2022 F1 Austrian GP: Teammate Wars!
The F1 Austrian GP concluded what was essentially the first half of the 2022 F1 season. Charles Leclerc made a slight dent in Max Verstappen's rather impressive championship lead as he beat him fair and square. But that's not what we're here for. We're not here for the battles between two drivers driving different cars, we're here for the battle between two drivers driving the same car.
We're here to see how the teammates fared against each other at the F1 Austrian GP and how the scores stack up with half of the season in the rear view mirror.
2022 F1 Austrian GP: Intra-team battles
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell (4-7)
Winner: Lewis Hamilton
Post-race in Austria with the Boss 😁🐺😂 https://t.co/jALtBb18g8
Lewis Hamilton is slowly but surely turning up the volume at Mercedes and George Russell is finding it increasingly harder to stay ahead. Hamilton had a couple of tenths in his pocket throughout qualifying, but the crash destroyed his hopes of a front-row start.
Russell slipped up at the start of the F1 Austrian GP when he bumped Perez off the track, which saw him suffer car damage. Additionally, he had to serve a 5-second penalty.
It was a less than optimal weekend for both drivers but in the end, Lewis edged this one.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen vs Sergio Perez (10-1)
Winner: Max Verstappen
Ever since Max Verstappen sorted out his qualifying troubles at the Canadian GP, there has been no looking back. Verstappen is back to enjoying a comfortable buffer over Perez while the Mexican continues to play the role of second fiddle Red Bull expects from him.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc vs Carlos Sainz (9-2)
Winner: Charles Leclerc
#AustrianGP#Tifosi, @Charles_Leclerc has a message for you after his win 🏆❤️
#essereFerrari 🔴 #AustrianGP https://t.co/aIWDRMhPCx
Ferrari may need to take a look at our teammate wars numbers to understand that it is time to anoint Leclerc as the championship contender. Sainz has gotten closer to Leclerc as compared to the earlier races, but each driver's peak is just at different levels.
Leclerc had Sainz covered more or less throughout the weekend and thus took the dub for the F1 Austrian GP.
McLaren
Lando Norris vs Daniel Ricciardo (9-2)
Winner: Lando Norris
Points for both McLaren drivers at the F1 Austrian GP is a result that the team did not expect after a rough Friday. Both drivers rallied to score points, with Ricciardo looking much more comfortable this time around than at Silverstone.
Having said that, Norris had Ricciardo covered all weekend and was the better McLaren driver.
Alpine
Fernando Alonso vs Esteban Ocon (5-6)
Winner: Esteban Ocon
Fernando Alonso was the fastest of the two Alpine drivers, while Esteban Ocon was the most methodical. Once Alonso and Alpine stop finding ways to mess up a promising weekend, the Spaniard might be able to stretch his legs against the French driver. For now, though, Ocon enjoys a 23-point lead over Alonso in the championship.
Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel/Nico Hulkenberg vs Lance Stroll (10-1)
Winner: Sebastian Vettel
It was tough to judge a race where Sebastian Vettel was the fastest driver in both the sprint and F1 Austrian GP but was punted off the track on both occasions. Lance Stroll was his usual steady self this weekend and had a decent pace throughout the weekend. Was he the fastest driver at Aston Martin? It's hard to say yes to that one.
AlphaTauri
Pierre Gasly vs Yuki Tsunoda (7-4)
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda
It's not often that we say that Pierre Gasly had a Yuki-Tsunoda-type weekend. He messed up a strong P10 start in the sprint and made an error similar to what Russell did at Silverstone.
In the F1 Austrian GP, Gasly uncharacteristically bumped Vettel off the track and would be forced to serve a 5-second penalty. Neither driver looked good this weekend but Gasly had a rougher weekend.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas vs Guanyu Zhou (9-2)
Winner: Valtteri Bottas
Post race catch up with @ValtteriBottas 👀
#AustrianGP https://t.co/Gi1vkg4P9I
It was an impressive drive from Bottas to climb his way through the field and almost score a point for Alfa Romeo. Guanyu Zhou has been getting better and is starting to get closer to Bottas day by day. This weekend, though, Bottas had the legs on him even though it wasn't by much.
Williams
Alex Albon vs Nicholas Latifi (9-2)
Winner: Alex Albon
The sprint was a rather poor display by Alex Albon as he first bumped Lando Norris off the track and then thumped Vettel off the track. The F1 Austrian GP was a different story as the Williams driver kept his nose clean and was very close to scoring another point for the team.
Once again, it was Albon who was the standout driver at Williams as Latifi had another anonymous weekend.
Haas F1
Mick Schumacher vs Kevin Magnussen (6-5)
Winner: Mick Schumacher
Biggest smile of the day goes to the Driver of the Day! 😁😁😁
#HaasF1 #AustrianGP
https://t.co/K1JMI3SlV9
This was one of the more complete weekends for Mick Schumacher as the driver was able to demonstrate strong potential throughout the weekend. This was a race where Mick Schumacher won the trust of Haas and it will be interesting to see how he builds on it in the upcoming races.