Last weekend, the Formula 1 season belatedly got underway with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. While most of the focus in the build-up was on the Black Lives Matter movement and Lewis Hamilton and the other drivers making their feelings known on the matter, there was also plenty of controversy and surprises on the track too.
With Ferrari apparently in turmoil and McLaren resurgent due to their new engine deal, it promised to be an interesting start to see who, if anybody, could challenge the dominance of Mercedes over the last few years. All in all, it proved to be an exciting start to the season across the weekend,
If you would like to follow up last weekend’s action with a bet on this weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix, which also takes place at the Red Bull Ring then the great news is that you can enjoy plenty of great betting on the race when you become a member of bet365 Sport. In addition to excellent Formula 1 betting across the remainder of the season, you can enjoy a wide range of other features on the site including In Play betting during the races, as well as free Live Streaming (provided you have placed a bet in the preceding 24 hours, or have a credit balance on your account) of a wide range of sports events every day.
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Let’s begin with a brief recap of how the 2020 F1 Season started last weekend at the Red Bull Ring, before we bring you our preview of this weekend’s race at the same venue.
Austrian Grand Prix in Review
Ten teams lined up on the grid in the first race of the season, with last year’s Toro Rosso renamed Scuderia AlphaTauri. The first two weekends of the reworked season are both taking place in Austria at the Red Bull Ring and they started with the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend.
As expected, Mercedes dominated qualifying with Valltteri Bottas taking provisional pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Max Verstappen in third and Lando Norris an impressive fourth in his new Renault-powered McLaren.
Ferrari however were disappointing seeing Charles Leclerc qualify in seventh, while Sebastan Vettel only managed 11th on the grid.
However, after failing to slow down under yellow flags, Lewis Hamilton, after an appeal by Red Bull, was penalised three places at the start of the race, dropping him down to 5th on the grid with Verstappen, Norris and Alex Albon, the other Red Bull Driver moving up a place.
A case of DĂ©jĂ vu was to happen in the race as Bottas finished first ahead of Hamilton, but the current World Champion was penalised for a collision with Alex Albon which saw him dropped to fifth place in the standings, that meant Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari with Lando Norris becoming the youngest ever F1 Driver to land a podium finish at 20 years of age, when he finished third for McLaren.
With Ferrari promising major changes to their car for this coming weekend’s race at the same venue, it will be interesting to see if they can improve on what was a generally disappointing weekend for them, apart from Leclerc’s surprise second place finish.
Styrian Grand Prix Preview
With the new look to the season, the Styrian Grand Prix will be the second race of the year. It will be followed by the Hungarian Grand Prix on the 19th July, before a double weekend at Silverstone in August for the British Grand Prix and the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. The European Leg will finish with races in Spain, Belgium and Italy.
Seeing as the race is being contested at the same track just a week apart, it is hard to see many teams being able to bridge the gap that has already become apparent between Mercedes and the rest. Valtteri Bottas dominant show over the weekend was impressive and he will want to build on that success again this weekend on a track that looks well suited to his car and his talents.
Lewis Hamilton was penalised in qualifying and during the race so he will want to bounce back from that and I think it will be between him and his team mate once again to fight it out for the top two positions in the race.
Behind them though it is far more interesting with the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and now McLaren all seemingly very closely matched after the first weekend. It is going to be interesting to see how these six drivers all compete against each other and the two Mercedes drivers at the same track this weekend.
Our Tips for the Styrian Grand Prix
Winner Outright – Lewis Hamilton- Mercedes – 5/6
After a weekend to forget due to two penalties that robbed him of both grid position and a place on the podium, the current World Champion will be itching to put things right in the second race at Red Bull Ring. He will also not want to allow his team mate to take maximum points from two races with a shortened season. Reliability is seldom an issue for Mercedes and as such, I am expecting Hamilton to put in a much-improved display this weekend and to claim the win.
Fastest Lap – Lando Norris – McLaren – 16/1.
It may have escaped many people’s attention that Lando Norris set the fastest lap on his way to a podium finish for McLaren last weekend. That result, after several years of struggle, will be a massive boost to the Woking-based team and means Norris will be watched closely this weekend. It is clear his car is quick and he is getting more used to driving it quickly and I can see him being close to the fastest lap again this weekend, especially if Mercedes run out to a big lead early in the race.
*All odds shown were correct with bet365 at the time of writing – Tue 7th July 2020 at 12.45pm.
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