Formula One racing tournament 2020 is back on track with First race of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, but without the spectators in the stands. Valtteri Bottas, a finish racing driver, won the race for Mercedes as his teammate Lewis Hamilton suffered a dramatic late-racing demotion from second to fourth. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took second place and Mclaren’s Lando Norris third.
Lewis Hamilton, a six-time Formula One World Champion, was given five-second time penalty after bumping Alexander Albon for the second time ever. As it turns out, the two clashed after the final safety car period, when the Red Bull tried to dive around the outside.
However, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was not happy with the FIA’s decision and later expressed his anger while speaking to the media.
“Then in the race, I would definitely say, from my perspective, the five seconds were too harsh. We looked at the video now a couple of times,” he said.
Although Bottas started from pole position and Hamilton from fifth, it looked like a straight fight between the two Mercedes drivers as has been the case so often in recent years.
All 20 Formula One racers wore black T-shirts with “End Racism” written on it, with the exception of Lewis Hamilton who moved the slogan to the back of his shirt and opted for "Black Lives Matter" across his chest.
A moment of silence in opposition to the racism was observed before the flag was dropped on Austrian Grand Prix. Fourteen out of 20 racers also took the knee before the beginning of the race.
Round 2 of the race is scheduled from July 10 to July 12 in Austria.