The streak of wet qualifying sessions continues to the Austrian GP as the rain is predicted to hit the surface over the weekend.
Built on the Styrian mountains the weather at the Austrian GP is always interesting. Following wet qualifying sessions in Canada and Britain, the trend is predicted to continue this weekend in Spielberg.
This time, however, the rain will not be on Saturday but on Friday and Sunday. This means that the tyre wear would be increased and those in the pit wall will have a hard time creating strategies.
After the British GP, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is leading the Drivers’ championship with 181 points. While his rival Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc stands at P3 for the time being with 138 points.
Austrian GP stats for current drivers: pic.twitter.com/naEyCZEp9m
— Enzo (@Aperta) July 6, 2022
Leclerc would be looking to climb up to P2 which is currently taken by Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez with 147 points.
Meanwhile, after taking his maiden Grand Prix win at Silverstone Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz would also be looking to climb up the ladder and make place for himself in the title battle.
Furthermore, Mercedes will also be aiming to move up the grid after getting off to a poor start to the 2022 season.
But with a rainy weekend ahead, it comes down to the strategies that the teams will make to get the best results. Here’s how exactly will the weather influence the Austrian GP.
Also Read: Relationship between Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel has F1 Twitter smitten
Austrian GP Weather Forecast: Will rain shake up the grid ahead of the outing at the Red Bull Ring?
As per weather forecasts, Friday is expected to have a wet start. As the weekend comes with Sprint racing, the qualifying is scheduled for Friday. Therefore, with wet tracks, it will be interesting to watch the teams’ tyre strategies.
Temperatures are expected to peak at 19 degrees Celsius, although 11mph winds will bring this down on Friday.
Saturday, the day of Sprint racing will begin with partly cloudy weather. The temperature would be 23 degrees Celsius and there is only a seven per cent chance of rain. Meaning the conditions would be optimal for racing.
On Sunday though the racing would be in the water as per the forecast. The threat of rain ranges from 20-50 per cent across the day. However, it is predicted that it is most likely to rain in the morning.
Wind again remains around the 8mph mark and temperatures will hit 21 degrees Celsius.
Also Read: When Fernando Alonso landed on top of Iceman’s Ferrari at 2015 Austrian Grand Prix