Focus on... Who will hit back hardest?
The fallout from Baku still lingers as Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton prepare to face-off once more in Austria this weekend, two weeks after their controversial clash under the Safety Car during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Vettel received what might just be his favourite birthday present to date as the FIA opted to draw a line under the German's "road rage" incident and not penalise him further after he took full responsibility for his actions earlier this week in a private meeting with FIA president Jean Todt in Paris.
Vettel's swipe at Hamilton, and the punishment (or lack of) he received has divided opinion in the paddock. A formal apology was swiftly published on Vettel's website, while Hamilton is yet to formally respond to the FIA's decision. We've seen respectful, bromance-like embraces and praise exchanged between Vettel and Hamilton this year, but Baku could have signalled an end to the pleasantries. We imagine Hamilton will not be bringing Vettel any belated birthday gifts in Austria, and with the matter officially closed off-track at least, the focus now switches onto the resumption of a title battle which has been ramped up another gear.
Championship leader Vettel will need to be on his best behaviour at the Red Bull Ring as he faces the prospect of a potential ban from the British Grand Prix if he racks up three more penalty points on his F1 superlicence this weekend. Hamilton, meanwhile, once again finds himself chasing down his title rival in the standings after finishing behind Vettel on track in Baku -- a result which enabled Vettel to extend his championship lead.
Mercedes has enjoyed recent success in Austria, picking up three consecutive victories since the circuit returned to the calendar in 2014. As the fourth shortest track on the calendar (behind only Brazil, Mexico and Monaco), the Red Bull Ring takes just 68 seconds to navigate with emphasis placed on the need for good traction and straight-line speed. This, theoretically at least, should place Mercedes in prime position, as long as its "diva" W08 does not play up again.
Austria provides another chance to evaluate whether Mercedes has finally ironed out its car's inconsistencies following strong performances in Canada and Baku, or if the return of Pirelli's softest compound, the ultra-soft tyre, will expose tyre performance and warm-up related issues that cropped up most notably in Monaco and on Hamiton's side of the garage in Russia. 2017 continues to deliver exciting and unpredictable races in which nobody in the pit lane truly knows whether Ferrari or Mercedes will come out on top. Austria should prove to be yet another fascinating race weekend, while the intrigue surrounding the battle between Vettel and Hamilton adds another entertaining dimension.
In need of a win
As stated in our Azerbaijan Grand Prix preview, consider Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen as read in this section until he wins a race in 2017. While it could be argued Sebastian Vettel heads into this weekend under the most pressure -- and possibly at a disadvantage psychologically -- the facts remain that the German walked away from Baku two points better off in the championship standings than he was going into it.
The pendulum of ill-fortune dealt Lewis Hamilton a harsh blow in Baku, with his chances of taking what looked to be a certain win ultimately compounded by a pesky loose headrest. Had Hamilton gone on to take victory he could have been heading to Austria with a slender advantage in the title race, assuming Vettel finished fourth. Instead, Hamilton has slipped 14 points adrift of Vettel. That is far from an unsurmountable task, with Hamilton able to turn around a much greater deficit at one stage last year, though he will be keen to claw back some points on his chief rival fast.
In need of points
For Jolyon Palmer, now really is the time to deliver. Under increasing pressure, Palmer faces growing rumours he could be about to be replaced at Renault mid-season. While the Briton's disastrous weekend in Baku was none of his own doing, he will be looking to recover from his Azerbaijan Grand Prix nightmare by scoring his first points of the season -- and just his second points finish in F1 -- in Austria. A top ten finish in a car capable of regularly reaching the points would provide a timely momentum boost ahead of his home race at Silverstone.
ESPN prediction
Lewis Hamilton has made it known he relishes a challenge and a gritty fight against fellow top drivers, and he certainly has his hands full this season. The Briton usually performs best when the chips are down and the opportunity to try and get under Sebastian Vettel's skin will only drive him on further. For those reasons, coupled with the fact Hamilton needs to make in-roads on Vettel's championship lead, we are backing the Mercedes driver to claim his second victory in Austria.
Betting
The favourite to claim victory in Spielberg is Lewis Hamilton at 8/11, while you can find Sebastian Vettel at 12/5 and Valtteri Bottas at 9/2. If you are backing Max Verstappen to replicate his 2016 podium finish to seal some home joy for Red Bull, his odds of making the podium stand at 11/4. Despite taking McLaren's first points of the season last time out in Baku, Fernando Alonso is joint-favourite to become the first retirement on Sunday at 10/1 -- alongside teammate Stoffel Vandoorne.
Weather
The Red Bull Ring's unique location within the mountains of Spielberg makes attempting to predict weather conditions particularly hard. Heavy rain hit last year's event during second practice on Friday, before falling again ahead of Q3. This weekend's forcecast indicates we could see more rain in Austria, with scattered thunderstorms likely on both Thursday and Friday. The outlook should improve as the weekend progresses, however, with sunny conditions and highs of 29 degrees Celsius expected on Saturday.
Tyres
Available compounds: ultra-soft, super-soft and soft
Tyre facts, courtesy of Pirelli:
• Track was entirely resurfaced in 2016: it's one of the smoothest surfaces of the year.
• Tyre nominations are the same as last year: both one and two stops could be possible.
• The local geography means there's a high risk of uncertain weather all weekend.
• Some graining was seen last year on ultrasoft but this is very unlikely with the new generation 2017 tyres, with almost zero graining so far this season.
• The first two sectors are fast and flowing, the final sector is slower and more technical.
• There's plenty of elevation, including some tricky uphill braking that is easy to get wrong.
Mario Isola, head of car racing, said: "The natural selection for this type of circuit is the three softest compounds in the range. Having said that, we've seen in the past that Austria also has the capability to spring a few surprises. When we get there we'll see if one stops or two are more likely, but it will be important for teams to build some flexibility into the strategies as well.
Longitudinal forces -- so traction and braking -- are the key aspects in Austria, rather than cornering. In spite of that, there's still a good chance of the lap record coming down, as we saw in Baku."