Formula 1 is back – and so are we
It has been a long wait, but the 2020 Formula 1 season should finally get going at the Red Bull Ring this weekend. It’s nearly four months since the Australian Grand Prix was abandoned and a lot has happened in that time, both in motorsport and the wider world. We still don’t know exactly how many F1 races we’ll have this season, but the reduced calendar will mean an intense few months for the teams and drivers. Given Lewis Hamilton’s particular strength over a long season and the fact that Red Bull has won the past two Austrian GPs, the truncated campaign could provide the Mercedes star with a stern challenge in his quest for a seventh world title.
Hamilton has been in the headlines a great deal of late, rightly standing up for what he believes amid the Black Lives Matter movement, and he’s likely to be at the centre of things in Austria this weekend. In our new season preview we talk to Christian Horner (page 16), boss of the team most likely to take the fight to Mercedes, assess Sebastian Vettel’s position now that it has been confirmed he will leave Ferrari at the end of this campaign (p24), and take a look at the new direction Williams is taking to prepare for F1’s future (p30).
After a coronavirus-enforced pause in May and June, we are pleased that Autosport magazine is also back, starting with this week’s issue. The magazine, which first appeared on 25 August 1950 (right), will continue to provide insight and analysis of the wide breadth of motorsport, from F1 to rallying via Formula E, with increased coverage of UK national competition. Turn to p70 for an update on the national scene as club racers prepare to hit the track once again. We would like to thank all our readers for your patience and kind messages of support during these unprecedented times. The situation remains challenging, but we relaunch with the aim of continuing to provide all the things our loyal readers love about Autosport.
Kevin Turner Editor kevin.turner@autosport.com
NEXT WEEK
9 JULY Austrian Grand Prix All the action and opinion
from the first race of
the new F1 season
COVER IMAGES Clive Mason/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool ; Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
PIT & PADDOCK 6 How F1 will work on its return 8 NASCAR races on through pandemic 10 More surgery for Zanardi 13 Austrian GP preview 14 Opinion: Alex Kalinauckas 15 Feedback: your letters
F1 2020 SEASON PREVIEW REBOOT 16 Red Bull’s best chance to beat Mercedes? 24 Vettel begins his final Ferrari chapter 30 A new path for Williams 34 Tim Wright’s team by team 48 The new rules of F1’s tech battleground 51 Calendar and essential info
INSIGHT 52 How Jones and Shadow took shock win
RACE CENTRE 59 World of Sport: Australian Supercars
CLUB AUTOSPORT 70 Top British GT team withdraws from GT3 72 Richards: time for a new approach 75 Opinion: James Newbold 76 How clubs have prepared to restart 79 Opinion: Stephen Lickorish 80 How important is testing?
FINISHING STRAIGHT 84 What’s on this week 87 Have-a-go hero: Jonny Kane 88 From the archive: 1958 Le Mans 90 Autosport 70: Ligier on the up
SUBSCRIPTION OFFER 12 Special deals for Autosport
VISIT AUTOSPORT.COM For other ways to read Britain’s best motorsport weekly
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