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• The first race of the season presented various changes as a new normal for the rest of the season.
• We look at all the F1 teams' various face masks being worn during the race weekend.
• Red, orange, black - we pick our favourite one of the lot.
The first Formula One race of the season has brought about many changes as we fight the global pandemic of Covid-19.
Not only will there be no fans present for the rest of the year, but teams also have to practice social distancing, and everyone needs to wear face masks at all times. Even the podium ceremony now takes place on the race track with a visible space between drivers, and champagne spraying is not allowed either. However, it's one rule that doesn't seem to stick, so does the one about social distancing when celebrations come into play.
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas bagged the first win of the season, leading the race from pole. The team would have also claimed their first 1-2 result, but a five-second penalty pushed Lewis Hamilton from second to fifth.Face masks have become our new normal, but it was fascinating to see the different designs each team had opted for.
While Ferrari has a modern design in bright red and a zipper on the side to have a drink of water or snack on something to eat, others opted for the usual blue disposable ones. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and their engineers donned these generic ones, along with BWT Racing Point, Haas, and Williams teams.
Drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon had masks with the team colours, and a logo on the top left corner which says "stay safe".Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton donned a plain black design similar to Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. At the same time, Bottas and the rest of the team wore disposable masks in the black and turquoise team colours.
But by far the best-looking ones has to be from the Woking-based team of McLaren, who probably found it particularly difficult to keep those masks on after their young driver Lando Norris took third place on the podium on Sunday, one of their best results in a very, very long time.
Also, a similar design to Ferrari, McLaren's mask is bright orange and black as per their team colours, and also features F1's new slogan "we race together as one" as part of their diversity campaign.
Which one of the teams' mask designs appeals to you the most? Please email us.
Here's a look at the various face masks:
Red Bull's Max Verstappen:
McLaren drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris
