The 2020 Styrian Grand Prix, (officially the Formula 1 Pirelli Grosser Preis Der Steiermark 2020)[1] was the second round of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria on 12 July 2020.[2] The race was the second of the season to be held at the Red Bull Ring as result of a heavily revised calendar, and took its name from the region of Styria in Austria where the Red Bull Ring is located.[2]
In qualifying, the circuit was hit with wet weather that already cancelled FP3. Lewis Hamilton bravely took pole position about 1.2 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, Jr.. Hamilton went on to win for the first time in the season, as Verstappen came in third after being passed by Valtteri Bottas near the end of the race, who started fourth. Behind Bottas, there was drama unfolding for the last two laps. Sergio Pérez broke his front wing while attempting to pass Alexander Albon for fourth, while Pérez' team-mate Lance Stroll ran deep while trying to pass Daniel Ricciardo for sixth. All the drama allowed Lando Norris to come in 5th place ahead of Pérez, with the latter, Stroll and Ricciardo crossing the line three-wide. Both Ferraris retired from the race after Charles Leclerc collided into Sebastian Vettel on the first lap, Leclerc damaging his car's floor after knocking off Vettel's rear wing. Ricciardo's team-mate Esteban Ocon was the other retirement of the race from a cooling issue.
Background[]
The fall-out from the COVID-19 Pandemic had heavily affected the calendar for the 2020 season, and resulted in the extraordinary decision to run a second race at the Red Bull Ring, marking the first time that a single circuit had hosted two World Championship rounds.[2] However, to avoid confusion with the Austrian Grand Prix which would open the season, the second race at the Red Bull Ring would be named the Styrian Grand Prix after the region of Styria, Austria's second largest region and the home of the Red Bull Ring.[2] Otherwise, there would be no changes to the circuit other than a change of name to the event, with the same timetable, track layout and rules, after a bid to implement reverse-grid rules was scuppered by Mercedes.[3]
Ferrari Floundering[]
Ferrari revealed that they would bring a major upgrade to the second race of the season, an enforced change to their upgrade schedule after their miserable showing in the opening race.[4] Indeed, while Charles Leclerc had claimed a podium finish at the opening race, the two scarlet cars were a second off the pace in qualifying, while Sebastian Vettel failed to get into Q3, and spun during the race.[4] The update was expected to feature some re-profiling of the aerodynamics to reduce drag and improve stability.[4]
Reserve Runners[]
Ahead of the second race of the season Williams announced that their main test and reserve driver Jack Aitken would take part in FP1 for the Styrian Grand Prix, taking over the #63 car of George Russell for the session.[5] The decision had been made for a variety of reasons, although primarily because of new rules regarding the "bubble system" implemented by the series, which could rule out a driver from competing at a race if they had a positive COVID-19 test at the start of a race meeting.[6] It was therefore seen as a priority for Williams to have their lead reserve driver gain track time with the FW43, and after a full meetings running at the Red Bull Ring a week earlier, it would not cost Russell any time to setup the car.[5]
Another team to take up the option of running their reserve driver in FP1 would be Alfa Romeo-Ferrari, who would put veteran reserve racer Robert Kubica in Antonio Giovinazzi's car.[7]
Alonso Arrival?[]
Elsewhere, there were widespread reports that Fernando Alonso would return to the F1 paddock in 2021, with Renault having approached the former Champion about their available race seat.[8] The Spaniard, who had left the Championship at the end of 2018 to pursue the Triple Crown of Motorsport, had been associated with McLaren since his exit, and had hinted at wanting to return to the Championship after winning the World Endurance Championship in 2018/19.[8] A formal announcement about his signing was expected during the Styrian Grand Prix weekend.[8]
Opening Observations[]
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.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Practice Results[]
The full practice results for the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix are outlined below:
| No | Driver | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Pos | Time | Pos | Time | Pos | ||||||||
| 3 |  Daniel Ricciardo
|
 Renault
|
1:05.769 | 9 | No time | 20 | Cancelled | ||||||
| 4 |  Lando Norris
|
McLaren-Renault
|
1:05.908 | 14 | 1:04.541 | 8 | |||||||
| 5 |  Sebastian Vettel
|
 Ferrari
|
1:05.770 | 10 | 1:05.613 | 16 | |||||||
| 6 |  Nicholas Latifi
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
1:09.598 | 19 | 1:05.655 | 17 | |||||||
| 7 |  Kimi Räikkönen
|
 Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
1:06.441 | 15 | 1:05.152 | 13 | |||||||
| 8 | Romain Grosjean
|
1:06.446 | 16 | 1:06.096 | 19 | ||||||||
| 10 |  Red Bull Racing-Honda
|
1:05.698 | 8 | 1:04.757 | 11 | ||||||||
| 11 |  Sergio Pérez
|
Racing Point-Mercedes
|
1:04.867 | 1 | 1:03.877 | 3 | |||||||
| 16 |  Charles Leclerc
|
Ferrari
|
1:05.837 | 12 | 1:04.706 | 9 | |||||||
| 18 | Lance Stroll
|
Racing Point-Mercedes
|
1:05.396 | 5 | 1:04.241 | 4 | |||||||
| 20 |  Kevin Magnussen
|
 Haas-Ferrari
|
No time | 20 | 1:05.790 | 18 | |||||||
| 23 |  Alexander Albon
|
AlphaTauri-Honda
|
1:05.483 | 6 | 1:04.437 | 7 | |||||||
| 26 |  Daniil Kvyat
|
AlphaTauri-Honda
|
1:05.815 | 11 | 1:05.050 | 12 | |||||||
| 31 | Esteban Ocon
|
Renault
|
1:05.874 | 13 | 1:04.746 | 10 | |||||||
| 33 |  Max Verstappen
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda
|
1:04.963 | 2 | 1:03.660 | 1 | |||||||
| 40 | Williams-Mercedes
|
1:06.768 | 17 | ||||||||||
| 44 | Lewis Hamilton
|
Mercedes
|
1:05.120 | 4 | 1:04.348 | 6 | |||||||
| 55 |  Carlos Sainz, Jr.
