Mercedes’ power advantage at the Austrian GP was such that Fernando Alonso reckoned Felipe Massa was “playing” with him in the closing stages of Sunday’s race.
The Ferrari driver closed to within about a second of his former team-mate with a dozen of the race’s 71 laps to go before Massa calmly started to pull away again in his Mercedes-powered Williams – Alonso therefore having to content himself with fifth place at the chequered flag.
With the German manufacturer’s superiority once more underlined by Nico Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton home in the works team’s sixth one-two of the season, Ferrari’s deficit was again laid bare in the scenic Styrian Mountains.
Alonso put in a typically spirited performance and even led the race for a short time around the second pit-stop window.