Lewis Hamilton wins 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix , Bottas comes home in P2 after starting from the pole. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo comes home in P3 to clinch final podium spot for Renault. Mercedes’s another 1-2 finish and Red Bull’s zero point from the race handed Mercedes 2020 Constructors Championship. This will be record breaking 7th consecutive Championship for Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team.
Bottas had enjoyed a strong start to the Imola race from pole position, leading into Turn 2 as Hamilton lost out to Verstappen on the run down to Tamburello on Lap 1 and moved to third.
But Mercedes’ decision to give Hamilton a long first stint on Yellow Tyres paid dividends when Renault’s Esteban Ocon retired at the side of the track on Lap 29, the resultant Virtual Safety Car allowing Hamilton to pit from the lead – Bottas and Verstappen having boxed earlier in the race – and retain P1.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came home in P5 head of surging Racing point of Sergio Perez in P6, who’s on fresh red softs with a late stop under the Safety Car. The McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris claimed P7 and P8 ahead of Alfa Romeo duo Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi in P9 and P10,who took their first double points finish of the year, the Finn’s 49-lap first stint on Mediums helped him in the end.
Nicholas Latifi finishes the Race in P11, Matching his highest ever finish in short F1 career for third time. Four-time World Champion comes home in P12 after starting the race in P14. The German drove one of best races of this season, Vettel’s first long stint on Yellow mediums put him in P4 before the pit-stop, but unfortunately Ferrari pit-crew botched the pit-stop and he dropped to P14.
Lance Stroll comes home in disappointing P13, after losing his front wing in another first-lap incident. Romain Grosjean finishes in P14 ahead of Red Bull’s Alex Albon in P15. The Thai driver had nightmare race, he spun
Retirements Spiced up the Race
After a brilliant effort to qualify P4, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly suffered a coolant leak that forced him to retire from the race on Lap 8 – while in a bizarre incident, Williams’ George Russell spun into retirement under the Safety Car on Lap 53.
Lap 29 saw Esteban Ocon retire with a suspected gearbox issue – a minor occurrence that had a major effect on the outcome race. With the Virtual Safety Car activated by the parked Ocon, Hamilton was perfectly positioned to nip into the pits and take on the hard tyres. As Bottas was forced to trundle around, Hamilton had enough time in hand to emerge from the pits with his lead intact, 4s up the road from Bottas
But with 12 laps to go, Verstappen’s retirement at Villeneuve led to a full Safety Car, setting up a breathless final few laps of the race, which ultimately saw Hamilton hold on to win out from Bottas, while Ricciardo secured his second podium of the season for Renault after holding off a late charge from AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat, who finished a brilliant fourth as he fights for his F1 future.
