Austria: post-race analysis 2020

Well, that was quite the race. The sort where if I kept notes they’d come in handy for this review. Suffice to say my bet did not come off, but the race was thoroughly entertaining.

Hamilton got a super late penalty, knocking him back three places for insufficiently slowing during the yellow flag in qualifying.

Off the line it was formation flying, despite some close contests. Norris slowly drifted back through the field as Albon and Hamilton passed him. At the front Bottas was cruising with Verstappen a few seconds off the pace.

Then the Dutchman started to reel in the Finn despite being on the slower tyre. Was the contra-strategy going to work?

We’ll never know because Verstappen’s Red Bull fell victim to a reliability failing, probably electrical, and it forced a retirement and removed any serious threat (or so it seemed) to Mercedes’ dominance.

And this wasn’t the last of the reliability failings. Not by a long, long shot.

Magnussen’s Haas decided front brakes were optional and transformed a corner into a straight. He was fine but a safety car was necessary and everyone dove into the pits (this was about a third of the way into the race and the window was pretty much open anyway).

Cars were dropping left and right. Ricciardo had to pull into the pits with a cooling problem and Stroll’s race was ended by a sensor failing, a gearbox problem that caused increasingly alarmed messages to be sent to the Mercedes pair to stay off the curbs.

I believe it was Russell’s Williams going on strike which necessitated the second safety car, which saw Albon, Leclerc, Norris, and Sainz (I think) pit. Perez did not, which put him up to 3^rd behind the Mercs. Vettel, meanwhile, had clumsily tangled with Sainz and put himself at the back a few laps earlier.

Come the restart, Raikkonen’s front right tyre/wheel just came off and yet another safety car was required. Despite the very short racing time Albon managed to squeak ahead of Perez and put himself right behind the limping Mercedes with fresh rubber. After the plight of Verstappen, could Red Bull’s race weekend be salvaged?

No.

Albon had great pace, was alongside and then ahead of Hamilton, and the Briton tagged him, punting him into the gravel and to the back. For this Hamilton would get a 5s time penalty.

Leclerc was loving his fresh tyres and carving his way through everyone ahead of him, pulling himself into position to end up 2^nd.

Meanwhile Norris and Perez were tangling and the Mexican got a 5s penalty as well. Sainz also had a great tussle with his team mate but the younger Briton did not give away, and it was well he did not. As the laps ticked down Norris put in the fastest lap, nabbing himself the bonus point, and was just 4.8s behind Hamilton to claim his first ever podium place and relegate Hamilton down to 4^th.

Bottas managed everything and claimed the victory. In a season of unknown length, with at least 8 races and maybe some or no more, a 13 point advantage over his team mate is a very good start.

Ferrari half bounced back from supreme woe in qualifying to get a surprise 2^nd with Leclerc. Vettel’s poor performance is rather sad given how capable he can be. Meanwhile McLaren had a stonking weekend with both drivers performing very well and grabbing a great haul of points, including a first podium for Norris.

Hamilton failed to get pole, couldn’t pass Bottas on track, then ended up down in 4^th. A weekend to forget, but provided he puts it behind him the reigning champion still has everything he needs to win yet another title. Strangely lacklustre, though.

Perez’s 5s penalty was a blemish on an otherwise strong weekend for the talented Mexican. But he did still end up 6^th, which isn’t bad, and he knows he’s got a car that’s the third or fourth fastest on the grid. Gasly was largely anonymous but must’ve been doing something right because he got 7^th, and Ocon likewise was 8^th (perhaps due to the many retirements). Giovinazzi was 9^th and Vettel ended up only 10^th.

Given Raikkonen, Russell, Grosjean, Magnussen, Stroll, Ricciardo, and Verstappen all retired that isn’t great.

So, a very mixed Ferrari weekend. Strong but not flawless from Mercedes. Great return to form for McLaren, Racing Point also looking strong. Nightmarish for Haas and Red Bull.

After round 1, here’s the Constructors:

Mercedes 37

McLaren 26

Ferrari 19

Racing Point 8

Alpha Tauri 6

Renault 4

Alfa Romeo 2

Red Bull/Haas/Williams 0

Really enjoyed that race. Tip didn’t come off, but that’s why it’s called gambling instead of ‘incredibly low-risk investment for cautious people’. And for the next race we have something to go on. Quite a lot actually, because it’s at the same circuit for the Styrian Grand Prix next weekend.

Morris Dancer