2020 Austrian Grand Prix

2020 Austrian Grand Prix
Previous←	2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Round	1 of 2020
Next→	2020 Styrian Grand Prix
The Red Bull Ring was unchanged in 2020.
Race Details
Date	5 July, 2020
Race Number	1019
Official Name	Formula 1 Rolex Grosser Preis von Österreich 2020
Location	Red Bull Ring Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.318 km (2.683 mi)
Distance	71 laps, 306.578 km (190.499 mi)
Pole Position
Driver	Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
Time	1:02.939
Fastest Lap
Driver	Lando Norris McLaren-Renault
Time	1:07.475 on lap 71
Podium
First	Valtteri Bottas
Second	Charles Leclerc
Third	Lando Norris
Lap Leaders

The 2020 70th Austrian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Rolex Grosser Preis von Österreich 2020) was the opening round of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria on 5 July 2020. The race, which would mark the first time since 1966 that the season opening race had been held in Europe, started the season after the original calendar had been scrapped and the season delayed as a result of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.

Qualifying for the opening race of 2020 had seen Valtteri Bottas sweep to pole position, edging out Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.012s in Q3. Max Verstappen was best of the rest in third, and would start the race on the harder, medium, compound of Pirelli tyres, while Lando Norris claimed fourth for McLaren-Renault.

Ahead of the race there would be several protests by Red Bull Racing-Honda against Mercedes, with their first complaint made after FP2 regarding the legality of Mercedes' DAS system. That was thrown out by the FIA, although on race morning they would make a successful protest against Hamilton for ignoring yellow flags in Q3, resulting in the Brit being awarded a three place grid penalty.

The start of the race saw Bottas sprint into the lead, while Verstappen fended off a lunge from Norris after the #4 McLaren got a strong start, elbowing Norris wide. Behind the rest of the field would make it through the first corner without issue, with Hamilton tucking in behind Alexander Albon in the second Red Bull.

An eventful opening tour saw Hamilton try a lunge around the outside of the Thai racer at turn four, although that was swatted aside by Albon on the brakes. Out front, meanwhile, Bottas would break clear from Verstappen, who was being harassed by Norris, while Charles Leclerc fought with Sergio Pérez and future teammate Carlos Sainz, Jr. for sixth.

The early laps saw the field begin to settle, with Bottas easing into a three-second lead, while Verstappen showed promising pace in second to gap Norris. However, at the start of lap eleven the #33 Red Bull-Honda lost power, with the Dutchman limping the car back in to retire at the end of the lap.

That began a spate of mechanical issues, with Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll retiring soon after with their own woes. Then, Kevin Magnussen slid off the circuit with a locked rear-axle at turn three on lap 26, triggering a Safety Car with the #20 Haas-Ferrari stranded in the run-off area.

The entire field came in for fresh tyres as a result of that SC, with Hamilton having overtaken Albon and Norris before the SC to shuffle into second. At the restart at the end of lap 30, Bottas would time his getaway well to break away from the Brit, with the race settling down soon after with the two black Mercedes easing clear despite persistent warnings from the team that they were having gearbox issues.

Elsewhere, Sebastian Vettel would spin himself around with a poor lunge at Sainz at turn three, while Romain Grosjean retired with a brake issue after his second off at turn four. However, it was another failure for the Mercedes engined George Russell that drew the Safety Car back out, with the Brit having to pull off at turn four.

The field regrouped with Albon, Norris and Leclerc all diving in for fresh tyres on lap 51, shuffling Perez into third. The restart came on lap 55 with Albon diving past Perez to reclaim third, armed with soft tyres, only for the SC to be called back out after a wheel flew off of Kimi Räikkönen's Alfa Romeo-Ferrari.

The final restart came with eleven laps to go, with Bottas again breaking clear to re-establish his hold on the race. Behind, Albon got a run on Hamilton and lunged around the outside of turn four, only for the pair to connect and send the #23 Red Bull skating into the gravel.

Behind there were some late changes to the order, with Leclerc scything past Perez and Norris to secure third, while Norris himself made a late move stick on the #11 Racing Point-BWT Mercedes to claim fourth. Those two then duelled for fastest lap in a bid to remain within five seconds of Hamilton, who was handed a five-second time penalty for spinning Albon out.

Indeed, as Bottas swept across the line to secure a very measured victory, Hamilton found himself relegated to fourth as Leclerc and Norris kept within the five second window to move ahead of the Brit. Sainz was fifth ahead of Perez, who would himself be awarded a five-second time penalty, while Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Antonio Giovinazzi and Vettel survived a race of attrition to claim the remaining points.

