Valtteri claimed his eighth victory in Formula One, his first of the 2020 season and second at the Austrian Grand Prix.
After a late grid penalty, Lewis started the race from P5. He fought his way to P2 on track, but dropped down to P4 after the chequered flag owing to a five-second time penalt.
With 34 consecutive races in the points, Lewis broke the F1 record for most consecutive point finishes.
Today's result marks the 20th podium place for Mercedes-Benz power in Austria.
Holly Chapman, Trackside Power Unit Engineer for car #77, accepted the Constructors' trophy on behalf of the team.
Toto Wolff: What a great race for the fans who waited so long to see F1 back on TV. Congratulations to Valtteri and the entire for the win. It wasn't a good day for Lewis who was very unfortunate with the two penalties. The grid penalty is something you must take on the chin, but the five-second time penalty felt too harsh from my perspective. I looked at the video a couple of times: Lewis had full steering lock in the corner, Albon had track left to make the corner, so in my opinion this wasn't justified. But I recognise that the stewards have a very complex job of coming up with the right decisions and sometimes those decisions go for you, sometimes against. As a team, we faced some real challenges with our gearbox in the race. The situation was pretty serious; we saw issues on Valtteri's car early on and a little later on Lewis' car as well. It was something that could end your race instantly. We know that it was linked to the vibration of the car which is why we asked both drivers to keep off the kerbs. At a certain stage it looked like neither of our cars would finish the race, so we were trying to cruise home and really look after our cars. Both drivers showed strong pace, they were pretty evenly matched this weekend and it was really more the reliability that caused us headaches. Spielberg stresses some parts on the car more than any other track in the season, so we need to work hard to improve the situation for the next weekend, but we have some ideas on how to do that.
Andrew Shovlin: Well done to Valtteri and the team, he has driven very well all weekend and deserved the win. The race itself was pretty tough; we've been nursing some issues all weekend that are causing a build-up of electrical noise on various systems and halfway through the race, we were seeing signs of the problem on Valtteri's car and later similar with Lewis. For a lot of the race our focus was just getting two cars to the finish, so we were trying to get both to stay off the kerbs and also trying to give the Power Unit an easy time. The first stint was fairly straightforward. The plan with Valtteri was to steadily build a gap to Max and Lewis just had to make progress through the field. Alex wasn't making it easy for Lewis to get past and we did feel that Lewis gave him plenty of room to stay on the track and certainly more than he gave Lewis at the start, so it was a bit disappointing to get the penalty but sometimes these things don't go your way. The timing of the safety car wasn't great for us, we'd have been able to get both cars in but didn't want to end up having to overtake given the concerns with vibration so it was a balance of risk but we'll review that before next Sunday. We could also have done a better job at the end to keep Lewis on the podium but when Valtteri slowed for the yellow on lap 69 it left Lewis a bit sandwiched. However, the bigger picture is that we have a car that is very fast but right now it's too fragile. We've not got long to fix the issues and given that the track won't change, it's a safe bet that they won't all go away. We'll be working hard over the next few days to solve these problems and look forward to racing here again in a week's time. On a positive note for the fans, it's unlikely that the second race will be a cut and paste of the first!
Formula 1 got back underway after the third longest pause in the history of the sport and the Austrian Grand Prix did not disappoint, offering plenty of action. By the end Scuderia Ferrari finished second with Charles Leclerc and tenth with Sebastian Vettel. Both drivers were on the attack in the final part of the race, pulling off several exciting overtaking moves.
This Sunday was an important one for Formula 1 and for sport in general, as this was the first truly global championship to restart after the Covid 19 pandemic, hence the message that flashed on the screens during the formation lap. Before the start, drivers stood on the finish line wearing shirts with the words "End Racism" to underline Formula 1's commitment to making a change for good in motorsport, via a series of initiatives under the hashtag #WeRaceAsOne. This weekend, the Scuderia Ferrari SF1000 cars also carried the message #ForzaAlex in support of Alex Zanardi, the former racing driver and Paralympic champion, who is still in a Siena hospital following a recent handbike accident.
When the red lights went out, Charles stayed seventh, while Sebastian reacted well to get ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the Renault. On lap 11, the Scuderia drivers moved up a place after Max Verstappen retired and four laps later, Vettel also passed Lance Stroll in the Racing Point to go eighth. On lap 25, Kevin Magnussen went off with a brake problem on his Haas which brought out the Safety Car, so Charles and Seb pitted for the first time, taking on Hard tyres.
On lap 31, with the field bunched up at the restart, Vettel closed on Carlos Sainz in the McLaren and tried to attack him at turn 3. Unfortunately, they collided with Vettel coming off worst, spinning and dropping to the back of the field.
