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Two races into the 2020 season and Mercedes has levelled the score at the Red Bull Ring. Max Verstappen had given the home team the glory in the last two 'normal' seasons but, in this year without precedent, Mercedes has struck back mightily - with the score since 2018 now 2-2. Since 2014, when the Austrian track rejoined the Formula 1 calendar after a decade's absence it is actually 6-2. The more you look, the worse it gets for Red Bull and that was the main takeaway from the first Styrian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton was triumphant for the first time in 2020, hitting back after his season opener had gone awry. With Verstappen starting alongside him - and any hope of strategic tyre variation between F1's two leading squads removed by the thrilling wet-weather qualifying session - this was another chance to see exactly how they measure up.
The incident-packed Austrian GP had been about winning in the changing circumstances of the race, which Mercedes of course did with Valtteri Bottas. But Red Bull had hoped Verstappen's contra-strategy would keep him in the fight, and then go on to take the win when the gearbox gremlins struck Mercedes. Plus, Alex Albon had the chance to take an unfancied win on fresher tyres late on before his clash with Hamilton.
