2020_Emilia_Romagna_Grand_Prix

2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Formula One race in Italy

The 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2020) was a Formula One motor race which took place on 1 November 2020 at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. It was the 28th Formula One race held at the Imola circuit, the first since 2006 and the first-ever running of a race there under the name of Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The race was the 13th round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship.

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The 63-lap race was won by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, with his teammate Valtteri Bottas taking second place, and Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo taking the final podium place. With their drivers finishing first and second in the race, Mercedes secured the World Constructors' Championship, breaking the record for the most consecutive World Constructors' Championships, with seven.

Background

This was the 28th running of a Formula One event at Imola, the first time since the 2006 San Marino Grand Prix.[1] Kimi Räikkönen was the only driver entered who had previously raced at the track in Formula One, having done so from the 2001 to the 2006 edition of the San Marino Grand Prix.[2] The race weekend was held over two days rather than the traditional three days, hosting only one practice session of 90 minutes on Saturday morning before qualifying.[3]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

See also: 2020 Formula One World Championship § Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and COVID-19 pandemic in Italy

The 2020 Formula One World Championship was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the originally planned Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed, prompting the FIA to draft a new calendar. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was not originally featured on the 2020 schedule, but was added in July 2020 in order to maximise the number of races in the season.[4] Initially, 13,000 fans were expected to attend the race.[3] However, due to a surge of cases attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, organisers announced that the Grand Prix would take place behind closed doors.[5]

Entrants

Further information: 2020 Formula One World Championship § Entries

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.[6]

Tyres

See also: Formula One tyres

Sole Formula One tyre manufacturer Pirelli brought their C2, C3 and C4 compound tyres for teams to use in the race, the middle range of the five compounds available in terms of hardness.[7]

Practice

Lewis Hamilton finished the only practice session fastest ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.[8]

Qualifying

Valtteri Bottas took pole by 0.097s ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Pierre Gasly's 4th place was Scuderia AlphaTauri's best qualifying result as a constructor and the best qualifying result for the team since the 2008 Italian Grand Prix when they competed as Scuderia Toro Rosso.[9]

Qualifying classification

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Race

Valtteri Bottas initially led from pole while Max Verstappen passed Lewis Hamilton to move up from 3rd into 2nd at the start. On the second lap Bottas hit some debris on the track which damaged his car, slowing his progress for the remainder of the race. Daniel Ricciardo overtook Pierre Gasly at the start to move up into fourth place, only for Gasly to retire from the race in the early stages with a coolant leak.

Bottas and Verstappen pitted for new tyres earlier in the race. Hamilton pitted during a virtual safety car meaning the pitstop cost him less time than his rivals, allowing him to lead the race after the first round of pitstops. Verstappen eventually passed Bottas, only for a tyre failure to cause his car to leave the track and get beached in the gravel trap at the Villeneuve chicane. This brought out a safety car and bunched up the field for the final few laps of the race.

During the safety car period George Russell, who had been running in 10th, spun and crashed his Williams car into a wall between Piratella and Aqua Minerale whilst trying to warm his tyres. After the safety car restart Daniil Kvyat moved up several positions into fourth place whilst Alex Albon spun from fifth and dropped to the back. Ricciardo inherited third place behind the two Mercedes drivers after Sergio Pérez pitted for new tyres behind the safety car.[12][13][14]

Race classification

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Notes
  • ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.
  • ^2 – Romain Grosjean finished 12th on the track, but received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.[15]

Championship standings after the race

More information Pos., Driver ...
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
  • Competitors marked with an asterisk still had a mathematical chance of winning the Championship.

Notes

  1. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw several Grands Prix cancelled or rescheduled. The revised calendar consisted of seventeen races.
  2. The Grand Prix was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.
  3. Racing Point was deducted 15 points after a protest from Renault was upheld regarding the legality of their car.[18]

References

  1. [1]
    "What is the F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?". Autosport.com. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  2. [2]
    "Raikkonen 'wondered what the others were doing' during mesmeric start in Portugal". Formula1.com. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  3. [3]
    Benson, Andrew (1 October 2020). "Formula 1: Imola to allow more than 13,000 fans to attend each day". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  4. [4]
    Morlidge, Matt (25 August 2020). "Nurburgring, Portugal and Imola races added to F1 2020 calendar". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  5. [5]
    Rauli, Giacomo (28 October 2020). "F1: il GP dell'Emilia Romagna a Imola si svolgerà a porte chiuse". Motorsport.com (in Italian). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  6. [6]
    "2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  7. [7]
    "Tyre compound choices and set allocations for last seven Grands Prix of 2020". Pirelli. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  8. [8]
    "FP1: Hamilton quickest as Verstappen splits the Mercedes in sole Imola practice session". Formula1.com. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. [9]
    "Bottas beats Hamilton to take pole at Imola as Verstappen survives Q2 scare to take 3rd". Formula1.com. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  10. [10]
    "Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2020 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. [11]
    "Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2020 – Starting Grid". Formula1.com. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  12. [12]
    Benson, Andrew (1 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton wins Emilia Romagna GP as Mercedes win constructors' title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  13. [13]
    Richards, Giles (1 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton wins Emilia Romagna GP as Mercedes claim seventh F1 title". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  14. [14]
    Kalinauckas, Alex (1 November 2020). "F1 Emilia Romagna GP: Hamilton overcuts wounded Bottas for Imola win". Autosport. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  15. [15]
    "Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2020 – Race Result". Formula1.com. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  16. [16]
    "Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2020 – Fastest Laps". Formula1.com. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  17. [17]
    "Emilia-Romagna 2020 - Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  18. [18]
    "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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2020 Portuguese Grand Prix		 FIA Formula One World Championship
2020 season		 Next race:
2020 Turkish Grand Prix
Previous race:
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Previous race at the Imola Circuit: 2006 San Marino Grand Prix		 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Next race:
2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
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