F1: Hamilton wins chaotic Tuscan Grand Prix
September 13, 2020
Lewis Hamilton picked up his 90th victory in Formula One on Sunday after winning a chaotic Tuscan Grand Prix at the Mugello Circuit in Italy.
The race got off to a rough start as several cars collided in turn two, causing Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Italian GP winner Pierre Gasly to retire. Not long after, four cars collided at the back of the field on the safety car restart on Lap 7, leading to the session being suspended.
After being overtaken by Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton regained the top position after a standing start on lap 7 and led the rest of the way.
The race was stopped again when Racing Point's Lance Stroll spun off with 15 laps to go. Only 12 of the 20 cars managed to finish the race. Mercedes and Ferrari were the only teams to have both drivers make it to the finish line.
It was the first time the Mugello Circuit, owned by Ferrari, was used for an F1 race. The race commemorated Ferrari's 1,000th F1 entry. But Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel only managed to finish in eighth and 10th to mark the occasion.
Podium
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
- Alex Albon, Red Bull
Quote from the race: Lewis Hamilton
Drive of the day: Alex Albon
The Red Bull driver recovered from a rough start to achieve his first career podium finish. He won a dramatic battle with Renault's Daniel Ricciardo — formerly of Red Bull — for third place, finishing a spot better than he started.
As it happened...
59/59 Checkered flag: Lewis Hamilton takes the Tuscan Grand Prix
56/59 About 1.5 seconds between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas with three laps to go.
55/59 George Russell is on the heels of Sebastian Vettel as the Williams driver tries to get into the top 10.
53/59 Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are both putting in lap times under 1:20 as the battle for the win.
51/59 And Alex Albon moves back into third after using a DRS boost to pass Daniel Ricciardo. He now has Valtteri Bottas in his sights.
51/59 Both Ferrari drivers are now in the top 10 after Sebastian Vettel passes Romain Grosjean.
50/59 Charles Leclerc moves into ninth after passing Haas driver Romain Grosjean. Sebastian Vettel is just under a second behind Grosjean as both Ferrari drivers try to finish in the points.
49/59 Valtteri Bottas puts in the fastest lap of the race at 1:19.742. He is just over two seconds behind leader Lewis Hamilton.
47/59 Time penalty: Kimi Raikkonen has received a five-second time penalty for his pit entry before the red flag.
47/59 Bottas retakes second place from Ricciardo after the start. But the Australian driver is more than three seconds ahead of Alex Albon.
46/59 Restart: What a restart from Daniel Ricciardo! He overtakes Valtteri Bottas and now sits in second. Will Renault finally end their nine-year podium drought?
— Cars are back on the track ahead of a standing restart, the fourth start of the race.
— Kimi Raikkonen is being investigated for his pit entry before the red flag.
46/59 Red flag: Session stopped
45/59 Lance Stroll tells his team over the radio that he had a tire puncture in his back left tire. He's the eighth driver to retire. Only Mercedes and Ferrari still have both drivers in the race.
44/59 Safety car: Lance Stroll is out of the race after spinning off the track. The safety car comes out, allowing Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to pit once more.
43/59 About 2.5 seconds separate Daniel Ricciardo in third and Alex Albon in fifth. Lance Stroll is riding between the two in fourth.
41/59 Both Mercedes drivers have been instructed to stay off the curbs. Valtteri Bottas is having a bit of trouble with his right front tire. "Staying off the curbs is slower," Lewis Hamilton said over the radio.
40/59 Fifth-placed Alex Albon just put in the fastest lap at 1:21.756. He is just over a second behind Lance Stroll in fourth place and could have a passing opportunity in two laps.
39/59 Charles Leclerc pits again, dropping him back to 11th place. The two Ferrari drivers are currently riding in 10th and 11th in the team's 1,000 F1 race entry.
36/59 Alex Albon, in fifth, is currently riding a second faster than Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll. The race for third place is one to watch.
