on his special inflated silver, puffy Adidas jacket.  This could have a big effect on the race (the heat not the jacket).

Russell got away in the lead easily but the Ferraris were close behind with Leclerc trying for the lead but Antonelli went off the track twice as he pushed.  The teenager got past Leclerc by going off the track so would have to give the place back; Verstappen saw it all happen and waited behind to get past both of them when Antonelli had to make the switch.  The first retirement due to the heat was on lap three when Bottas's tyres caught fire.  His team mate Perez would be out two laps later when his car caught fire.

The Ferraris lost out during the early laps: Antonelli pushed past Leclerc, then Verstappen took second from Hamilton.  They went in for early pit stops.  

A third of the way through the race, Sainz lost power in his Mercedes engine and pulled over to the side on the straight.  There were Yellow Flags and Antonelli pitted.  He was leading the race as the other drivers had taken their first or only stop.  The Virtual Safety Car was about to come out and he should have waited.

In the middle of this race there was some overtaking and some pit stopping but other than Alonso speeding in the pits, it didn't feel like much was happening.  Stroll would be the fourth retirement.

Russell took a pole to chequered flag victory with Verstappen and Antonelli right behind him; Alonso too but he had been lapped.  George was very happy and needed to be back on top.  And so it was done.

When we come back next season, I would like the drone camera to be gone - it gave nothing new visually and made me feel sick.  Just like [INSERT NAME OF DRIVER HERE].

Austria GP Qualifying Report

With a lap taking just over a minute to complete, this would be a blink-and-you-miss-it Qualifying; meaning that tiny errors cost the driver much more than usual.   Not only that but the higher altitude in the mountains meant that engines were not running as well.

The traffic was not as much of a problem as expected in the first Qualifying session.  Antonelli was the quickest with his team mate down in fourth and his championship rival Hamilton in third.  At the bottom they were out in the ark, two by two: Sainz and Albon, Perez and Bottas, Alonso and Stroll.

Antonelli was again quickest in the second session, separated from Russell by the two McLarens.  Verstappen only went out on one run and had to watch to see if anyone from the midfield would beat his time: it was good enough for tenth.  Out went Gasly, Bortoleto, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Colapinto.

In the third and final session, Verstappen was nearly quick enough as they put in their banker laps but Antonelli was quickest with Russell alongside him.  Hamilton went wide and off the track and failed to set a lap time.  There was a lot of boring talk about tires.  With forty seconds to go, the final laps were being set down.  Hamilton went, even visually, very quick to take pole then his team mate Leclerc snatched it from him.  Verstappen was carrying too much speed into the final corner, pushing hard and went off quickly through the gravel to speed into the tyre wall.  Russell was behind him and managed to take pole and there was a lot of discussion about when he passed a single or double Yellow Flag.  This potential infringement would mean that his pole position could be taken away.  It would be a close call but he would keep it even if Ferrari had been celebrating a front row lock out.   Russell was quick to point out that Wolff had already told him that he had made a big lift on the power and that would be satisfactory.  The top ten were Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli (who had to abort his lap for the Yellow Flags), Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Hadjar, Lawson and Linblad.

There would be many variables in the race: reliability, especially from the Mercedes engines, the hot temperature, Norris pointed out that there would be a lot of pit stops, differing abilities at race starts, smoke bombs from the Orange Army...

Austria GP Qualifying Report

For some reason, the talk of the pit lane was whether Russell would keep his Mercedes seat if Verstappen should want it next season.  Nobody let it affect their performance in Qualifying though. 

Piastri swept through some gravel in the first session. Sainz also struggled in his Williams to keep it on the tarmac.  The five slowest and out drivers were Stroll, Ocon, Tsunoda (another poor showing, just how bad is that Red Bull?), Sainz and Hulkenberg.  One driver each from five different teams...this says a lot about the current state of competition in the sport.  Sainz complained that the car was undrivable but his driving also looked pretty shoddy.

Verstappen also thought his car was undrivable in the second session.   The McLarens and Ferraris were looking strong.   Then Hamilton ran wide and set the grass on fire so the session was red flagged.  This led to a sprint to the end, with time for one fast lap only.  Bortoleto crossed the line first in his Sauber and was very quick, third for a moment.  He did get through to the final shoot out for the first time.  Out went Alonso, Albon, Hadjar, Colapinto and Bearman.  The McLarens were a dominant first and second with LeClerc behind them and Hamilton dropping back. 