20 laps later and the Safety Car was out again, this time after George Russell parked his Williams at the side of the track. The two Ferrari therefore pitted yet again, this time fitting Softs. Charles was sixth at this point, behind Alexander Albon (Red Bull,) Sergio Perez (Racing Point) and Lando Norris (McLaren). Seb was 13th behind Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo).
In the closing laps Charles and Sebastian gave it their all. On lap 64, Charles managed to pass Norris on the outside of turns 4-5-6 and two laps later he got ahead of Perez in the Racing Point to be third. Just before that, Albon had spun off after a collision with Lewis Hamilton for which the Mercedes driver was given a five second penalty. It meant that having crossed the line third, Charles was promoted to second and Sebastian, pushing very hard in the closing stages, managed to secure the final point for tenth place.
This was Charles Leclerc's 11th F1 podium, after also finishing second last year at this track. For Scuderia Ferrari it was podium number 771, the 26th in the Austrian Grand Prix. For the first time ever in Formula 1, the teams will race in the same place for the next round. Sunday 12 July sees everyone back on track in Spielberg for the first Formula 1 Styrian Grand Prix.
Mattia Binotto Team Principal: "A really busy weekend ended with a result that far exceeded our expectations going into this race, especially after the way qualifying went. Charles drove an amazing race, fighting like a lion from the first to the last lap and making the most of every opportunity that came his way. Today's second place is mainly down to him. At least Sebastian managed to get back in the points, but he struggled more than his team-mate with the balance of the car and now we have to work out why and in time for next weekend.
"The 19 points we picked up here in Spielberg were also down to reliability, which is always vital, as well as the work the team has done here at the track and back in Maranello over this past week. However, it does not make up for the fact that, in pure performance terms, we are behind, more than we could legitimately have expected.
"That's why we are pushing as hard as we can to bring updates to the car as soon as possible, although we know that no package can be a magic wand that radically changes the hierarchy among the teams. Having said that, we have seen in this first race that a few tenths more or less can make a big difference in terms of grid position, so we must leave no stone unturned.
Christian Horner: "It was a very frustrating first race and I'm almost lost for words. Losing Max early on whilst he was running in second place on a better tyre was obviously painful but we still had Alex in a good position. Alex was putting in a very strong performance, strategically we got the call right to concede a position to the Racing Point but take on a new soft tyre. At the re-start Alex passed Lewis and inexplicably for the second time in three races Lewis has hit him and taken him out of the race. It was clearly a mis-judgement by Lewis which he received a penalty for but that still cuts deep for Alex. We then had to retire the car with what looks like a PU issue, which will now be investigated. It's hugely frustrating to come away from this race with a double DNF and no points, when we could have been in a position to win. The positives are that we looked to be having a competitive race but we still have a bit of pace to find ahead of next weekend."
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "I'm really proud to be part of this team. What an incredible performance from Lando right from lights out and through to the final lap. To finish the first race of the new season with P3 and P5 is simply a great reward for all the hard work everyone has put in. Congratulations and a big thank you to the entire team, both here in Austria and back home at the factory as well as to our colleagues from Renault.
"The team at the track worked very hard to get us to this point across a difficult week when we had many new protocols to work with. Thank you to the FIA, F1 and the promoter here in Austria for putting in place covid-19 protocols that allowed us to start the season in a safe manner and at the same time put on a great show for the fans. We had good reliability, the strategists made all the right calls with the Safety Cars, and hats off to Carlos and Lando for what they've done after that long break.
"Today was very encouraging and a race we can still learn a lot from, giving us confirmation that we are heading in the right direction, with both the development of the car and the way we operate. We had some doubts after Friday's running, and weren't sure we would have the pace to fight our competitors. The race was a confirmation that we have a solid base in terms of performance over a grand prix distance as well as for one lap in qualifying. Heads down now. Let's make sure we don't get carried away with the good result today and come back strong again next week.
"Finally, I want to say a big thank you to our partners and fans. Their support throughout this period has been incredible, even though they are supporting us remotely."
Renault DP World F1 Team's Esteban Ocon finished in a strong eighth place on his return to racing after a thrilling and action-packed Austrian Grand Prix for the 2020 Formula 1 curtain raiser. Daniel Ricciardo retired from the 71-lap race with a suspected cooling issue.
On his Renault debut, Esteban lined up for his first race start since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2018 in fourteenth place.
He lost two positions after a slow getaway off the line on Pirelli's Medium tyres, but he was able to make progress as a result of cars ahead of him retiring.
Esteban pitted for Hards on lap 26 under the Safety Car. A further two Safety Cars towards the climax of the race allowed the Frenchman to push into the top 10 as he took eighth place at the flag, just 0.774 seconds down on seventh.
