8. Norris produces stunning surge onto the podium in Austria
Lando Norris had enjoyed a solid rookie season at McLaren in 2019, with some strong qualifying performances putting him just ahead of team mate Carlos Sainz across the course of the season. However he'd been less successful on Sundays, with six DNFs and a highest finish of sixth place in Bahrain and France. He'd made himself popular within the team by pitching in to help the team strike the pit garage and strip down the car at the end of the weekend, and then became an Esports star when F1 filled the lockdown void at the start of 2020 by competing online against his real life peers.
By the start of July, Norris was emerging as one of the most popular drivers of the sport's new generation of rising stars. Could he transfer that success in online gaming to the opening round of 2020 in Austria? It certainly started off brilliantly when he secured third place on the grid in qualifying, his best starting position to date and a significant achievement for the team as a whole. However when it came to the of the race he was unable to hold on to the position and was quickly picked off by Alex Albon and Lewis Hamilton in the opening laps. Max Verstappen's retirement restored him to fourth but then he was passed by Sergio Perez on lap 33, and as the race neared its end it seemed as though fifth place would be the best he could hope for.
Seemingly from nowhere he was able to find searing pace in the final laps. He caught and forced his way back past Perez, but the job wasn't done yet. To take back that podium he had to get within five seconds of Hamilton, who had incurred a time penalty. Norris managed to pull it off with a mighty effort and he pipped the Mercedes by two tenths in the final classification, but only after punching in the fastest lap of the race on the last lap which left onlookers in the paddock in a state of collective shock. It was exactly the sort of feel-good ending to the season opener that the sport needed to raise its spirits after enduring months of coronavirus anxiety. If it hadn't been for social distancing then Norris would surely have been carried shoulder-high through parc fermé: "We've kicked the season off with a great result," he said afterwards, adding: "I'm over the moon, my best Formula 1 result and my first-ever podium!"
