Mercedes dominates races at the Red Bull Ring

The Styrian Grand Prix returns to the F1 2021 calendar for the second year in a row after the Grand Prix made its debut last season. The 2020 Styrian Grand Prix was one of the best races of the season as there was a close battle between the Mercedes F1 team and the Red Bull Racing F1 team. In the run-up to the race this weekend, here’s a look at the highlights of the Styria Grand Prix 2020 and who won the Styria Grand Prix 2020.

Highlights of the Grand Prix Steiermark 2020: Who won the pole at the Grand Prix Steiermark 2020?

The battle for pole position at the Styrian Grand Prix 2020 was intense, as not only Q3 was affected by the rain, but three different drivers were provisional pole positions in different places. In the end, Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton took pole position with an impressive lap time of 1: 19.273. This lap was over 1.2 seconds faster than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second.

Who was the winner of the Grand Prix of Styria 2020?

Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton got off to a clean start from pole position while the drivers directly behind him fought hard for position. Red Bulls Max Verstappen had to defend his second place in front of Carlos Sainz’s fast-starting McLaren, who almost defeated the Dutchman in turn one. Further back, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc’s two Ferraris came into contact in the battle for fourteenth place. The wreckage of the collision resulted in a safety car when both Ferraris were eliminated from the race.

On the 20th of the 71st lap, the leader Hamilton managed to get a five-second lead over the second-placed Verstappen, while Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas took a decisive step past Sainz on lap six. To throw the Mercedes F1 team off balance, the Red Bull Racing F1 team pitted on lap 25. The team wanted to protect the Dutchman from an impending undercut by Bottas as third and at the same time push Hamilton into the field. Mercedes followed Red Bull’s strategy when they drove in Hamilton three laps later, while Bottas stayed on his soft tires until lap 35.

After Bottas pitted 10 laps after Verstappen, he used his superior pace advantage to get to the end of the Red Bull car on lap 66. The Dutchman defended brilliantly against the Finn, but only extended the inevitable when Bottas whizzed past him one lap. Meanwhile, Hamilton dominated the Styrian Grand Prix 2020 from start to finish when he took a commanding victory from pole position on the Styria Grand Prix course.

Are the Styrian Grand Prix and the Austrian Grand Prix the same?

The Styrian Grand Prix has often been confused with the Austrian Grand Prix, as both races are held on the same track. Due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, some cities have chosen to hold multiple races in the same location and Austria was one of them. The F1 calendar 2021 follows a similar schedule to last year, as the Styrian Grand Prix is ​​followed by the Austrian Grand Prix.

Photo credit: F1.com