Verstappen will finish the mid-season with a win, as Verstappen leads the 11th Grand Prix from 22 in the green mountains Styria. Verstappen is currently 34 points ahead Sergio Perez, and 43 over Leclerc. Hamilton is 6th with 88 units.
Is it possible to finally have a three-way match? After 10 races that were dominated by Red Bull (7 wins) and Ferrari (3 wins), Mercedes hopes to transform its podiums (three for Hamilton and three for George Russell) into success.
One-seater, a unique aerodynamic design with narrow sidepods, has been a challenge for its British drivers since the beginning of the year. They finished behind Russell and Hamilton in the 5th and 6th places.
The Silver Arrows made new developments in England last week. They were able to see the possibility of winning.
Russell was not going to give up, but Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo wildly waltzed, and the other single-seater driven Sir Lewis nearly brought back the star brand. Hamilton was able to fight for the first time in this season's fight before finishing third.
A 104th win seems now more possible, even though an eighth world title is still a ways off.
Spielberg isn't a Mercedes track, but Toto Wolff, the Austrian team boss, reminds us that "it's very different from Silverstone, and which hasn't always worked for us in the past."
Mercedes has only won two races in Austria since 2018, when they were racing in the land of strudel. This is in contrast to the fast curves in England.
Verstappen is Austria's boss. His most successful circuit is F1, with four victories out of 26.
The circuit is known as the Red Bull Ring. The track is home to his Austrian team and holds no secrets. This track is the perfect place to bounce back from technical issues and take 7th at Silverstone. A sprint race with bonus points is planned for Saturday.
Verstappen, who will be in the stands with his thousands of supporters from the "Orange army" ready to invade every campsite in the region, will still be accompanied by them.
At 24 "Mad Max", Mad Max can move mid-season to its second title. The Batavian has a plan, especially since he said to De Telegraaf that he might quit in 2028 at the end his contract.
Verstappen will have eight titles if he wins a clear round. This is more than Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Charles Leclerc was 4th at Silverstone and took six points from Verstappen. It's not an exaggeration to say that the Monegasque doesn't like it.
He was the leader of the British race and could have hit a huge shot. Leclerc did not have to go to the pits when a safety car arrived. Despite heroic defense against Hamilton and Perez, his worn-out tires cost him the advantage.
Mattia Binotto defends the boss of the Scuderia, stating that if he had not stopped, our opponents would have done exactly the opposite and gained positions.
His Spanish teammate, who won his first GP last Thursday, is now the natural leader of Ferrari. He has returned to 11 points.
Sainz, however, was more distinguished by his frequent errors than Leclerc: Without Ferrari's engine problems, Leclerc would have won in Spain, Azerbaijan and Spain. His team's failures had already cost him victory at Monaco.
Its last victory in Australia was three months ago. It is urgent that this series of bad results be ended.
