Valtteri Bottas won the season-opening race for the second year in a row following a lively race at the Red Bull Ring.
The Mercedes drivers looked in a commanding position after Max Verstappen, the strongest threat to the pair, retired early on. Lewis Hamilton, who was relegated to fifth on the grid moments before the race due to a penalty, rose back up to the second place he was originally supposed to occupy.But Mercedes were preoccupied with technical problems on their cars, and repeatedly told both drivers to avoid the kerbs. Their handy lead over the rest of the field was erased by a late Safety Car, which brought the other Red Bull onto their tails.
Alexander Albon used the Safety Car opportunity to take a fresh set of softs tyres, and once the race restarted looked a clear threat to the Mercedes drivers. However his attempt to go around the outside of Hamilton at turn four ended in the second collision between the pair in three races. Just as in Brazil, Albon slipped down the order while Hamilton was given a time penalty.
The places behind them were settled over a spectacular final few laps. Charles Leclerc emerged from the midfield to take third, which became second after Hamilton’s penalty.
Sergio Perez was also penalised, for pit lane speeding, costing him a potential podium finish. Lando Norris – who put a muscular and, as it turned out, unnecessary move on the Racing Point driver – took third for McLaren.
Hamilton fell to fourth after his penalty, followed by Carlos Sainz Jnr and the similar penalised Perez.
Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Antonio Giovinazzi and Sebastian Vettel completed the points scorers, the latter spinning earlier in the race. The only other driver still running at the end was Nicholas Latifi.
The first race of the season saw an unusually high number of retirements. After Verstappen dropped out he was swiftly joined by Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll. Both Haas drivers dropped out, while George Russell’s retirement triggered the race-altering Safety Car. Kimi Raikkonen’s car caused another interrupted when it shed its front-right wheel as the race was restarting.
2020 Austrian Grand Prix reaction
[catlist tags=’2020-austrian-grand-prix-reaction’ numberposts=-1 no_posts_text=’Check back shortly for more race reaction’
Kingshark (@kingshark)
5th July 2020, 16:14
Hamilton cost Albon his maiden win, in all likelihood
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
5th July 2020, 16:19
I would rephrase that to Albon lost his maiden win himself. He just needed to be patient, on fresh softs with DRS he should easily have been able to pass both Mercedes.
I’ve seen a fair comments already about how Hamilton crashed into Albon again, but that’s not how I saw it at all. They were side by side going into the corner, and you cannot just decide three quarters into the corner “Ok, now I take the racing line and you should disappear”. If you want to make that move, you need to give space to the car that is already there.
Josh (@canadianjosh)
5th July 2020, 16:20
Albon couldn’t afford to be patient because Valtteri would have driven off.
Nik (@nickelodeon81)
5th July 2020, 16:23
Can’t afford to be patient? That’s doesn’t seem like a good strategy. Take each place as it comes, every overtake is risky. Can’t be blinded by the WIN while sitting 3rd.
Josh (@canadianjosh)
5th July 2020, 16:26
In that particular phase of the race if he thought he could get a win he couldn’t afford to be patient and wait for DRS. Valtteri would have been gone.
Simon (@simon999)
5th July 2020, 19:51
I’d say that’s a fair point, but what it means is that Albon took on the risk in pursuit of a victory over just settling for a podium. It didn’t come off, and maybe with hindsight he’d have done a different approach, but I don’t blame him for trying it and don’t blame Hamilton for the way he defended.
The Stewards thought it was worth a small penalty to Hamilton, fair enough, but it wasn’t some horrendous error by either of them.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
5th July 2020, 16:29
@adrianmorse
Complete nonsense. Albon drove clean around the outside of Hamilton and left him more than enough room on the exit. Hamilton simply understeered into Albon and crashed into him. That crash was 100% Hamilton’s fault, reminiscent of Maldonado vs Gutierrez at Bahrain 2014
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
5th July 2020, 16:44
@kingshark is this a serious comment, Maldonado-Gutierrez Bahrain? I did just rewatch that, Maldonado came out of the pits, was two car lengths behind, and smashed into Gutierrez mid corner. Lewis was actually ahead of Albon when they entered the corner.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
5th July 2020, 16:47
It doesn’t matter about corner entry, what matters is the point of contact. Albon was almost an entire car length ahead of Hamilton on corner exit and was completely on the outside of the track when Hamilton understeered and crashed into his rear tyre.
w0o0dy (@w0o0dy)
5th July 2020, 16:54
Ahead? Get some glasses! He was outbreaked slightly and Albon drove by around the outside and was 3/4 in front. Really weird how people see things that aren’t there just to justify the (bad) behaviour of their favourite.
Simon (@simon999)
5th July 2020, 19:59
@kingshark – the only thing I’d ask if is Hamilton could realistically avoid it at that point? At corner entry it certainly wasn’t clear cut that Albon would get the place.
A move around the outside is always risky for precisely the reason you mention. The driver on the inside, if they have nowhere to go and no way to change trajectory (which I don’t think Hamilton did at that point, but can only speculate), might tag you as you try and get round the outside.
Hamilton would probably have had to cede the place before corner entry in order to avoid that contact. That would have been very unusual behaviour for any F1 driver, in a marginal scenario.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
5th July 2020, 16:32
@adrianmorse you’ve got that wrong. First, he had to overtake Hamilton quickly to be able to catch Bottas and pass him while the tyres were at their prime. Secondly, they were side to side all the way through the corner and Alex was ahead at the exit. The racing line goes wide into the kerb, where Albon was.
