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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But do you at least agree that the blow was from Albon, not Hamilton?
It is also clear that Hamilton did not move the steering wheel in the direction of Albon.
For comparison, there were examples in this race.
By the way, Vettel collided with Sainz during the restart.
And Sainz didn't get any punishments.
So why was there a racing incident with Vettel Vs Sainz but Albon Vs Hamilton didn't?

i would the did nothing for vettel because there no point the guilty party had already punished himself more than the stewards every could. no point to 5 sec pen when he already had the equilvant of a drive through penalty

Albon is ahead as shown on the picture obviously cant see his rear tyres only lewis can, so just assumes he will be given room & im sure 1st albon realises he's collided is when he goes bang
 
Interesting proof of Hamilton's guilt: he was hitted, but it's still his fault... :))))
But it is even more fun to look at the ratings that are put to the drivers by experts
on the official website for the results of the race

N​
Driver​
Throttle​
Steering​
Braking​
Cornering​
Aggression​
SUM​
TOTAL​
Ranking​
4​
Hamilton
1,50​
10,00​
8,20​
5,40​
5,40​
30,50​
6,10​
7​
13​
Albon
4,60​
4,80​
5,60​
1,00​
1,00​
17,00​
3,40​
18​
 
But the most funny thing is that Albon was given the "Driver of the day" according to the results of the vote
 
i would the did nothing for vettel because there no point the guilty party had already punished himself more than the stewards every could. no point to 5 sec pen when he already had the equilvant of a drive through penalty

Albon is ahead as shown on the picture obviously cant see his rear tyres only lewis can, so just assumes he will be given room & im sure 1st albon realises he's collided is when he goes bang

I think that if Vettel had sent Sainz into a spin, then Vettel would have got a penalty (Vettel can't stop spinning though!)
 
Here is a well described situation with the incident Hamilton Vs Albon
Martin Brundle's F1 verdict:
Albon was on fresh soft tyres and Hamilton on well-used hard tyres. Albon could smell victory let alone a podium with only two Mercs in front of him on harder tyres and ailing gearboxes.
Albon felt he had to get the passes done while he had a big tyre advantage and lunged around the outside of T4. Hamilton was ahead on the way in, he had fended off the Red Bull for now, which then flashed quickly past on the outside.
Hamilton did not open his steering wheel, but on throttle application he understeered wide on the off-camber downhill corner, and around went the Red Bull. It was a relatively high-risk manoeuvre from Albon, especially given Hamilton was bound to be grip limited.
Some patience would have yielded a better opportunity on a straight with DRS assistance, but Albon is a racer and he wanted after Bottas and glory, if his car kept going. Lewis attracted a five-second penalty which was fair enough, and suddenly opened the door to Leclerc, Perez and Norris for a podium.
 
All this is giving us something to talk about olegg , we all have our own viewpoints which is as it should be.

Firstly the safety car, here I agree with you Mercedes could not pit because they were past the pit lane opening and at the very least Hamilton would probably have been behind behind more cars than Bottas because of the stacking. Now that would have had people going!
 
I also agree with Merc not pulling team orders to let Hamilton through past Bottas and take the chequered flag yesterday. Now that would have had people going on here!
 
I still don't get some of it to be honest. Earlier in the race Hamilton attempted to pass Albon around the outside, Albon ran wide and forced Hamilton to back out of it.

Later in the race its the reverse situation but Albon appeared to have a bit more space to his left but held his line around the outside and he banged into Hamilton.

It would appear odd that if you run wide and force someone off track and make them back out then no problem but if they hit you it's a penalty to you.

Webber and Coulthard agreed on the BBC that it was a racing incident and thst most likely the penalty was because Albon had fell so far back. 50/50 incident but not 50/50 consequences.

Seems like an odd way to make a decision.

At least it worked out brilliantly for Lando.

Also don't get me started on the number of times cars went all 4 wheels over the white line.

>:(
 
The comments from Christian Horner are utter Red Bull:censored: about Hamilton's defensive driving. Verstappen has done worse and so has Schumacher in forcing drivers to take to the grass or wall. Had Verstappen been punished he would have been crying about that stewards are interfering and deny good old fashion racing or they have it in for Max. Shall we start a Red Bull conspiracy that the stewards will boot lick to their needs because it's their home race
 
olegg im glad we have different points it would be boring if we all agreed.

i dont think Hamilton should apologise as it wasnt deliberate & had no malice. that is horner with for some reason an issue, i think toto wolff ran over his dog in break. can be only reason for the grudge but it cost albon a victory & Hamilton cant been seen to get off scot free
 
By the way, another notable point.
Albon was ahead of Perez on lap 59 when the safety car was.
And Albon remained ahead of Perez and behind Hamilton until the race restart on lap 60.
It is strange that this moment did not confuse the judges and Albon was not punished.
 
Albon was ahead of Perez when the Safety Car was called but Perez went past him. Red Bull contacted the FIA on a ruling, Perez slowed down and let him past. Nothing to be confused about.

It was cigarette paper gap between the two! Had the safety car been called a second earlier, Albon would have been behind.
 
Albon was ahead of Perez when the Safety Car was called but Perez went past him. Red Bull contacted the FIA on a ruling, Perez slowed down and let him past. Nothing to be confused about.
And what does it matter who was behind who before the appearance of the safety car,
if both drivers was on the pit stop and Perez was served faster than Albon?
 
I think you might need to go rewatch olegg. Perez was in front of Albon after pitstops on restart. Albon overtook Perez off that restart just as the next safety car was called. Perez went back in front as that safety car was called before stewards ruled Albon had been in front.
 
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