First day

After the incredible Italian Grand Prix, the Formula 1 pilots did not leave the country, but moved to the Mugello circuit.

For the first time, the Ferrari home track had the opportunity to host the "royal races" and at the same time to celebrate the anniversary of the "Scuderia" on a grand scale - this stage was to become the thousandth in its history.

On this occasion, it was even decided to admit spectators to the stands for the first time in the season at the Tuscany Grand Prix.

2880 fans were able to see with their own eyes all the races.

This weekend lacked only one thing - stable performances of the owners of the track.

After the double retirement at Monza, Ferrari finally dropped out of the favorites even of its home Grand Prix.

The first Friday results only confirmed this.

If in the morning Charles Leclair still managed to show the third result on the new car, then in the evening session, when the other pilots had already got used to it and finished testing the settings, the Monegasque was already closing the top ten.

As usual, the Mercedes pilots felt great on the new track.

Valtteri Bottas won both training sessions on Friday, with Lewis Hamilton just 0.2 seconds behind in the second.

Their closest pursuers were both Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon, who, like Ferrari representatives, were eager to rehabilitate themselves for their failed last weekend.

The highlight of Friday was the contact between Sergio Perez, who recently announced his departure from Racing Point, and Kimi Raikkonen.

On leaving the pit lane, the Mexican did not notice the Alfa Romeo driver and knocked him into the gravel.

For this he was punished by the loss of one place on the starting grid, which, given the configuration of the track, was a very sensitive punishment - it is too difficult to overtake on it, and the results of qualification on it are of particular importance.

Second day

On Saturday, Bottas won the third consolidated session, and Hamilton, no matter how hard he tried, but this time became the third - in the interval of 0.083 seconds between the two Mercedes drivers, Max Verstappen was able to wedge in.

At the last moment, the protagonist of the last weekend, Pierre Gasly, recalled himself.

On his AlphaTauri, he showed the fifth result.

His partner Daniila Kvyat did not look so great, but for the second time in the Grand Prix he managed to get into the top ten.

In qualifying, Gasli immediately failed.

The Frenchman was just 0.053 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel and finished in 16th place.

For the driver, Ferrari was also unsuccessful, but at least he was able to break into the second session and climb to 14th place.

At the same time, only 0.004 seconds separated the German from Kvyat and Raikkonen.

The Russian eventually qualified 12th due to the fact that he showed the same result as the Finn before him.

In the final of the qualification, the Mercedes pilots seemed to have a "party mode" again, which became banned last week.

They beat everyone outright and took the first row of the starting grid.

The first position went to Hamilton, not Bottas, who remained unattainable for his team-mate all weekend.

The Briton won pole position for the 95th time in his career - he still has very little to three-digit value.

Verstappen and Albon formed the second row, and immediately behind them was Leclair.

The Ferrari driver was still able to please the few fans of his team and take a very promising fifth position.

Perez was supposed to be his neighbor, but because of the penalty, his teammate at Racing Point Lance Stroll got ahead.

Race

As soon as the race started in Mugello, it immediately overtook the previous stage in Monza in terms of the level of drama.

Bottas managed to instantly take revenge from Hamilton and get ahead, Leclair immediately rose to third place.

Verstappen suffered a power loss and rolled back.

For the Dutchman, it was only half the trouble.

Already at the second corner in the middle of the peloton, a chain of collisions occurred, as a result of which Verstappen flew into the gravel on a skidding Red Bull and Gasley.

Both of them, and the loser of the last weekend, and his triumphant, had to retire.

Vettel also suffered in an accident, but he managed only by losing the front wing.

LAP 1/59



Drama from the off - Bottas gets a flyer but behind Verstappen is into the gravel and OUT of the race!

#TuscanGP 🇮🇹 # F1pic.twitter.com / gb6UMCc4cH

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 13, 2020

The organizers had to release the safety car to clear the debris from the track, and it took them a long time.

When the road was cleared for the pilots after five laps, another major accident occurred.

On the starting line, Bottas was still warming up the tires, while in the tail of the peloton they were already accelerating.