While Hamilton probably understeered there, and there wasn’t much he could do to avoid it, it was hardly Albon’s fault. He was already ahead by a long way. The fact that the contact happened to late into the move shows it was clearly Hamilton’s fault.
matt90
5th July 2020, 16:39
But Albon wasn’t on the kerb. Had he been further left where there was an entire width of kerb (no idea if there was any slither of racetrack as for some reason they didn’t show an onboard), he’d have passed Hamilton without contact regardless of whether Hamilton had continued to wash wide or not.
Kribana (@krichelle)
5th July 2020, 17:33
This is another thing I question if Hamilton needed to defend himself for this one. When Albon is ahead of Hamilton just at the exit of corner, there is space left on his left where he could go to ensure that he would have avoided Hamilton.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EHBgQw5OecA
If you pause at 0:17 in the video, on Albon’s left side, there is a lot of room left of him at the exit kerb, and had his trajectory been towards there, he would have made the overtake without colliding with Hamilton. The first impression when I saw the collision was that Albon did not use the entire track to his advantage. It feels harsh to punish either one of them on this one, but well, they gave the penalty, and well, if Mercedes protest, then we’ll see what happens.
Jack (@jackisthestig)
5th July 2020, 21:07
@krichelle It’s all very well pausing videos at certain points but the move was already done on the way into the corner. Once Albon was in a position to exploit his extra grip around the outside Hamilton was only ever going to loose the position or clumsily run into the Red Bull. In the same position Norris managed not to hit Leclerc.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
5th July 2020, 16:52
@fer-no65, true, there was a sense of urgency, although we have no way of knowing whether he could have passed with ease had he waited or whether he would have been stuck then.
I still don’t think the contact was Hamilton’s fault. They were side-by-side very closely mid-corner, and then Albon starts to accelerate (because he can earlier on his fresh tyres), and their wheels which were already interlocking now touch. I feel it’s hard to apportion more blame to one than the other, so I would conclude racing incident. Giving a penalty for something like this I find way too harsh.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
5th July 2020, 16:42
@adrianmorse
He doesn’t have to be patient, he went for a gap and tried to pass Hamilton from the outside which is a demonstration of how much grip he has on the newly fitted tyres. Hamilton didn’t leave enough space when Albon made the pass work and was already in front. It’s simple he did “a crash or let me pass maneuver” to Albon
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
6th July 2020, 3:59
Lewis had full lock on his steering wheel, and Albon had a ton of space to his left. There was nothing else Lewis could do. It could have been avoided had Albon taken the kerbs.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EHBgQw5OecA
Pause at 0:27
Mark Zastrow (@markzastrow)
5th July 2020, 17:14
@adrianmorse
At first I thought you were saying this of Hamilton—IMO, it applies to him more than Albon. Albon was significantly ahead at that point of the corner and Hamilton can’t just wish Albon would disappear off the track.
I can’t help but feel that this is Hamilton’s instinct to run people into the runoff—which he usually judges perfectly and and is completely legal—biting him here. IIRC there’s only the slightest strip of green-painted tarmac on the outside of that corner, so there was nowhere for Albon to go. I don’t think Albon had quite reached the edge of the track at the point of contact as the exit comes quite late, but he was on a trajectory to do so and had certainly left more than enough racing room for Hamilton.
F1Recorder
5th July 2020, 19:06
If it was Hamilton doing this, no one would say: “He should be careful and waited”. Instead everybody would be saying that a real driver never waits, like Senna never did.
When its a young driver like Albon, everybody point how naive he was.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, Hamilton did, that’s why he was punished, again, and it wasn’t that bad, even with the penalty he only finish one place bellow.
faulty (@faulty)
5th July 2020, 19:45
@adrianmorse How does the saying go? To finish first…
ColdFly (@)
6th July 2020, 9:11
Something like this?: ‘to finish first you first have to finish off overtaking the cars ahead of you!’
@faulty
MG1982 (@mg1982)
5th July 2020, 16:23
Yup, he cracked under pressure and destroyed others’ race in VET’s signature.
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
5th July 2020, 16:29
It seemed that way at the time, but Albon eventually retired anyway (unless the retirement was cuased by the colision).
Hamilton only hurt himself.
Jay
5th July 2020, 17:21
Hamilton has been at it since 2007. His time is also nearly done.
Chris (@chrisw)
5th July 2020, 20:42
Watching the race, Albon dove just slightly enough to put his front wheel in a spot where Hamilton had no choice but to tap it. Hamilton kept his line the entire turn. The penalty should not have even been given.
F1oSaurus (@)
5th July 2020, 21:28
@kingshark Yes and Mercedes thank Hamilton for this by letting him slide to P4
Josh (@canadianjosh)
5th July 2020, 16:19
In all fairness to Lewis, watching his on-board he never moved into Albon and literally held his line, Albon accelerated and hit the back of Lewis’ front tire with his rear tyre. Anyways it cost them both.
BlueChris (@bluechris)
5th July 2020, 16:20
He was slipping slightly and watch it again, he lifted the gas and his cornering radius widened.
Anyway… i suppose Hamilton doesn’t like the kid…
Sameer Cader (@)
5th July 2020, 16:23
Stewards saw it differently… “causing a collision”
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 16:39
Yes, he understeered into Albons line. But albon still gave up a likely race win trying to overtake from the outside in a corner where overtakes don’t usually happen from the outside. Albon could have chosen his points of overtake, he had that much pace. Bottas wasn’t going anywhere fast.
