2020 Tuscan Grand Prix

2020 Tuscan Grand Prix
Race 9 of 17[a] in the 2020 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 13 September 2020
Official name Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio della Toscana Ferrari 1000 2020
Location Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
Scarperia e San Piero, Tuscany, Italy
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.245 km (3.259 miles)
Distance 59 laps, 309.497 km (192.312 miles)
Weather Sunny
Attendance 1,500[1]
Pole position
Driver Mercedes
Time 1:15.144
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
Time 1:18.833 on lap 58 (lap record)
Podium
First Mercedes
Second Mercedes
Third Red Bull Racing-Honda
Lap leaders
Sebastian Vettel (left) and Charles Leclerc (right) celebrated Ferrari's 1000th grand prix with special helmets, and a dark burgundy livery.

The 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio della Toscana Ferrari 1000 2020) was a one-off Formula One motor race held on 13 September 2020 at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello in Scarperia e San Piero, Tuscany, Italy. The race was the ninth round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship and the first race of the season with spectators. As of 2024, this is the only Tuscan Grand Prix to be held and also the only Formula One race to be held at the Mugello circuit.

The race was won by Lewis Hamilton of the Mercedes team, with teammate Valtteri Bottas in second; Mercedes scored their third 1–2 finish of the season. Alexander Albon of Red Bull Racing-Honda scored his first podium in Formula One with a third-place finish, becoming the first Thai driver to do so. Albon also become the first Asian driver outside Japan to achieve a podium finish.

The race was the first since the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix to have two red flags.[2] Due to the two stoppages, the race had three standing starts.

Background

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The race was held as an event celebrating Ferrari's 1000th race in the Formula One World Championship and the safety car used a red livery, instead of its usual silver colour, to mark the occasion.[3] The Mugello Circuit hosted a World Championship Formula One race for the first time. The Ferrari SF1000 sported a special livery: instead of the traditional rosso corsa, the car was painted dark burgundy. Both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc wore special racing overalls, and both had special helmet designs.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

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The 2020 championship was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the originally scheduled Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed, prompting the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile to draft a new calendar. While the previous eight events were held behind closed doors, organizers announced that up to 2,880 spectators would be allowed for the Tuscan Grand Prix.[4]

Entrants

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Ten teams (each representing a different constructor) each entered two drivers. The drivers and teams were the same as those on the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for either the race or practice.[5]

Tyres

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Sole Formula One tyre manufacturer Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 compound tyres for teams to use in the race, the three hardest compounds available.[6]

Qualifying

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Qualifying classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:15.778 1:15.309 1:15.144 1
2 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:15.749 1:15.322 1:15.203 2
3 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda 1:16.335 1:15.471 1:15.509 3
4 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing-Honda 1:16.527 1:15.914 1:15.954 4
5 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.698 1:16.324 1:16.270 5
6 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 1:16.596 1:16.489 1:16.311 71
7 18 Canada Lance Stroll Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 1:16.701 1:16.271 1:16.356 6
8 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:16.981 1:16.243 1:16.543 8
9 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 1:16.993 1:16.522 1:17.870 9
10 31 France Esteban Ocon Renault 1:16.825 1:16.297 No time 10
11 4 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 1:16.895 1:16.640 N/A 11
12 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 1:16.928 1:16.8542 N/A 12
13 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 1:17.059 1:16.8542 N/A 13
14 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:17.072 1:16.858 N/A 14
15 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:17.069 1:17.254 N/A 15
16 10 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 1:17.125 N/A N/A 16
17 99 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 1:17.220 N/A N/A 17
18 63 United Kingdom George Russell Williams-Mercedes 1:17.232 N/A N/A 18
19 6 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 1:17.320 N/A N/A 19
20 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:17.348 N/A N/A 20
107% time: 1:21.051
Source:[7][8]
  • ^1Sergio Pérez received a one-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Kimi Räikkönen during the second practice session.[9]
  • ^2Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Räikkönen set identical times in Q2; Kvyat was classified ahead as he set his lap time before Räikkönen.[7]

Race

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The race was marked by several incidents. On the first lap at turn 2, Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Kimi Räikkönen, and Romain Grosjean collided, resulting in Gasly and Verstappen retiring from the race and Räikkönen having to change his front wing. Verstappen's car was beached in the gravel trap.[10] A separate incident at the same corner involved Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lance Stroll, as Sainz spun round and damaged Sebastian Vettel's front wing. These incidents together brought out the safety car. On lap 6 the safety car pulled in, but an accordion effect led the midfield drivers to accelerate up to racing speed before the leaders did and were forced to brake,[11] triggering a collision involving Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Nicholas Latifi. Grosjean blamed the leader, Valtteri Bottas, for causing the accordion effect, and stated "this is the worst thing I've seen ever." All four drivers retired from the race and the red flag was brought out. During the red flag period, Esteban Ocon retired due to a brake failure; George Russell had earlier reported Ocon's brakes being on fire. The second red flag came on lap 45,[12] after Stroll suffered a tyre failure at lap 43 turn 9, and went into the barrier.[13] His Racing Point RP20 caught on fire, making it harder for the marshalls to clear the track.

