Austrian GP predictions: Piastri’s podium chances, Mercedes to beat Ferrari and Haas in the points

The big question facing everyone: Can anyone stop Max Verstappen on Sunday?

The 2024 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix will bring to a close a frenetic weekend at the Red Bull Ring. With an unbeatable Max Verstappen, Lando Norris in the hunt and a tight battle between Mercedes and Ferrari, will anyone be able to stop the World Champion at the home of Red Bull?

We at PlanetF1.com have predicted the top 10 positions for the Austrian GP 2024. And we encourage you, our readers, to make your own predictions for Sunday’s race as well.

2024 Austrian Grand Prix predictions

10. Esteban Ocon

Yet another Q3 qualifying for Alpine. After being held up in the Sprint race by Lance Stroll, they have a great opportunity today to unlock their true potential in the long run. Still, P9 is the maximum they are aiming for with all the Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari men ahead of them.

9. Nico Hülkenberg

Given Kevin Magnussen’s strong performance in yesterday’s Sprint race and that of both Haas drivers in qualifying, there is every reason to believe that the German can be the best of the rest.

The Alpines, after a great Sprint quali yesterday, could not match the pace of Haas, but as mentioned above, they were held up by Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin. Perhaps Ocon can hunt him down, but we give the benefit of the doubt to the future Audi driver.

8. Sergio Perez

The Red Bull driver is off the pace of the men in the lead all weekend. In all honesty, we don’t expect him to be aiming for much more in the Austrian race. It is certainly a shame to say this, but there is no reason to think he can beat either Mercedes or Ferrari unless they make mistakes. It will depend on external factors to be able to move up the field.

7. Charles Leclerc

It has been a difficult weekend for Charles Leclerc. After failing to set a time in SQ3 of the Sprint qualifying to start 10th and despite a good start in the Sprint race, the overheating brakes of the SF-24 prevented him from attacking the Mercedes and Ferrari group.

Tomorrow he is also expected to have a difficult race, being last in the group of the Silver Arrows and the Italian team. Ferrari’s pace yesterday, conditioned by the lift and coast, was rather poor. Mercedes was slightly ahead, especially as the laps went by.

6. Carlos Sainz

Yes, we think this will be Ferrari’s highest position in Austria. They seem to have made a small jump in qualifying with Carlos in P4, but in a long race we think Mercedes have a bit more to offer in terms of pace.

A result that is likely to be very disappointing, but actually a podium is a very optimistic result this weekend in Austria. Still, they should be in the fight for P4 and P5.

5. Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton is having a good weekend, but he hasn’t been able to overtake his teammate and Carlos Sainz so far. Still, we think the W15’s slight advantage over the SF-24 in pace will allow him to at least overtake the Spanish Ferrari driver.

Perhaps he can also hold off Oscar Piastri and fight for a higher place, but P5 is a good result for him and Mercedes to cut points off Ferrari in the Constructors’ World Championship.

4. Oscar Piastri

The Australian driver is having a very good weekend. Actually, he should start P3 for ‘pure’ pace, but he exceeded the track limits on his last lap of Q3 and will have to come back from P7 on Sunday.

He has a long way to recover and the rivals ahead of him also have a decent pace. However, we believe that McLaren has something more and that Piastri’s comeback to P4 is possible. Perhaps dreaming of a podium finish is maybe just too optimistic.

Key takeaways from the Austrian Grand Prix weekend so far

 Austrian GP Quali: Data reveals the two corners that make Max Verstappen unbeatable

 The data statistic that shows extent of Aston Martin’s position losses in Austria

3. George Russell

The Mercedes driver has had a very solid weekend so far at the Red Bull Ring. After a well-deserved P4 leading the pack of Silver Arrows and Ferrari in the Sprint race, we think a podium is a realistic result for the British driver.

With this result, Mercedes could finally say loud and clear that they are already ahead of Ferrari in terms of performance.

2. Lando Norris

While Lando Norris has to be optimistic about having a chance to win, he also has to be realistic. Whether or not he can attack and overtake Verstappen as he did in the Sprint race, sooner or later Max Verstappen will always have the opportunity to attack him again. P2 is the most realistic result for him and he should be happy with that.

1. Max Verstappen

Nobody can stop Verstappen in Austria. Unless he has a run off track or an engine failure he will be the winner at the Red Bull Ring. The RB20 is on top of the MCL38 this weekend and Max is in an unmatched state of confidence.

The Milton Keynes based-team’s tyre wear was also very promising and everything is in Max’s favour as he has a whole orange grandstand behind him.

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