Austria double header offers Max Verstappen perfect chance to make early F1 statement
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Updated 02/07/2020 at 15:09 GMT
Eyeing an Austrian Grand Prix hat-trick, Max Verstappen admits his main aim is the drivers’ championship when Formula One returns this weekend.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - GP of Australia 2019
Image credit: Getty Images
The wait for the 2020 F1 season is almost over with the first of two Austrian GPs taking place at the Red Bull Ring from Friday to Sunday.
Verstappen has won there the last two years, making the Dutchman the most likely challenger to Lewis Hamilton for a place atop the podium.
But without fans, Verstappen knows it will not be easy, while there will be renewed belief from a handful of teams following the longest of breaks between seasons.
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'We can make it very difficult' - Max Verstappen on Mercedes
“It is going to be very different” Verstappen told the Red Bull F1 website. “There are usually so many great Dutch fans in Austria. I have lots of good memories from that track. It’s a shame we don’t have that this year but we will try and put on a good show for everyone watching at home on TV.
“I hope [we can challenge this season], it’s so hard to say. One thing I know for sure is that we will do everything we can to fight for it.
Mercedes are still the ones to beat, because they have been the dominant Team for so long now. They are still very strong and will be hard to beat but as a Team we learnt a lot over the last year and I really think that we are stronger. Honda are very motivated and want to fight for the title like we do.
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Max Verstappen (Red Bull) fans - GP of Austria 2019
Image credit: Getty Images
On his hopes of winning a third straight Austrian GP, Verstappen added: “I would prefer to win a Championship! The most important thing for me is to have a competitive car and perform at my best.”
Verstappen’s lockdown passion
To keep himself fresh and focused during the coronavirus lockdown, Verstappen frequently took part in eSports racing competitions, from Virtual Le Mans to the Australian Supercars Series.
“I haven’t been able to drive in such a long time and It’s the longest it’s been since I started karting,” Verstappen added.
“Luckily, I have a simulator at home and as you’ve probably seen, I have been using that a lot during the shutdown period. I really want to get back in the car and be as fast as possible, and I feel in even better shape now than I did before Australia.”
For Verstappen, an Austrian GP double-header offers him the perfect opportunity to make an early statement in the season given the European leg of races would not normally start the campaign.
Hamilton, winner in 2016, and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas (2017) are the only other drivers on the grid to have won in Austria.
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Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - GP of Abu Dhabi 2019
Image credit: Getty Images
It was only Hamilton, who won a sixth F1 title last year, and Bottas who finished above Verstappen in the 2019 standings.
Verstappen was 135 points behind Hamilton and 48 off Bottas. Closing that gap will not be easy, but victory in Austria would be the perfect start.
“I never consider myself the favourite,” he added, “because actually when you look at the track it’s not even our best track – but last year, of course, it was very warm. We were really good with keeping the engine cooling down.
“So I don’t expect it to be an easy win, I think Mercedes again will be very strong. Who knows where Ferrari will be as well, so no, it will be a very hard and tough battle again to win that race, but we’re going to try.”
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Formula 1 in 2020 - The teams and the drivers
STATS
Some Formula One statistics for Sunday's season-opening Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg's Red Bull Ring:
- Lap distance: 4.318km. Total distance: 306.452km (71 laps)
- 2019 pole: Charles Leclerc (Monaco) Ferrari
- 2019 winner: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull
- Race lap record: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari, 2018, 1:06.957
- Start time: 1310 GMT (1510 local)
FORMULA ONE
Sunday will be the first time the Formula One world championship has held a race without spectators allowed in. It will also be the latest start to a season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the first time a season has started in Austria.
AUSTRIA
- Austria returned to the calendar in 2014 after an 11-year break. The circuit is owned by Red Bull and is the second highest altitude of the season after Mexico.
- Red Bull's Max Verstappen has won the last two races there.
- Mercedes have won four of six races since 2014, although the 2018 grand prix saw the champions' first double mechanical retirement since they returned as a constructor in 2010.
- That failure remains Lewis Hamilton's most recent retirement.
- Hamilton, winner in 2016 after colliding with then-team mate Nico Rosberg on the last lap, current team mate Valtteri Bottas (2017) and Verstappen are the only drivers on the current grid to have won in Austria.
- There are no current Austrian F1 drivers.
RACE WINS
- Hamilton has 84 victories from 250 starts, with Michael Schumacher's record 91 in his sights. Sebastian Vettel has 53.
- Ferrari have won 238 races since 1950, McLaren 182, Williams 114, Mercedes 102 and Red Bull 62. Former champions McLaren and Williams have not won since 2012.
POLE POSITION
- Hamilton has a record 88 career poles.
- Ferrari have had 65 front row lockouts, an all-time record. Mercedes are on 64.
PODIUM
- Hamilton has 151 career podiums
POINTS
- Hamilton can extend his own record (33) for most successive points finishes on Sunday.
- The last time Hamilton failed to score was in Austria in 2018 when his car had a fuel pressure problem. That remains his only failure in the last 66 races.
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