SPIELBERG (Austria) • It was nearly four months since the originally scheduled first free practice in Melbourne was called off at the 11th hour, but Formula One returned to an exhilarating race in Austria, where nine out of 20 drivers on the starting grid did not finish.

While there was the familiar sight of a Mercedes car taking the chequered flag, with pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas leading from start to finish, drama was otherwise provided by the trailing pack throughout the race.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who had earlier lamented his team's pace that was "not even close to expectations", finished a surprise second. McLaren's Lando Norris celebrated a first podium after a time penalty knocked Mercedes' six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton down to fourth after he crossed the line second.

It was not even Hamilton's first demotion of the day, as stewards performed a U-turn after a Red Bull challenge and dropped the reigning world champion from the front row to fifth on the grid for a breach in Saturday's qualifying.

"I managed to keep it together and control the race from my side and it's a good start to the season," said Finn Bottas, who had to keep his cool through three safety car periods. "There were so many chances for Lewis to get the lead if I made a small mistake, but I managed to keep it together and control the race from my side, so there is no better way to start the season."

The race, on a sunny afternoon at the scenic Red Bull Ring, was held before empty grandstands and no fans for the first time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Drivers took the knee during the playing of the Austrian national anthem in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, although notably six drivers including Leclerc and Max Verstappen declined to kneel.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz made it a double-points haul for McLaren in fifth, with Sergio Perez sixth for Racing Point and Pierre Gasly seventh for AlphaTauri.

Esteban Ocon, who last raced in 2018, took eighth for Renault on his return while Antonio Giovinazzi bagged ninth for Alfa Romeo. Sebastian Vettel, who had another error-strewn race, completed the top 10 for Ferrari. Canadian Nicholas Latifi was the last car running in 11th for Williams.

Hamilton's qualifying breach had promoted Red Bull's Verstappen to the front row alongside Bottas, but any hopes the Dutch youngster had of completing a hat-trick of Austrian wins, after consecutive victories in 2018 and 2019, disappeared when he suffered an early technical problem and became the season's first retirement.

Bottas soon had Hamilton in his mirrors but the Briton's challenge vanished when he was handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Red Bull's Alex Albon while defending second place.

The Thai-British driver spun off into the gravel, his podium hopes shattered in a series of unfortunate events for Red Bull on their home track.

Speaking to reporters after the race, Albon said: "I am a bit fresh right now so I've got to be careful what I say. I really felt like we could have won that race. The guys did a great job with strategy. As soon as it all played out, it looked really strong for us. The first five laps was when I was going to do the overtakes.

"I feel like this one - I won't say it hurts more but I felt like Brazil was 50-50. I was kind of already focused on Bottas in front.

"There's always a risk of overtaking on the outside, but I gave it as much space as I could. It's up to him if he wants to crash or not."

Leclerc, whose team had struggled in qualifying with Vettel failing even to make the top 10, moved up to third against all expectations - which became second after the chequered flag.

"A huge surprise, but a good one," said the Monegasque. "It feels like a victory today."

Racing Point's Mexican Perez, who had run as high as third in the 2019 Mercedes lookalike, lost fourth place to Norris two laps from the end but was already carrying a time penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit.

Anyone who had feared Mercedes running away in a race of their own, after the champions dominated practice and qualifying, need not have worried.

Mercedes, their cars changed from silver to black arrows, fretted about gearbox sensors and warned both drivers to keep clear of the kerbs. The season resumes this week at the same track.

REUTERS