After the first set of laps in Q3, Norris was on pole, then LeClerc then Piastri.  Russell was noted for an unsafe release in the pit lane.   But Russell couldn't improve his place in the end.  There was a half second gap between Norris on pole and LeClerc behind him.  Then it was Piastri,  Hamilton,  Russell,  Lawson (doing better in the junior team than the lead driver of the main outfit), Verstappen,  Bortoleto, Antontelli and Gasly.   The Alpine driver did two full rotations as he went off through the gravel at the end of the session.

I think Norris will be quick in the race and Ferrari likely to give a McLaren the win through choosing a poor strategy.  The question is whether McLaren will give a fair and equitable strategy call to both drivers and whether they will end up hot on each others' heels?  I don't put it passed Norris to make a hot-headed driver error again and LeClerc will be there to pick up the spills.

Austria GP Race Report

Austria is traditionally a good race set at a boring race.  There were no celebrities on the grid and nothing had happened since the last two days of full reporting to be discussed.

So on to the race, Verstappen got away well.  The Mercedes hustled behind him, Russell trying to overtake Norris with Hamilton and Sainz jostling behind.  Le Clerc lost some of his front wing, coming together with Piastri (he later blamed Perez for the first corner incident), and had to go to the pits for a new one.  He would have come out last were it not for Sargeant also pitting, we didn't find out why.

By Lap 3, Hamilton overtook Russell for third place, although with DRS, Russell took it straight back.  This was a defining feature of the weekend and they need to reconsider where the zones are for the next season.  Hamilton subsequently lost a place to Sainz.

LeClerc trundled around at the back of the pack, with even a Williams overtaking him.  It became clear that the Medium tyres did not last well.

There were all sorts of things happening up and down the pack.  Alonso shunted into the back of Zhou, unaccountably.  Norris was stuck in launch mode and had to try and reboot his car.  Hamilton was given a five second penalty for crossing the white pit line and was given a pep talk by Wolff.

The stewards were busy handing our penalties left, right and centre.

Verstappen was treated to an extraordinarily slow pit stop of six and a half seconds.  He was still out ahead of Norris, who pitted at the same time but the battle was closer.

Then, with less than ten laps to go, it all went wrong between the best buddies.  There was contact between Verstappen and Norris, having had a few battles around the previous corners.  They were busy on the radio arguing, for the stewards' benefit about who had pushed who off the track.  Norris was pushing it for getting a penalty for exceeding track limits.  Both cars ended with shredded rear tyres, going off the track.  Norris boxed and told the team to retire the car as he also received a penalty for going off the track too much.

Russell was now in the lead of the race.  Piastri went around Sainz for second place.  Verstappen was able to pit and come out in fifth but received a ten second penalty for causing the collision.

A Virtual Safety Car was called to clear the track but no one benefited from it.

The top three held their positions to the end.  It was initially frosty in the green room, as Sainz and Piastri discussed the damage the McLaren sustained.  Russell broke the ice and there was some banter and sympathy when they saw Lando's episode.

It was only Russell's second win in F1.  Norris claimed that he had led a blame-free race which wasn't true when you look at track limits.  I wonder if the pair will recover their friendship by next weekend?  For Norris it was a question of fairness and owning up to it.  Verstappen took the pressure from the British press on the chin but placed the blame fairly at Lando's door, partly also blaming the shape of the curb.

Gasly finished in tenth and was able to beat his team mate, who finished in twelfth.  Ricciardo finished in ninth and also trumped his team mate, Tsunoda was 14th and this is a small victory he needs. Magnussen was the lowest finishing Haas in eighth; Hulkenberg in sixth made a great points haul for the team.  Perez was seventh and should have been nearer the top to take the victory for Red Bull when Verstappen couldn't.  The wisdom of resigning him seems dubious.  Hamilton was fourth and will probably be ruing the lost opportunity.  LeClerc had been promised a points finish by the team but came home in eleventh.

