Racing Out of Lockdown
It genuinely felt like something was missing from my life at a time when I could have really used the lift F1 gives me. A distraction from the real news. The easy social interaction and an excuse to call people to chat about the latest developments. The elation of watching the lights go out and watching the world's best drivers competing in the world's fastest cars.
When they first published the eight confirmed races for this season I chose not to get my hopes up as it could after all change so quickly. The world has changed in ways we do not even understand yet as a result of this insidious virus and so has F1 but in every way the sport I have missed so much is back. It is time to go racing and there is every indication that despite the obvious lack of crowds and ubiquitous masks that appear in every image this season has all the hallmarks of a classic. The usual order has been turned on its head and we start at the Red Bull Ring at Spielberg in Austria and this race looks like it might be a worthy way for F1 to return. Here are 5 reasons why the the 2020 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix might just be the race we need:
Max Verstappen
The Formula 1 pundits seem unusually united in their view that Max Verstappen will win the Austrian GP. This is partly because predicting that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will win another race does not make particularly good copy but there is also a simple logic that underpins these predictions. Red Bull look strong; an easy second on the grid and their old swagger is back. The car has received both aero and engine upgrades for the race and the pre-season testing performance was impressive, but this prediction is more about Max than the car. He has won the last two Austrian races back to back in impressive style and this is certainly a track that brings out the best in him, but this overlooks the fact that at both of the previous races Mercedes were off of their normally dominant pace with technical issues. I suspect that with a Mercedes that James Alison claims has addressed these weaknesses and was simply dominant in pre-season testing that things might not go all Max's way.
Testing Assumptions
Pre-season testing seems like a long time ago and that is because in F1 terms it was. There are normally some shocks at the first race as teams lift out strategically placed sandbags or address flaws that they didn't find in the wind tunnel. This year the gap between pre-season testing and the first race has been the longest in the history of the sport, but what will this mean? It will almost certainly exacerbate the gap between the haves and the have nots. Teams with big budgets like Mercedes, Red Bull and Renault have already brought a slew of upgrades with them, teams like Haas have already admitted that they aren't going to develop the car until they understand if they have a future in the sport. Two of the teams, Williams and McLaren, hit financial problems during the shutdown and this cannot have helped their development pathway, but what about Ferrari? Unless this is one of the greatest bluffs in the history of the sport Ferrari have had to go back to the drawing board. The shutdown has given them the time, and an unexpected extra season with the current cars the impetus, to start designing again from first principals. The car will not be ready until Hungary and so it is likely that Austria will be painful for the team, but it shows a boldness in decision making that has been missing at Maranello for a while. At the back of the grid it looked like Williams might have caught the back of the midfield pack; it is a make or break season and they need too if they are going to have a future.
Bottas 3.0?
When the porridge munching Finn won the first race of the 2019 F1 season he passionately announced to the world's media 'To whom it may concern, f*** you.', the F1 paddock claimed we had seen the dawn of Valtteri Bottas 2.0. It turned out to be more of a version 1.5 over the course of the season where he struggled to keep up with Lewis Hamilton's intensity and consistency. At the start of this season much has been made of Bottas' training regime in the off season and his new relationship with some people announcing that we are going to see an upgraded Bottas 3.0. Will he live up to the hype or is this an attempt to make it look less like Lewis Hamilton's season? Bottas needs to if he wants to keep his seat as George Russell has his eyes on his spot at Mercedes.
Midfield Madness
In a very exciting turn of events the midfield teams seem to have closed up and be closer to the top three. This should lead to an exciting battle made even more interesting by some significant inter-team moves that have already been confirmed for next season and a number of drivers who still have unsigned contracts. It will be interesting to see what Ocon can do at Renault after a year out and to see how he measures up against Daniel Ricciardo. Can Racing Point challenge for podiums in the Pink Mercedes and is Lance Stroll up to the job? How will their financial woes have effected McLaren? These and more questions make for not just a great first race but also an exciting season.
The First Corner
It has been a long time since the drivers raced in anger and whilst they will have been practicing in the simulator or getting some karting in there is bound to be at least one driver who overestimates either their own talents or the limits of their cars. This coupled with a lot of drivers on the grid with a point to prove could lead to a very exciting start to the race.
Words: Mike Whitmarsh
Images: F1.Com
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