Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton followed a strong qualifying performance with a victory on Sunday at the special Formula One Styrian Grand Prix held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
Hamilton pulled cleanly away from pole and was never unsettled from there, despite Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen holding second for most of the race. Unfortunately for the Dutchman, a damaged front wing and fading tires saw Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas overtake just four laps from the finish. Bottas would cross the finish line second, 13.719 seconds behind Hamilton, with Verstappen finishing third, 33.698 seconds behind the winner.
There was big drama at the start of the race when Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc collided going into Turn 3 in the first lap. Vettel was ahead when Leclerc made a move up the inside, with Leclerc's car ending up bouncing after hitting the curbs and Vettel's car, causing Vettel's rear wing to shear off in the process. The move, for which Leclerc later apologized, ended the race for both drivers.
2020 Formula One Styrian Grand Prix
The safety car was brought out to clear debris from the track and the race was able to resume on lap four. Around lap 19, there was also a bit of infighting between Renault's Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, with Ocon defending moves against his teammate on multiple occasions. Unfortunately for Ocon, cooling issues with his car ended his race seven laps on.
Later, there was some brilliant fighting between Racing Point's Sergio Perez and McLaren's Carlos Sainz, and then later between Perez and Red Bull's Alexander Albon, with Albon ultimately coming out on top to finish the race at fourth. Perez suffered some front wing damage from his tussle with Albon, which allowed McLaren's Lando Norris to move past and claim fifth spot.
After the 2020 F1 season's second round, Bottas leads the Drivers' Championship with 43 points. Hamilton is second with 37 points and Norris is third with 26 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes leads with 80 points versus the 39 of McLaren and 27 of Red Bull. The next race on the calendar is the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 19.
2020 Formula One Styrian Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2020 Formula One Styrian Grand Prix:
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG
2) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG +13.719 seconds
3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +33.698 seconds
4) Alexander Albon, Red Bull Racing +44.400 seconds
5) Lando Norris, McLaren +61.470 seconds
6) Sergio Perez, Racing Point +62.387 seconds
7) Lance Stroll, Racing Point +62.453 seconds
8) Daniel Ricciardo, Renault +62.591 seconds
9) Carlos Sainz, McLaren +1 lap
10) Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri +1 lap
11) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
12) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
13) Romain Grosjean, Haas +1 lap
14) Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
15) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +1 lap
16) George Russell, Williams +2 laps
17) Nicholas Latifi, Williams +2 laps
NC) Esteban Ocon, Renault DNF
NC) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari DNF
NC) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari DNF
