FORMULA 1 EYETIME GROSSER PREIS VON ÖSTERREICH 2018 - PRACTICE 2

FORMULA 1 EYETIME GROSSER PREIS VON ÖSTERREICH 2018 - PRACTICE 1

2018 Austrian Grand Prix preview

Austrian GP 1997

The Austrian GP is here again! I have been in Austria and I absolutely love the whole country. A very special and beautiful place so why not combine it with Formula One? ;)

What do we remember from this track?

4 years ago Felipe Massa took pole position and Valtteri Bottas was second in qualifying. Everybody were stunned. In the race the Mercs got ahead with Nico Rosberg as the winner and Lewis Hamilton 2nd. Valtteri Bottas was 3rd and Felipe Massa was 4th.




























In 2014 it was also the first time in many years they raced in Austria. So when was the previous race before 2014? The answer is 2003! 

Michael Schumacher was fighting for the championship with Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya. They were no match for Michael and his Ferrari, so of course he won the race. Kimi was second and Juan Pablo retired from the race.

What kind of other memories do I have from this track then? I remember in 1998 when Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard took a 1-2 for McLaren and Schumacher was 3rd. Those three were fighting for the championship in 1998. In the end it was just Mika vs. Michael.

2 years ago it was also very interesting when the Mercs crashed on the last lap!! Hamilton tried to overtake Rosberg from the outside and then Rosberg just forced him off track. It was a very dirty move and it was very clear what he did. He blamed it on his brakes for some reason.

When Hamilton tried to come back on track Rosberg was in the way again and clearly on purpose. They crashed again and Rosberg lost his front wing and the lead as well! Hamilton was now flying and Rosberg dropped behind Verstappen and Räikkönen.

 
This year I believe that the Mercs will be on top and Red Bull might do a surprise and beat Ferrari! We shall wait and see.

Then it's time for my predictions. 

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

Fastest lap: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

Surprise: Red Bull will do better than Ferrari.