2023 Austrian GP: British Drivers’ Performance Amid Track Limits Controversy

The Austrian Grand Prix is almost here, and Red Bull Racing hopes Max Verstappen can dominate again like last year. For the British drivers, it marked a turning point for McLaren with Lando Norris shining, while Mercedes had a rough weekend. But the organizers are not thrilled about a repeat due to the track limits mess that happened.

How the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix Played Out:

Verstappen led throughout the Spielberg weekend. The 2023 Grand Prix was also a sprint race, so there was just one practice session where he topped the charts. He also secured pole position in qualifying.

McLaren saw some improvement at Red Bull Ring as Norris grabbed P4 ahead of Hamilton in P5. Alex Albon impressed by making it out of Q2 and qualifying tenth, while George Russell struggled and ended up in P11.

In sprint race qualifying, Verstappen was fastest again with Perez beside him on the front row. Norris secured an impressive P3. Albon qualified P11, ahead of both Mercedes cars—Russell didn’t set a time in SQ2 and finished P15; Hamilton only managed P18 after failing to get out of SQ1.

At the start of the sprint race, Verstappen kept his lead despite nearly colliding with Perez who went wide and lost places but later recovered. Norris had a tough sprint race, dropping from P3 to finish ninth and out of points. Russell climbed seven spots to finish eighth just ahead of Norris, with Hamilton right behind in tenth place. Albon came in thirteenth.

Sunday’s race saw Verstappen’s dominance continue as he built such a big lead that he pitted late for fresh tires to secure the fastest lap point too! Leclerc finished second followed by Perez. Unlike his sprint performance, Norris held onto his starting position in fourth place earning valuable points for McLaren—fans were pleased! Russell and Hamilton could only manage seventh and eighth respectively; Albon narrowly missed scoring points finishing eleventh.

Track Limits Debacle Throughout The Weekend:

The biggest talking point was track limits violations—initially counted at 100 but later revealed to be over 1,200 after Aston Martin protested! This led to results being finalized five hours post-race as FIA calculated numerous penalties handed out which shuffled positions for fourteen drivers afterward

What do you think about all these penalties?