"Did Aston Martin and Mercedes underperform?" - Karun Chandhok speculates why Ferrari and McLaren surged in Austria

Former F1 driver-turned-presenter Karun Chandhok has dissected how Mercedes and Aston Martin underperformed at the 2023 F1 Austrian GP, which somewhat made both the Ferraris and Lando Norris' McLaren look particularly strong.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, the Indian presenter explained his theory of how Mercedes were not too comfortable with their setup and struggled throughout the weekend. This made the Ferraris and Lando Norris look even stronger at the Red Bull Ring.

He said:

"It was a strange weekend, though, wasn't it? I was trying to get my head around it this morning because, did Aston and Mercedes underperform, which made Ferrari look better than they did and therefore made McLaren a little better?

"I think there is an element of that. I think that the Mercedes didn't ever seem comfortable, never got the car in a setup window that they were happy with; their slow speed rotation wasn't great; and I think that somewhat flattered Lando and the Ferraris a bit."

Furthermore, he analyzed how these drastic changes in performance between Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari could be heavily circuit-dependent. He believes that Mercedes and Aston Martin will regain their positions in the pecking order at Silverstone, while Ferrari could fall behind.

Chandhok concluded:

"I'll be interested to see when we get to Silverstone, which is a very different circuit, obviously flat, no elevation changes, very high speed...I'm very skeptical about looking at one race and saying, this is now the form guide, and Ferrari now has the second fastest car.

"I just think that the midfield pack between Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston is so tight that there are certain weekends at certain circuits and conditions that suit one or the other, but we'll have to see as the updates come through."

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Fernando Alonso shares reasons behind Aston Martin's poor performance at Austrian GP

Fernando Alonso did not have the best race weekend at the Red Bull Ring, as he finished fifth, behind both Red Bulls. He too speculated that their poor performance could have been due to the track's characteristics not suiting Aston Martin's AMR23 and other teams bringing upgrades to the race, specifically Ferrari and McLaren.

He told the media after the Austrian GP:

"Last year, Aston struggled a lot in Austria as well. So there are some similarities from last year as well – Haas here was very fast. I think it was sixth and seventh on the grid last year. They were fast this year, too.

"So a little bit of the circuit, and a little bit of the upgrades that everyone else brought here. But yeah, we should not be too worried. We have another opportunity next week."

Fernando Alonso still retains third place in the drivers' championship table with 131 points, but is chased by Lewis Hamilton with an improved W14 with 106 points.