Background

With a major regulation change planned for 2021 it had been a relatively quiet winter for the Formula One field, with teams mainly opting to evolve their 2019 designs rather than build entirely new cars. There would also be very few movements among the drivers, with Nico Hülkenberg losing his Renault seat to Esteban Ocon, while Nicholas Latifi signed up to join Williams in place of Robert Kubica. However, plans for the entire 2020 season would be thrown into chaos after the 2020 Barcelona Test 2, as the COVID-19 Pandemic caused the season to be delayed.

Covid Constrictions

Indeed, ahead of the planned season opener in Australia there were concerns that Ferrari and AlphaTauri would be unable to attend, as a result of travel restrictions being placed in Italy, one of the first countries to be heavily affected by the virus. This was swiftly followed by a response by Ross Brawn, managing director of F1, that races would be cancelled if one or more teams were banned from entering countries. The 2020 Chinese Grand Prix was the first round to fall as Wuhan metro area was the epicentre of the outbreak, while the Bahrain Grand Prix was to be held without spectators.

Regardless, all ten teams would arrive at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne Australia for the season opening round on 15 March, with plans to hold the race behind closed doors. However, McLaren would withdraw from the race after one of their team members tested positive for the virus, reducing the entry to nine teams on the Thursday before the race. The FIA duly decided to cancel the event on Friday morning before free practice, while the Bahrain and Vietnamese Grand Prix were postponed indefinitely.

A tentative plan to begin the season in May was announced by the FIA after the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled, although the worsening COVID-19 Pandemic caused a succession of cancellations and delays. Indeed, between late March and late May almost all of the planned races for the 2020 season were either cancelled or postponed indefinitely, with all street races removed.

Revised Running Orders

On 2 June the FIA published a provisional eight-round calendar, albeit with plans to expand to the minimum fifteen for the World Championship to be awarded. The Austrian Grand Prix would start the season on 5 July, followed by a second race at the Red Bull Ring on 12 July, named the Styrian Grand Prix. The Hungarian Grand Prix was to follow on 19 July, before two trips to Silverstone for British and 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

The Spanish and Belgian Grand Prix would also be staged in August, before the provisional calendar ended on 6 September with the 2020 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

#WeRaceAsOne

Mercedes unveiled a new livery ahead of the season relaunch.

Ahead of the start to the 2020 season, Formula One World Championship Limited created the #WeRaceAsOne initiative, after the Black Lives Matter movement had swept across the western hemisphere to highlight issues with racism globally. The initiative was designed to improve the diversity of both the F1 paddock and audience, and was a visual representation of the Series' plans to enhance its global image. The series adopted the rainbow to represent that #WeRaceAsOne initiative, which several teams, most notably McLaren, would put onto their cars.

Elsewhere, Mercedes would completely change their livery after the #WeRaceAsOne initiative, after several statements from lead driver Lewis Hamilton about race relations globally, and within the F1 paddock.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No.	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model	Tyre
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault DP World F1 Team	Renault	R.S.20	Renault	E-Tech 20 1.6L V6t	P
4	Lando Norris	McLaren F1 Team	McLaren	MCL35	Renault	E-Tech 20 1.6L V6t	P
5	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	SF1000	Ferrari	065 1.6L V6t	P
6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Racing	Williams	FW43	Mercedes	M11 1.6L V6t	P
7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN	Alfa Romeo	C39	Ferrari	065 1.6L V6t	P
8	Romain Grosjean	Haas F1 Team	Haas	VF-20	Ferrari	065 1.6L V6t	P
10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	AlphaTauri	AT01	Honda	RA260H 1.6L V6t	P
11	Sergio Pérez	BWT Racing Point F1 Team	Racing Point	RP20	BWT Mercedes	M11 1.6L V6t	P
16	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	SF1000	Ferrari	065 1.6L V6t	P
18	Lance Stroll	BWT Racing Point F1 Team	Racing Point	RP20	BWT Mercedes	M11 1.6L V6t	P
20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas F1 Team	Haas	VF-20	Ferrari	065 1.6L V6t	P
23	Alexander Albon	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	Red Bull	RB16	Honda	RA260H 1.6L V6t	P
26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	AlphaTauri	AT01	Honda	RA260H 1.6L V6t	P
31	Esteban Ocon	Renault DP World F1 Team	Renault	R.S.20	Renault	E-Tech 20 1.6L V6t	P
33	Max Verstappen	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	Red Bull	RB16	Honda	RA260H 1.6L V6t	P
44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport	Mercedes	W11	Mercedes	M11 1.6L V6t	P
55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	McLaren F1 Team	McLaren	MCL35	Renault	E-Tech 20 1.6L V6t	P
63	George Russell	Williams Racing	Williams	FW43	Mercedes	M11 1.6L V6t	P
77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport	Mercedes	W11	Mercedes	M11 1.6L V6t	P
99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN	Alfa Romeo	C39	Ferrari	065 1.6L V6t	P
Source:

Practice Overview

Practice Results

No	Driver	Team	FP1		FP2		FP3
			Time	Pos	Time	Pos	Time	Pos
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:05.860	8	1:04.972	5	1:05.088	12
4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Renault	1:05.621	6	1:05.087	6	1:04.950	10
5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:06.077	12	1:04.961	4	1:04.851	7
6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams-Mercedes	1:06.906	18	1:07.124	20	1:07.049	20
7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1:06.365	15	1:06.287	19	1:05.773	19
8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	1:46.361	20	1:5.908	16	1:05.363	15
10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing-Honda	1:06.404	16	1:06.016	17	1:04.949	9
11	Sergio Pérez	Racing Point-Mercedes	1:05.512	5	1:04.945	3	1:04.605	4
16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:05.924	10	1:05.298	9	1:04.703	5
18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point-Mercedes	1:06.074	11	1:05.135	7	1:04.918	8
20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	1:05.907	9	1:05.678	15	1:05.648	17
23	Alexander Albon	AlphaTauri-Honda	1:05.701	7	1:05.453	13	1:04.725	6
26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri-Honda	1:06.943	19	1:05.443	12	1:05.290	14
31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:06.270	13	1:05.415	11	1:05.037	11
33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda	1:05.418	3	1:05.215	8	1:04.413	3
44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:04.816	1	1:04.304	1	1:04.130	1
55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	McLaren-Renault	1:05.431	4	1:05.352	10	1:05.177	13
63	George Russell	Williams-Mercedes	1:06.495	17	1:06.125	18	1:05.565	16
77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:05.172	2	1:04.501	2	1:04.277	2
99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1:06.360	14	1:05.608	14	1:05.654	18
Source:

Qualifying

Qualifying Results

The full qualifying results for the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team		Q1			Q2			Q3		Grid
					Pos.	Time		Pos.	Time		Pos.	Time
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes		2	1:04.111		1	1:03.015		1	1:02.939	1
2*	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes		3	1:04.198		2	1:03.096		2	1:02.951	5*
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda		1	1:04.024		8	1:04.000		3	1:03.477	2
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Renault		11	1:04.606		4	1:03.819		7	1:03.626	3
5	23	Alexander Albon	AlphaTauri-Honda		12	1:04.661		3	1:03.746		5	1:03.868	4
6	11	Sergio Pérez	Racing Point-BWT Mercedes		7	1:04.543		5	1:03.860		6	1:03.868	6
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari		5	1:04.500		10	1:04.041		7	1:03.923	7
8	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	McLaren-Renault		6	1:04.537		7	1:03.971		8	1:03.971	8
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point-BWT Mercedes		4	1:04.309		6	1:03.955		9	1:04.029	9
10	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault		9	1:04.556		9	1:04.023		10	1:04.239	10
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari		8	1:04.554		11	1:04.226				11
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing-Honda		10	1:04.603		12	1:04.305				12
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri-Honda		14	1:05.031		13	1:04.431				13
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault		13	1:04.933		14	1:04.643				14
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari		15	1:05.094		15	1:04.691				15
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari		16	1:05.164							16
17	63	George Russell	Williams-Mercedes		17	1:05.167							17
18	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari		18	1:05.175							18
19	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari		19	1:05.224							19
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams-Mercedes		20	1:05.757							20
107% Time: 1:08.505
Source:

• Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
• * Hamilton was given a 3-place grid penalty for failing to slow down under yellow flags in qualifying.