Saad Mughal
5th July 2020, 21:35
If it was any either driver they would have been praised for trying round the outside. Both sainz and Norris were overtaken there around the outside and they both avoided it
Humb S (@humb)
6th July 2020, 2:12
Really nice from you to acknoledge you missed a detail. Kudos. Rare thing to see these days.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th July 2020, 16:19
Wait, without that move, Norris would have been stuck behind Perez longer and lost time to Hamilton, why was it unnecessary?
Chaitanya
5th July 2020, 16:21
Norris’s move was quite fair and it was timed correctly he would have lost podium without that move so it wasn’t remotely unnecessary
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
5th July 2020, 16:29
@bascb I was about to say the same thing. Without that gutsy overtake, he’d not have been able to set the fastest lap and snatch 3rd place. It was VERY necessary.
ColdFly (@)
5th July 2020, 16:46
Indeed @bascb, and I think it was Sainz who did the unnecessary move on Perez.
Mike Davies (@nanotech)
5th July 2020, 16:49
+1
That “unnecessary” move made up several points for him, and looked legitimate as well.
Homerlovesbeer (@homerlovesbeer)
5th July 2020, 17:55
I’m with you guys….on what planet was the move”unnecessary”?
Without making the move he would have not been on the podium.
Humb S (@humb)
6th July 2020, 2:14
That essentialy had caused a collision, hadn’t it. Nobody spun, but was contact. It seems some drivers are allowed to do things that others can’t. Strange world.
jlb
5th July 2020, 16:19
What a race! When Max abandoned I thought the race was over, but I was so wrong! Super job from Lando and Charles, and what a shame the Albon incident. Also very dangerous the wheel mistake with Kimi, Seb was lucky. And seems that Mercedes’ reliability is in doubt. No surprise with Haas and their classic brake problems.
Kribana (@krichelle)
5th July 2020, 16:20
This was quite poor from Mercedes in the second safety car. Did they have enough time to pit? If they had enough time, then it was a clear cut that pitting was the best option. This would have prevented Albon from attacking Hamilton. In addition to that, if they wanted Hamilton to keep the podium, they should have let him pass Bottas for maximum chances once they knew he had a penalty. What a disappointment when the 1-2 was clearly secured. As for Hamilton, he needs a chill, and he will be back.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
5th July 2020, 16:27
I don’t think they had the opportunity, it looks like they had just past start-finish when the SC came out, and spent the whole lap behind it. By the time they reached pit entry, Perez was already in sight and Albon was not far off.
bosyber (@bosyber)
5th July 2020, 16:29
@krichelle I interpreted it as them not wanting to put extra stress on the gearbox (sensor?), so best to keep them running. Otherwise, yeah did seem like a missed chance. Actually, them being too cautious, controlling, about letting their drivers fight it out has cost them before, and it might have also cost them the 1-2 here too.
ColdFly (@)
5th July 2020, 16:48
I take it that in their quest to be fair to both drivers they did not want to pit one and leave the other out (to cover Albon had he stayed out).
I think they made a similar mistake yesterday by not leaving 1 car on mediums in Q2.
@krichelle
Kribana (@krichelle)
5th July 2020, 17:04
@coldfly
If they had time to pit, they should have double stacked again. They had 11 seconds over Albon, and they could have asked Hamilton to drop a few seconds to ensure that they can double stack. Pitting both of them unless they were really scared about damaging the gearbox sensors on both cars, provided they had the time, was the best way to ensure the 1-2. I do agree that they could have tried to go on the Medium tyre yesterday, which I am sure they will do for this upcoming weekend.
If they were just past the pit straight when the safety car came out, then that totally destroyed their race. I don’t believe that Bottas and Hamilton could defend from Albon on soft tyres, as that tyre is a difference of two compounds.
Not to be mean or harsh, but by colliding with Albon, Hamilton ensured that no Red Bull scored points, and gave Mercedes the win. What baffles me, is why they did not let Hamilton overtake Bottas to give him a chance to be on the podium.
w0o0dy (@w0o0dy)
5th July 2020, 16:21
Yup red tyres with about 5 laps Vs old hard tyres.. Hamilton should have conceded and Albon should have (would have) won. This again shows that Hamilton is not good at real fights on track and is the type of drive that stews others just because he cannot concede.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
5th July 2020, 16:21
I think the Hamilton penalty was a bit harsh. Albon chose to try and go around the outside Hamilton had no where to go. He definitely did not turn into Albon so it was a racing incident imo.
Tim (@tallen)
6th July 2020, 9:13
It possibly was a bit harsh as you could argue that Ham had no way of avoiding Albon as he was at full lock, but you could have argued it the other way. Ham should have seen Albon coming and anticipated the move.
I’m unconvinced that Albon would have won as he’d have had Ham on his rear trying to overtake him, despite the damaged Merc car, which would have made it difficult to get close enough to Bot.
Either way, they touched and Albon lost out big time and Ham was lucky he didn’t lose his car along with the 5s. If I were Hamilton, I’d count myself lucky to have ended up in 4th. Therefore what’s the point arguing about fault? We can’t change the penalty, put Albon back on the track or magic the Haas cars into race winning unicorns.
Wass85
5th July 2020, 16:22
Dominating performance by Bottas, he has definitely raised his game this season and must be favourite now for the title.
