Grand Prix 2020 Austrian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

The long 4 month 7 month drought of F1 is soon to be over. as on 15th March 5th July we will finally be getting 2020 season underway (Virus permitting
😷
) .I can guarantee 1 thing that the 1st race of this decade cant be any worse than the 1st race of the previous decade which seemed to set the tone for the poor decade that would follow. as 2010 Bahrain GP is ranked up there with the 2019 French GP & others as some of worst F1 races in history. so bad that they were started a discussion to have mandatory 2 stop races. but we will see who will follow in steps of Giuseppe Farina, Bruce McLaren, Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher & Fernando Alonso as the 1st Grand prix winner of the new decade, which is starting in the most peculiar & odd way of its whole 70yrs. so no pressure on Sundays winner as will have to keep up the world champion streak & even the 1 that didn't founded 1 of F1 most successful teams

but on Australia, there history of motor....., wait Austria you say. sorry about that guys, Austraila & Austria very easy to mix up :facepalm:

Luckily Austria also has had a long history with F1 stretching back 55 years, even if it doesnt feel that long if grand prixs have been in short bursts. but so many drivers & other major people in F1 history have come from this small country. Lauda, Berger, Rindt, Wurz, Wolff, Marko & the mighty Patrick Friesacher. the history starting at the zeltweg airfield very close to red bull ring. where the top 3 on the grid after qualifying in 1964, was the British trio of Graham Hill, John Surtees & Jim Clark. but all 3 retired before half distance & actually a weird race when you look at it because bandini won his only GP of his 42 race career from 7th on the grid only 9 finished 2 on the lead lap. a brit finished on the podium but 3 laps down & Jack Brabham finished last 29 laps down (whats the point :dunno:) Then austria had to wait 6 years when they would race at fearsome Österreichring between 1970 & 1987 when it was stopped on safety grounds for many reasons as the final pole lap averaged 159mph despite narrow track little run off & the 2 big accident at the start, was the final nail in the coffin. Then Austria would have to wait 10 yrs til the Next GP after It huge overhaul by herman tilke funded by Phone Operator A1 we would return from 1997 to 2003 bringing some notable moments 1998 where we unusual front row of Fisichella & Alesi, also 1st rumoured use of ferrari team orders. which would rear its ugly head in 2002 that is 1 of F1 infamous moments & also known for horrible crash between sato & Heidfield at turn 3. Then in modern times it takes a distinct turn because in a way we are lucky to be racing at the red bull ring at all. because less than a year after the final GP at A1 ring in 2003. The grandstands & pits were demolished. but construction was halted making it completely unusable. & so many people tried but fail to resurrect it, it looked bleak for the great circuit but 5 years later in 2009 Red Bull decide they were going bringing it back to life (2nd time lucky after 2005 when he refused to spend money on it) in time for the 2011 DTM series. then after Doomed from the start New York race. Bernie said a spot became available on F1 Calendar which Red bull Enquired & the rest since 2014 is history

but now in modern times it is quite strange to be starting it in Austria because this will be the 1st time the season has started in Europe since 1966 when Monaco GP was season opener, also when you think of 12 months ago coming into Austria 2019. the title was dead Hamilton was 76 pts clear of the next non Mercedes driver & we were just waiting for when we crowned Lewis as the 6x world champion not if, but this whole season is going to be extremely odd as it will be the 1st ever double headers in F1 history even if its Austrian & Styrian GP. also British/70th anniversary. maybe some circuits that will host as a 1 off with portugal. Mugello (for Ferrari's 1000th) Hockenheim, Imola, Bahrain "Oval" & a season that might stretch into january as the sport tries to get 8 to make a World Championship & 16 races to fulfill the F1 TV contracts. no podiums the trophy will be collected by the drivers on the grid & both top 3 interview will take place like they do post qualifying last season on the grid as well. no pen interviews for obvious reasons instead they will be in front of the team garages. & F1 cars that will last more than a season for 1st time since the 70's. which will be a strange end to this era before maybe the biggest rule change for F1 in many decades. is looking like an intriguing season which hopefully Australia Austria will give us some answers.
  • how good are Mercedes. as they sandbagged last year looked like the 3rd quickest car & ended up winning 9 of 1st 10 races
  • Are Red bull hiding championship challenging pace. will we finally after many years. get to see how Verstappen copes under pressure of a title battle. because up til now he could win 5 races retire from other 15 & consider it very successful
  • are ferrari troubles are bad they seem & have found an answers in the lockdown. can Leclerc & Vettel on track relationship be repaired or will it be a free for all , also does Vettel get a contract renewed for 2021 does vettel get drive in 2021
  • will Vettel be freed from pressure & will Sainz rise to the pressure of proving why he should be at Ferrari next season
  • can Force India racing point provide a huge surprise become the 1st team to be able to challenge the big 3 for 1st time since enstone team with grosjean in 2013
  • is this the beginning the end for Haas, as they are debating their future
  • Can Mclaren & Renault take the Next Steps that the budgets they pressure them into
  • is this Williams new car finally capable of giving Russell a car to get into B race & out of the doldrums
  • Will Aquafresh become the new title sponsor after all the livery already there
  • Will Riccardo have many suspious technical failures after taking 50m from Renault while only racing for them for 8 months. before jumping ship for McLaren
  • will Esports drivers like Albon, Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc & Russell have an advantage on the other drivers who havent done any driving in this shutdown period
  • what will Lewis Hamilton say, now there is no fans
  • will we see the same intensity as we had in november, as football has struggled with that since the return
 