Austria GP Qualifying Report

Amongst other news from Austria was new contracts for Gasly and Stroll.  Lots of questions here...Does Stroll have a manager?  Who else was interviewing for the drive?  What were the sticking points between father and son?

Fresh from the Sprint Race, where Verstappen capitalised on the McLarens squabbling, the short circuit meant Qualifying was close.

In the first session, most drivers went out for a final push and there was a big traffic jam to leave the pit lane.  Hamilton had to put on a new set of tyres as he struggled.  Ultimately the first five drivers out were predictable: Albon, Stroll, Bottas, Sargeant and Zhou.  Magnussen seems to have taken over from Hulkenberg as the Haas hero qualifier.

Again, the next five out were very predictable: Ricciardo, Gasly, Magnussen, Tsunoda and Alonso.

Verstappen had taken pole at the last three races here and it felt predictable that he would take a fourth.  And he did.  Norris took second again, with his team mate Piastri initially taking third before dropping to seventh, due to going out of track limits.  Russell graduated to third, Sainz, Hamilton then LeClerc, who potentially broke a lot of bits as he went rallying off the track.  Finishing the top ten was Perez, Hulkenberg and Ocon.

Austria GP Sprint Report

One of the biggest news stories of the weekend is that Flavio Briatore is back; he has been shown ambling around the grid like the Biden of F1, too old and doddery to be of any real use.

Excitingly, there was an aborted start, so there was an extra formation lap.  We never found out why it was.

Everyone got away cleanly, with no gaps forming.  Verstappen, Norris and Piastri were line astern.  The McLarens did not need to be battling each other.  On Lap 5, Norris went for it, successfully at last.  Only two corners later, Verstappen retook the lead but Piastri was behind them and started to battle with Norris.  Neither could focus on getting the lead as they were fighting each other, with Piastri taking the place from his team mate and was up into second.

There were a couple more overtakes further back but other than that it became a fairly dull race.

Norris had every right to believe he could have won the race had Piastri left him alone.  It doesn't seem like good tactics from McLaren.  I wonder if they will play things differently if Qualifying has a similar result.

Austria GP Sprint Qualifying Report

The only news after one Free Practice session in Austria was that Norris had been off.  Hamilton had an off too at the start of Sprint Qualifying and had his time deleted but still managed to get through.  Ricciardo was knocked out by his team mate, who had an off on his fastest lap (I don't think Danny will be getting a Red Bull seat anytime soon), Hulkenberg, 7 places behind Magnussen in a reversal of the usual situation at Haas, Bottas, Albon and Zhou, with Sargeant going through in 14th.

Those teams who didn't have high hopes for reaching the final session only did one hot lap at the very end of the second session.  Magnussen went out in 11th, followed by both Aston Martins with Stroll ahead of Alonso, Tsunoda and finally Sargeant.

The final session was a little disastrous for some.  All ten drivers waited until the very last minute to get out of the pits.  Russell broke first and Hamilton was sent out as it was his turn to go out first.  LeClerc had a problem with his car and didn't make it around the track in time to set a Qualifying lap.

So Hamilton held pole at first but his team mate immediately bettered his time.  Both McLarens went ahead of the Mercedes before Verstappen took pole to a massive roar from the heavily biased crowd.  Norris will line up alongside him.  Sainz was able to split the Mercedes.  Perez only managed 7th.  Ocon beat Gasly to 8th and LeClerc was last having not set a time.

It may possibly a boring Sprint.  Can the Mercedes push forwards?  Can Ferrari and Perez get their act together?

Austria GP Report

As I've been away on holiday this week, this report is both late and based on the Channel 4 coverage.  I say "coverage", they didn't cover very much.  They barely mentioned the first Qualifying session.  De Vries was last and he only has four races to prove he deserves the seat.  Inspection of track limits violations was taking 3 minutes, so what you were seeing wasn't reflected in the standings.  Given that this was delayed highlights, C4 could have reported the events in a more straight forward fashion.  Perez had a lap time deleted and was out in Q2, he might also have a fight on his hands to keep his Red Bull seat.  At this point, I was wondering why the drivers couldn't stay within track limits.  Was it because they had fewer practice sessions because of the sprint race?  Everyone says it's because they haven't put some destructive material on the ground outside the track, so there's no deterrent.  I would have thought all the penalties was deterrent enough?  Albon went through to the final Qualifying session, showing Williams are making some small progress under Vowles.  LeClerc nearly took pole position, which would have been exciting for a couple of minutes but Verstappen stole it.  Sainz was next and then a good showing from Norris in his upgraded McLaren.

