Before the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix weekend began, I posted five prediction polls on the Lights Out twitter account. How many of the questions did you get right? Find out below!
1. HOW CLOSE TO A 60 SECOND LAP WILL THE POLE TIME BE?
1. How close to a 60 second lap will this year's #AustrianGP pole time be? (Last year's pole time was a 1:03.130) #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) June 27, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: LESS THAN 2.499 SECONDS AWAY
CORRECT ANSWER: OVER 3 SECONDS AWAY
Charles Leclerc took pole position for the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix with a lap time of 1:03.003 – which was not as much of a jump in pace from last year as many had expected. Leclerc’s time was 0.127 seconds faster than Valtteri Bottas’ pole time from 2018.
2. WHERE WILL THE BEST-PLACED McLAREN QUALIFY?
2. Where will the best-placed McLaren qualify for the #AustrianGP? #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) June 27, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 7TH
CORRECT ANSWER: IN THE TOP 6
For a second race in a row, there was a McLaren in the top six on the grid! While Carlos Sainz had engine penalties and qualified only fifteenth, Lando Norris reached Q3 for a third consecutive race and qualified in sixth. Kevin Magnussen’s five-place grid penalty saw Norris start from fifth for a second consecutive race.
3. WILL EITHER HAAS DRIVER SCORE?
3. Will either Haas driver score a point in the #AustrianGP? #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) June 27, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: NO
CORRECT ANSWER: NO
It was another point-less weekend for Haas. Though Kevin Magnussen qualified in a fantastic fifth, he was demoted five places on the grid to tenth. The Dane then picked up a drive-through penalty for being out of position on the grid and ultimately finished only nineteenth, behind the Williams of George Russell. Romain Grosjean also lost places from where he started in the Grand Prix. Having started eleventh, he slipped to sixteenth by the end of the race. Haas now sit ninth in the Constructors’ Championship and have not scored a point in any of the last three races.
4. WILL BOTH RED BULL DRIVERS SCORE?
4. Will both Red Bull drivers score at the #AustrianGP? #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) June 27, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: YES
CORRECT ANSWER: YES
65% of you backed both Red Bull drivers to score this weekend, and you were correct. Max Verstappen won the race, while Pierre Gasly was lapped by his team-mate and picked up six points for finishing in seventh.
5. HOW MANY DRIVERS WILL COMPLETE EVERY LAP?
5. How many drivers will complete every lap of Sunday's #AustrianGP? #LightsOutF1Predictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) June 27, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 12 OR MORE
CORRECT ANSWER: 5 OR LESS
Though all twenty drivers reached the end of the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, only the top five drivers completed all 71 laps of the race. Last season, only the three drivers on the podium finished on the lead lap.
Let us know how you got on with this race’s predictions! There’ll be more at the next race, follow us on twitter to take part: @LightsOutF1Blog!