Blistering pace in qualifying and a measured race with reference levels of performance in tyre management and race craft.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th July 2020, 16:30
I’m a bottas fan myself, but I think it was clear that Hamilton has quite a speed advantage over Bottas. The pace difference if qualifying was virtually nothing and once Hamilton was in clean air, despite having not ran in fresh air, he was clearly a little quicker than Bottas. Bottas handled the pressure from his team and did every safety car restart perfectly.
His qualifying remains very good but I can only see him beating Hamilton if he is ahead by the end of lap 1 and their strategies are the same.
Wass85
5th July 2020, 16:37
So basically he was quick enough to win the race, he controlled the pace and managed his tyres perfectly.
Not once did Hamilton make a move on him, if he was that much faster he would have got by.
A perfect drive from the Finn and now a decent points advantage going in to the second race.
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 16:42
It was a great drive. But Bottas still has a race pace issue vs Hamilton and it shows.
Bram (@br444m)
5th July 2020, 17:02
@gufdamm Agreed. Hamilton managed to stay close in the high speed last sector for many laps. He had a large pace advantage.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
5th July 2020, 16:51
Didn’t he start last season like this, remember Bottas V 2.0?
Hamilton will win in the end, and I think both drivers know this.
ian dearing
5th July 2020, 17:05
And if he doesn’t you will be back on here rubbishing Bottas and calling him a journeyman.
Kribana (@krichelle)
5th July 2020, 17:12
After just one race? It is a shorter season, but let’s not get overly hyped about Bottas. He has been great for Mercedes, and I support him in winning the championship even though I am a fan for life of Hamilton. But, we said this for the last two seasons, and he could not maintain the challenge to Hamilton. I don’t know if Bottas was managing the car nor if he was struggling, but Hamilton was catching him quickly during the race, and he was able to follow Bottas for some laps. Let’s wait and see, but let’s not be overly hyped about it.
HUHHII (@huhhii)
5th July 2020, 17:51
@krichelle You’re forgetting lot of thins from last season. Hamilton had incredible luck throughout the season. In Monaco it should’ve been Mercedes 1-2 but bad timing in Q3 and a slow pit stop cost Bottas points. In Silverstone Bottas was on course for victory but VSC gifted a win to Hamilton. In Hockenheim Hamilton crashed twice and Bottas once yet it was Bottas who paid the price. Bottas was the only Mercedes driver to have a DNF due to reliability issues etc. The championship should’ve gone to the wire last season already but now when Bottas has improved I dare to say he is number one contender.
Niefer (@niefer)
6th July 2020, 2:25
No wonder why his motto is Still I Rise. Every now and then he somehow has fortunate key moments at races. With the Still We Rise everybody should brace themselves now, like there’s a Genki-Dama of blessing to come. 😂
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
5th July 2020, 17:27
Without the sensor issues and the team asking them to nurse the car, Hamilton would have eventually passed him.
Alex
5th July 2020, 23:50
Yeah I agree with this. I think Hamilton deserved the penalty today but there’s no doubt that he has the beating of Bottas for race pace. Before the first safety car Hamilton was taking 2-3 tenths per lap out of Bottas lead.
Chiz
5th July 2020, 16:22
Albon cost himself.
As overtaking driver, responsibility on you. Hamilton showed him too much respect while trying to overtake him earlier in race and ran off track when entering into a disappearing space.
Now Albon expect him to jump out of way when his behind. That move was over ambitious. Overtaking on outside you got to be sure you are clear. Lewis never deviated from racing line. Terrible penalty, regardless if it cost him.
Qeki (@qeki)
5th July 2020, 16:26
Well if all the races in this season goes like this it will be a cracking season
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
5th July 2020, 16:26
Extremely unfortunate for Albon cause he was probably going to win the race, but the penalty for Hamilton was a bit too harsh – he didn’t change the position of steering wheel in the turn and Albon cam blame it rather on his impatience – there was ten laps to go and he would have comfortably caught both Hamilton and Bottas in DRS zones. Once again a tragic hero of the race.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
6th July 2020, 7:15
+ 1
carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
5th July 2020, 16:28
Red Bull lost this race. They could have won it with either Verstappen or Albon.
Vettel was driving well until his incident with Sainz. His pace was gone after that. He’d better have a good excuse.
Costly mistake from Racing Point not to pit Perez for a second time. Very strong showing from him.
I think Norris outperformed Sainz considerably this weekend. Not that Sainz was bad of course.
Dissapointed for Russell, Stroll and Albon. Would have loved to see where they could have placed in the end.
J_Oliver
5th July 2020, 16:33
Stewards are a joke, they acted too fast to penalize Hamiton in what seemed like a normal race incident but needed one day to penalize him for a clear safety infringement and 42 laps to notice that Perez had speeded in the pitlane.
Bleu (@bleu)
5th July 2020, 18:30
Perez’s pit lane speeding infringement happened when the cars went through pit lane during safety car, not on his regular pit stop.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
5th July 2020, 22:22
@bleu ah is that what happened? They never explained in commentary. In that case it’s very careless of him to do that, since there was no time to gain. I did wonder why it had taken so long to issue the penalty if it was during his only stop, which was earlier in the race.
Bleu (@bleu)
6th July 2020, 7:32
@keithedin There is a time of infringement mentioned in the penalty document on FIA website, that’s where I got the information.
OEL F1 (@oel-f1)
5th July 2020, 16:33
5 seconds is a yoke.
