The winners and losers of the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix

It may have been seven months since we last had an F1 race, but the wait was worth it, as the Austrian Grand Prix ensured that the 2020 F1 season started abruptly. But while there were some explosive highs for some, others lamented missing opportunities. We select the winners and losers of the Red Bull Ring …

READ MORE: how Hamilton’s Austrian GP strategy failed at him and played into Bottas’ hands

Winner: Lando Norris

“I can’t believe I went from being a full-time @Twitch streamer to the third youngest F1 podium finalist in a matter of days,” Lando Norris tweeted the morning after the sensational day before.

The Brit was one of the stars of the running of the bulls, opening the door of his life to fans through social media at all times and increasing his already growing legion of support.

For much of last year, he was in the shadow of Carlos Sainz, but left Austria on Sunday, proving to McLaren that while Sainz could go to Ferrari, they have a future star in him who will push the starters. Daniel Ricciardo hard.

The fact that he set his fastest first lap, on his last lap, to get a podium, after having overtaken Sergio Pérez when he realized that time was pressing, showed that the Briton has the vanguard that all great pilots they need.

Exciting times ahead of Norris, McLaren, and indeed Formula 1.

LOOK: Norris’ emotional radio message after his inaugural podium, and McLaren’s joyous reaction

Loser: Max Verstappen

In preparation for the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, Max Verstappen would have done very well if he had a euro for every time he was asked about the potential to secure a hat-trick of victories in Austria or his chances of winning. take the title this year.

Unfortunately for him, this weekend did not turn out as many expected. His qualifying performance was strong, and he was well positioned to challenge the victory having been promoted to second place on the grid, following Lewis Hamilton’s penalty for failing to slow down under yellow flags in qualifying, and kept pace. with race leader Valtteri Bottas.

READ MORE: Verstappen mourns loss of ‘easy podium’ at Austrian season opener

But an electrical problem robbed him and fans of a possible victory fight, and Honda is now working with the team to investigate what went wrong. The only saving grace, perhaps, is that defending champion Hamilton was only ranked fourth, lessening the point damage, but Verstappen will see this as a great missed opportunity.

Winner: Charles Leclerc

Luck. This is how Charles Leclerc described this weekend, and while that is true given that Ferrari came up with a car that was almost identical to the one they ran in preseason testing, you have to do your own luck, and Leclerc certainly did.

The Monegasque must have been dejected when the team told him that they needed to review the direction of the car’s development so dramatically that a new car would be introduced from Hungary onwards. But he did not drop his head.

READ MORE: ‘P2 feels like victory’ – Leclerc hails Austria’s recovery as one of his best races

And despite a series of difficult practice sessions and a difficult qualification, he made the most of the car and kept his nose clean throughout the race, unlike his teammate Vettel. A perfectly executed strategy and good use of new tires in the final stage allowed him to fight for second place. A remarkable feat given that he was almost a second off pole in qualifying.

Losers: Haas

Brakes, and lack of them. That was the story of the Haas Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Traditionally, the Red Bull Ring is a track where they have enjoyed good results, and the initial feedback was that the car is better this year and, more importantly, they seem to understand it.

But on race day it brought little joy, as overheating in both cars caused brake problems for Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, eventually forcing their retirements.

CLOCK: Austrian Grand Prix 2020: Magnussen leaves the race

This was a miserable start to 2020 for the American team on paper, and their sixth pointless double ends in succession going back to last year, but there were flashes of hope that they have a better base to work from this year.

Winner: Valtteri Bottas

Porridge and oatmeal pancakes have been the fuel of choice for Valtteri Bottas over the winter as he appeared to be fit, faster and better than ever for his last title shot, and the first signs are that his new regimen is working.

Sure, Bottas generally runs well in Austria, but he had yet to deliver when he counted, and the Finn was not wrong, “dodged the bullets” as he secured it to secure victory in the season opener for the second consecutive time. season to open a 13 point lead over Hamilton.

READ MORE: Bottas says he ‘dodged a lot of bullets’ to win the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix

There is a long way to go, of course, and Hamilton will surely return, but Bottas knows that if he has any chance of winning an inaugural world championship, he needs to press the first doors and then keep his foot on the gas.This dominant victory gives him the opportunity. to do it.

Loser: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton’s impressive maturity has meant that he can handle the difficulties with smoothness, so he accepted the fact that Austria “was just one of those weekends.”

The Briton was penalized twice, once in qualifying for failing to slow down the yellow flags, and then again in the race for contacting Alex Albon for the second time in three races.

READ MORE: Hamilton Accepts Albon Crash Penalty, Admitting “I Can’t Believe It Happened Again”

The fourth is not very good, but his self-confidence and skill is such that he knows he can invent them, and this defeat (which incidentally was the fourth time in a row that he failed to get on the podium in Austria) will probably only serve to motivate him. to come back stronger.

Winner: Sergio Pérez

The weekend started with a rather nasty nasal violation for Sergio Pérez (check his social channels to see the video of his Covid-19 test), but from there it only improved.

The Mexican described his Racing Point RP20 as the best car he has ever driven, and made good use of it at the Red Bull Ring, at one point seeking the podium only to lose drivers with fresher tires after a third. Auto insurance.

WATCH: PADDOCK PASS – Get all the reaction after a wild day of racing in Austria

But the sixth continues to match his best result at the Austrian Grand Prix, and he will be encouraged by the fact that his car looks like a midfield hitter, with a potential threat to attack the top three.

Loser: Sebastian Vettel

This was not Sebastian Vettel’s best career. The German struggled all weekend with the car and in the race he simply had no confidence in the brakes.

That perhaps explains why he was wrong when he was fighting Carlos Sainz at Turn 3. There seemed to be slight contact, with Vettel the loser when he turned around and fell to the bottom of the field.

READ MORE: ‘I’m happy I only toured once,’ says Vettel after describing Ferrari as undrivable in Austria.

He bounced back to 10th place, the first time he finished in that position in 241 starts, but that’s not something to stand out for and he’ll look much better, especially since his teammate was in second place.

Winner: Formula 1

After months of work and unprecedented collaboration between Formula 1, the FIA ​​governing body and the 10 teams, a revised opening schedule was created and a strict set of safety procedures were established to allow F1 to return to to compete.

Now, it’s just the first race, and no one in F1 takes anything for granted, but getting through the first weekend with no major problems and no positive Covid-19 results from more than 4,000 tests on Saturday, all while organizing a race. cracking, it’s a good start.

READ MORE: Ross Brawn’s Column: Great To See Norris Come Of Age When F1 Returns With A Thriller In Austria

Loser: Reliability

Formula 1 cars have become almost bulletproof in recent years, such is the technical prowess of engineers in the pit lane.

So perhaps it was a surprise to see that only 11 of the 20 cars made it to the checkered flag, while in last year’s race, there was not a single retirement.

The teams are rusty, of course, and aside from some running very little in a shakedown, they haven’t handled their cars seriously since pre-season testing in February, so the discomfort is to be expected.

READ MORE: Bottas defeats Leclerc and Norris to win the dramatic Austrian GP while Hamilton is penalized