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just looking at the practise timing its looking optimstic for russell (latifi not so much) as he is in the running. & could for he 1st time since last austria be able to race other drivers
 
I do love that Racing Point are being singled out for copying the Merc. You paint them all the same colour and I defy any of you to be able to tell which car is which.

I hate to say this but I watched 10 minutes of FP1 and I just didn't care. The season will just be another Mercedes/Hamilton benefit which is as dull as the Ferrari/Schumacher and Red Bull/Vettel domination we have had before. Roll on Formula E, even if it is being run round a car park.
 
I do love that Racing Point are being singled out for copying the Merc. You paint them all the same colour and I defy any of you to be able to tell which car is which.

All very true however when the Racing Point team owner actually admitted to having copied the design it takes away the moral high ground.
 
Because the teams have more money than sense and, if they have it then the others want it.

I can't remember who in F1 said it but decades ago someone in the sport said if a team came out of the pits with a purple broom stick sticking out of the car and put in a quick lap, the following week every car on the grid would have the same thing without ever really understanding why.

That really sounds like it should have been Ken Tyrrell :)
 
It is strange that Red bull did not wait for qualification to voice its protest about the main competitor... hurry.
They used to be more patient :-)
 
The claims relate to the Technical Regulations, Articles 3.8 and 10.2.3
3.8
Aerodynamic influence
....
10.2.3
No adjustment may be made to any suspension system while the car is in motion.
 
ferrari basically doing a 180 on development path they started the year. as during the break they realised they were on hiding to nothing & maybe the rumours of Racing Point were 3rd quickest team & faster than Ferrari might be correct from testing

Binotto said (full quote on website)
"The truth is that the outcome of the tests led us to take a significant change of direction in terms of development, especially on the aerodynamic front. 1st, we had to understand why we did not see the results we had expected on track & how much to recalibrate the whole programme as a result. It would have been counterproductive to continue in the direction we had planned, knowing that we would not have reached our goals. Therefore we decided to come up with a new programme that looked at the whole car, knowing that not all of it would be ready for the 1st race"

Let's see who is then made the scapegoat for getting this wrong
 
It is strange that Red bull did not wait for qualification to voice its protest about the main competitor... hurry.
They used to be more patient :)

Well I think being shown up at their home race is embarrassing for then🤬 and they are not going to slag off Honda for producing an inferior engine. Also they will always claim their chassis is
 
Let's see who is then made the scapegoat for getting this wrong

well last time they got rid of the best designer in F1 (adrian newey excluded) which even at the time was ridiculous because they just made the best team on the grid even better
 
I think that Red Bull are challenging because they have the same thing in the pipeline, they want to know if it’s legal before they go for it big time.
 
I do love that Racing Point are being singled out for copying the Merc. You paint them all the same colour and I defy any of you to be able to tell which car is which.

I hate to say this but I watched 10 minutes of FP1 and I just didn't care. The season will just be another Mercedes/Hamilton benefit which is as dull as the Ferrari/Schumacher and Red Bull/Vettel domination we have had before. Roll on Formula E, even if it is being run round a car park.

yeah this is disapointing the issue either mercedes fly out of the box or red bull & ferrari are very slow starters. its been the same 2018 & 2019
 
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