David BR (@david-br)
5th July 2020, 16:37
Second race Hamilton and Albon collide, Hamilton gets penalized (harshly) and Albon loses a podium chance. Bit of a Hamilton v. Massa story developing. Albon has to learn that racing towards the front is different, a bit of patience works.
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 16:45
10 laps on softs vs worn hards. definitely a rookie mistake to force overtakes, it was Albon’s to bring home. I really hate how Lewis got in the way of that.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
5th July 2020, 19:16
Since when “forcing overtakes” is a rookie mistake?! It was a nice and clean overtake on the outside, just HAM who did not want to accept that the fight was lost.
RenM
5th July 2020, 19:38
How dare he tries to do real overtaking instead of a DRS cruise bye. Such a rookie he doesnt know that you cant overtake without anybody crashing into you.
Clearly he should have waited for his tires to go while beeing stuck behind Hamilton…
Mashiat (@mashiat)
5th July 2020, 16:58
@david-br Albon did absolutely nothing wrong. If Albon should have conceded because overtaking Hamilton was inevitable, then you could argue Hamilton should have conceded because being overtaken was inevitable.
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 17:08
You think races are won by not choosing the best time to make an overtake? Anybody with sense at Red Bull will be telling Albon to be more calculating moving forward.
David BR (@david-br)
5th July 2020, 17:21
@mashiat That’s why I think it was a racing incident and disagree that Hamilton was ‘more’ to blame. Last year FIA were allowing ‘hard racing’, this year the unwritten rules get unwritten again… But irrespective of the penalty, Albon needs to time these attacks better if he wants to stay in the race.
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 19:58
Albon is used to the slower car just conceding in these risky overtakes, spa last year is a good example. At the sharper end he needs to understand the cars he is in a fight with won’t just move over for him.
Josh (@canadianjosh)
5th July 2020, 16:37
Am I the only one wondering why Perez who was within 5 seconds of Hamilton also had a pit road speeding penalty just come out of nowhere?
Josh (@canadianjosh)
5th July 2020, 16:37
I mean, if he sped on pit road why didn’t they penalize him right after the stop?
Mashiat (@mashiat)
5th July 2020, 16:59
@canadianjosh If he broke the rules, he broke the rules. The only issue would be if he was given a penalty when he was innocent.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
5th July 2020, 17:00
Yeah. It’s weird timing.
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
5th July 2020, 17:31
Btw is the penalty dished out first applied first in the final standings?
Edvaldo
5th July 2020, 16:37
again the only reason hamilton got a penalty was because he walked away unscathed.
Albon close the door too early and without expecting a fight back. Isn’t it racing?
Race incidents exist. They don’t need to hand penalties for every single contact.
Chiz
5th July 2020, 16:39
They don’t, it baffles me how Vettel no penalty and HAmilton gets penalty.
Be consistent please!
Humb S (@humb)
6th July 2020, 2:15
Greetings! I think the penalty is due to the fact that the race was in Austria. Sincerily, if the image of HAM’s sterring wheel almost, if not totally, locked to the right can´t prove he wasn’t at fault, so RedBull has a go at DAS, for not providing a precise and predictable (and for being both: safe), driving; if the telemetry proves a car goes to the left while the driver are swerving to the right for no reason other than centrifugal force, then that car should not be there. Today was a farce, the pinnacle of motorsport deserved better. Too many safety cars period, even though there are less worker on track to clean up the track or take a DNFed car from it. I can only hope FIA/Liberty provide some math to backup all those gimmicks, rather, SC. Hamilton and Mercedes invested their energy, resources and intelligence to put themselves where they are, it’s not fair to fix results in order to make the audience happy, wheres the so celebrate liberal meritocracy? Talking about transparency, where’s Albon’s footage? In the early stages of the race he shut the door on Hamilton in tha same place, if I’m no mistaken, having the chance to watch both drivers onboards on both cases would be nice; sometimes I just hate the narrative the Formula 1 Circus create, if doesn’t creat, makes no effort to avoid it to grow.
Another thing this sport doesn’t deserve is some so called supporters, or race fans, I mean, ignoring a locked wheel and saying Hamilton purposefully shunted Albon without the possiblity of checking if Albon could had swerved a bit mor to the left (Albon’s onboard would do that)? Come on.
OEL F1 (@oel-f1)
5th July 2020, 16:41
Alonso stuff from Leclerc. Maldonado stuff from Hamilton. Vettel stuff from Vettel.
PG
5th July 2020, 17:06
Rightly summarized
Niefer (@niefer)
6th July 2020, 2:29
lol
TFLB (@tflb)
5th July 2020, 16:43
Correction – Lando’s move on Perez was 100% necessary, otherwise he wouldn’t have made up the time on Hamilton! Great job from McLaren, Leclerc today – unlucky for Albon and Perez – why on earth did RP not pit Perez when Albon pitted? Cost themselves a potential win, probable podium.
Also – Hamilton keeps making a mockery of the ‘100% unblemished’ rubbish Wolff was spouting a few months ago. Should have got a stop-go really, would be nice seeing the penalties fit the crime. Also neglecting to take responsibility or apologise in his post-race interview – shame. Also Sky are very annoying always trying to exonerate him.
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 17:04
Your bias is showing. Hamilton got a 5 second penalty which he only got cause he escaped unscathed. it was an incident. You don’t want the penalties to fit the crime, you want the penalties to fit your bias.
TFLB (@tflb)
5th July 2020, 17:09
@gufdamm wrong. I have no bias against Hamilton, I just don’t think he’s as clean and perfect as some seem to. And I do think, whoever does it, a move that effectively ends another driver’s race should have a similarly negative effect on the perpetrator’s.
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 20:03
Hamilton understeered into the Albon’s line. that’s an honest mistake. You’re are being harsh, He isn’t going to apologise and accept blame for a collision that was neither deliberate or arguably his fault. Albon is a racing driver he should have known exactly what was going to happen. they literally did a YouTube video on understeer. Albon drew how an understeering car’s line widens as he enters the corner. Its all ironic, that he, the car in control didn’t back out like Hamilton did in that exact situation earlier in the race on lap 1.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
6th July 2020, 2:10
@gufdamm Understeering into someone’s racing line and taking them out is surely worthy of a penalty. Look at Hungary 2015, when Ricciardo went around the outside of Hamilton at Turn 1, and he understeered into him. The penalty on that occasion was a drive-through, so you could argue a 5-second penalty was justified at the very least.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
5th July 2020, 22:31
@tflb Entirely disagree with this philosophy. In that case two drivers could have a textbook racing incident, where one driver gets a DNF and the other driver emerges unscathed, and you’re suggesting that the unscathed driver should get the most severe penalty possible. I think that the defining factor in the punishment should be the circumstances of the incident itself, not the consequences.
That’s not to say the consequences are entirely irrelevant. For example if Albon had emerged unscathed in this case I don’t think anyone would be arguing that Hamilton deserved a penalty just for making contact.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
5th July 2020, 22:33
@tflb Re-reading your comment you did say ‘perpetrator’, so I guess racing incident was a bad example. But I’d change that to a ‘minor infringement’ and the rest of my comment still stands.
d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
5th July 2020, 16:53
There goes the hope of Vettel performing freely without the pressure of being Ferraris top driver. How can he keep underperforming like that? His racecraft was never brilliant, but now it is a complete failure. The guy is a only a shadow of his younger self. He should take a hard look in the mirror and stop being in denial. Get some help man!
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
5th July 2020, 19:30
His spin was embarrassing.
Jack (@jackisthestig)
6th July 2020, 7:38
I’m not making excuses for him but that was an amazing bit of driving not to make contact with Sainz.
Tim (@tallen)
6th July 2020, 9:24
It’s sad to see Vettel struggle so much. I was never a fan but it’s a textbook example of a well established champion sliding into embarrassment. I really do feel sorry for the guy.
It feels like maybe a shortened season and no team for him next year would be the kindest way to put him out of his misery as he doesn’t know when to stop. Of course, now I’ve said that I expect to be proved wrong and he gets a string of top 3 finishes in the next few races! This year has been crazy enough for that wacky scenario!
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
5th July 2020, 16:56
There’s only two drivers I believe could deliberately ruin other driver than losing face, Lewis & Max. Not because they’re evil but they’re the only ones that have the talent to do it surgically.
But this time was not it. I hate Albon for being too optimistic. He should’ve won this.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
5th July 2020, 16:56
This basically sums up Seb of recent years. Extremely poor performance all weekend. No surprise Ferrari decided to not renew his contract. He seems spent.
I’m sure that there is a quick driver in there somewhere, but racing for Ferrari has possibly taken it’s toll. He may needs a new project, Racing Point is a good a shout, but it will be a risk for the team.
I think he’s done. No shame in retiring and doing something else. He’s been off it for a couple years now, perhaps it’s time to quit while you’re, sort of, ahead.
ian dearing
5th July 2020, 17:08
Anyone know what happened to Albon’s car at the end?
TFLB (@tflb)
5th July 2020, 17:10
It broke…
Power unit issue according to Horner, not the same issue as Max.
Jay
5th July 2020, 17:16
No f1 race is complete without the typical Vettel & Hamilton incidents.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
5th July 2020, 17:21
Touch and go honestly, with Albon and Hamilton. The argument can be made that the overtake was complete and Lewis shouldn’t have been trying to take his normal line once that happened. But Alex could have left a bit more room. Those saying Alex shouldn’t have gone for the move, maybe but that decision has nothing to do with the penalty.
Not enough people talking about it, so I’ll just mention Leclerc’s strong drive. His move on Norris was opportunistic and key, and with the Ferrari possibly slower than the McLaren, it was a strong result to finish ahead of both of them. Really liked his Danny Ric-esque on Perez. Important clutch points for him early in the season, minimise damage before the update comes in Hungary.
Any reason why McLaren didn’t double-stack their cars during the second pitstop under the Safety Car? Sainz was left with an awful lot to do after that.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
5th July 2020, 19:09
Give more room?! He had half of the car ahead, was 2 wheels on the kerbs….. the rest is HAM’s problem. Give HAM more room would have meant to go with 4 wheels on the kerbs…. could have resulted with order to give HAM the position back because it was an off-track overtaking maneouver.
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 20:06
Hamilton backed out on lap 1, why couldn’t albon?
slowmo (@slowmo)
5th July 2020, 23:43
This is the part the Hamilton haters ignore. Hamilton showed his class by giving Albon the room at the start when he had the overtake done on the outside but Albon turned it into a potential accident. Albon had almost a cars width to the edge of the track but tried to pinch Hamilton into a tighter line. Absolutely no way Hamilton could do anything past corner entry.
I guarantee you’ll see more Albon accidents in close battles if he’s not willing to give more room. I think the stewards have just set a terrible precedent with this ruling. Apparently if your on the outside and ahead you can just turn into people.
I’m a McLaren fan so didn’t care about the penalty other than it looks like penalties for contact is back. Good race by Norris whose race pace was finally on par with Sainz and he got his elbows out a bit.
Jack (@jackisthestig)
6th July 2020, 7:49
Same corner but a different move, Albon had track position. In hindsight he should have been more patient but you can’t really expect that from Albon within the environment of Red Bull under the glare of Helmut Marko.
Peyton
5th July 2020, 23:29
Sainz told the pit he wants to stay out if they are doing a double stack, probably worried about losing lot of places, not sure why he elected to pit a lap.later.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
5th July 2020, 17:30
What’s wrong with Albon? It’s nearly impossible to collide with Hamilton… He literally avoids everyone like the plague on the track, Rosberg included. I really like the kid, my family is Asian and I want him to do really well but it’s truly astounding how he’s managed to hit Lewis twice losing 2 podiums when Red Bull needed them the most.
He should probably go talk to Lewis and ask for advice on how to avoid these situations.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
5th July 2020, 18:12
Nearly impossible to collide with Hamilton? He avoids people, Rosberg included? I’ve watched Hamilton’s concept of passing being putting his car in a position where if the other guy doesn’t move they’ll crash. I’ve watched him literally drive Rosberg – his own team-mate off the road to stop him getting ahead. The dude’s no angel.
How Albon’s managed to hit Hamilton twice, losing two podiums? You know, ignoring that Hamilton was punished for both incidents and accepted blame, I’m seriously confused how you blame Albon for either.
Tony
5th July 2020, 18:24
I’m pretty sure it’s sarcasm.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
5th July 2020, 19:03
+1
koddamn (@gufdamm)
5th July 2020, 20:09
on lap 1 the roles were reversed and lewis backed out. Thats difference between a rookie mistake and saving your own race. But you all will continue to vilify Hamilton.
Dave
5th July 2020, 17:32
Every time Hamilton collides with Albon, a McLaren finishes on the podium.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
5th July 2020, 17:43
@tflb actually, Albon is completely to blame for both incidents. Yes, I know Lewis was kind enough to accept responsibility but Perez did the same thing twice today as Albon in Brazil and had to let LeClerc and Norris through.
I really like him – I hope he learns from this. Driving is not easy but you can’t make cars disappear and if you can’t drive side-by-side with Lewis, then you really don’t belong in F1. It’s kind of hitting forehands with Nadal and sending the ball in the air everytime and Nadal getting a penalty cause you can’t put your racket on the ball.
Like Max, he seems to be the kind that learns from mistakes, so hopefully, he’s taken this lesson to heart. The stewards ain’t helping him by making the wrong calls.
Jere (@jerejj)
5th July 2020, 17:55
@freelittlebirds The Brazil incident was 100% clear cut as to who was at fault. This one not as 100% clear cut, although Still more LH’s fault.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
5th July 2020, 18:31
@jerejj Not really, Albon went so wide that Lewis had no choice but to come side-by-side and go for the overtake, then Albon swept through the corner as if Lewis had disappeared off the track.
I would agree with you if Albon knew that Lewis had something gone wrong with his car and therefore he was the only driver on track at that moment but obviously they were racing and Albon has to understand that when 2 cars race, you can expect the other car to disappear. If he had been a little bit slower around that corner, Lewis would have tucked behind him.
Again, he did a “disappearing car” overtake and that’s not how racing works. An overtake always involved another car and you can’t assume the track is 100% yours. The only driver I’ve ever seen who claimed that the track was entirely his was Felipe Massa who was probably as bad a wheel-to-wheel racing driver as Albon.
Of course, Lewis will now adapt to take into account Albon’s inability to race and we’ll hopefully see fewer incidents like that but Albon is pretty much done if he can’t change his driving style.
Sure, he’ll always pass midfield cars who don’t want to scrap with him but he’ll never pass Max, even if he’s quicker as Max’s car won’t disappear into thin air as Albon wants it to.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
5th July 2020, 19:00
No, it’s not Albon’s fault. He was indeed fully side by side with HAM when he entered the corner, fully on the track too. In the middle of the corner Albon had the nose of the car already ahead, still fully on the track. Then, the way he pointed the car, it would have been just a perfect approach of the corner for Albon = 2 wheels on the kerbs. So, it was just HAM who didn’t “realize” he lost the battle… since at the moment of the contact Albon’s car was even more ahead than just a nose. It was a nice overtaking on the outside, just that HAM ”spoiled” it.
budchekov (@budchekov)
5th July 2020, 17:45
Looked to me like the only way he could pass a committed Lewis was go way outside, off track, is that allowed ?
MG1982 (@mg1982)
5th July 2020, 19:01
When did Albon went off-track?! Ah, maybe when HAM pushed him…….
DeanR
5th July 2020, 18:00
Great race! Really Happy for BOT & NOR. Dissapointed for Albon and Lewis. The incident with Albon was a 50/50 for me but Albon was ahead, so I feel for Albon. Trying to hang it around the outside of a 6 x WDC is always going to be a massively risky move but he did nothing wrong and neither did Lewis IMO. Some rough decisions going against Lewis this weekend (both were very close calls) but we know how Lewis responds to these types of weekends. A Champion is forged in adversity and is judged on how he picks himself up. We know how Lewis handles these types of weekend. Really sorry for Albon but to all at Red Bull: Karma sucks, right? Keep this in mind.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
5th July 2020, 18:24
I don’t think Vettel cares much anymore.
