Lando Norris Opens 2020 Season With Debut Victory

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	47	Lando Norris		1:26.534
2	6	Artem Markelov		1:26.704
3	57	Dean Stoneman		1:26.736
4	14	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		1:26.827
5	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:27.101
6	27	Jules Bianchi		1:27.116
7	1	Pastor Maldonado		1:27.363
8	96	Diego Álvarez Torrente		1:27.500
9	55	Santiago Urrutia		1:27.668
10	35	Sergey Sirotkin		1:27.810
11	33	Salvatore Miccoli		1:28.241
12	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:28.250
13	3	Marvin Kirchhöfer		1:28.404
14	99	Mike Rockenfeller		1:28.493
15	73	Daniel Melrose		1:28.556
16	11	James James Davies		1:28.844
17	64	Dave Cassidy		1:28.999
18	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:29.201
19	10	Pierre Gasly		1:29.407
20	7	Charles Leclerc		1:29.624
21	23	Alexander Albon		1:29.626
22	22	Kazuki Nakajima		1:29.811
23	19	Jordan Davies		1:30.273
24	98	Bradley Dagnall		1:30.633

Report:

After a winter that seemed to last an eternity, our favorite sport has returned: Formula One is back and better than ever. Starting a new era at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, this venue saw the very first professional race using hydrogen-powered vehicles and the new technology proved to be a major success.

Of the 24 cars that started this season opener, 18 saw the finishing line, which is a great number for nearly unproven motors. With new technology comes a new order on the grid and teams like Williams and BR Mansell, who both had two drivers end up scoring points in the end, profited strongly from it.

Of course some teams were struggling for performance, as Pastor Maldonado had an anonymous first race with car number 1 before retiring. Toyota’s return to F1 proved mediocre and Theodore were not able to disprove the pessimistic predictions of F1 experts after their poor pre-season testing performance.

All of that proved but a mere distraction for Lando Norris, who has been challenged with one of the toughest jobs on the grid: replacing multiple-times world champion Lewis Hamilton. He mastered that job on his first outing, scoring a controlling, legendary debut victory after Artem Markelov’s strategy did not work out.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	47	Lando Norris		53:10.247	15
2	27	Jules Bianchi		+5.411	12
3	14	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		+8.034	10
4	64	Dave Cassidy		+10.325	8
5	57	Dean Stoneman		+13.422	6
6	55	Santiago Urrutia		+18.968	5
7	6	Artem Markelov		+19.321	4
8	3	Marvin Kirchhöfer		+22.627	3
9	18	Sebastian Vettel		+22.866	2
10	35	Sergey Sirotkin		+27.012	1
11	7	Charles Leclerc		+32.532	0
12	56	Einar Ármannsson		+34.880	0
13	99	Mike Rockenfeller		+38.680	0
14	11	James James Davies		+43.717	0
15	94	Pascal Wehrlein		+46.166	0
16	23	Alexander Albon		+49.361	0
17	19	Jordan Davies		+54.828	0
18	96	Diego Álvarez Torrente		+57.131	0
DNF	73	Daniel Melrose		Accident	0
DNF	33	Salvatore Miccoli		Throttle	0
DNF	1	Pastor Maldonado		Puncture	0
DNF	98	Bradley Dagnall		Accident	0
DNF	10	Pierre Gasly		Collision	0
DNF	22	Kazuki Nakajima		Transmission	0

Fastest Lap:

Charles Leclerc – 1:29.879

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Dave Cassidy – turned his qualifying outing into a great result to open the year.

Reject Of The Race:

Daniel Melrose – always a shame to retire from your home race like he did.