F1
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen claims 3rd place in the first ever Styrian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Alex Albon, capping a solid points haul for the team in Austria.
Max Verstappen opened his 2020 Formula One account with a strong third-place finish at the inaugural Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, making it 33 career podiums for the driver of car number 33. He was followed home by his Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team-mate Alex Albon.
Formula One made history by racing for the second consecutive weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. F1, like many other sports around the world, has had to adapt to an unprecedented situation, so for the first time ever the same venue has been used twice for a Grand Prix in the same season, just one week apart.
Last weekend saw the Austrian Grand Prix kick-off the 2020 F1 season and just seven days later the grid reassembled for the first ever Styrian Grand Prix, the race taking its name from the picturesque Austrian state in which the Red Bull Ring is located.
Once again, no fans were in attendance and all drivers and team personnel were required to wear masks. Up in the skies, an impressive flypast courtesy of The Flying Bulls and a spectacular wingsuit display proved the only echo of the more familiar pre-race entertainment, but on track it was business as usual.
Saturday's qualifying saw heavy rain, a delayed session and incredibly challenging conditions for all 20 drivers. After the three sessions, it was Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton who took pole in torrid conditions, with Verstappen once again proving the reigning world champion's nearest challenger. Following on from his impressive pace shown in the weekend's dry practice sessions, Verstappen ended up on the front row.
At the start, Verstappen fended off a keen challenge from the McLaren of Carlos Sainz to hold second place, with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team-mate Albon moving up a place to take fifth. Further back, the two Ferrari cars collided under braking for Turn 3, showering the track with debris and triggering the safety car before the first lap was even complete.
As racing got back underway, Sainz's McLaren acted as a buffer, holding up fourth-place man Valtteri Bottas and allowing the leading pair of Hamilton and Verstappen to open up a gap. Bottas made his way up into third halfway around Lap 6, giving Albon clear air in his quest to get by Sainz. Albon made his move a couple of minutes later on Lap 8, using the extra power of his Honda engine and DRS to sail past Sainz and claim fourth place.
Verstappen made his first pit stop on Lap 25 to take on medium tyres, rejoining the race in third. The Dutch driver's nearest challenger, Bottas, made his stop 10 laps later, rejoining and swapping places with Verstappen, who again found himself in second as the race moved into the second half.
Bottas closed in on Verstappen again with five laps remaining, but theAston Martin Red Bull Racing driver had no intentions of giving up his place easily and did a superb job to fend off last week's Austrian Grand Prix winner, making the Finnish driver work hard to wrestle second place from his grasp.
After 71 laps of the Red Bull Ring, Verstappen claimed his 33th career podium, with his Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team-mate Albon one place behind after superbly defending an attack from the Racing Point of Sergio Pérez to take fourth place and underline a decent points haul for the team.
