With less than a week to go, the return to motorsport's biggest stage is within touching distance. Almost seven (very long) months since the lights last went out in Abu Dhabi, the teams and drivers will be back and raring to compete.
The recent times have been the most difficult for people across the world, and now with new ways of life forced upon us, these are transferring into the world of Formula One as we travel to Austria for Round 1 of the eagerly-anticipated 2020 World Championship.
Lockdown has brought endless challenges but introduced opportunities for new thinking and ideas. Throughout these unexpected times, fans have patiently waited in anticipation; monitoring the bizarre situation in which no-one knew when we would go back racing, where we would go back racing and if the sport could even resume under such circumstances. Through times of difficulty, we have seen those in the sport unify to work collectively to withstand global social and economic pressure. Stronger as a result, however the scenes at the Red Bull Ring next weekend will not be what we normally see on Thursday to Sunday. Nevertheless, safety must be the No.1 priority and no fan wants to see racing back on our screens if it is not safe to do so.
Despite none of the 20 cars having laid down championship rubber on a racetrack, arguably there has been heightened media focus within the sport. News ranging from driver moves, team restructuring, efforts to support the NHS and speculation on the long-awaited season. Personally, I've got my F1 fix from Sky Sports' vodcasts (which have been top class - hats off to all the team), Ted's Notebook and other Sky F1 content. I have read some quality F1 books and delved into old archives, watching a few classic races. (It just wasn't the same!)
No on-track action almost became an after-thought, when the so-called 'silly season' was thrusted into our faces - its news was not broken to stunned media in Spa, nor Monza, Singapore or Suzuka - it was early May?! We all knew who held the key to the 2021 driver market: Sebastian Vettel. But more subliminally, Ferrari. I was saddened by Vettel's departure (being a hardcore fan of the Seb/Ferrari combo), however I wasn't shocked. It was inevitable and clearly Ferrari had keeping Leclerc happy, higher on their list of priorities. Although maybe the time was right for Sebastian to leave. [More thoughts on the driver market and its domino effect to come...]
Barcelona testing feels like a lifetime ago, the last sight and sound of pounding laps round the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The end of the final day, I remember distinctly. The commentators were beyond excited, as was I, riding onboard with Max Verstappen with less than a few minutes to go. Throughout testing we had seen Mercedes out front, but it was clear Red Bull potentially had something up their sleeves. Blistering pace from the Dutchman - purples everywhere! His final lap arrived, going faster still... but not enough to go top of the timesheets. Damn. With the true pace of the RB16 kept slightly under wraps and having ran a slower tyre, maybe it signalled that the Milton Keynes outfit will be stronger in 2020, not to forget Verstappen who could easily be the biggest threat to Mercedes' long-term dominance this year, especially in a shortened mishmash of a calendar. Some argue it favours Red Bull - rubbish.
Without doubt, never have I been more excited to see cars back on track, right on the limit.
Matt
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