I am really excited to see the start of the new Formula 1 season in Austria this weekend. With no spectators in attendance it is going to look very unusual, but I think this reflects the season ahead. It is going to be a short, fast, intense year which could produce some unexpected results.
With the Covid-19 lockdown affecting so much of the world, Formula 1 has paused in recent months. There has been a lot of time to reflect on the past, talk about the future and prepare for the delayed season to start. Now we are looking forward to getting going again and I cannot wait.
I won the Austrian Grand Prix twice and think the Red Bull Ring is a brilliant track – great to drive because it has some interesting characteristics. The track has some very nice changes in elevation, while another point is that the engine manufacturers have to make sure the engines can cope with spending 65-70% of the time at full throttle. I used to like that, but running flat out for so much of the time puts pressure on reliability.
The downforce levels we set for the fast straights means that the twisty infield section is slightly compromised, and this is also affected by setting up the car mechanically to deal with the heavy braking into Turn 2. You need good balance, but you cannot carry so much front wing because you don’t want the car to be pointy in the tight 90 degree corners of Turns 1 and 2.
I always loved the final two corners in Austria, and I remember that I was able to make up time there compared to my McLaren teammate David Coulthard. I could find three to four tenths of a second in just those two corners. Twenty years later I am happy to share how I did it!
All please be upstanding for the nation anthem of Formula 1.#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/NJXMuwFbsi
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2020
How I approached those corners was not a normal way of driving. What I did was to drive very aggressively into those corners due to the fact that both these turns are on a downhill section and therefore you should try to transfer the weight onto the front of the car to generate some grip.
You really have to attack those corners like a hooligan, which is not normally the right thing to do, but if you gain three or four tenths of a second I don’t care how it looks. After all, the only thing that matters is finding the right way to be quick.
Naturally it is difficult to drive that aggressively throughout a race because you put additional pressure on the car and also risk making mistakes. That happened to Michael Schumacher when he was running behind me one year and he made a mistake at the Rindt curve.
Looking ahead to the race this weekend I have no doubt that Max Verstappen will continue to be very strong for Red Bull Racing. He has won in Austria for the last two years and Honda is working well with the team to make the package even more competitive. There is no doubt Max and teammate Alex Albon will come into this race feeling confident, and that Red Bull Racing will again be a big threat to Mercedes’ dominance.
Valtteri Bottas was quickest for Mercedes in pre-season testing, and I am certain that he can continue this good form into the season. Valtteri is confident in this year’s car, can put it on the limit and use all his driving ability to maximise the lap time. He is going to be mega quick.
Teammate Lewis Hamilton is going to be highly competitive again, of course, but the question is whether the six-time World Champion can raise his performance even further at a time when Valtteri is continuing to improve. Lewis is now 35 and the second oldest driver in F1 behind Kimi Raikkonen. His determination to maintain his dominance in the sport will be fascinating to watch.
Turning to Ferrari, we start the season knowing that four times World Champion Sebastian Vettel is leaving the team at the end of the year while their star driver Charles Leclerc enjoys a long-term contract. The dynamic in the team will have changed as a result.
I don’t want to be negative, but it’s logical that what the team needs is two drivers pushing each other – for example, they need to smile, have a good sense of humour, motivate everyone in the team and develop the right momentum to go forward and achieve success. However Ferrari is definitely not in that position at the moment.
The mechanics and engineers will be arriving Austria excited about Charles Leclerc but knowing that Sebastian is leaving in six months time and no longer the team’s main focus. There is nothing that the team can do about that situation, but it will affect them.
Sebastian is a very quick, competitive and professional racing driver, but the temptation will be there to prove that Ferrari has made the wrong decision not to re-sign him. That might work out, or it might lead to some desperate moves or mistakes, and that could be a problem for the team.
I am expecting a good season for McLaren following the huge progress the team made last year, and I feel sure they could be a contender for an unexpected race win under the right circumstances. Carlos Sainz is going to be feeling very motivated, knowing that he is moving to Ferrari next season, and he will want to give McLaren the best possible results before he leaves, while Lando Norris now has a year behind him and will want to shine again before Daniel Ricciardo arrives as Sainz’s replacement in 2021.
Kimi’s Alfa Romeo team along with Renault, Racing Point, Toro Rosso and Haas will ensure that the midfield battle is strong. I also think Williams will have a better 2021 following the disappointments of the last few seasons.
The impact of Covid-19 on Formula 1 means that the season ahead will offer a lot of races within a short time. This will give the teams and drivers very little recovery time between events, and the delay to the season will also have put pressure on mechanics to readjust to race weekend procedures and pit stops after months of delay.
It is going to be an interesting, unusual and potentially unpredictable season ahead. Let’s enjoy every minute of it.
