Three Lessons of a Weekend at Spielberg

1. Facing at the top

Max Verstappen vs. Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel vs. Fernando Alonso or even the internal duel between Nico Rosberg and Hamilton – Formula 1 has seen some legendary duels in the recent past. Since Turn 3 at Spielberg at the latest, the premier class of motorsport has known the following rivalry, a duel between two friends who currently drive the fastest cars and who never give up on each other. Under normal circumstances, there would be a duel for the win at every race in 2024: the race between Lando Norris and defending champion Verstappen. Since the Dutchman’s dramatic first title in 2021, the race has rarely been as hotly debated as it is in Spielberg. Next weekend at Silverstone, everyone will be watching the battle between good friends who have become increasingly rivals.

2. Stress in the driver's field

As hotly debated as the battle at the top is, the place at the bottom was also worth it. Mercedes finally seems to be back on track – George Russell’s Grand Prix win can only give the team more momentum at this point. And while Ferrari is currently on hold, the other teams are catching up from week to week, as the performances of Haas and Alpine have shown. Saturday’s qualifying showed just how close Formula 1 has become in season three since the rule change. In Q1, the first stage of qualifying, all 20 drivers were within 0.798 seconds of each other – a record since the system was introduced.

Scene 3 in Spielberg

The 302,000 fans witnessed the usual spectacle of the weekend not only on the track, but also off it. Celebrating in the campsites, the parade of legends with historic cars or the modern national anthem by Hans Zimmer – Spielberg can do Formula 1, and he has proven it again impressively in 2024. One of the reasons why ticket sales for the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, which started on Monday, are already at their peak.