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The 2023 F1 Austrian GP qualifying saw an intense battle for pole position between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc with the Red Bull driver prevailing. In a session that was dominated by drivers getting their lap times deleted because of exceeding the track limits, one had to practice caution and aggression in equal measure.
The session also saw Carlos Sainz qualify in P3 for the 2023 F1 Austrian GP on Sunday and will have Lando Norris in his McLaren alongside him. In a very hectic session where one had to wait a few minutes until all the delinquent lap times could be deleted, who would feel a bit on the backfoot at the end of the session, and who would be quietly confident of the weekend ahead? Let's take a look.
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2023 F1 Austrian GP Qualifying
Winner
Max Verstappen
What many fans won't understand right now is that it is very easy for Max Verstappen to make a mistake. There have been far too many banana skins thrown his way in the last few races where if it was not for Verstappen doing a splendid job, a great result was just not possible.
The 2023 F1 Austrian GP qualifying was just another example of the same thing. You look at his teammate and you see how easy it is to drop it and get eliminated in Q2. This is now Verstappen's fourth pole position in a row and in each of these races, he could have lost out. Fortunately for him, the driver tends to string things together better than most drivers.
Loser
Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez should not find himself getting knocked out four times pre-Q3 in a Red Bull. This is just not acceptable as the car is capable of what Checo's teammate is producing. Sure, once or twice something like this can happen, but when this happens four times, questions need to be asked.
For Perez, he needs to get his act together because the 2023 F1 Austrian GP race weekend has only begun. He needs to do a better job tomorrow and get a better result in the sprint.
Winner
Ferrari
A P2 and P3 qualifying position should give Fred Vasseur the satisfaction that the car is now going in the right direction. It's safe to say that the car is still not what one would call 'a Red Bull beater,' but the foundation is there from which better results could be built.
What needs to be seen now is how good the race pace is for the Italian team. While the team has struggled with long-run competitiveness in general, the race in Canada was a completely different story. The team will be aiming for a podium this weekend and a more competitive 2023 F1 Austrian GP.
Loser
George Russell
Ever since the upgraded version of the Mercedes has been introduced, George Russell has found it hard to keep up with Lewis Hamilton. What's worse is that the Q2 elimination means there is an uphill climb for the young driver already at the start of the 2023 F1 Austrian GP race weekend.
Russell has been struggling for form in the last few races and it's safe to say that this result will provide him the much-needed boost.
Winner
Lando Norris and Nico Hulkenberg
Talk about completely overshadowing your teammates, this was exactly what Lando Norris and Nico Hulkenberg did at the 2023 F1 Austrian GP qualifying. The upgraded McLaren seems to be working in Norris' favor but it would be foolish to think that the car is quicker than a Mercedes or an Aston Martin. That is just not the case. This is the driver making a difference, especially since his young teammate does not make it to Q3.
Hulkenberg, on his part, was struggling in FP1 and Q1 to hook a lap together but as he gained confidence, you could see that German was just pulling out laps that the Haas was not capable of producing. For the second weekend in a row, it was Hulkenberg reaching Q3 while teammate Kevin Magnussen could not even reach Q2.
Loser
The track limit policing
It shouldn't be this hard for an F1 driver to stay within the white lines, isn't it? And it was certainly passed the point of pre-meditation or taking an advantage where certain drivers had their laps docked. There is a bigger debate to be had around track geometry where the white lines might just not be physically possible to adhere. Especially on a race weekend where we have to wait for 5 mins after a session to see how many drivers have lost their laps.
Somewhere the FIA might need a rethink because these many interventions take away from the 'show' and while it is interesting once or twice, the extended run is just not fun in any which way.
