Formula One season preview, betting news, free F1 tips, where to watch

F1 tips, best bets and analysis for the 2020 Formula One season starting at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.

Where to watch

Austrian Grand Prix practice Sky Sports F1, 10am & 2pm Friday and 11am Saturday; Qualifying 2pm Saturday; Race 2.10pm Sunday

Best bet

Max Verstappen to win F1 drivers title
1pt 4-1 general

Formula One's 2020 season begins in Austria this weekend, and while the event will have an unfamiliar look there are unlikely to be too many surprises on the result sheet.

There will be strict limits on the number of team personnel attending each race, and social distancing rules will force significant changes to the pre-race presentation and podium ceremony.

But on the track things are expected to look more familiar with Lewis Hamilton a hot favourite to land a record-equalling seventh world drivers championship.

Hamilton's Mercedes looked the class of the field in pre-season testing in Barcelona in February, and despite the lack of track action since then the team have announced the car the race in Austria will feature 'a chunk' of upgrades.

Max Verstappen is seen as Hamilton's chief rival, and the flying Dutchman is no bigger than 4-1 to win the championship, having been available at 5-1 on the eve of the intended start of the season in March.

The Red Bull team have tended to start seasons somewhat on the back foot before rapidly developing their car. However, pre-season looked extremely positive for the Milton Keynes-based team and it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see them laying down a strong challenge to Mercedes.

The rearranged calendar will have put a smile on Red Bull's faces. Verstappen has won in Austria in each of the last two seasons, and they have traditionally been strong around the twisty Hungaroring, which hosts the third race on the calendar.

Two races at Silverstone follow - a circuit where Verstappen was in with a shout of finishing second last year before Sebastian Vettel ran into the back of him shortly after he had overtaken the German's Ferrari.

A switch to Honda engines for last year looked to have paid dividends for Red Bull, as the Japanese manufacturer made strides throughout last season.

They have been busy during the enforced break, too, with an upgraded power unit ready for the start of the campaign to go with an improved aerodynamic package.

While things look promising for Red Bull, it is a different story at Ferrari.

The team who have been Mercedes' closest rivals throughout the era of hybrid power endured a frustrating winter.

Superior horsepower earned victories for Charles Leclerc in Belgium and Italy last season, as well as seven pole positions, but having to conform to new technical regulations seems to have robbed them of that advantage.

The intervening weeks have been difficult for the Italian outfit too. Team principal Mattia Binotto announced last week that they had been forced to go in a new direction in terms of development, and that the car they race in Austria will be identical to the one that ended pre-season testing.

Ruling out a masterstroke of deception, it will be a huge shock if Ferrari are anywhere near the pace of Mercedes and Red Bull in Austria.

If things are as bad as the team claim, they could even be vulnerable to the likes of Racing Point and McLaren, who looked in the best shape of the midfield pack in pre-season and will be eager to grab big points if the opportunity is there.

Still plenty of uncertainty over final calendar

Three-and-a-half months ago the F1 circus assembled in Melbourne, Australia amid growing concern of an emerging pandemic.

Journalists stayed up through the night awaiting a decision on whether the season-opening grand prix would go ahead and fans had already begun gathering at the gates of Albert Park before the event was finally called off.

Keeping with the trend of leaving it late, we still don’t know how many races will make up the 2020 season.

Eight races in Europe are as near to certain to take place as anything can be in these uncertain times, eight being the magic number of events that FIA rules state must take place for a world champion to be crowned.

However, those same rules also state that races must take place on three continents, and events in the Middle East and Canada look most likely to be added to the calendar at this stage.

What does look certain, though, is that the final number of races will be nowhere near the originally planned tally of 22, which would have been a record.

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