The first Formula 1 race of the 2020 season provided its fair share of surprises by crowning the Finn Valtteri Bottas ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and the surprising Lando Norris with his McLaren.
At 3:10 PM on Sunday during the formation lap, who would have imagined a race finale with only 11 cars crossing the finish line, a double retirement for Red Bull, Hamilton in 4th place, and the young Lando Norris on the podium for the first time in his career? Nothing foreshadowed such a scenario, as all indicators pointed towards a Mercedes one-two finish with only Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver, potentially stirring things up. Saturday’s qualifying gave the Black Arrows such an advantage (half a second ahead of the 3rd place) that the race scenario seemed easily predictable.
An exciting second half of the race
It turned out to be anything but. The British driver Lewis Hamilton, who was 2nd in qualifying, was penalized twice: a three-place grid penalty for setting a faster time the previous day under yellow flag conditions, and a five-second penalty at the end of the race for impeding Albon (Red Bull) from overtaking, leading to his retirement. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), second on the starting grid, had to retire after 12 laps due to mechanical issues. Ultimately, the two Mercedes quickly found themselves in the top two spots with a very fit Valtteri Bottas making no mistakes.
While an uneventful race finish with a nearly certain one-two for the German brand was expected, it was spiced up with the retirements of Daniel Ricciardo (Renault), Lance Stroll (Racing Point), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Romain Grosjean (Haas), Georges Russel (Williams), Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo), Alexander Albon (Red Bull), and Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri). The safety car, deployed three times, also made the race finale thrilling. The top 10 positions regularly shifted. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), after a collision with Carlos Sainz’s McLaren, had to settle for fighting for 10th place, while his teammate Charles Leclerc took advantage of Hamilton’s 5-second penalty to maintain his pace throughout the race, securing an unexpected second place. Lando Norris, for his part, clinched the podium by 0.2 seconds, setting the fastest lap in the final round. Valtteri Bottas, victorious in the season’s first Grand Prix, takes the lead in this world championship.
