Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton extended his Formula 1 points lead by winning a wild Tuscan Grand Prix that was interrupted by two red flags and three safety cars.
Hamilton recorded his 90th career victory, followed home by his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to score a one-two finish while Alexander Albon finally achieved his maiden podium finish, capitalising on a race of attrition that saw just 12 cars finish.
Despite losing the lead of the race at the original start, Hamilton managed to grab the advantage back from Bottas following the first red flag, and then keep his cool to record his sixth win of the season in dominant fashion.
It sees Hamilton extend his lead in the drivers’ championship to 55 points with eight races remaining this season, after picking up the bonus point for the fastest lap late on.
The start saw Bottas make a better getaway than pole-sitter Hamilton to grab the lead into Turn 1, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moved up to third after Max Verstappen fell back into the pack, reporting a lack of power.
Verstappen’s race lasted just one more corner after he was hit from behind by Kimi Raikkonen, sending the Red Bull into the gravel and out of the race. Italian Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly’s race also ended at Turn 2 following a clash with Raikkonen prior to the Alfa Romeo’s contact with Verstappen, resulting in the safety car being deployed. Romain Grosjean and Sebastian Vettel were also caught up in the collision, but were able to continue.
Once the cars had been cleared, the safety car was called in at the end of lap six, only to be deployed again just moments later following a multi-car crash on the pit straight.
After Bottas opted to slow the pack for the restart, many of the drivers further back misjudged when to accelerate, resulting in Antonio Giovinazzi running into the rear of Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.
The cars also collected both Carlos Sainz and Nicholas Latifi, putting all four drivers out of the race and leaving debris strewn across the pit straight that forced the race to be red flagged.
A 25-minute wait followed before the race resumed on lap ten with a standing start on the grid, albeit with only 13 cars after Esteban Ocon was forced to retire with a brake issue.
Despite his brakes smoking on the grid, Hamilton was able to sweep around the outside of Bottas at Turn 1 to retake the lead of the race, with the two Mercedes quickly pulling clear on a fresh set of medium compound tyres.
Leclerc was able to hang on to third position for Ferrari on the restart, but soon faced pressure from the cars behind as he struggled for straight-line speed. Lance Stroll was able to move into the final podium position on lap 18 with a pass on Leclerc, who then lost places on consecutive laps to Daniel Ricciardo, Alexander Albon and Sergio Perez, dropping the Ferrari back to seventh before pitting for a set of hard tyres.
Hamilton was initially able to maintain a stable gap of two seconds to Bottas following the restart, but saw his advantage swell as his teammate struggled with wear on his front tyres.
Bottas radioed the Mercedes pit wall to request the opposite tyre compound to Hamilton at the next pitstop in a bid to close the gap, which had grown to more than seven seconds by the time he came in at the end of lap 31 for hard tyres.
Mercedes informed Hamilton it was pitting Bottas first for safety reasons before bringing the race leader in one lap later. Hamilton was also fitted with hard tyres, matching Bottas’ strategy, and emerged from the pits with a gap of over six seconds.
In the battle to complete the podium, Renault moved to get the undercut on Stroll by bringing Ricciardo in at the end of lap 27 for a fresh set of medium tyres. Racing Point reacted three laps later, but it was too late to keep Stroll ahead as Ricciardo got the jump, cycling back to third once Albon had made his pitstop for Red Bull and dropped back to fifth.
Eager to protect its advantage and look after both cars, Mercedes informed Hamilton and Bottas with 20 laps remaining that they should stay off all kerbs and look after their tyres. Bottas quipped that a “safety car would be nice right now”, having seen Hamilton’s lead stabilise at six seconds.
His wish was granted five laps later when the safety car was deployed following a crash for fourth-placed Stroll at Turn 9, going off at high speed into the tyre barrier after his car snapped on the kerb. Although his Racing Point RP20 car was left with heavy damage, Stroll was able to get out of the car unassisted and walk away from the crash site, reporting a puncture.
The majority of drivers quickly reacted to the safety car being deployed by pitting for fresh tyres, with Hamilton retaining his advantage over Bottas despite coming in one lap later.
