Imola was the site of the latest stop on Formula 1’s rapid-fire 2020 race calendar, with the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna being held at the iconic track for the first time in 14 years. The picturesque track on the outskirts of Bologna was a fixture on the F1 calendar for years but it’s sadly remembered for that dark weekend in May 1994 where Roland Ratzenberger and F1’s arguably most dazzling driver of the time, Ayrton Senna, lost their lives at the San Marino Grand Prix. It is also Ferrari’s de facto home track, what with the headquarters for the Scuderia barely an hour’s drive away.
Clean at the Green
Despite the history and ghosts of so many incredible and tragic moments hanging around every corner, the race itself was somewhat of a mixed bag. Polesitter Valtteri Bottas got away well enough, whereas his World Championship-leading teammate Lewis Hamilton was beaten back to 3rd position by a hard-charging Max Verstappen. Pierre Gasly, starting an impressive 4th in his AlphaTauri, held his own while the similarly overachieving Charles LeClerc made up one spot. Gasly was sadly forced to retire soon after with a “terminal” failure in his Honda engine. The race continued more or less uneventfully until the first round of pit stops, and that’s where things started to go sideways for Bottas, and more significantly, the hapless Verstappen.
Pitstops and Pitfalls
Having picked up some floor damage earlier in the race, Bottas came into the pits ahead of his teammate Hamilton, who immediately set about ringing up several of his fastest laps to increase his lead in anticipation of his own pit stop. That stop kept getting delayed by the team, allowing Hamilton to create a nice cushion at the front, when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed because of Esteban Ocon’s disabled Renault. A God-sent gift of unbelievable fortune, Hamilton ducked into the pits and came out maintaining a large portion of that aforementioned cushion, essentially sealing his victory. Shortly after, Bottas locked up his tires and allowed Verstappen to overtake his damaged Mercedes in short order. Max’s own luck, however, would run out soon as he spun into the dirt on lap 51 with a suspected tire/mechanical failure. Before the restart, and behind the Safety Car, George Russell spun this cold-tired Williams into the barriers, denying himself of a sure top-10 finish.
Shootout at Restart
Hamilton then resumed in the lead, with both Mercedes opting for new tires, and a brave Daniel Ricciardo assuming the 3rd spot; and that was the finishing order. Racing Point bringing Sergio Perez in for a tire change under the Safety Car was a gamble that backfired, and Daniil Kvyat overtook Charles LeClerc for a well-earned 4th place, ahead of the Ferrari and Racing Point teams. The McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris, followed by a valiant Kimi Raikkonen and his teammate at Alfa Romeo, Antonio Giovinazzi rounded out the top 10.
Glorious and Victorious
Mercedes thus managed to claim the 2020 Constructors’ title with 4 races to go, and underlined their supremacy once again. Hamilton also conjured up yet another win with a combination of a faultless drive, great tactical decision-making by the team and his amazing fortune. This three-pointed juggernaut has forever left its mark on F1 history, as other teams shudder to think about how long this dominance will go on.
Source: Formula 1