Then we had the Sprint Qualifying.  Hamilton took a disappointing 19th with Russell having a hydraulics failure - a bad start for Mercedes.  The track was slightly wet, so there were some poor decisions made.  C4 didn't even display the result.

The next part of the event was the Sprint Race.  Perez made an aggressive start to take the lead from his team mate but later said he gave the place back.  This coming together bunched up the pack and Norris lost everything.  It was a wet start and Russell was the first to take dry tyres.  Albon went backwards and Sainz managed a clean third.  Ultimately it was an easy win for Red Bull.  It was unlike Alonso to settle for the place behind his team mate.  I have no idea what silver trinket the podium finishers were given.  Answers on a silver post card.

When race day came around, Magnussen and De Vries started from the pit lane.  LeClerc challenged Verstappen from the start.  Tsunoda brought out an early Safety Car when he went through the gravel and the marshals had to sweep it up but it was a boring restart.  At this point the track limit violations started to play a factor.  Briefly the Ferraris fought each other but Sainz was held back.  The mid-field cars were so close that it was tricky to see the order on the track.

Hulkenberg's Haas lost power and he pulled off the track, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.  This time lots of drivers did pit for the mandatory tyre change.  It was then  a case of sitting back to watch and see whether this was the better strategy.  

I had started writing down Black and White flags and penalties but soon gave up as they came thick and fast.  It had looked like it might make the race interesting but it just became an administrative nightmare.  Other interesting points to note include Toto having to go on to team radio to tell Hamilton to stop complaining and just drive the car he has been given and whether 3 DRS zones ruined some good racing up front.  Verstappen took a risky pit stop to get soft tires and get a point for the Fastest Lap.  Norris was awarded Driver of the Day.

Austrian GP Qualifying, Sprint & Race Report

At the Red Bull home track, packed full of bigoted Verstappen fans dressed in orange accessorised with orange flares, it seemed like the team were on track to bring home a one-two.  In Qualifying a lot of teams struggled.  Norris was "scared to hit the brakes" in his McLaren and Ricciardo was out in the first session.  Vettel was the other surprise knock-out in Q1, although I'm not sure it is a surprise anymore.  The final Qualifying session was more chaotic with Hamilton crashing out his Mercedes, closely followed by his team mate.  It looked like it was going to be a Ferrari front row for the Sprint then Verstappen snatched pole.

On to the Sprint and Alonso didn't make it off the grid and then Zhou's engine switched off.  Not a great start to the make or break 20 laps.  There was a little bit of argy-bargy but not too much.  Albon received a 5 second penalty for pushing Norris off the track, which he also did to Vettel, who reversed off of the gravel.  Ultimately Vettel retired, which is not what you want in the sprint.

Vettel started off race day with a disagreement with the stewards.  He feels the switch-around of personnel isn't working for him.  It does seem strange with changes in sticking to the track limits, penalties and how quickly the Safety Car or Red Flag is issued seems to vary hugely race to race, the sport has become more inconsistent.  With Masi having quit the FIA completely to return to his native Australia, perhaps everyone turned on him too quickly?

The number 2 drivers didn't have a great race.  Perez was out early doors and on Lap 57 Sainz caught fire and had the dilemma between staying in a burning car rolling backwards and getting out of the burning car rolling backwards.  McLaren quickly made it up to 9th and 10th but fell back as the race went on.  Ricciardo took to Instagram to let the world know he is not leaving McLaren - only a Story though.

The battle continues to be between LeClerc and Verstappen.  Red Bull just didn't have the pace and LeClerc passed him easily on Lap 12 and Lap 33 and Lap 53.  Despite having problems with his throttle pedal, Verstappen couldn't find a way back past, closing the gap slowly until the race finished.

It looked like Alonso might have pulled a blinder by saving his tyres but then he pitted.  The busiest people this race were the stewards, eyes glued to the white lines to see whose tyres went over and then waving their black and white flags with abandon.  With two more races until the summer break, some drivers have a lot to prove, if they want their seat next year, if they want to be more than number two.

