2020 Styrian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Valtteri Bottas leads the championship by 7 points from Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris a further 2 points behind in third. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton is fourth, 13 points off the lead. In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes leads with 37 points, McLaren second with 26, Ferrari third with 19.

Previous race

An eventful Austrian Grand Prix featured three safety car periods and nine retirements. Bottas won from Leclerc and Norris — Norris’s first Formula One podium. Hamilton crossed the line second but received a five-second time penalty for a collision with Alexander Albon, who then retired; Hamilton was classified fourth. Carlos Sainz Jr., Sergio Pérez, and Pierre Gasly completed the top seven.

Car upgrades

Ferrari brings a wide range of updates to the SF1000, originally planned for Hungary, brought forward after a poor showing last weekend. Mercedes trials new gearbox components to address the electrical problems that affected their car at the Austrian Grand Prix. McLaren runs a new chin spoiler design.

Tyre choices

Pirelli provides the same C2, C3, and C4 compound selection used at the Austrian Grand Prix on the same circuit the previous week.

Practice

Sergio Pérez topped the first practice session for Racing Point ahead of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. Nicholas Latifi was forced to pull over with gearbox issues, triggering yellow flags; Lando Norris was given a three-place grid penalty for overtaking under those conditions. Kevin Magnussen was unable to set a lap time due to battery problems.

Max Verstappen was fastest in FP2 ahead of Bottas and Pérez. Daniel Ricciardo’s session ended when his Renault left the track at turn nine and crashed heavily into the barriers; Ricciardo was taken to the medical centre and declared fit. Hamilton finished sixth, seven-tenths adrift of Bottas. Alexander Albon spun at turn three and later into the gravel at the turn 7–8 chicane, reporting a “snappy” RB16. Norris cited chest and back pain as the reason for reduced running, though his condition improved overnight.

The third practice session was cancelled due to heavy rain.