But the race was subsequently red-flagged for a second time on lap 45 so that the tyre barrier repairs could be completed at Turn 9, setting up a final 13-lap sprint to the finish with just 12 cars still running, all of whom took soft tyres for the restart.
The third standing start of the race saw Bottas struggle once again, slipping behind Ricciardo on the run to Turn 1 as Hamilton streaked clear in the lead. Bottas was able to recover second position one lap later, sweeping around the outside of Ricciardo, while Albon picked off Perez for fourth as he set his sights on his maiden F1 podium.
Albon was able to close up Ricciardo two laps later, getting side-by-side around the outside of Turn 1 before sweeping past into third position. The Red Bull driver was given the hurry-up to catch Bottas, who was forced to pick up his pace in the Mercedes in response.
But Hamilton was able to match Bottas’ pace throughout the closing stages, eventually finishing the race 4.8 seconds clear to record victory at Mugello, picking up the bonus point for the fastest lap in the process.
Bottas crossed the line second ahead of Albon, who was able to record his maiden F1 podium finish for Red Bull in third.
Ricciardo matched his best result since joining Renault by finishing fourth, falling just shy of his first podium since Monaco 2018 and winning a podium bet with team principal Cyril Abiteboul.
Perez crossed the line fifth for Racing Point after a race-long battle with Lando Norris that saw him pull clear after the final restart, leaving the McLaren driver in sixth place at the chequered flag.
Daniil Kvyat recorded his best result of the season so far for AlphaTauri, finishing seventh, while Ferrari managed to record a double-point finish to mark its 1,000th race. Charles Leclerc made three pitstops as he struggled with tyre wear, but gained eighth place after Kimi Raikkonen received a five-second time penalty for crossing the white line at pit entry, dropping him to ninth.
Sebastian Vettel finished P10 for Ferrari, marking his first points since the Spanish Grand Prix after getting the jump on Williams’ George Russell at the final restart.
Russell had been on course for his maiden F1 points through much of the race, only to drop back in the closing stages and finish the race P11, matching his best result in F1.
Romain Grosjean was the final classified finisher for Haas in P12, finishing almost ten seconds behind Russell.
So congratulations to Lewis Hamilton in winning a wacky Mugello race. His 90th in Formula 1 and just one away for equalling the great Michael Schumacher’s win record. After an exciting and dramatic Tuscan Grand Prix, a plea to Liberty Media and F1 to please make a return to this track next year.
Tuscan Grand Prix, race result:
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2:19:35.060
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 4.880
3 Alex Albon Red Bull-Honda 8.064
4 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 10.417
5 Sergio Perez Racing Point-Mercedes 15.650
6 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 18.883
7 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 21.756
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 28.345
9 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 29.770
10 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 29.983
11 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 32.404
12 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 42.036
– Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes DNF
– Esteban Ocon Renault DNF
– Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes DNF
– Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari DNF
– Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari DNF
– Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault DNF
– Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda DNF
– Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda DNF
Tuscan Grand Prix race review as reported by Formula1.com.
Mugello served up an absolute thriller in its first ever Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton taking victory from Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas in an action-packed race that saw two dramatic multi-car crashes within the first nine laps, two red flag stoppages and an exciting finale that culminated in Alex Albon scoring his first F1 podium.
A late red flag, the second of the race – after Racing Point’s Lance Stroll went off at Arrabbiata 2 while holding fourth place – set up a dramatic finish to the first Grand Prix to be held at Mugello, with Hamilton holding on to take his 90th career win from Bottas, as behind, Albon pulled off a fantastic move on Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo to claim an important third with eight laps of the race to go.
Ricciardo was left to come home fourth, tantalisingly close to his first podium with Renault, as Sergio Perez finished fifth for Racing Point. With just 12 runners classified at the finish, Lando Norris was sixth for McLaren, ahead of the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc classified eighth at the team’s 1,000th Grand Prix.
Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen was ninth after receiving a five-second race penalty, with the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel rounding out the top 10. That left Williams’ George Russell 11th, agonisingly close to the team’s first points of the year, while Haas’ Romain Grosjean finished 12th of 12.