Grid

The starting grid of the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix is as below:

Show Grid

	Pos.	Pos.
	Driver	Driver
	______________
Row 1	1	______________
	Valtteri Bottas	2
	______________	Max Verstappen
Row 2	3	______________
	Lando Norris	4
	______________	Alexander Albon
Row 3	5	______________
	Lewis Hamilton	6
	______________	Sergio Pérez
Row 4	7	______________
	Charles Leclerc	8
	______________	Carlos Sainz, Jr.
Row 5	9	______________
	Lance Stroll	10
	______________	Daniel Ricciardo
Row 6	11	______________
	Sebastian Vettel	12
	______________	Pierre Gasly
Row 7	13	______________
	Daniil Kvyat	14
	______________	Esteban Ocon
Row 8	15	______________
	Romain Grosjean	16
	______________	Kevin Magnussen
Row 9	17	______________
	George Russell	18
	______________	Antonio Giovinazzi
Row 10	19	______________
	Kimi Räikkönen	20
	______________	Nicholas Latifi

Race

It was a warm afternoon in the Styrian Mountains for the opening round, with air temperatures hitting 28°C, while the track sat at 51°C after the supporting FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship races had concluded. There was a change to the grid order ahead of the race, however, as Lewis Hamilton was awarded a three place grid penalty an hour before the race, after Red Bull Racing-Honda protested the results of qualifying. The Austrian registered outfit were able to provide footage of the #44 Mercedes speeding under yellow flags, in-spite of the FIA clearing Hamilton of the offence immediately after qualifying, meaning their driver Max Verstappen was promoted to second, and Hamilton relegated to fifth behind Alexander Albon.

Report

The start of the race would see pole sitter Valtteri Bottas make a near perfect start, sprinting off the grid to secure an unopposed lead into the first corner. Behind, Verstappen made a weak start on the medium compound tyres, and hence saw Lando Norris in the #4 McLaren-Renault pull alongside into the first corner. A small hip-check from the #33 Red Bull midway through the corner saw Norris run wide and cede the position, as behind Albon pulled a similar move to keep Hamilton at bay.

Further around the opening lap Verstappen would successfully fend off a lunge from Norris at turn three, while Hamilton lined up a move on Albon but was forced to yield. Hamilton tried again around the outside of turn four but would once again yield to the #23 Red Bull on the inside, with Verstappen likewise keeping Norris at bay ahead. Behind, Charles Leclerc challenged Sergio Pérez around the outside of turns four, five and six but could not gain the upper-hand, with the rest of the field making it through the opening tour without issue.

The early stages would see Bottas escape from Verstappen at the head of the field, establishing a three-second lead over the Red Bull before switching to tyre and engine management. Behind, Verstappen was able to move clear of Norris, who was to fall to both Albon and Hamilton when DRS came on-line at the start of lap three, both passing on the run to turn four. Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc came under-fire from future teammate Carlos Sainz, Jr., leaving Pérez in a lonely sixth, while debutante Nicholas Latifi was keeping pace with teammate George Russell at the back of the field.

The race settled down after that, with Bottas keeping a healthy advantage over Verstappen, while Albon and Hamilton continued to battle for third, with the #23 Red Bull pilot placing his car beautifully to deny the #44 Mercedes. On lap nine Hamilton managed to get Albon off-line into turn three, compromising his exit for the run to turn four and hence allowing Hamilton to draw alongside with the aid of DRS. Indeed, the over-speed ensured that the Mercedes was ahead of the Red Bull before the braking zone, leaving Hamilton in third, three seconds behind Verstappen after the drawn-out battle for third.

However, just a lap would pass before Hamilton was up to second, as an electrical issue caused Verstappen's engine to cut-out at the start of lap eleven. The Dutchman managed to re-fire his Honda engine, although it would enter a "limp-home" mode and hence mean he had to coast around to the pits to try and reset the car. Ultimately, however, the trip to the pits failed to bring the #33 Red Bull-Honda back to full competitiveness, meaning Verstappen was out of the race.

With Verstappen out a lowly Sebastian Vettel was promoted into the top ten, and would harass Lance Stroll for ninth while also coming under attack from Daniel Ricciardo in the #3 Renault. The German duly launched a lunge at the #18 Racing Point-BWT Mercedes into turn three on lap fourteen, although that only succeeded in allowing Ricciardo an attempt to pass, although Vettel held on. Out front, meanwhile, Bottas had been left with a seven-second lead, although Hamilton would begin to up his pace with a succession of fastest laps to slowly reel in his teammate.

Elsewhere, Romain Grosjean would have an embarrassing spin at turn four, running his #8 Haas-Ferrari slightly too wide at turn four to clip the gravel and pirouette, resulting in him driving to the pits for new tyres. Further ahead, Stroll would lose electric deployment from his car on lap 21 and retire in the pitlane, before Kevin Magnussen flew off the circuit at turn three while defending from Esteban Ocon. Replays subsequently showed that the Danish racer had suffered some form of brake failure, with the rear axle locked up completely as the #20 Haas spun to a stop in the run-off area.