|
McLaren-Renault
|
1:05.602 | 7 | 1:04.333 | 5 | |||||||
| 63 | George Russell
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
1:05.588 | 15 | |||||||||
| 77 | Valtteri Bottas
|
Mercedes
|
1:05.089 | 3 | 1:03.703 | 2 | |||||||
| 88 |  Robert Kubica
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
1:06.797 | 18 | |||||||||
| 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
1:05.365 | 14 | |||||||||
| Source: [10][11][12] | |||||||||||||
Qualifying[]
Q1[]
Q2[]
Q3[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | ||||||||
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton
|
Mercedes
|
1 | 1:18.188 | 1 | 1:17.825 | 1 | 1:19.273 | 1 | |||
| 2 | 33 | Max Verstappen
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda
|
2 | 1:18.297 | 2 | 1:17.938 | 2 | 1:20.489 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz, Jr.
|
McLaren-Renault
|
4 | 1:18.590 | 7 | 1:18.836 | 3 | 1:20.671 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas
|
Mercedes
|
5 | 1:18.791 | 4 | 1:18.657 | 4 | 1:20.701 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon
|
Renault
|
7 | 1:19.687 | 6 | 1:18.764 | 5 | 1:20.922 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Lando Norris
|
McLaren-Renault
|
3 | 1:18.504 | 3 | 1:03.860 | 6 | 1:03.868 | 9* | |||
| 7 | 23 | Alexander Albon
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda
|
14 | 1:20.882 | 8 | 1:19.014 | 7 | 1:21.011 | 6 | |||
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly
|
AlphaTauri-Honda
|
10 | 1:20.192 | 5 | 1:18.744 | 8 | 1:21.028 | 7 | |||
| 9 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo
|
Renault
|
6 | 1:19.662 | 9 | 1:19.229 | 9 | 1:21.192 | 8 | |||
| 10 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel
|
Ferrari
|
11 | 1:20.243 | 10 | 1:19.545 | 10 | 1:21.651 | 10 | |||
| 11 | 16 | Charles Leclerc
|
Ferrari
|
13 | 1:20.871 | 11 | 1:19.628 | 14** | |||||
| 12 | 63 | George Russell
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
12 | 1:20.382 | 12 | 1:19.636 | 11 | |||||
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll
|
Racing Point-BWT Mercedes
|
8 | 1:19.697 | 13 | 1:19.645 | 12 | |||||
| 14 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat
|
AlphaTauri-Honda
|
9 | 1:19.824 | 14 | 1:19.717 | 13 | |||||
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
15 | 1:21.140 | 15 | 1:20.211 | 15 | |||||
| 16 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
16 | 1:21.372 | 16 | |||||||
| 17 | 11 | Sergio Pérez
|
Racing Point-BWT Mercedes
|
17 | 1:21.607 | 17 | |||||||
| 18 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi
|
Williams-Mercedes
|
18 | 1:21.759 | 18 | |||||||
| 19 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
|
19 | 1:21.831 | 20† | |||||||
| 20 | 8 | Romain Grosjean
|
Haas-Ferrari
|
20 | no time | PL | |||||||
| 107% time: 1:23.661 | |||||||||||||
| Source: [13] | |||||||||||||
- Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
- * Lando Norris was given a 3-place grid penalty for overtaking during yellow flags in FP1.
- ** Charles Leclerc was given a 3-place grid penalty for impeding Daniil Kvyat during Q2.
