Verstappen’s Austria Challenge: F1 2024 Preview

If Max Verstappen causes this Formula 1 weekend at the GP of Austria, the four-time world champion will run into a fourth penalty on his license and that means a suspension. It is precisely on the circuit in Austria that collisions are lurking between drivers.

And the collisions of Lewis Hamilton with Nico Rosberg in 2016 and Alexander Albon and Hamilton in 2020 can effortlessly remember many Formula 1 fans.

Kas Haverkort knows the Red Bull Ring in Austria like no other. This weekend he will be driving in Spielberg as a driver in the Porsche Supercup in the supporting act of the Formula 1 race.

“The circuit invites catch -up races,” says Haverkort. “There are many long, straight pieces, where drivers take advantage of the slipstream. That is why you arrive at a higher speed at the bend than the driver for you. And then it will be braking. In bend 2 you can, for example, come from far away and make an attempt to get past it. There is a lot of action, but there is also a lot going wrong.”

That is different from other circuits, says Haverkort. The Red Bull Ring is a kind of ‘Ellenboogbaan’. A circuit on which the drivers like to make a maneuver.

The 48-year-old Jaap van Lagen knows that too. He has been driving in the Porsche Supercup for years and explains that a mistake is made quickly.

“In our case you arrive at 280 kilometers per hour, in Formula 1 even at 330 or 340 kilometers per hour. And then you have to go back to a low speed for a bend (about 70 kilometers per hour). Then the braking point will be megabes. If you brake five meters late, that makes a big difference.

That is difficult in the first three real turns in Austria, says Van Lagen. “Those are the turns for which you go from a high to low speed. There are most collisions there.”

Especially in the first rounds. “Then the field is still close together. If one too late, a chain reaction will arise.”

According to the 21-year-old Haverkort, contact can be prevented, but that is not easy. “If you both think, you can prevent such a collision. But the touches often happen in a millisecond. Accident is in a small corner.”

“I have sometimes hit there,” says Van Lagen. “Someone behind me just didn’t get the car still on time and that made me a little on the bumper. But you only need a little tap. You don’t want you to hit someone, because when the other starts to spin, you get a punishment and then the race is lost.”

According to the experienced driver, and racing instructor, it is therefore necessary to keep your head cool. “Only then can you prevent this kind of collisions. But in the heat of the battle you sometimes notice that you are faster than the car in front of you and you smell your chance. Then you sometimes think that you can brake a little later.”

Van Lagen therefore advises young drivers not to catch up in every location in Austria. “I always say that they just have to follow the driver for them. Keep the pressure on it and wait for that one mistake. Then you have to strike. Because there are also many turns on the Red Bull Ring in which you really can’t catch up.”

Whether Verstappen will tie his ears for the upcoming race is just the question. “Of course he will try to catch up, although he will also have to think about his penalty points,” says Haverkort. “But knowing him he will do everything to win. If he gets the chance, he just goes for it.”

If Verstappen keeps a cool head, the Red Bull Racing driver will give himself some room for play. After the Grand Prix in Austria, two points expire on his license and Verstappen is back at nine. A weekend suspension follows at twelve points.