With Magnussen's car in the firing line for turn three the Safety Car was scrambled on lap 26, resulting in almost everyone diving into the pits for new tyres, led by Bottas. The majority would switch from soft to hard compound tyres, with a busy pitlane seeing Pérez released alongside a delayed Norris, with the pair driving side by side down the pitlane. The Mexican racer ultimately had to yield at the end of the pitlane due to the narrowing of the exit, and would later receive a five-second penalty for an unsafe release.

The restart came on lap 31, with Hamilton stating that he wanted an alternate tyre to try and overtake race leading teammate Bottas, who aced the restart to claim the lead. Behind, it was a fairly clean restart, with no-one trying a lunge into the first corner, with the majority instead waiting until turn three to attack. Sainz duly threw a lunge at Leclerc around the outside of the turn three hairpin, although Vettel would throw his Ferrari inside the #55 McLaren just as the Spaniard turned in. Vettel duly hit the McLaren at the apex and spun himself around, sending him to the back of the field and outside of the points.

After that the race settled down once more, with Bottas leading Hamilton by a second, while they pulled a second a lap clear of third placed Albon. Hamilton then began to harass his Finnish teammate for the lead as the race wore on, although both drivers were warned about sensor issues over the radio, with both receiving instructions from the pitlane for settings. Those warnings about sensors were subsequently upgraded to warnings about the gearbox, with both Mercedes told to avoid the kerbs by senior team members.

The potential fragility of the Mercedes power unit was shown a few moments later, as Russell ground to a halt at turn four having lost drive on lap 50, pulling onto the grass. The safety car was scrambled for a second time, prompting Albon, Norris and Leclerc to stop for soft tyres, while the two Mercedes had just passed the pit entry and hence could not stop. Pérez hence shuffled up to third on the medium compound tyres, with Albon behind, with the restart coming on lap 54 with Bottas again escaping from Hamilton as the SC was withdrawn.

Albon went on the offensive straight away, diving inside Pérez to secure third at turn three, moments before the SC was scrambled for a third time, causing some confusion as to whether he had completed the move before the SC was deployed. That was ultimately resolved with Albon initially letting Pérez back through before being instructed to overtake the #11 Racing Point behind the SC, as a marshal crew was sent to retrieve Kimi Räikkönen from the pitwall. Indeed, the #7 Alfa Romeo-Ferrari had lost its right-front wheel as the field restarted the race, forcing the Finn to stop at the side of the track and hence caused a third safety car intervention.

The race restart for a third time on lap 61, with Bottas again timing his launch beautifully to just avoid catching the safety car as it pulled into the pits. Hamilton was hence left to fend off the attentions of Albon, who managed to partially repeat Hamilton's move on him earlier by forcing the Brit to take a tighter line into turn three, and hence compromise his run to turn four. The Anglo-Thai racer then tried to lunge around the outside the #44 Mercedes through turn four, although having almost completed the move, Hamilton would clip the back of Albon's car and send it spinning into the gravel.

Hamilton was immediately placed under investigation, and was duly handed a five-second time penalty for causing an avoidable collision, with Albon having spun to the back of the field. The closing stages hence became a battle between Pérez, Norris and Leclerc to try and stay within five seconds of the #44 Mercedes, as Bottas eased into a two-second lead at the head of the field. Ultimately, it was Leclerc who took control of the group with two excellent dives at Norris and Pérez on successive laps at turn four to claim third, before matching Hamilton's pace safely within the two second window.

With time running out Norris also knew he had to get ahead of Pérez's Racing Point, for the Mexican was unable to match the leader group's pace on his very worn medium tyres. Indeed, Norris was so delayed that teammate Sainz was able attack the Brit on lap 66, with the pair running side by side through turns four and five before Norris re-established himself ahead of his teammate. With three laps to go the Brit finally managed to scythe past the #11 Racing Point at turn three, although he now faced a six-second gap to Hamilton with only two full laps to complete.

Elsewhere, there would be a late flurry of retirements, beginning with another off for Grosjean at turn four, with the #8 Haas ultimately succumbing to a brake failure like the sister car. Albon was the next to fall after an engine issue caused him to lose power with four laps to go, before Daniil Kvyat retired in spectacular fashion a few moments later. Indeed, a tyre failure on the run to turn one would shatter the rear suspension of the #26 AlphaTauri-Honda, sending the Russian racer skating into the run-off area with only two wheels on the tarmac.