Austria GP Qualifying and Race Report

Note: for this race I am "on holiday", the reality being that I can only watch highlights on C4 late at night and come to write this very late in the day on Monday...

Qualifying

The second Qualifying session had a couple of notes of interest.  Four times world champion Vettel impeded twice world champion Alonso, a move that cost him 3 grid places.  Former Aussie hot shot Ricciardo could only get his (flash lightning) McLaren into 13th, whilst Russell in his (improving?) Williams made 10th and through to the final session, beating both Ferraris.

The crowd was a sea of orange (Rangers fans or as Norris repeatedly joked, there in papaya for McLaren?) and gave a huge cheer when Hamilton could only go 4th in the final session.  Norris missed pole by 0.04 seconds.  Russell wasn't 10th as expected and put in a quicker lap than former Williams protégé/pay driver Stroll.  After, Russell felt it was a particularly quick lap as it was done on medium tires, which he will have to start on.  He was pleased as the soft tires looked "disastrous for the race".  So Williams definitely to score points in this race...

Race

It still felt like the media were running a skeleton crew (for each 5 members of crowd, 1 member of the media had to go?).  DC was left interviewing his godson, Monty Horner, who was very clear that his favourite driver is Max....  Turns out Perez is doomed after all.

With Ocon out on the first lap, hopes were that Russell would definitely be in the points after the first lap.  No, down four places at the start.  Perez was also down six places by lap 4, which also saw Bottas overtake Hamilton.  Lewis was particularly quiet this race, not complaining or questioning, just head down and race slowly.

Then the stewards remembered they had the power to hand out penalties.  Norris for pushing Tsunoda off the track, two for Tsunoda pushing drivers off the track, two for Perez pushing LeClerc off the track and many more for track limits, speeding in the pits and crossing a special white line.

Half way through the race I looked to see where Ricciardo was placed and couldn't find him....I was looking to low, he was in P5!  After the pit stops had played out, Russell was in 16th, definitely going to score some points.  Hamilton and Bottas were "inverted", a chance for Bottas to show Russell how to score points?  The question is why did Mercedes leave poor tires on Hamilton for so long when they clearly weren't working?  They let Norris past them.  Hamilton even commented on the radio that Lando is "such a great driver", maybe he will be the Brit in the second seat?

Towards the end, Alonso and Russell were battling for 10th.  In the end the car with the bigger budget (and world champion) won.  Behind them a fuming Kimi Raikkonen was upset that no one in the team told him to watch the track limits at turn 10.  Not surprising they didn't mention it until they really needed to.  Hamilton was given the number 2 job of backing a 10-second-penalty-carrying Perez up.  While Norris held 3rd, Sainz overtook Ricciardo, having also been given the team orders pass to overtake LeClerc.  On the last lap Vettel was taken out by his pal Raikkonen.  Norris felt his penalty cost him second place, which is probably true and bodes well for the future of this season.

The interviews were done by Christian Klein, which was a blast from the past.

How do I rate the Channel 4 experience?  Jones' questions are short and to the point.  DC is greyer than I remembered and they seem to get changed during the race?  There are so many ad breaks though, so many.

Austria GP - "We are so proud of you"

What an epic race!  A great start from Norris and a shockingly poor start from Verstappen and during the following lap Raikkonen really went for it.  It was the most exciting start to a race that I can remember without any crashes.  Norris helped the top four by holding up everyone else and it made me think that LeClerc would break his duck.

On Lap 22, Ferrari showed what they're capable of, with an excruciatingly long pit stop.  Hamilton followed on Lap 31 with a new wing, which probably cost him a podium place.  He was surprisingly calm about it in the post-race interview though.

The sea of orange supporters for Verstappen went berserk when when he attacked Vettel on Lap 50 and from that point onwards things just got more and more exciting.  Five laps later, there was a power scare on his car which was proven to be fatal when he overtook Bottas less than a lap on.

It led me to wonder when Verstappen is really so significantly better than Gasly that he should be so far ahead or do Red Bull choose a favourite driver and invest all their resources in their direction?  It would explain why Ricciardo felt he had to jump so far.

