Changes to the electrical looming on Mercedes’ W11 has made them less concerned their cars could be jeopardised by the fault which threatened to put both cars out during last weekend’s race.
However the team is still not fully certain it has solved the problem, as trackside operations director Andrew Shovlin explained.Asked how concerned he was about having to manage the same problem in Sunday’s race, Shovlin said: “Compared to last weekend, which was a 10 out of 10. Probably more like a sort of four or five out of 10.
“But we’ve not done enough running on this solution to really know whether there’s there’s going to be an issue during the race. What we know is that we can do a few hundred kilometres okay and there isn’t a problem. But ticking off the race tomorrow be quite a big milestone for us if we can get through that without a problem.”
Lewis Hamilton took pole position in streaming wet conditions yesterday by an astonishing margin of Max Verstappen. But he will be a clear threat to Mercedes from the start of the race, and team principal Toto Wolff admitted that will play a role in deciding how hard the team lets its driver ride the Red Bull Ring’s kerbs.
“There will be laps where you have no chance of not using them,” he said. “I think wherever Max is, leading or behind us, just cruising around neatly avoiding the kerbs is not going to be possible.
“Constantly massacring the suspension, that is something that would cause us a headache. So once we have settled in our positions, then we will be trying to avoid the kerbs. It’s a very Austria-specific topic.”
But it isn’t just Mercedes who have reliability concerns to worry about. Almost every team suffered some kind of problem during last week’s race. Including, of course, Verstappen, who can ill-afford another zero at Red Bull’s home track.
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For the second race in a row, he will start on the front row alongside one of the Mercedes. Last week the team picked a different strategy to Mercedes, starting on the medium instead of soft tyres, and he was just beginning to match leader Valtteri Bottas’s times when his car failed 10 laps in.
The rain has produced a very different grid to the one we might have expected in dry conditions. The Racing Point drivers, third and fourth on Friday, will line up outside the top 10. George Russell’s Williams has scaled the rare heights of 11th.
Further back, Charles Leclerc’s penalty means the Ferrari driver has a lot of progress to make for 14th. His remarks yesterday indicated he trimmed his downforce levels despite the downpour, in the hope of being quicker in today’s race. The speed trap figures indicate that may well be the case – the other five Ferrari-powered cars are rooted to the bottom of the times, Leclerc 11th.
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Sector times
| Driver | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 18.935 (1) | 34.573 (1) | 24.099 (1) |
| Max Verstappen | 19.007 (2) | 34.692 (3) | 24.164 (2) |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 19.162 (5) | 34.654 (2) | 24.242 (3) |
| Valtteri Bottas | 19.097 (3) | 34.968 (6) | 24.295 (5) |
| Esteban Ocon | 19.322 (10) | 34.879 (5) | 24.469 (8) |
| Alexander Albon | 19.132 (4) | 35.054 (8) | 24.539 (11) |
| Pierre Gasly | 19.244 (8) | 35.017 (7) | 24.458 (7) |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 19.209 (7) | 35.246 (9) | 24.478 (9) |
| Lando Norris | 19.163 (6) | 34.760 (4) | 24.267 (4) |
| Sebastian Vettel | 19.405 (13) | 35.372 (10) | 24.752 (13) |
| George Russell | 19.506 (16) | 35.416 (12) | 24.525 (10) |
| Lance Stroll | 19.247 (9) | 35.439 (13) | 24.797 (14) |
| Daniil Kvyat | 19.337 (11) | 35.401 (11) | 24.397 (6) |
| Charles Leclerc | 19.350 (12) | 35.450 (14) | 24.677 (12) |
| Kevin Magnussen | 19.482 (15) | 35.487 (15) | 24.862 (15) |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 19.524 (17) | 36.248 (18) | 25.106 (16) |
| Sergio Perez | 19.541 (19) | 36.291 (19) | 25.117 (17) |
| Nicholas Latifi | 19.538 (18) | 36.103 (17) | 25.587 (18) |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | 19.469 (14) | 35.963 (16) | 25.664 (19) |
| Romain Grosjean | 49.014 (20) |
Speed trap
| Pos | Driver | Car | Engine | Speed (kph/mph) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | Mercedes | 297.6 (184.9) | |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | Mercedes | 295.4 (183.6) | -2.2 |
| 3 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | Mercedes | 295.4 (183.6) | -2.2 |
| 4 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull | Honda | 295.4 (183.6) | -2.2 |