- † Antonio Giovinazzi was given a 5-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
- As qualifying was held on a wet track, the 107% Rule was not enforced.
Grid[]
The starting grid of the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix is as below:
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | 1 | ______________ |
| 44. Hamilton
|
2 | |
| ______________ | 33. Verstappen
| |
| Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
| 55. Sainz
|
4 | |
| ______________ | 77. Bottas
| |
| Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
| 31. Ocon
|
6 | |
| ______________ | 23. Albon
| |
| Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
| 10. Gasly
|
8 | |
| ______________ | 3. Ricciardo
| |
| Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
| 4. Norris
|
10 | |
| ______________ | 5. Vettel
| |
| Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
| 63. Russell
|
12 | |
| ______________ | 18. Stroll
| |
| Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
 26. Kvyat
|
14 | |
| ______________ | 16. Leclerc
| |
| Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
| 20. Magnussen
|
16 | |
| ______________ | 7. Räikkönen
| |
| Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
| 11. Pérez
|
18 | |
| ______________ | 6. Latifi
| |
| Row 10 | 19 | ______________ |
| 99. Giovinazzi
|
20 | |
| ______________ | {{{20}}} |
Note - Norris penalised 3 places for overtaking under yellow flags in FP1. Leclerc penalised 3 places for impeding Kvyat during qualifying. Giovinazzi penalised 5 places for an unscheduled gearbox change. Grosjean required to start from the pit lane after car modified under parc ferme conditions.
Race[]
Report[]
Stephanie Travers Mercedes team joined on the podium to receive the winning manufacturer's award.
Results[]
The full results for the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix are outlined below:
- FL Indicates a driver scored points for Fastest Lap.
Milestones[]
- First Styrian Grand Prix to be staged.[2]
- First time that one circuit has hosted two Grands Prix in one season.
- Lewis Hamilton's 89th pole and 85th race win.
- Hamilton has now won races in 14 consecutive seasons since his debut.
- Mercedes secured their 104th win as a constructor.[16]
- Also their 190th win as an engine supplier.[16]
- Carlos Sainz, Jr. earned his first fastest lap.
Standings[]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
* Racing Point Penalty of -15 points from their total.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ "Formula 1 Pirelli Grosser Preis Der Steiermark 2020" formula1.com (Formula 1 World Championship Limited) https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2020/Styria.html (Accessed 06/08/2020)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 'F1 confirms first 8 races of revised 2020 calendar, starting with Austria double header', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 02/06/2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.f1-confirms-first-8-races-of-revised-2020-calendar-starting-with-austria.36X98qZnFFhNxQ8O2WdCON.html, (Accessed 26/06/2020)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedReverse - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 'We have to respond immediately' – Ferrari aiming to bring big update to Austria ahead of schedule', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 06/07/2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.we-have-to-respond-immediately-ferrari-aiming-to-bring-big-update-to-austria.44WBmZABalMXfvWjy9Z3Wu.html, (Accessed 07/07/2020)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Adam Cooper, 'Williams to give Aitken FP1 run at second Austrian F1 event', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 06/07/2020), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/williams-aitken-fp1-styria-austria/4826605/?utm_source=home-page-widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=widget-6, (Accessed 07/07/2020)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBubble - ↑ Alex Kalinauckas, 'Kubica to make F1 race weekend return with Alfa', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 07/07/2020), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/kubica-f1-race-return-alfa/4827729/?utm_source=home-page-widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=widget-22, (Accessed 07/07/2020)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Andrew Benson, 'Fernando Alonso to return to Formula 1 with Renault in 2021', bbc.co.uk/sport, (British Broadcasting Corporation, 07/07/2020), https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/53325412, (Accessed 07/07/2020)
- ↑ "2020 Styrian Grand Prix – Entry List". fia.com (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)). https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2020%20Styrian%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf.
- ↑ "2020 Styrian Grand Prix – Practice 1 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 10 July 2020. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/races/1046/austria/practice-1.html. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ↑ "2020 Styrian Grand Prix – Practice 2 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 10 July 2020. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/races/1046/austria/practice-2.html. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ↑ "2020 Styrian Grand Prix – Practice 3 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 4 July 2020. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/races/1046/austria/practice-3.html. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ↑ "2020 Styrian Grand Prix – Qualifying results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 11 July 2020. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/races/1046/austria/qualifying.html. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ↑ "Renault seeks urgent solution after second radiator failure". motorsport.com. https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/renault-radiator-failure-ocon-styria/4833271/. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ↑ 'FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GROSSER PREIS VON STEIEMARK 2020 - RACE RESULT', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/races/1046/austria/race-result.html, (Accessed 12/07/2020)
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedStats
| V T E |  Styrian Grand Prix
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Red Bull Ring (2020–present) |  |
| Races | 2020 • 2021 |
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