F1 Austrian Grand Prix practice LIVE: Hamilton, Vettel and Leclerc get underway as Formula One returns at Red Bull Ring – The Sun

July 3, 2020

THE long wait for F1 to restart is nearly over as the season commences at the Red Bull Ring.

What was meant to get underway in Australia in March now begins in Austria at 10am today with the first practice of the new campaign.

Follow ALL of the latest updates here…

WE ARE SECONDS AWAY
We are about to go green for the first time in 2020 as FP1 is about to start in Austria. It has been 112 days since the Australian GP was cancelled due to McLaren's withdrawal following a positive test for the coronavirus.
This is a closed event in Austria, no fans, no motorhomes and there are strict protocols in place. Understandably so.
Happy to report that everything is working well so far and there have been no positive tests for staff at the track.
It has been an age since testing in Barcelona finished at the end of February. Since then, the cars have been developed and tweaked, so this will be the first time we will get to see who has the potential to take the fight to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.
The favorites aside, this will also be a big day for Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and for Red Bull's Max Verstappen in assessing their credentials.
Back in March, we were excited to see how the battle between Hamilton and the two youngsters would turn out.
Well now, for the first time since December 1st at the Abu Dhabi GP, we will see an F1 car out on track.
MERC MAKE A CHANGE
Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he wants Mercedes to improve BAME diversity in their team.
A huge supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, Hamilton said: “I walk around the paddock and I'm the only black person in there.
“I've talked to Toto about improving diversity in our team.
“It's about working together, moving forward and trying to improve.
“There's so many opportunities out there and we need to make it more open and more accessible.”
ALONSO'S THE B-EST
French driver Esteban Ocon says he would welcome double Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso back to Renault if the team were open to the 38-year-old Spaniard making a comeback with them.
Alonso, who left Formula One at the end of 2018 after a last season with McLaren, won his championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
The twice Le Mans 24 Hours winner has made no secret of his desire to return to the Formula One grid, with the French manufacturer having a vacancy and seen as his best bet.
Ocon said: “My personal choice has no relation to what the team is going to do but I have a great relationship with Fernando.
“I don’t know if he is going to join or not with us but definitely if he could come back here I’d be very happy.”
Ocon is contracted for 2021 at the French team while Australian Daniel Ricciardo is leaving at the end of the season to join McLaren.
BEN HUNT – HERE WE GO!
Good morning from Austria.
We are just an hour away from getting this F1 season underway after the false start in Australia.
I was at the track early and I'm pleased to say the Formula 3 cars are already whizzing around.
There is a great air of optimism about this return and this track is the perfect setting.
So far this week there have been no positive tests, so we are all good to go, but it will be a while before we get back to normal and with fans.
FP1 kick off at 10am so the final checks are going on. As I type this I can hear the wheel-guns in the garages tightening the wheels on the cars.
HERE'S LEWIS
Hamilton strolls into Red Bull ring dressed a t-shirt that says “END RACISM”.
RED FACED
Ferrari can expect the 2020 Formula One season to be more challenging than last year, Charles Leclerc said ahead of the Austrian opener on Thursday.
The 22-year-old Monegasque driver won two races in 2019, his first year at Maranello, but the championship runners-up have already recognised problems with the new car.
Principal Mattia Binotto said this week that the team had taken a 'significant change of direction' since February testing but performance upgrades would not be introduced until the third race in Hungary.
Leclerc told: “I think after the testing we knew we were not where we wanted to be, especially on the qualifying pace.
“I think it's going to be a very challenging season for us, it is definitely not going to be easy.
“We still have this question mark, and we still need to wait for qualifying to be absolutely sure of what we say even though we are 99 per cent sure that we will be struggling more than last year.”
GOOD MORNING F1 FANS
Sebastian Vettel has dropped the bombshell he was sensationally dumped by Ferrari over the phone.
Speaking to SunSport, Vettel, whose £32million a year contract expires in December, said: “There was no sticking point.
“It was obviously a surprise to me when I got the call from Mattia when he told me that there was no further intention for the team to continue.
“We never got into any discussions, there was never an offer on the table and therefore there was no sticking point.”
In other news, Lewis Hamilton says winning the F1 title this year would mean “more than ever” as the world fights against a pandemic and racism.
He told SunSport: “Winning the title this year would mean more than ever before being that it is such a momentous year in the sense that this pandemic, which we are still fighting.
“But then on a more personal level, the Black Lives Matter and fighting for injustice and equality.
“Winning it in that time to be also fighting for something so important…It is not going to change in our generation but for our kids.
“This is such an important moment for us, so yes, winning the world title during this time would be even more important.”
And finally, Hamilton has commented on drivers taking a knee before Sunday's race in Austria.
He said: “We [drivers] have not all spoken but I am sure we will do something.
“It has not been on the top of my mind. I have been asked the question but it is not a priority or a plan to take a knee on the start line. Whatever we do, we will become united and we have to fight for the injustices and inequality.”
F1 CALENDAR
LEW BEAUTY
Lewis Hamilton says winning the F1 title this year would mean “more than ever” as the world fights against a pandemic and racism.
