The Good – Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg managed to continue his fantastic week, rolling on from his victory at Le Mans, with an extremely competitive fifth place on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix. He split the two Williams drivers, who had locked out the front row of this grid in 2014, with the final lap of an eventful qualifying on the difficult and evolving Red Bull ring. The feat seems all the more impressive when you consider that his teammate Sergio Perez failed to make it out of Q1.

Hulkenberg Quote: “This track can sometimes spring surprises and we still don’t know what the weather will do tomorrow, but if we maximise things I’m sure we can score some good points.”

The Bad – Kimi Raikkonen & Ferrari

What looked to be a positive weekend for Ferrari took a turn for the worse in qualifying and in particular for Kimi Raikkonen. He managed to find himself eliminated in Q1 and in a lowly 18th place, he will move up places on the grid as a result of penalties to other drivers however this will offer little comfort to a driver that will once again find himself having to fight his way through the field. Raikkonen may find slight resolve in his genuine long run pace on the soft tyre but with unpredictable weather scheduled for the race this may prove to offer false hope. What’s worse is Raikkonen seemingly blaming his team for his elimination.

Raikkonen Quote: “When I went out for my last run in Q1, the team informed me that I could do three timed laps, but then the plan was changed and I did not get the information. Therefore we missed one lap completely and I was knocked out.”

The Ugly – Jenson Button & McLaren

Jenson Button will face another huge penalty for the second race in a row after his start from last and his drive through penalty in Canada. The same fate has been bestowed upon the 2009 World Champion in Austria where, on a grid of 20 cars, he has been handed a 25-place grid penalty after having his power unit changed. Following a 15-place penalty in Canada and his consequent DNF it’s hard to see the positives for Button and McLaren so far this season and it would take something spectacular to imagine that the Red Bull ring will change that. Along with Alonso’s 20-place grid penalty, this represents a total 45-place grid penalty for McLaren this weekend, which now includes two drive through penalties, as the grid penalties cannot be fulfilled.

Button Quote: “Sunday, who knows? With penalties, you sort of really need a safety car to bring you back into the game. Hopefully that will be the case and we can race.”