Why hopes of a dramatic F1 title battle may rest on a so far unbreakable relationship
Valtteri Bottas stole an early march on Lewis Hamilton in the 2020 title battle with his Austria win, where Mercedes looked untouchable in 'normal' conditions. Here's how the title fight may be twisted by Formula 1's compacted calendar
Lewis Hamilton had set the practice pace, but things had turned around by the time the first Q3 laps had been completed, with his team-mate now heading the times. One final effort coming up - maximum attack, maximum pressure.
The Mercedes flew through the first sector, rapid as ever, but early in the second sector things went suddenly wrong. It was off the track, the yellow flags flying. Hamilton came across the incident and could not improve his time.
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Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.
A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.
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