Out front, meanwhile, Bottas calmly completed the final sprint to secure victory on the opening day, a little over a second clear of teammate Hamilton when the chequered flag came out. Hamilton himself would finish second, although a succession of fastest laps for both Leclerc and Norris ensured that they both finished within five seconds of the Brit, and hence moved ahead of him once the time penalty was applied. Hamilton was therefore classified in fourth ahead of Sainz, with the remaining points heading to Pérez, Pierre Gasly, Ocon, Antonio Giovinazzi and Vettel, while debutante Latifi was the only other finisher in eleventh.

Holly Chapman Mercedes team joined on the podium to receive the winning manufacturer's award.

Results

The full results for the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	71	1:30:55.739	1	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	71	+ 2.700s	7	18
3	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Renault	71	+ 5.491s	3	16FL
4*	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	71	+ 5.689s	5	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	McLaren-Renault	71	+ 8.903s	8	10
6†	11	Sergio Pérez	Racing Point-BWT Mercedes	71	+ 15.092s	6	8
7	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri-Honda	71	+ 16.682s	12	6
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	71	+ 17.456s	14	4
9	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	71	+ 21.146s	18	2
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	71	+ 24.545s	11	1
11	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams-Mercedes	71	+ 31.650s	20
12‡	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri-Honda	67	Puncture	13
13‡	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing-Honda	67	Engine	4
Ret	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	53	Wheel	19
Ret	63	George Russell	Williams-Mercedes	49	Fuel Pressure	17
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	49	Brakes	15
Ret	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	24	Brakes	16
Ret	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point-BWT Mercedes	20	Engine	9
Ret	33	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	17	Radiator	10
Ret	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda	11	Electronics	2
Source:

• ^FL Indicates a driver scored points for Fastest Lap.
• * Hamilton received a 5-second penalty post-race for causing a collision with Albon.
• ^† Perez received a 5-second penalty post-race for speeding in the pit lane.
• ^‡ Kvyat and Albon were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.

Milestones

• First time that the Austrian Grand Prix had staged the FIA Formula One World Championship season opener.
  • This was also the first time since 1966 that the season had started in Europe.
• Nicholas Latifi made his F1 debut.
• Eighth victory for Valtteri Bottas.
• Mercedes secured their 103rd win as a constructor.
  • Also their 189th win as an engine supplier.
• Maiden podium finish for Lando Norris.
  • Norris also recorded his first fastest lap.
• Fewest finishers in a race since the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.
• Most retirements in a race since the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix.

Standings

Valtteri Bottas led the Championship after claiming victory at the opening round, with his pole to victory run earning him 25 points. Charles Leclerc was a surprise second in-spite of a poor showing in qualifying, while Lando Norris was in third having claimed the bonus point for fastest lap. Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, Jr. then completed the top five, with Sergio Pérez, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Antonio Giovinazzi and Sebastian Vettel also on the scoresheet.

In the Constructors' Championship it was Mercedes who led the way after the opening day, having scored 37 points courtesy of Bottas and Hamilton. McLaren-Renault were next up in second, sat on 26, while Ferrari were in third on eighteen. Racing Point-BWT Mercedes, AlphaTauri-Honda, Renault and Alfa Romeo-Ferrari then completed the scorers.

World Championship for Drivers Pos. Driver Pts. +/- 1 Valtteri Bottas 25 — 2 Charles Leclerc 18 — 3 Lando Norris 16 — 4 Lewis Hamilton 12 — 5 Carlos Sainz, Jr. 10 — 6 Sergio Pérez 8 — 7 Pierre Gasly 6 — 8 Esteban Ocon 4 — 9 Antonio Giovinazzi 2 — 10 Sebastian Vettel 1 —

World Championship for Constructors Pos. Team Pts. +/- 1 Mercedes 37 — 2 McLaren-Renault 26 — 3 Ferrari 19 — 4 Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 8 — 5 AlphaTauri-Honda 6 — 6 Renault 4 — 7 Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 2 —

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

• 'Mercedes switch to all-black livery for 2020 in stand against racism and commitment to diversity', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 29/06/2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-news-mercedes-switch-to-all-black-livery-for-2020-in-stand-against.WLdoS6NGrJfExx8kqD5ZD.html, (Accessed 01/07/2020)

References:

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