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The 2023 F1 Austrian GP race weekend ended up being a great overall weekend, where both the sprint as well as main race on Sunday kept everyone hooked.
While it was Max Verstappen who won both races, it would be incorrect to say that all of it was a walk in the park for the Red Bull driver.
There were challenges, there was rain, and there were strategic errors as well that Verstappen had to overcome. Fortunately for him, he was able to get all of that done and complete a double for Red Bull in its home race.
With the 2023 F1 Austrian GP now done and dusted, who would be satisfied with how the weekend went, and who would be a bit disappointed? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Austrian GP
Winner
Max Verstappen
The 2023 F1 Austrian GP was just a reminder of how cerebral Max Verstappen is right now. This was his fifth win in a row, and we're reaching a stage in F1 where the driver's wins are almost an inevitability.
It's not as if Verstappen did not face a challenge all weekend, he did. The issue is his tenacious nature, where he won't make a mistake and lose potentially maximum points.
We're looking at an all-time great season in F1, and it would be a surprise if Max Verstappen does not break a few records by the time the 2023 F1 season is done.
Loser
Mercedes
This was a bad weekend for Mercedes, and what made it worse was the fact that the 2023 F1 Austrian GP is Toto Wolff's home race as well.
The team was just nowhere, and after two successive races where a podium was achieved, this was one big reality check for the German team.
Winner
McLaren
McLaren getting a P5 result by beating both Mercedes and Aston Martin is an amazing achievement. The fact that this was done, especially in the upgraded machinery, makes this result even sweeter.
The Woking-based squad has not had the best of seasons, and the team would be a bit foolish to take this result at face value and rest on its laurels. Having said that, the result is a validation of the fact that the pace is there in the package.
Fortunately for McLaren, having a Red Bull ring specialist in the 2023 F1 Austrian GP helped a lot as he secured the results that the car was capable of.
The much-needed boost for the Woking-based squad was the overtake on Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes.
Loser
Haas
Haas is slowly starting to have a driver problem where Nico Hulkenberg continues to give the team hope by showing what's possible with the package in qualifying.
Unfortunately for the team, as soon as the car does more than a lap, it eats up its tires. While Nico Hulkenberg helped secure a few points in the sprint of the 2023 F1 Austrian GP, the race was a complete embarrassment.
What if teams like Red Bull or aAudi are keeping an eye on Hulkenberg and what he's doing with Haas? Could they be interested in picking up an aged veteran? If they did, the American team would be without its lead driver for the next season.
Winner
Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc did not have the most competitive weekends in terms of pace, but he will take the 2023 F1 Austrian GP result with both hands. Especially since this is his best result of the season.
The driver is not confident in the car he's driving at the moment, and the race on Sunday showed it even more as Sainz was very competitive against him.
For Leclerc, this result should prove to be the building for coming races, as the driver will be hoping to build on the confidence from this weekend.
Loser
Carlos Sainz
The Spaniard has to be gutted and frustrated at the loss of a podium, but in all fairness, he might have only himself to blame. Getting a five-second penalty was criminal. So was him getting out qualified by Leclerc on Friday.
If Sainz was ahead of Leclerc after the first lap of the race, would he have been the one finishing the race in P2?
It's highly likely that it would have happened, and that is why there is certainly a school of thought where the Spaniard will be kicking himself today.