Magnussen did great before the car gave out, given how poor it seems to be. Gasly did really well too, kept out of trouble and did well. Got to say Leclerc’s Ferrari overperformed, Tracing Point underperformed and Renault just didn’t seem very fast at all.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
5th July 2020, 18:50
True that. But I reckon I’m kinda amazed now by his amount of (amateurish) mistakes per season. I understand the fact that not having a car+team to rely on the entire season creates desperation => risky moves => mistakes… but still…
F1Recorder
5th July 2020, 19:17
Is Virtual Safety Car guy in quarantine or something?
Also, what is the point in stopping the race for several minutes too remove Raikkonen car? Couldn’t the car just stayed there like F1 did for 60 years without major issues?
Magnussen crash couldn’t been solved just with yellow flags, maximum a VSC?
I want to see an F1 race, if I want to see 3 Mercedes cruising around I would just go to the nearest highway.
About the race itself. Perfect race from Bottas, Albon is much more closer too Verstappen, Leclerc did a very solid job, Norris was also perfect in the end. I’m also happy for the jump forward Williams did, at least in this race they were able to fight for positions and I think Russell would have been 9th or 10th. I was curious to see how Vettel strategy would have worked without all the SC.
Disappointments: Renault and specially Ocon, Alfa Romeo and specially Raikkonen. Haas seems to be in qualifying at the same pace they were last season during the race.
Did someone else think that Hamilton could have avoided loosing the third place? It seems both Mercedes were cruising in the last two corners (I think Norris gained something like 0.7s in the last two corners).
Fantomius (@liko41)
5th July 2020, 19:42
What a disaster weekend for Hamilton.
Acted like a crying diva, Lost quali battle, been scholed in the race, ruined another guy’s sunday. Got a penalty.
Very smart choice to behave like a spoiled primadonna in a season so uncertain.
Bottas, on the other hand, did an absolutely amazing job, as did leclerc and Albon.
Super happy for Lando.
John Mwesigwa (@sigwa)
5th July 2020, 21:06
Time fpr lewis tp focus on racing and forget this racism, diversions, hope this weekend racing wakes him up
bob (@riptide)
5th July 2020, 21:49
Yes, as we have seen in the last few years, his fashion, music, charity work, education and bame speakerships have clearly had an effect on his on track performance.
DeanR
6th July 2020, 12:59
Let them have their crumbs of pleasure. Let’s see where we are after race 8. Think they will faded away long before then.
F1oSaurus (@)
5th July 2020, 21:32
Mercedes on top yet making dumb strategy choices, Hamilton and Albon touching, Red Bull Honda engine failures, Vettel spinning off. It’s like nothing changed
72defender (@72defender)
5th July 2020, 22:17
Albon’s fault…Hamilton’s fault…Who cares!
Mercedes are in a league of their own.
If Red Bull’s only chance to win is from a safety car, then it’s going to be a great season for Mercedes fans!
Niefer (@niefer)
6th July 2020, 2:35
Word!
formevic
5th July 2020, 22:27
Dear alls, today FIA safety cars handed MB the victory. Without it, both knights would go roasted
ian dearing
6th July 2020, 7:16
Huh? They were still faster than the rest even after turning things down. Or didn’t you see them swapping fastest laps through the race?
Newfangled (@newfangled)
6th July 2020, 0:36
I wouldn’t call Norris’ move on Perez ‘unnecessary’ – the McLaren driver was far faster than the Force India, and if Norris hadn’t made the move, he wouldn’t have been able to close to within 5 seconds of Hamilton to sneak a place on the podium.
Jon (@johns23)
6th July 2020, 1:29
Great race! Feel for Albon and Lewis for that matter. Albon could of won that race and also I did think the penalty on Lewis was a tad harsh. Racing incident at worst. Both drivers very humble in the end, cant wait for next week
kpcart
6th July 2020, 6:43
Gutted for Albon, he made an amazing move around the outside of a 6 times world champion, only for Hamilton to understeer into him at the last moment. Should have been a drive through penalty. Other things I thought of, Russell will dominate latiffi the way he dominated Kubica, Ricciardi will dominate Ocon. McLaren has possibly the best driver lineup on the grid. The race itself though felt like watching an F2 race, which is a good thing.
kpcart
6th July 2020, 6:46
If it is only an 8-10 race season, I think that redbull have already lost both championships to Mercedes with the amount of points Los, and this track like last 2 years was their best chance to win.
Faure
6th July 2020, 7:05
Classic Hamilton. Just bump them off so as not to lose face. He’s really quite good at it, I’ll have to admit. Almost look unintentional. You can see his hands flick up in annoyance how a low class driver has the temerity to try to overtake the blessed one in such a disrespectful way on the outside.
DeanR
6th July 2020, 13:02
Can see you got lots of bites. 😀
F1Recorder
6th July 2020, 7:36
Keith, won’t the Lap Charts be published this season?
Stash (@stash)
6th July 2020, 7:42
Same corner. Charles Leclerc managed to overtake Norris on the outside and Norris yielded as he was meant to – avoiding a collision. You can sea Norris doing this quite dramatically. As if he was going well out of his way to avoid a collision. His cars loses momentum quite notably. Lewis’s car did not behave like this. He did not go out of his way to avoid the collision it would appear to me. The penalty is justified. Albon was ahead of Lewis. Drivers behind another car are obliged to yield and not drive into their fellow competitor I thought.