Valtteri Bottas may have brought home today’s victory Formula One season opener in Austria, but the real news for today is McLaren driver Lando Norris’ first finale on the podium, even though he has to thank Lewis Hamilton for absorbing five seconds Too bad it took him to fourth place.
Hamilton was slapped with that penalty after a tangle on lap 61 with the Red Bull driver Alex Albon. Race officials concluded that Hamilton did not give the full width of a car outside when Albon circled him. The contact between the two ended Albon’s career early.
Albon was far from the only pilot to retire early in an exciting way. in this opener season. Red bulls Max Verstappen’s career ended during lap 11, Alfa’s Kimi Raikkonen was out after losing his right front wheel on return 53, and AlphaTauri Daniil Kvyat was out after a rear guardflat tire only two laps before the end of the race. All in all, nine drivers failed to pass this season.
Norris’ podium was not the only first result of this race. Lower in the results, Sebastian Vettel made his career the tenth place finish today, putting a brake on the surprisingly impressive results for Ferrari, due to to second place by Charles LeClerc after a race from the center of the group to the front in the final stages of the race. LeClerc’s podium surprised more after a average yield in qualifying earlier this weekend.
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Today’s race was the first to incorporate new guidelines to guarantee social distancing and the risk of viral infection Transmission is minimized. Next week, FoFormula One returns to the Red Bull Ring for the second race of the season as the series tries to minimize travel and exposure acovid-19 for drivers and support staff alike as he progresses through his 2020 season. After this race, it’s clear that we won’t just be watching landslides related to covid-19. We have to keep our eye on Norris too, as long as his car isn’t sold below himof course.
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