34/59 Coming off a pit stop, Valtteri Bottas puts in the fastest lap of the day so far with 1:21.874. He asked for different tires than teammate Lewis Hamilton, but both drivers went with hard tires for the rest of the race.
33/59 Daniel Ricciardo jumps into third after a series of pit stops. Drivers are now sporting medium or hard tires.
30/59 Drivers are slowly pitting to put on fresh tires. The Mercedes drivers are remaining out for now.
25/59 Daniel Ricciardo has Lance Stroll in his sights, running 0.67 seconds behind the Racing Point driver in third place. Alex Albon is 2.3 seconds behind in fifth.
20/59 Red Bull's Alex Albon has passed Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc to move into fourth place.
18/59 Lance Stroll finally chases down Charles Leclerc to take third place. He finished on the podium for the second time in his career last week in Monza.
16/59 Charles Leclerc does well to hold off a pass attempt by Lance Stroll. Further back, Leclerc's teammate Sebastian Vettel passes Kimi Raikkonen to move into 11th.
15/59 Daniel Ricciardo overtakes Sergio Perez to slide up to fifth place.
13/59 Williams driver George Russell has done well to regain 10th place from Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen. Williams have yet to score a point this season.
9/59 Restart: We are back underway in Mugello. Lewis Hamilton retakes the lead from Valtteri Bottas as Alex Albon falls down the field after a slow start.
— Sebastian Ocon is also out of the race due to overheating breaks, which leaves 13 drivers for the restart.
— The race will restart at 13:55 UTC.
— To no one's surprise, the incident is under investigation. The drivers are out of their cars in pit lane.
— Cars at the back appear to have thought the race was back underway before the leader, Valterri Bottas, began accelerating. Carlos Sainz, Antonio Giovanazzi, Kevin Magnussen and Nicolas Latifi are all out of the race.
"That's what happens when you turn off the safety car lights so late," Lewis Hamilton said over the radio.
6/59 Red flag: Session stopped
6/59 Four cars collide shortly after the restart, causing all four to retire.
6/59 Safety car off
5/59 The incident, which involved seven cars, is being officially reviewed.
4/59 Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly, who won the Italian GP last week, was also forced to retire after winding up in the sand.
2/59 Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen picked up damage in the incident and went to the box for quick repairs.
1/59 Safety car: After losing speed off the line, Max Verstappen was sandwiched between Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean and winds up in the sand. The Red Bull driver is forced to retire. Carlos Sainz also spun out after making contact with a Racing Point car.
Lights out! We're underway at Mugello for the Tuscan Grand Prix
Formation lap Drivers are doing their final prep before the race gets underway.
Championship entering the race
As expected, Mercedes leads the pack in both the driver's and constructor's standings. Red Bull firmly in second in the constructor's table, 123 points behind the Silver Arrows. British outfit McLaren are currently the best of the rest, 16 points ahead of Racing Point, while Ferrari enter their commemorative Grand Prix languishing in 6th.
Driver's standings
- Hamilton, Mercedes — 164 points
- Bottas, Mercedes — 117 points
- Verstappen, Red Bull — 110 points
Constructor's standings
- Mercedes — 281 points
- Red Bull — 158 points
- McLaren — 98 points
Qualifying roundup
Lewis Hamilton will start at the front of the grid for the Tuscan Grand Prix after a strong finish in Saturday's third qualifying session.
Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was fastest in the first two sessions at the Mugello Circuit in Scarperia e San Piero. But Hamilton pipped his Mercedes teammate to earn his seventh pole of the season.
Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon will start behind the two Mercedes cars in the second row.
Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri, who won the Italian Grand Prix last week, will start 16th after failing to reach the second qualifying session.
Quote from qualifying: Lewis Hamilton
Circuit profile: Mugello
Normally used for the MotoGP and smaller classes, the Mugello Circuit is set to host its first-ever Formula One World Championship race. The track is owned by the Scuderia Ferrari racing team, which uses the circuit for testing. The Tuscany Grand Prix this season will celebrate Ferrari's 1,000th entry in the F1 championship.