Daniel had made a bright start from tenth place and he was an exciting, early fight for points with several other cars. But, he was forced to retire as a precaution for a suspected cooling issue on his Renault R.S.20 on lap 17.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "It was very good to be racing again. It was a typical first race of the season with lots of things going on throughout and some possible high reward for anyone completing the race distance. We didn't manage that entirely with Daniel's retirement as a precaution for a cooling issue. Esteban did a very good job and it was a solid return to racing for him, bringing us our first points in Austria since the team returned to Formula 1. He will be able to build from today. The other positive of the weekend is our baseline performance at a track where we have been very weak in the past, but in a very competitive midfield. Ahead of next week, we must focus on the main negative of the weekend: the car reliability that not only cut Daniel's race short but also impacted Esteban's build up to qualifying earlier in the weekend compromising his starting position."
Jody Egginton (Technical Director): "What an afternoon. Today's race has been very action-packed and full of incidents. We have come away with some good points with one car, with the other car having the opportunity for a similar result but was not able to execute on this occasion. The entire team trackside and back at base performed really well today and the result is a credit to all of them. We have some work to do with our package to move it forward, but we have a good base car and there are some developments on the way, so are looking forwards to the next races. Overall, it's been a good start to our life as Scuderia AlphaTauri in Austria."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "First of all, I want to send a big thank you to Red Bull for making it possible to start the season here at the Red Bull Ring, a fantastic location in the Styrian region. We were also very lucky as we had good weather all weekend. Generally speaking, today's race was very exciting with the deployment of quite a few safety cars which have helped the show. Pierre's seventh-place finish was the best possible result we could have achieved, also considering that we started in 12th and 13th position on the grid. Both drivers did a really good job, together with the team, who operated very well and took the right decisions strategy-wise. Daniil could also have scored points today, but the collision with Ocon compromised his race due to a suspension failure, which we need to investigate now. The progress showed by the team, with steps forward in the general setup and relative performance from Friday's sessions to the race, makes us look forward to next week's Styrian Grand Prix, where we hope to be able to replicate today's result or achieve an even better one."
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director): "The first race of the season ended with three of our cars retiring, which is disappointing. So the only positive is that Gasly drove well to give AlphaTauri some points in their first race. For Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Verstappen was going well from second on the grid, until he had to retire due to an electrical issue. Albon was very unlucky to lose second place in the last few laps, but he was still fighting for points until he also had to retire, due to a suspected PU electrical issue. At the moment, we are investigating the causes of the two failures. We stay here in Austria for the second round next weekend and in the limited time available we will analyse all our data and try and take countermeasures to ensure we perform more reliably in Round 2."
Otmar Szafnauer: "That was a pretty busy afternoon on all fronts and I'm sure great entertainment for the fans watching on television. After such a long break from racing, it was important to start our season with a handful of points with Sergio in sixth place. It's frustrating to see a podium slip away in the final few laps, but it was difficult to hold off those cars with a tyre advantage. With so many safety car interruptions, we had some difficult decisions to make and we chose to preserve track position rather than pit. The cars behind us effectively had free pit stops and could react to what we did - pitting when we chose to stay out. That was certainly the case with the McLarens and Leclerc. It was disappointing to see Lance retire early when the car started to lose power. The investigation is underway on what caused that, but ultimately, after attempting to fix the problem through mode changes failed, protecting the power unit was the priority."
It took seven months to get back racing, but the sweet taste of Formula One action is finally back. More than half a year since the final race in the dazzling lights of Abu Dhabi, here come the familiar feeling of trepidation before the lights-out moment, the butterflies in the stomach during a pit-stop and the elation as the chequered flag falls.
As racing comes back, so does the focus on the end result. Just like 12 months ago, Austria was the backdrop for a great performance by Antonio Giovinazzi: on the stage where he scored his first Formula One points, the Italian executed a spotless race, overcoming the hurdles of several Safety Cars and charging rivals to score two points and open the team's tally in the Constructors' standings.
On the other side of the garage, there was no luck for Kimi Raikkonen. After rallying from his starting position of 19th to challenge for the points in the opening stages, he was the main loser of the first Safety Car period, the race being neutralised immediately after his first visit to the pits, gifting his rivals a free stop. Having recovered to the low teens, he was then forced into retirement by a technical failure that caused the loss of the front right wheel.
