Imola (Italy) (AFP)
Briton Lewis Hamilton, helped by luck, won the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna, at the Italian circuit of Imola, where his Mercedes team have claimed the record of seven consecutive constructors' titles since 2014 .
On the finish line of the 13th out of 17 round this season, he is ahead of the Finnish Valterri Bottas (Mercedes), who started from pole position, and the Australian Daniel Ricciardo, for his second podium with Renault.
The Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was forced to retire, victim of a mechanical breakage, while he was in second position behind Hamilton, who also took the point of the fastest lap.
On the grid, the six-time world champion started behind Bottas and ahead of Verstappen, but the latter got the better of the Briton at the first corner.
Capitalizing on a strategic move on a narrow track where overtaking is difficult, Hamilton extended his first stint as much as possible, when his direct opponents had already changed their tires, and gradually widened the gap in front of them.
Great good for him, a virtual safety car (following the stop on the track of the French Renault Esteban Ocon) then slowed down the peloton and allowed to change its own tires without losing its leading position.
Verstappen, subsequently, belied the reputation of the Italian track by passing Bottas, handicapped since the second lap by a debris of a fin stuck on his car, before retiring.
Other retirements included the French Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri, loss of hydraulic pressure), and Esteban Ocon (Renault, gearbox), the British George Russell (Williams, off the track) and the Dane Kevin Magnussen (headache). head).
The last Frenchman, Romain Grosjean (Haas), is 14th and penultimate.
Unusual image, the Canadian Lance Stroll (Racing Point) jostled without gravity the mechanic in charge of operating the quick-lift before his car during a pit stop.
© 2020 AFP