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With eight rounds of the 2018 Formula One season done, it's time to head to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for the 2018 Austrian GP. Lewis Hamilton has managed to edge out a lead over Sebastian Vettel, but the Ferrari driver still fights on.
The midfield battle is tense as well, with McLaren, Toro Rosso, Haas, Renault and Force India all vying for the best of the rest spot. Even Sauber has been having an exciting season as Charles LeClerc proves again and again why he is one of the most talented drivers out there.
Anything can happen still in this championship, but exactly what? Will the Red Bulls have a great or a terrible home race? Will Lewis or Seb run away with the championship anytime soon or are others still in the game? Could we see some midfield teams have some success? It's hard to tell, but like always that won't stop us from guessing what will go down in Austria.
#1 Verstappen gets Pole
Currently sixth in the drivers' championship with three podiums to his name this year, the young Dutchman has been having a real up and down season. While he is no doubt a talented driver, Verstappen has never yet taken a pole position in his F1 career, but that just may change on Saturday.
Austria is a relatively high down-force track, which suits the Red Bull cars, and both he and Daniel Ricciardo are known to take advantage of any opportunity they get. This will be a home race for Red Bull, and in some ways for Max as there will be a lot of Dutch fans at the track.
That could be what it takes to pop Max over the line and hopefully hand the Dutchman his very first pole position. Max has carved out a huge fan base for himself and has proved his talent with 3 wins in his career, but he hasn't done one from pole and has always had to fight his way through the field. One wonders how a race might look with a defending Max rather than an attacking one.
If he gets pole like we predict on Saturday, it could make for a very interesting race.
#2 Hamilton Starts below P5
While Lewis Hamilton has the lead in the championship and three wins so far this season, it might not be that he starts of his weekend in Austria in the same fashion. At the Red Bull Ring, it seems that the home team will be extremely well suited to the track. No doubt the Ferraris will have a good chance and will be out for vengeance after a middling French Grand Prix.
While Mercedes will certainly have a competitive car, and Hamilton is always a competitive driver, it seems like a perfect storm of things coming together to put the four-time champ out of his element. Even in his own team, Valtteri Bottas will be extra motivated to put on a show after a poor race in France.
Therefore with all of these factors in mind, we believe that both Red Bulls, both Ferraris and the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas will place ahead of Hamilton in qualifying, leaving the title contender to start his race from P6 at best.
#3 Force India's first Double Points Finish
One of the greatest success stories of the 2017 F1 season was that of the smaller Force India outfit being able to hold back a lot of their competitors and challenge the top three teams at times to secure P4 in the championship.
This year, their campaign doesn't seem to be going as well as they currently sit sixth in the constructor's championship and have failed to earn a double points finish in the season to date.
We believe that this will change on Sunday. Just a week after a double retirement in France, it's time for the Indian team to get their stuff together and prove their mettle. They have managed a podium in Baku already, and a lot of their woes have come through no fault of their own, i.e. the crash between Ocon & Gasly in France.
Therefore if the Pink Panthers manage to keep external circumstances under control, we should see both Ocon & Perez in the points for the first time this season.
#4 A Renault 3-4
One of the most interesting sights of the 2018 French Grand Prix was that of Carlos Sainz running in P3 after the carnage that was the first lap. This was one of those instances that showed the skill of a driver like Sainz who normally doesn't get to show it due to the difference in performance of his car versus the top teams.
This might be a bit of foreshadowing however as just a week after a very neutral home Grand Prix, we could see the French outfit make news and secure their best finish of the season. Both Hulkenberg & Sainz demonstrated their potential in France as they battled their way to eighth and ninth despite a number of problems and a very chaotic race.
If chaos strikes again in Austria, this time maybe later in the race, we believe that the ones to take advantage will be the bold black and yellow cars driven by Sainz & Hulkenberg, securing at least one podium.
#5 Ricciardo Makes it Three a Piece
As of the end of the 2018 French GP, Lewis Hamilton & Sebastian Vettel both have three wins this season. While they are the two favourites to win the championship, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo certainly has an outside chance to swoop in and run away with it.
Of course, this would take some serious driving and a fair amount of misfortune, but this is F1 and it has happened before & can happen again. The Australian already has two wins this season, coming at China & Monaco, and considering how opportunistic of a driver he is, he could surely strike again in Austria.
The Red Bull outfit's car seems aptly suited to the Red Bull Ring this year, meaning that Ricciardo will have a fighting chance. Furthermore, if Ricciardo does manage to get another win, it will ensure that he remains in the championship with a fighting chance for now. The Australian has shown in the past that a chance is all he needs, and we believe he'll get one this Sunday in Austria!
