Lewis Hamilton won the dramatic F1 Tuscan Grand Prix 2020 on Sunday. He will be going to Russia in two weeks, looking to equal Michael Schumacher’s record. Hamilton collected his 90th career win after beating his teammate Valtteri Bottas at the inaugural Mugello race. Red Bull’s Alexander Albon finished third to claim his first podium after battling his way past Ricciardo.
The thrilling race had two big pileups, two red flags, three restarts, and only 12 drivers finishing the race. The race took nearly two hours to complete.
The drama began in the first corner when the Mercedes driver Hamilton lost his lead to his teammate Valtteri Botas at the start. Two corners later, on lap ninth, there was a crash between Alfa Romeo’s driver Kimi Raikkonen’s and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly. The collision ended the race for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. This resulted in the first safety car period. Romain Grosjean, Haas, and Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, were also caught up in the collision but could continue along with Raikkonen.
At the restart, another crash involving Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Williams rookie driver Nicholas Latifi, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz brought out the first red flag. The second red flag was waved after Lance Stroll’s massive crash into the tyre wall as he lost his control.
Esteban Ocon retired too as he could not continue in his Renault due to brake issues, along with seven drivers that retired due to the crash. The Mugello race completed with Ricciardo of Renault finishing fourth, followed by Sergio Perez of Racing Point and Lando Norris of McLaren finishing fifth and sixth. Daniil Kvyat of Alpha Tauri finished seventh. Ferrari’s Leclerc and Vettel finished eighth and tenth of only 12 classified runners. Kimi Raikkonen of Alpha Romeo finished ninth, followed by Williams Racing driver George Russell, and Haas’s driver Romain Grosjean at eleventh and twelfth.
By providing an extreme challenge to the drivers, Mugello lived up to its reputation on its F1 debut. It owes its Grand Prix to Coronavirus, which forced F1 to create a European calendar after the season’s first ten races’ cancellation.
Written by Anshula Thakwani Pattanayak
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