Episode #245: Plus Five

So, did we miss anything this week? All four of the usual return for a hectic Austrian Season Opener for F1 where a belting race wasn't without a messy tribute to ending racism, with 6 drivers refusing to take a knee. But on track, it was Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris that stole the show, and Valtteri Bottas taking a pretty comfortable win! All the deets down below, including a return for Fernando Alonso!
MOTORSPORT 101: EPISODE 245
Introductions, housekeeping, and thank-yous
F1 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX! WE'RE FUCKING BACK!
- 14 of 20 drivers kneel before the race in moment of reflection
- Qualifying: BOT takes 12th career pole, HAM 2nd (drops 3 places after passing under yellow), VER 3rd, NOR 4th, ALB 5th, PER 6th, LEC 7th, VET 11th
- BOT drives on to victory in a chaotic Austrian GP with 9 retirements (VER, RIC, STR, MAG, GRO, RUS, RAI, ALB, KVY)
- Best thing of the day - NOR collects first career podium after another HAM/ALB collision results in 5s time penalty for HAM (4th)
- LEC somehow salvages 2nd after wretched weekend for Ferrari; VET recovers from spin to finish 10th
- SAI 5th in big points day for McLaren
- PER 6th after 5s penalty for pit lane speeding
- GAS 7th for AlphaTauri, from 12th
- OCO 8th on return at Renault, from 14th
- GIO 9th from 18th after wretched weekend
- LAT just misses points on debut in 11th
SPECIAL F1 BULLETIN
Fernando Alonso agrees to return to Renault in 2021 on two-year deal
F2 AND F3 ROUNDS OF AUSTRIA
- F2 catch-up: New 18-inch wheels, same race format
- Feature Race: ILO takes 1st career victory - ARM goes from 13th to 2nd - SHW 3rd to make it an all-FDA podium; Polesitter ZHO one of several drivers plagued with mechanical gremlins; MSC loses out on potential podium after running off track; Carlin teammates TSU & DAR collide;
- Sprint Race: DRU scores 1st career victory (just 6 points in F3 last year!) from RGP; DEL 2nd, TIC 3rd; mechanical issues plague ARM & ALE, ZHO unlucky again after collision with DAR
- F3 Race1: Eurocup FRenault champion Piastri leads Prema 1-2-4 en route to debut win; Macau podium finisher Sargent 2nd; Alex Peroni returns from devastating Monza crash to finish 3rd; Polesitter Fernandez retires after first-lap crash
- F3 Race2: Red Bull junior Lawson takes 1st win, Macau winner Verschoor 2nd, newcomer Novalak 3rd