The Formula One race that was expected last week showed up this week as defending world champion Lewis Hamilton led an expected 1-2 Mercedes finish at the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix.
Hamilton nearly led from start to finish – only ceding the lead during pit crossovers – in running away with the easy victory, while his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, had to wait until Lap 67 to finally pass Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for second place on the podium. Only eight cars finished on the lead lap.
Beyond that, it was a continuation of a bad week for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. After getting reprimanded by Formula 1 for disregarding Covid-19 protocols, Leclerc then performed poorly in qualifying, finishing a distant 11th, then got penalized to start 14th on the grid. As if that were all not bad enough, Leclerc then proceeded to take out teammate Sebastian Vettel on Turn Three of the very first lap – damaging Vettel’s rear wing and knocking him out of the race – and sustaining damage to his own car that would eventually knock him out of the race a few laps later.
In what is expected to be a Mercedes-only battle for the 2020 world championship, Bottas maintains a slim over his teammate, Hamilton – 40 points to 35 points – with several drivers far back behind the duo and jousting for the third spot going into next week’s 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.
2020 Styrian Grand Prix – Top 10
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +13.719
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull +33.698
4 Alexander Albon Red Bull +44.400
5 Lando Norris McLaren +61.470
6 Sergio Perez Racing Point +62.387
7 Lance Stroll Racing Point +62.453
8 Daniel Ricciardo Renault +62.591
9 Carlos Sainz, Jr. McLaren +1 Lap
10 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri +1 Lap