Despite this blot on the team's copybook, it was a positive Sunday in which the team showed a better turn of pace and the ability to capitalise on the occasions that would emerge during a high-attrition weekend - a promising sign ahead of next week's Steiermark Grand Prix in this same venue.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "Scoring points in the opening race of the season is always a good thing, but there are more positives than just the result at the chequered flag. Our race pace was a definite step forward from yesterday's qualifying and we were able to extract more of the potential of the C39. As a team we kept a cool head during such a rollercoaster of a race and to bring home points is a good reward for all the work ahead of this race. It was a pity to lose Kimi this way, but we will investigate the issue and make sure we can fight for a place in the top 10 with two cars from next week."
Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were both unable to finish the opening race of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
Magnussen started the race from 16th place on the Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and gained positions across the opening lap to move into 13th spot. As a race of attrition developed at the Red Bull Ring Magnussen gained positions and was on the fringes of the top-10 when he unfortunately joined the list of retirements. While battling with Esteban Ocon on lap 26 Magnussen's VF-20 suffered a suspected brake issue on the approach to Turn 3, though thankfully stopped short of making contact with the barriers, and he was forced into retirement.
Grosjean began from 17th spot, also on the medium tires, and relinquished one position on the opening lap, but a wide moment through Turn 4 and a spin left him seeking fresh tires, and on lap 21 he came into the pits to take on a set of the hard rubber. Grosjean emerged back on track and held 15th position but a second off-track excursion of the race at Turn 4, also as a result of brake issues, on lap 50 proved to be his final contribution to the race and he came into the garage to retire the car.
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas claimed victory during a frenetic grand prix, crossing the line 2.7s clear of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, while McLaren's Lando Norris took third place after a time penalty for Lewis Hamilton.
Formula One will stay on at the Red Bull Ring for another event, titled the Styrian Grand Prix, to take place across July 10-12, marking Round 2 of the 2020 championship.
Guenther Steiner: "Obviously, it wasn't the day we wanted today. We had brake issues because of overheating on both cars - it was the same thing. That's what took us out of the race when there was a good possibility for us to get into the points. But ‘if and when' didn't work today. The good thing is, the drivers seemed to be as happy as they could be with the car. They feel that the car is raceable, so it just feels like we missed an opportunity. If we work hard, we can get into the points going forward, so that's what we'll be doing."
Nicholas Latifi finished 11th on his Formula One debut in the Austrian Grand Prix. George Russell was forced to retire after losing fuel pressure on lap 49.
George started the race 17th, and Nicholas 20th, both on the medium Pirelli tyre. Both cars pitted under the Safety Car for the hard Pirelli tyre, George on lap 25 and Nicholas the following lap.
Nicholas made a second stop, again under a Safety Car, on lap 56 for the soft Pirelli tyre.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: The race was busy with a high attrition rate, which sadly included the retirement of George due to concerns with the fuel pressure. Further investigation is on-going and the Power Unit will return to Brixworth for some system tests to determine the root cause of this issue. It was a frustrating end to the weekend for George who until then was having a strong weekend.
Nicholas completed his first F1 race this afternoon and he drove very well in some challenging circumstances. Although he finished just out of the points, he was able to complete the full race distance and as a result gain a lot of valuable experience from the day; although he has practiced race situations repeatedly in the simulator, there is no substitute for the real thing.
We now have a few days to prepare for the second race of the new season. If the weather allows then this will be a rare opportunity to test some alternative approaches over a full race distance. On Friday we will also give Jack Aitken his first experience of the FW43 as he drives George's car during FP1. Jack has been working hard with the engineers in Grove and we are looking forward to working with him at the track as we continue with our intensive test programme.
Mercedes driver Bottas was able to take advantage of the first safety car period to switch from soft to hard tyres, maintaining the lead from start to finish with just one pit stop, which was the fastest predicted theoretical strategy. He was the only podium finisher to stop just once.
Another, much longer, safety car period prompted another round of pit stops, prior to the final few racing laps but Bottas (as well as his team mate Lewis Hamilton) stayed out - unlike many of their rivals who stopped again.
The first safety car was the strategic turning point, with all the drivers swapping to hard tyres for the second stint. The only exception was Racing Point's Sergio Perez, who completed the final stint on the medium tyre to finish sixth.
The second and third place finishers, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and McLaren's Lando Norris, used all three compounds available this weekend.
Mario Isola: "The race strategy was very much dictated by safety cars, with all the teams reacting to rapidly changing circumstances. This also turned what was expected to be one-stop race into a two-stopper for some drivers. There was plenty of action both on and off the track, with all three compounds performing in line with our expectations and an unexpectedly wide variety of strategies. Congratulations also to McLaren's Lando Norris for scoring his first podium in Formula 1, as well as fastest lap. It's been a very difficult start to the season for everyone with the Covid-19 pandemic but we've certainly got off to an exciting beginning now - and we get to do it all over again in a week's time."
