The Austrian Grand Prix 2020 was the 1st round of the 2020 F1 season, and took place at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, on July 5th.
Valtteri Bottas won the race from the pole, followed by Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris completing the podium.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
There were a total of 38 pit stops during the race.
The most popular pit stop windows were:
- Laps 24-26: 15 stops
- Laps 51-52: 8 stops
- Laps 55-56: 14 stops
The fastest pit stop was Lewis Hamilton's, stopping the clock at 16.365 seconds during his pit stop on lap 56, while the slowest one was was Carlos Sainz's, who stopped the clock at 23.827 seconds, 7.462 seconds slower than Hamilton, during his pit stop on lap 26.
These times include the time the driver spent going through the pit lane, as well as the actual time he stopped for the mechanics to work on his car.
Strategy
The race was not obvious in terms of pit stop strategy, with different teams and different drivers choosing to make anywhere from 1 to 3 stops.
The race winner, Valtteri Bottas, was on a 2 stops strategy.
1 stop
-
1Romain Grosjean
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2George Russell
2 stops
-
5Kimi Räikkönen
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1Lewis Hamilton
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-Sergio Pérez
-
-Valtteri Bottas
-
6Esteban Ocon
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5Pierre Gasly
3 stops
-
9Antonio Giovinazzi
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1Sebastian Vettel
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1Daniil Kvyat
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3Carlos Sainz
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5Charles Leclerc
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-Lando Norris
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9Alexander Albon
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9Nicholas Latifi
Excluding those drivers who could not finish the race, those on a 2 stops strategy gained 2.4 positions on average, while those on a 3 stops strategy gained 4.5 positions on average.
This difference in possitions gained, together with a deeper nalaysis of each strategy, reinforces the conclusion that a 3 stops strategy was the best option, even if Valtteri Bottas managed to win the race making 2 stops.
It is important to note that this might not always be the case for other races held at the Red Bull Ring, as the conditions might change from year to year, in terms of wheel degradation, accidents, safety cars, etc.
Incidents
The reace did not end without incidents... 9 drivers out of the original 20 who started did not managed to cross the finish line.
These included, Daniil Kvyat, who suffered a suspension problem on lap 69, Alexander Albon, and Max Verstappen, both experienced problems with the electornics of the car, Kimi Räikkönen, who had a wheel problem on lap 53, George Russell, who suffered a fuel pressure loss on lap 49, Romain Grosjean, and Kevin Magnussen, both saw the breaks of the car give up, Lance Stroll, who suffered an engine malfunction on lap 20, and Daniel Ricciardo, who suffered from an overall car overhating on lap 17.
Suspension
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Daniil KvyatLap 69
Electronics
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Alexander AlbonLap 67
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Max VerstappenLap 11
Wheel
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Kimi RäikkönenLap 53
Fuel pressure
-
George RussellLap 49
Brakes
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Romain GrosjeanLap 49
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Kevin MagnussenLap 24
Engine
-
Lance StrollLap 20
Overheating
-
Daniel RicciardoLap 17
Qualifying
Valtteri Bottas managed to get the pole position by 0.012 seconds and a final lipe time of 1:02.939. Lewis Hamilton was right behind him, helping Mercedes score a one-two and monopolize the first line of the grid.
Track evolution
As the qualifying session went on, with the track rubbering in, and the drivers testing the limits of the grip of their cars, the times per lap dropped, and all of the drivers that took place in Q2 improved their times in this second session.
The Q3 is the time were all the remaining drivers put all their cards on the table, even those with a superior car who might have been managing their times in Q1 and Q2 push their cars to the limit in Q3. It therefore comes as no surprise that 5 out of the 10 drivers that took place in Q3 were able to improve their times.