Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes eager to hit ground running in F1’s sprint to the finish

Nearly four months after the scheduled start to the 2020 season in Australia was abandoned due to the coronavirus pandemic, the sport will return behind closed doors at the Red Bull Ring – the start of eight races in 10 hectic weeks with additional races yet to be added to the schedule.

World champion Hamilton is gunning for his seventh drivers’ world title which would match the all-time record held by Michael Schumacher, while Mercedes are aiming for a record-breaking seventh contructors’ championship in a row – surpassing Ferrari’s winning run between 1999-2004.

The Englishman is also just seven wins shy of the German’s all-time grands prix victory record of 91 and five more top-three finishes would see Hamilton become the driver with the most podiums.

All in all, Hamilton could end the season as the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time – if he can successfully negotiate one of the toughest years the sport has ever seen.

“We are preparing the best way we can for what is going to be the most difficult season that Formula 1 and all of us have experienced,” said Hamilton.

“We’ve normally got 20 to 22 races, that is a long time. You generally have more gaps. We’ve had time to take a breather and get back at it.

“This year is slightly different. We’re going to be attacking a lot more focused group of races.

“So, the performance at each of those races is even more crucial, being healthy, pulling out every single lap. Every moment is going to count even more. It’s going to be magnified.”

Hamilton’s main opposition this year looks likely to come from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as perennial challengers Ferrari admitted this week they had been forced to undertake a major redesign of their car as a result of aerodynamic flaws discovered since it ran in pre-season testing in February.

Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc look likely to have to wait until the third race of the season in Hungary on July 19 before they have an upgraded Ferrari – until then they will have to make do with the car that proved off the pace in testing.

If you add the fact that Mercedes and Red Bull have both already produced significant upgrades on their cars since testing, it looks like it could be a long season of catch-up for Ferrari.

Mercedes’s innovative dual-axis steering (DAS) system could also prove to be another knockout blow to their rivals this term.

The system – which will be banned in 2021 – is controlled by the driver pulling and pushing on the steering column to adjust the toe angle of the front wheel to improve tyre wear and reduce drag.

While sweeping regulation changes are due next year, there are only a few cosmetic changes for the 2020 campaign.

Probably the most prominent of these is the return of the chequered flag. Last year the famous flag was replaced by a chequered light panel at the end of the race, but in Monza a computer glitch saw the digital display bring down the curtain to the Italian Grand Prix one lap early. Thankfully, it’s back to the tried and tested formula this year.

Shark fins – bodywork that trails off the engine cover – also make a return in 2020. They were banned after 2017 but they have been reinstated to house the drivers’ numbers, making it easier for fans to distinguish between each team’s two cars.

After tomorrow’s race, the Red Bull Ring in Austria will also host round two next weekend before the Hungarian Grand Prix completes a season-opening triple-header. Formula 1 will then have a weekend off before another trio of races: Silverstone, Silverstone and Barcelona before visits to Spa and Monza.

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