Styrian Grand Prix: pre-qualifying 2020


There was a rumour that an old driver might be returning to Renault in 2021. Hulkenberg was an obvious choice, but in surprising news it’s actually some Spanish fellow called Fernando Alonso. He’s undoubtedly talented but also prone to rocking boats. Time will tell if this is wise or silly.

In sad news, those concerned about the Russian Grand Prix were depressed to learn it’ll be going ahead. The Tuscan Grand Prix has also been added to the calendar, bringing the current total of races in 2020 to 10, with every chance of more being included.

Meanwhile, we have the peculiar situation of a back-to-back race at the same circuit, an event to be repeated in the United Kingdom in the near future. Teams will have obviously learnt a lot, but weather conditions may be different for qualifying and/or the race.

It’s possible qualifying will be a washout, and with tight timing between races a more cautious approach could be prudent. If that’s the case then the result for second practice will constitute the grid.

Perez topped the first session, a tenth ahead of Verstappen. Bottas was next up, a tiny margin ahead of Hamilton. Stroll and Albon followed, ahead of Sainz, Gasly, Ricciardo, and Vettel.

There was some bad news for Norris, who has been handed a three place grid penalty for yellow flag naughtiness in first practice.

In second practice Ricciardo had a crash, so he must hope that qualifying proper actually goes ahead.

In terms of the timesheet, FP2 had Verstappen half a tenth ahead of Bottas. The second row, if it comes to that, is pink territory with Perez ahead of Stroll, followed by Sainz and Hamilton, whose car went a bit wonky and wasn’t fixed in time for him to be able to improve his standing. Albon and Norris follow (pre-penalty), with Leclerc and Ocon rounding out the top 10. Vettel’s all the way down in 16th.

Weather forecasts can change, and are often inaccurate, but at the time of writing there’s an indicated 98% chance of heavy rain during qualifying tomorrow. However, third practice may well be fine and that would overwrite the second practice result. I won’t be betting on the presumption that second practice will determine the grid.

Third practice was rained off. Qualifying remains possible (may be delayed) but may not occur at all. Given that, I’m not especially keen on betting on qualifying. And the markets were taking a while to wake up so there’s no tip.

I like qualifying, but if it doesn’t happen the grid will be quite intriguing.

The pre-race ramble will probably appear tomorrow, either way.

Morris Dancer

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