| 5 | George Russell | Williams | Mercedes | 295.2 (183.4) | -2.4 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 295.1 (183.4) | -2.5 |
| 7 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Honda | 295.0 (183.3) | -2.6 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | Renault | 293.9 (182.6) | -3.7 |
| 9 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Mercedes | 293.8 (182.6) | -3.8 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | Renault | 293.5 (182.4) | -4.1 |
| 11 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Ferrari | 293.3 (182.2) | -4.3 |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren | Renault | 292.7 (181.9) | -4.9 |
| 13 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Honda | 292.7 (181.9) | -4.9 |
| 14 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Renault | 292.4 (181.7) | -5.2 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | Honda | 292.1 (181.5) | -5.5 |
| 16 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 291.4 (181.1) | -6.2 |
| 17 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 291.1 (180.9) | -6.5 |
| 18 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | Ferrari | 290.9 (180.8) | -6.7 |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 287.1 (178.4) | -10.5 |
| 20 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Ferrari | 228.4 (141.9) | -69.2 |
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Over to you
Can Verstappen stop Hamilton converting pole position into victory? Will Bottas still be leading the championship tonight?
Share your views on the Styrian Grand Prix in the comments.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
2020 Styrian Grand Prix
- “I’m very unimpressed”: Drivers’ mixed responses to team orders in Styrian GP
- Mercedes still “not 100% clear” what caused gearbox problems
- 2020 Styrian Grand Prix Star Performers
- F1’s trophy robots are ‘a bit over the top’ – Hamilton
- Verstappen’s broken front wing had “significant” effect on car
Ian Mark Gondwe (@img343)
12th July 2020, 11:48
Poor writing. They’re a lot of mistakes.
Nomad
12th July 2020, 11:58
*There are
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
12th July 2020, 12:23
Oh, god, the irony
Mashiat (@mashiat)
12th July 2020, 12:23
@img343 Is this comment purposefully ironic?
Ian Mark Gondwe (@img343)
12th July 2020, 12:25
Duhhh
Jere (@jerejj)
12th July 2020, 11:58
Can Verstappen stop Hamilton converting pole position into victory? – Not on pure pace.
Will Bottas still be leading the championship tonight? – Yes.
XMG (@)
12th July 2020, 12:19
I’ve got a gut feeling that Bottas is going to win this one again today. I think he’ll pass Verstappen at some stage on pure pace, and will luck in to victory due to a safety car and/or mechanical issues.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
12th July 2020, 12:33
@sparkyamg Bottas can only win if he is ahead after lap 1. He struggles in race pace, and Hamilton will easily be able to manage the pace to Bottas.
Alex
12th July 2020, 12:39
Yeah if Hamilton is ahead at turn 1 he’ll win the race. Bottas just can’t keep up with Hamiltons race pace let alone catch him. As to mechanical issues that could happen to anyone at anytime so a bit of a mute point.
XMG (@)
12th July 2020, 12:48
@mashiat yep, hence why I said I think he’ll luck in.
It’s just a feeling though.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
12th July 2020, 13:49
@sparkyamg Perhaps you could be right, but I never have hope for Bottas because he is incapable of running a more conservative strategy as Hamilton did in Silverstone last year for example. I think the only person who might be able to luck in might be Verstappen, as he might benefit from a SC or a VSC by running longer.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
12th July 2020, 12:46
I hope that Bottas retains the championship lead and Verstappen wins the race. But I expect Bottas to fail to finish and Hamilton to cruise to an ultra snoozefest victory. I hope this comment ages poorly.
Sameer Cader (@)
12th July 2020, 12:58
Should be a good race not as crazy as Austria Round 1 but still a good one.
Only Facts!
12th July 2020, 13:11
Bottas will overtake Sainz in The first lap. Sainz will than active smooth operator and let the carnage behind him.
Albon will have a lot of pressure from himself. Perez will go for mediums at the start and will escalate the field easily.
Russell will drop to 16th unfortunately. There’s nothing he can do.
Leclerc Will have goosebumps when passing Vettel.