When you sign-up through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more >
The COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc with the 2020 F1 schedule, which originally featured a record 22 races on its calendar, with the opening Australian Grand Prix on March 15. Because of the pandemic, the first race of the season, the Austrian Grand Prix, will take place on July 5, with free practice on July 3 and qualifying on July 4.
In fact, the first two races of the season are slated for the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria, with the Steiermark Grand Prix following on the July 10-12 weekend. Thus far, the F1 calendar includes only eight races, all to be contested in Europe. Further additions to the schedule are still to be determined.
In its current incarnation, the Austrian Grand Prix has been contested for six years, after a 10-year hiatus from 2004 through 2013. Mercedes won the first four races after the return. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has won the last two.
What | Austrian Grand Prix F1 race |
Where | Red Bull Ring |
When | Sunday, July 5, 9:05 a.m. EST |
How to watch | Watch on ESPN here! |
Winner | Odds |
Max Verstappen | +350 (BET NOW) |
Lewis Hamilton | -118 (BET NOW) |
Valtteri Bottas | +400 (BET NOW) |
Charles Leclerc | +1800 (BET NOW) |
Sebastian Vettel | +1800 (BET NOW) |
Alexander Albon | +2500 (BET NOW) |
Sergio Perez | +2500 (BET NOW) |
Lance Stroll | +4000 (BET NOW) |
Daniel Ricciardo | +15000 (BET NOW) |
Carlos Sainz Jr. | +10000 (BET NOW) |
Lando Norris | +10000 (BET NOW) |
Esteban Ocon | +50000 (BET NOW) |
Pierre Gasly | +100000 (BET NOW) |
Daniil Kvyat | +10000 (BET NOW) |
Kimi Raikkonen | +100000 (BET NOW) |
Antonio Giovinazzi | +100000 (BET NOW) |
Romain Grosjean | +100000 (BET NOW) |
Kevin Magnussen | +70000 (BET NOW) |
George Russell | +150000 (BET NOW) |
Nicholas Latifi | +300000 (BET NOW) |
The odds for the Austrian Grand Prix are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
To learn more about DraftKings bonuses, promotions, and banking options, check out our in-depth review here!
If Max Verstappen didn’t already have the reputation as a hard charger, he certainly secured it in last year’s Austrian Grand Prix, where Verstappen passed pole winner Charles Leclerc with less than three laps left to secure his second straight win in the race.
Dropping from second to eighth after the start because of a problem with his anti-stall function, Verstappen charged forward in his Red Bull car, eventually passing Sebastian Vettel for third on Lap 50 of 71 and Valtteri Bottas for second on Lap 56. With an aggressive move that later would be reviewed and deemed legal by the stewards, Verstappen powered past Leclerc in Turn 2, making contact, to take the lead for good on Lap 69.
Verstappen (+175) was third fastest in last year’s qualifying, but he has an excellent feel for the track revived by his Austrian team owner, Dietrich Mateschitz. Look for the 22-year-old Dutchman to be a major factor in Sunday’s race.
Sporting a new all-black livery on his Mercedes this year, decrying racism and supporting F1’s pro-diversity initiatives, Lewis Hamilton opens the 2020 F1 season at a track that has treated him poorly in the last three races at Red Bull Ring.
Yes, Hamilton won the Austrian Grand Prix in 2016, but in the 2017 race, he suffered a five-position grid penalty for a gearbox change and finished third. In 2018, he failed to finish the race because of a fuel-pressure problem, joining teammate Valtteri Bottas (gearbox failure) in the garage for Mercedes’ third double retirement since 2010.
Last year, Hamilton’s tendency to run wide over the curbing in the Niki Lauda Curve (Turn 1) led to front-wing damage and an unscheduled pit stop for repairs. He finished fifth, failing to make the podium for the first time in nine races. This year, however, the Austrian Grand Prix is race No. 1, and Mercedes inviably starts fast. Last year, Hamilton (+200) and Bottas (+500) finished 1-2 in the first five races of the season, with Hamilton winning three.
With four-time champion Sebastian Vettel departing the Ferrari team at the end of the season, the Scuderia looks to 22-year-old Monaco-born Charles Leclerc to do the heavy lifting this year. Indeed, Leclerc already had established himself as the top driver in the stable by the midpoint of last season, repeatedly eclipsing Vettel’s performances.
Leclerc won the pole for last year’s Austrian Grand Prix with an impressive track-record run in 1:03:003, beating Hamilton for the top spot on the grid by .259 seconds. And Leclerc (+525) held the lead in the race until Verstappen overtook him with an aggressive move on Lap 69.
Here’s a word of caution, though: Ferrari was not happy with its preseason test session, where the red cars from Maranello did not appear to have the pace of primary rivals Mercedes and Red Bull. As has been widely reported in F1 circles, Ferrari bosses don’t expect substantive improvements to the aerodynamics be incorporated until the third race of the season in Hungary.
Max Verstappen (+350)—Based on last year’s run from eighth to first after Lap 1 issues, Mad Max has to be the pick for the F1 opener.
Award-winning motorsports writer Reid Spencer has served as lead writer for the NASCAR Wire Service for 16 years, having also spent a four-year stint as NASCAR columnist and beat writer for Sporting News. He is currently serving as president of the National Motorsports Press Association. Email: [email protected]
More info on Reid Spencer
© Rebel Penguin ApS 2023 (a subsidiary of Gaming Innovation Group Inc.)
We support responsible gambling. 21+ Only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
WSN.com is run by iGaming Cloud Inc (a Gaming Innovation Group Subsidiary) and is registered with the New Jersey
Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) under affiliate vendor ID
89744,
with the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) under certificate of registration number SWR-000148, approved by
the
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board as a gaming service provider, under certificate registration number
117656-1,
possesses a Vendor Minor sports betting license from the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission (account
number 94414163), granted a vendor registration number VR007603-20-001 by the Michigan Gaming Control Board,
an
interim Sports Wagering Supplier license, under license number SWS 066, issued by the West Virginia Lottery
Commission, a sports betting vendor registration, under registration number #100400, issued by the Director
of
Gaming Licensing and Investigations of the Virginia Lottery to operate in the State of Virginia, and a
Vendor
Registration issued by the Sports Wagering Committee of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation.
Advertising disclosure: WSN contains links to online retailers on its website. When people click on our
affiliate links and make purchases, WSN earns a commission from our partners, including ESPN and various
sportsbooks.