The pressure really began to mount.  LeClerc told his team to: "Leave me alone".  DRS was definitely a key player in the race outcome, enabling Verstappen to get closer and closer.  And on he went, in the Honda that Alonso didn't want.  By Lap 68 (of 71) the racing couldn't have been any closer and on Lap 69 Verstappen finally made it stick.  If the race hadn't been a comeback for Verstappen, I'd have been much more upset on LeClerc missing out.  Ultimately the A1 Ring is his track.

On the penultimate lap Vettel squeezed past Hamilton.  Some commentator stated this was Honda's first win in 27 years which was bitterly disputed by my sofamate.  We believe last win to be Button in 2006.  Corrections in comments please. 

LeClerc blamed tyre degradation for his victory loss and Bottas found both attacking and defending a problem with his car.

Three hours later the race result was confirmed.  The stewards had a good contemplate of further ruining F1 but decided against it.

Austria GP - Results

1. Evel Marque - 504*
2. BottHaas - 470*
3. PickedInAHurry - 445
4. The Hope Fulls - 438
5. Je suis Charlie - 423
6. The Pitstop Princess - 339
7. Jack the Lad - 355
8. Hippy F1 - 281
9. Ferrari Rocher - 256
10. Francesco Bernoulli - 256*

* Home track played

Correction from Austria GP

Hello

As Mr Pitstop Princess would say: "the BBC is all propaganda and factually inaccurate and up Hamilton's backside".

If you visit this link you will see that Massa and Stroll are listed as starting 10th and 11th on the grid, thus giving Hamilton the most places made up from grid.

The results of the British GP will reflect this correction.

Austria GP - "Thank you. That was good."

I have seven lines of comment in my jotter for this race which saw first, second and third on the grid finish in that order.  Really, I'm glad I put off watching the end of the race in order to see Muller beat Nadal.

Horner tried his best to beef up the Austrian race by wearing lederhosen; they dampened the atmosphere unlike the rain we were promised.  Sky couldn't even manage an interesting grid walk: Palmer and Kvyat.  Verstappen foresaw it all and went for an early bath (I assume with duckies and extra bubbles), as his lap one, turn one exit made it five retirements out of seven races.  Alonso tried to jolly up the radio transmission with: "They cannot play bowling."  Magnussen tried harder by dropping the F bomb, FoM must have thought the excitement which only swearing on daytime TV brings was needed as they failed to bleep it out.

The only person who seems genuinely excited by the race was Ricciardo, as he grinned like the proverbial Cheshire cat to have third  place on the podium.  I can only imagine it was because he beat Hamilton to it.  FYI Hamilton scores both fastest lap and most places made up (three) for this race.  If Hamilton is bringing the action, it's a dull race.

Austria GP - Results

1. No Vices Now - 542
2. Evel Marque - 526*
3. Two World Champions, two future World Champions and, um, two other guys - 519
4. The Pitstop  Princess - 477
5= Hoping for an Indian Summer - 474
5= Torque of the Devil - 474
7. Moneyball - 472
8. Bernie is a hobbit - 467
9= Jenson's Whinging Legacy - 440
9= Even more hopeful - 440
11. BOT-RAI-PER - 381*
12. Beauty & the F1 Geek - 369
13. Burn After Racing - 366
14. Hippy F1 - 319
15. Slightly Slower Racing - 310

*Home track played

Austria GP

A caffeine high

Wehrlein - started 13th and finished 10th.  A great drive all weekend.  Proving, with Verstappen, that the young have it all.
Button - shouting for the oldies
Overtaking - a few good 'uns including Rosberg on Verstappen.  Lots of comment in the press today about the new "Ruthless Rosberg"

A sugar crash

Leiderhosen suits - lower than the Superman capes
Pit lane starts - for Massa it was a case of kicking a man when he's down
Kvyat - it was a complete waste of an evening rebuilding that Toro Rosso
Footage of the helicopter - appreciated by Angus and other Govan Helicopter Aficionados but that's all
Lap 67 - or the cursed lap - Hulkenberg, Massa and Alonso all retired
What is Toto thinking? - the preferred shot for coverage directors when it is all happening on track
Frustration - I watch and enjoy a whole race only for it to be ruined on the last lap
Tyre failures - I could take them all until it was Perez.  It's not how we want race results decided.
The podium - firstly, who was that?  Who takes a notebook with them out?  My German is nothing to yodel about but it must be embarrassing when you are interviewing an 18 year old in English and their mastery of the language is considerably better than yours.  Also, boos for Hamilton - at last!  Also, someone has told Kimi that he must speak more in interviews so now he rambles on incoherently.  The Aging Playboy option.