Lewis Hamilton won the race, his 90th career win. Valtteri Bottas came in second and Alex Albon finished third; his first career podium. By finishing in ninth place, Kimi Räikkönen scored his first points of the season. A poor restart after the second red flag meant George Russell slipped from ninth to twelfth and last. He eventually finished eleventh leaving him out of the points.[14] Twelve drivers were warned by the FIA for their part in the accident at the restart on lap 6.[15] Writing for the BBC, former GP2 Series champion Jolyon Palmer praised the circuit, saying that it "defied all the [Hermann] Tilke design theories and yet provided a great spectacle in the traditional sense."[10]

Race classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 59 2:19:35.060 1 261
2 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 59 +4.880 2 18
3 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing-Honda 59 +8.064 4 15
4 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Renault 59 +10.417 8 12
5 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 59 +15.650 7 10
6 4 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 59 +18.883 11 8
7 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 59 +21.756 12 6
8 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 59 +28.345 5 4
9 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 59 +29.7702 13 2
10 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 59 +29.983 14 1
11 63 United Kingdom George Russell Williams-Mercedes 59 +32.404 18
12 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 59 +42.036 15
Ret 18 Canada Lance Stroll Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 42 Tyre/Accident 6
Ret 31 France Esteban Ocon Renault 7 Brakes 10
Ret 6 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 6 Collision damage 19
Ret 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 5 Collision 20
Ret 99 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 5 Collision 17
Ret 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 5 Collision 9
Ret 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda 0 Collision 3
Ret 10 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 0 Collision 16
Fastest lap: United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1:18.833 (lap 58)
Source:[8][16][17]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.
  • ^2Kimi Räikkönen finished eighth on the track, but received a five-second time penalty for crossing the pit entry line.[16]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw several Grands Prix cancelled or rescheduled. The revised calendar consisted of seventeen races.
  2. ^ Racing Point was deducted 15 points after a protest from Renault was upheld regarding the legality of their car.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Andrea Marotta (13 September 2020). "Gp di Toscana, festa a metà per la Ferrari" (in Italian). Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Tuscan Grand Prix 2020 race report and highlights: Hamilton beats Bottas to win crazy race at Mugello, as Albon secures maiden podium". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Safety car uses red livery to commemorate Ferrari's 1000th GP". Formula1.com. Formula One. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020.
  4. ^ Smith, Luke (30 August 2020). "Tuscan GP at Mugello to be first F1 race to host fans in 2020". Autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020.
  5. ^ "2020 Tuscan Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  6. ^ "2020 Tuscan and Russian Grands Prix - Tyre compound choices". Pirelli. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio della Toscana Ferrari 1000 2020 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio della Toscana Ferrari 1000 2020 – Starting Grid". formula1.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Perez blames pit exit configuration as he's handed grid drop for Raikkonen collision in FP2". Formula1.com. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  10. ^ a b Palmer, Jolyon (15 September 2020). "Jolyon Palmer column: Mugello offers lessons to F1 on sanitised circuits". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  11. ^ "What really happened in Tuscan GP's huge restart crash". The Race. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Hamilton beats Bottas to win crazy Tuscan GP, as Albon secures maiden podium". Formula1.com. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Lewis Hamilton wins chaotic Tuscan Grand Prix to extend world championship lead". The Independent. 13 September 2020. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  14. ^ "The small and unenviable F1 club Russell has joined, for now". The Race. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  15. ^ Smith, Luke (13 September 2020). "Twelve F1 drivers given warning over pile-up on Tuscan GP safety car restart". Autosport.com. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio della Toscana Ferrari 1000 2020 – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio della Toscana Ferrari 1000 2020 – Fastest Laps". formula1.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Tuscany 2020 - Championship". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Racing Point deducted 15 points and fined heavily as Renault protest into car legality upheld". formula1.com. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
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