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Finland’s Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) won the Formula 1 season’s opening Grand Prix on Sunday. The race, which was held behind closed doors in Austria, after more than three months of delay due to the coronavirus, was marked by the gesture of several pilots and mechanics, who put a knee on the ground on the grid as a sign of support for the fight against racism.
It was with an opening Grand Prix behind closed doors won by the Finn Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), that the Formula 1 season started on Sunday July 5, after more than three months of delay due to the coronavirus. “It would have been nice to share it with spectators,” said the winner.
Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Briton Lando Norris (McLaren), who climbs for the first time on the box, complete the podium in a twists and turns race.
Lando Norris also regretted the absence of the public after choking in his champagne-gorged mask, which flowed freely on an otherwise unusual podium on the grid and without dignitaries to present the trophies.
“Being here now and not being able to enjoy it with the fans makes things a little more difficult to grasp,” lamented the young man, who is playing his second season in F1.
This first GP of 2020, in front of empty stands, was merciless for the mechanics, with no less than nine withdrawals from twenty single-seaters at the start (Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, George Russell, Kimi Räikkönen, Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat).
Mercedes also feared for their gearboxes for much of the race.
Support for the fight against racism
Before the start, fourteen out of twenty pilots, and several mechanics, placed one knee on the grid as a sign of support for the fight against racism.
All the pilots were dressed in T-shirts with the words “End Racism”, except Hamilton who wore the slogan “Black Lives Matter”.
Encouraged by the British driver, the first black driver in the category, several drivers and teams, as well as F1 and the International Automobile Federation (FIA), recently took a stand against racism following the death of George Floyd in the police hands in the United States in late May.
Sunday, the choice was left to the pilots to express in their own way their commitment to this fight.
Originally scheduled for March 15 in Australia, the start of the season was postponed to the beginning of July. Only eight Grands Prix appear on the provisional calendar, while the championship promoter (Formula One) wishes to program between 15 and 18, instead of 22.
With AFP
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