The F1 star can match Michael Schumacher's total of seven world titles but says that is insignificant compared with his push for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Hamilton has been outspoken on the subject across his social media calling for change and took part in a protest march in London's Hyde Park.
Both his Mercedes team and F1 have responded with campaigns to promote diversity.
Speaking in Austria at the start of the F1 season, Hamilton was asked by SunSport about what victory would mean to him this season.
He said: “Winning the title this year would mean more than ever before being that it is such a momentous year in the sense that this pandemic, which we are still fighting.
“But then on a more personal level, the Black Lives Matter and fighting for injustice and equality.
“Winning it in that time to be also fighting for something so important…It is not going to change in our generation but for our kids.
“This is such an important moment for us, so yes, winning the world title during this time would be even more important.”
NO RAIN, NO PAIN
BEN HUNT – ON LEWIS AND BLM
Lewis Hamilton on taking a knee before Sunday's race in Austria.
“We [drivers] have not all spoken but I am sure we will do something,” he said.
“It has not been on the top of my mind. I have been asked the question but it is not a priority or a plan to take a knee on the start line. Whatever we do, we will become united and we have to fight for the injustices and inequality.”
DISAPPOINTMENT FOR VETTEL
Where next for the four-time world champion?
BEN HUNT – MORE ON VETTEL
Huge news from Sebastian Vettel on Ferrari's decision not to offer him a new deal.
I asked him what the sticking point was? His reply was dynamite.
“There was no sticking point. It was a surprise to me when I got a call from Mattia to say the team did not want to continue. There was no offer on the table. At the moment, I am not having any talks [with other teams].”
That a big snub for the four-time world champion, who is out of contract at the end of the year.
DIDN'T PASS VETTING
After a question from SunSport's Ben Hunt, Sebastian Vettel has revealed he was NOT offered a new contract by Ferrari.
BEN HUNT – ZOOM GIVES HACKS THE STEER
Hmmm, Something is not quite right here. This is a bit of a niche, media gripe but here goes…
The usual press conference format has changed but rather than doing a Zoom video call, like we all have been doing during lockdown, we have been asked to submit questions in advance.
What's wrong with that? Well, part of the job is asking the difficult questions and listening to answers. It is then about following those answers up.
This inability to interact is making for turgid viewing. The press conference has become a form of F1TV. The other added complication is the moderator is cherry-picking the questions, so the usual tough-ones are getting weeded out.
Shame.
AL-ABOARD
Alexander Albon gets behind the wheel of his Red Bull with a face mask on.
After months away from the car it must be a good feeling to be back in the zone.
WHERE'S LEW?
No sign of world champ Lewis Hamilton yet in Austria.
But he did share an adorable picture of his dog Roscoe from his apartment in Monaco last night.
ASSEMBLY LINE
The cars are in various stages of construction ahead of this weekend's racing.
Lewis Hamilton's newly-decorated Mercedes looks ready to drive, while Ferrari still need to keep their screwdrivers out.
BEN HUNT – NO SCRUM FOR PRESS
Socially distanced press conferences.
We are watching the press conference on a big screen.
Both drivers are wearing masks, even though we are not in the same room.
Press centre is filling up but normally there are around 500 people in this room. We have a terrific view of the circuit.
TOUR DE CHARLES
Charles LeClerc has been riding around Spielberg on a Ferrari red bike, to get his head around the course.
The Monaco star has some seriously big mountains close to his home on the Mediterranean.
But he had to get 'out of the saddle' to tackle the Red Bull Ring's tarmac.
BEN HUNT IN SPIELBERG – ZOOM TIME
I've arrived at the Red Bull Ring!
But only after stopping on a motorway service station for a quick zoom chat with Alex Albon.
Here at the track, I've had my temperature checked – 36 degrees, so under the 37.4 that is the maximum.
Press room is strangely quiet ahead of the first press conference of the day – via a video link.
Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says he was not targeting Formula One rivals when he condemned the sport's silence on racial injustice and the lack of diversity.
Hamilton, who starts his bid for a record equalling seventh title in the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, has been vocal in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and racial equality.
The 35-year-old Mercedes driver, who will be in black overalls and driving a black car with the message 'End Racism' on it this season, last month criticised those who failed to speak out.
Referring to the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white U.S. police officer knelt on his neck, the Briton said: “I see those of you who are staying silent, some of you the biggest of stars yet you stay silent in the midst of injustice.”
Hamilton, the sport's only Black driver, explained in a video released by Mercedes' parent company Daimler as part of a 'We Care, We do, We Move' series on Thursday that he was addressing the world of motorsport as a whole.
He said: “People perceived it as (if) I was targeting drivers.
“I really wasn't. It was targeted at the whole industry. And it's been something I've been aware of for a long, long time, and not really seen anyone doing anything about it.
“People being silent is something that I've experienced for such a long time, and now is not the time to be silent. This is a time to help spread the message, the time to pull together. We need as many voices as we can to push for change.
“That was really a calling to people within the industry for accountability, for all the brands. They need to do more.
“The sport needs to do more. The (governing) FIA need to do more. We all need to do more. So that was really what the message was about.”

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