Spielberg bei Knittelfeld (Austria) (AFP)

A week after being the scene of the first closed-door Grand Prix in the history of Formula 1, punctuated by abandonment and concluded with an unexpected podium, the Austrian Red Bull Ring welcomes revenge on Sunday.

Two GPs on the same circuit in the same season, one week apart, it is another first for F1, that the pandemic of new coronavirus has forced to review its calendar.

The Austrian Grand Prix therefore becomes the Grand Prix of Styria, named after the region where the Spielberg circuit is located, but the 4.318 km route and the number of laps (71) remain the same.

"This is an opportunity to do better than last Sunday," says Ferrari's German, Sebastian Vettel, for the many unlucky of the inaugural 2020 GP, which ran more than three months late.

There are many: nine (Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, George Russell, Kimi Räikönnen, Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat) who did not cross the finish line, in front of empty stands , victims of mechanical annoyance or a puncture.

- "Hamilton remains the fastest" -

Not to mention Vettel, his disappointing qualifications and his spin in the race, and Lewis Hamilton, penalized twice by the commissioners and who had to settle for a fourth place at the start of his campaign to equal the record of seven Michael Schumacher's world titles.

Eventful, the event gave birth to a podium to its measure. Admittedly, the first place of the Finnish poleman Valtteri Bottas, whose competition is once again crushed by the Mercedes, is anything but a surprise. The second of Monegasque Charles Leclerc, whose Ferrari is very disappointing, and the third of the British Lando Norris (McLaren), for the first time on the box, on the other hand surprised, even detonated.

Not enough, however, to imagine such a crazy result, warn several observers.

"The classification of qualifications gives more information on how the season will go," said the "main team" of the Haas team, Guenther Steiner. "Mercedes is fairly dominant and there are a few teams (Red Bull, Racing Point, Ferrari, McLaren and Renault, ed) just behind."

For former pilot Mark Webber, Hamilton's disappointments should not overshadow the fact that the defending champion "remains the fastest". "In a way, victory only escaped him," said the Australian, who knows that the Mercedes driver is not one to miss his chance twice.

- Learn lessons -

With no less than 6/10 advance in + qualifiers +, the Silver Arrows - which sport a black livery as a sign of support for the fight against racism - have little problem to do in terms of time, but reliability nearly failed them last Sunday.

During most of the race, the Mercedes staff feared for its gearboxes, which were damaged by the vibrators of the Red Bull Ring. "We are going to install new components this weekend to improve the situation," says boss Toto Wolff.

To see if all have also learned from the first Austrian GP, ​​even if the weather is diametrically opposite (heat Friday, thunderstorms Saturday and cool Sunday) will spice up the revenge.

Off-piste, in addition to the empty stands until further notice, attention is once again turned to the health protocol in force in the paddock, with mandatory masks, physical distance and isolation of personnel in groups as airtight as possible.

Thursday, moreover, Ferrari and Leclerc were called to order, the Monegasque having emerged from his "bubble" during a return trip to Monaco between the two races.

© 2020 AFP