Austria GP - Results

1. Weak End of Bernie* - 564
2. Merc-redible Hulk* - 534
3. The Pitstop Princess - 530
4. Beauty & the F1 Geek* - 514
5. Claire has to type this sentence each time as my team name* - 484
6. BofOffBernie* - 479
7. Halo, it's me - 474
8. Three teams, one dream* - 459
9. Hippy F1 - 450
10. No Vices Now - 367
11. The Hopefuls - 358
12. British Racing Green - 351
13. The Maranello Marvels - 327
14. Marian's Marvels - 293
15. Indiana Walker and the Tyres of Doom - 237
16. Put out to Pastor - 169

* Home track played

Austria GP - "Yeeaahh. Come on guys"

Ja

Driver pay - the pay per minute of work for the McLaren drivers must be pretty
Double spin - was anyone else wondering whether Hamilton had "done a Rosberg" in Qually?
Overtaking off the grid - cheers in the Pitstop household when Rosberg took Hamilton
16th and 17th - grid places for the Marussias!
Looking on the bright side - Button went out on Lap 9: "The good thing is that we won't let it get us down".  When you're chewing on life's gristle, don't worry, give a whistle.  And this'll help things turn out for the best...
Vettel's long pitstop - hooray for Massa and Williams
Panicky radio - so worried in the final laps
Cooling room - I'm beginning to think that there's a secret code that if Hamilton is in the cooling room, the drivers will speak anything but English

Nein

Raikkonen and Alonso off on the first lap - I really would like to have seen Kimi take the hand offered by Fernando and walk back hand in hand.
Penalties - give Honda a break or we will lose another engine supplier
Marussia's sponsors - this week AirBNB.  We will be mentioning them in the hope that this drip feed funding continues to allow new teams on to the grid
Hamilton crosses the white pit exit line - triggers the classic comment from Brundle: "one of the fundamental basics of not breaking the rules"
Swearhard Berger's podium interview - no jacket, swore, a little tired and emotional?  Old School F1.

Finally, is it just me or do Mercedes seem happier when Rosberg wins?

Austria GP - Results

1. DC's Tighty Whiteys - 763
2. HamBerg from McCedes Drive Through Please - 762
3. Teutonic Titians, Titanic Twits - 758
4. Sharks have no bones :) - 672
5. Double Mercedes is Boring!! - 585*
6. The F1 Flumps - 552
7. Baby on Board - 545
8. Mike and the Mechanics - 543
9. Lots of Trouble Usually Serious - 541
10. Go Fast and Prosper - 507
11. Muppet Racing - 484
12. Hippy F1 - 430
13. The Pitstop Princess - 396
14. Beauty & the F1 Geek - 375
15. The Hopefuls - 366
16. I blame Clarkson - 363
17. The Very Good Value - 359
18. No Vices Now - 343
19. Baby Pitstop's Change Crew - 332
20. I Monza Brink of Insanity - 312
21. Juan Angus Fangio C.I. - 277
22. 10CC - 242

*Home track

Austrian GP - "Go strat 1 and pick up rubber"

Ja

Williams 1, 2 grid positions
Cousins - who knew James Dyson was Patrick Head's cousin?
Dirndls - much better than the usual grid girl outfits
Hamilton's radio - "it's hammer time"
Perez radio - "You can press the overtake button for two laps...use it wisely."
Webber's podium interview - stirring up the tension in Mercedes

Nein

Epic Fails - Hamilton's qualifying
The blame game - Rosberg blames Hamilton's spin for not securing pole
Bumps - There was always going to be some bump that knocked William's chances of winning this race.  The first potential bump was receiving a grid penalty - bump avoided.  Second bump could have been losing it all at the start - swerved that one.  Third bump to be missed is poor pit stops - yep, there we go.
Sycophantic superimposed graphics on the circuit