As a result, four more drivers finished the race - Carlos Sainz, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi.

This time, it was decided to hang a red flag and return the remaining riders to the pits.

In the second Grand Prix in a row, they were waiting for a restart.

LAP 6/59



The Safety Car goes in but immediately there's a big shunt at the back of the field # TuscanGP 🇮🇹 # F1pic.twitter.com / wt5hvIrVJd

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 13, 2020

There was no other participant on the starting grid.

Esteban Ocon complained about problems with the rear brakes, and only 13 drivers returned to the track.

They had 50 laps out of 59 planned to overcome.

As soon as the traffic lights went out, Hamilton returned to first place.

Leclair was still behind Bottas.

Kvyat, as a result of all the permutations, staked out the ninth place.

Mercedes literally in a couple of laps increased the advantage, which could be enough for a winning double.

Leclair began to experience pressure from Stroll and Daniel Riccardo.

When the Monegasque overtook even Perez, whom Albon had previously traveled, he went to change the tires for the strongest ones, with which he could safely reach the finish line.

After the pit stop, the Ferrari driver found himself in the tail of the peloton.

The main intrigue of the race was the struggle for third place between Stroll and Riccardo.

The neutral fans were sympathetic to the Australian - he had previously argued with the head of his Renault team, Cyril Abiteboul, that he would get himself any tattoo of the driver's choice if he was on the podium.

LAP 41/59



The battle for P3 is getting very tight 😮



P3 Ricciardo


P4 Stroll


P5 Albon # TuscanGP 🇮🇹 # F1pic.twitter.com / Rn9EdnNytr

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 13, 2020

But Riccardo decided not to rush to the attack and went to the pit stop, finding himself right behind Kvyat, who had risen to seventh place.

Stroll lasted a little longer on the old tires and returned after replacing them three seconds away from the Australian.

The Racing Point pilot was able to close the gap, but did not return to attack position.

When the Canadian finally decided to overtake, he lost control and flew to the side of the road, badly crashing his car.

LAP 44/59



Stroll crashes at Turn 9 😮 # TuscanGP 🇮🇹 # F1pic.twitter.com / dHFWM2KdTH

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 13, 2020

The next exit of the safety car was in the hands of Bottas, who, after the pit stops, lost to Hamilton for almost seven seconds and could now re-impose the fight on his partner on fresh tires.

However, Stroll's accident led not only to his descent, but also to serious damage to the protective barrier.

The race again had to be stopped completely 14 laps before the finish and started anew.

Bottas started worse than Riccardo and temporarily lost second position to him, but was able to counterattack even before the end of the circle.

Albon quickly rose to fourth place, and now he was already the main threat to the Australian.

Kvyat was still in seventh, and Raikkonen, who was chasing him, had to serve a five-second penalty before the finish line for wrong entering the pit lane.

LAP 47/59



Bottas reclaims P2 from Ricciardo at Turn 1 # TuscanGP 🇮🇹 # F1pic.twitter.com / VdML8SG4PS

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 13, 2020

Albon didn't have to wait long before he was able to bypass Riccardo and save Abiteboul from the tattoo.

The Thai pilot not only took third place, but also began to catch up with Bottas, but the Finn managed to notice the opponent in time and accelerated so much that he set the best lap.

Hamilton, however, did not share his personal point with his partner and took it to himself shortly before the finish line.

The Briton won his 90th career victory and his sixth this season, at the same time setting a new Formula 1 record - 222 races in points.

Bottas finished second, and Albon took the podium for the first time in his career.

Kvyat showed his best result of the season, finishing the race in seventh.

Leclair and Vettel finished the top ten, which can be considered even a small success for Ferrari, especially since due to the Raikkonen penalty, Monegasque even won one position.

🏁 END OF RACE (LAP 59/59) 🏁



And breathe ...



TOP 10


Hamilton


Bottas


Albon


Ricciardo


Perez


Norris


Kvyat


Leclerc


Raikkonen


Vettel # TuscanGP 🇮🇹 # F1pic.twitter.com / L9g5X1eoLZ

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 13, 2020