Max Verstappen and Monza winner Pierre Gasly’s Tuscan Grands Prix lasted just two corners, with both caught up in a melee at Turn 2 – Verstappen having already suffered a power unit issue that saw him fall down the order before getting punted off, with Gasly caught up in the incident as well.
A resultant Safety Car then led to a huge accident at the Lap 7 race restart, with Carlos Sainz, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi all taken out of the race – thankfully without serious injury, with the race red flagged while the debris was cleared up, before the second red flag came on Lap 45 after Stroll’s accident, making for a first race at Mugello that won’t be soon forgotten.
Bottas was incisive off the line, immediately launching from P2 on the grid into the lead past Hamilton, who bogged down in the initial launch phase before having to defend from the fast-starting Verstappen and Leclerc.
But that fast start came to naught for Verstappen, who – having complained of power unit issues on his laps to the grid – was then seen to plummet down the order before he’d even arrived at Turn 1. And it was about to get even worse for the Red Bull driver…
As the pack roared through the banked Turn 1 and up to Turn 2, Bottas led from Hamilton, Leclerc and Albon. Behind, Sainz had got a great start from P9 to get ahead of Lance Stroll, but appeared to lose the back end in Turn 2 and spun around, with Sebastian Vettel collecting him and damaging his front wing.
Further back, last week’s race winner Gasly found himself in a Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean sandwich approaching the Turn 2 chaos. The three cars squeezed together, lifting Raikkonen into the air, as the Finn hit the rear of Verstappen, cannoning the Dutchman into the gravel and out of the race, as Gasly followed suit and also retired, with Raikkonen and Grosjean managing to skip through the carnage – with Raikkonen and Vettel both then forced to pit.
The special red-liveried Mercedes Safety Car was brought out as the cars were removed, with the race resuming on Lap 7. Bottas at the head of the pack weaved his way slowly down the pit straight, leaving it until the last moment to ping the throttle, and immediately gapping Hamilton.
It was a supremely effective restart. Behind, though, there were horrific scenes as a handful of drivers at the rear of the field appeared to pre-empt Bottas and accelerated before the middle of the pack had got up to speed. Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi slammed into the rear of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, setting off a chain of crashes that saw those two drivers, along with Nicholas Latifi and Carlos Sainz, wiped out of the race, but fortunately without serious injury.
“That was really scary,” said Sainz, who was seen clutching his wrist after the crash but declared himself fit, while Grosjean had harsher words, calling the incident “****ing stupid”. With the amount of debris on the track, the stewards had no choice but to bring out the second red flag in as many races, with Giovinazzi, Latifi and Magnussen told they were going to be investigated after the race.
After the 25-minute red flag stoppage, the race resumed with a standing start on Lap 10, the new top 10 of the ‘grid’ made up of: Bottas, Hamilton, Leclerc, Albon, Stroll, Ricciardo, Perez, Norris, Kvyat and George Russell – Red Bull changing Albon’s front wing during the red flag period, while Renault retired Esteban Ocon from 10th during the stoppage due to overheating brakes, leaving just 13 runners, all of whom had changed their tyres.
Bottas, having now aced an initial standing start and a Safety Car restart, was once again impeccable off the line. But Hamilton, whose brakes had been seen smoking dramatically on the grid, equalled his team mate, cutting in front of Leclerc and nipping into Bottas’ slipstream.
As they steamed towards Turn 1, Hamilton pulled out of his team mate’s wake and launched a pitch-perfect sweep around the outside of Bottas through Turn 1, leaning on the corner’s banked camber to take the lead with the sweetest of moves. Behind, Albon lost a golden opportunity to attack the leaders by suffering a poor start, dropping from fourth to seventh, while Russell briefly lost out to Raikkonen before repassing the Finn for P10.
As the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and Bottas streaked away at the front, on Lap 18, Stroll, who’d been sharking around the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc for a number of laps, pulled off a ‘Hamilton’ on the Monegasque into Turn 1 to move up into the podium places, while Ricciardo, Albon and Perez followed suit on consecutive laps, to demote Leclerc to seventh by Lap 21. Leclerc duly took on hard tyres on Lap 21, emerging 13th and last.
By Lap 31, Bottas was complaining of vibrations on his medium tyres – and after telling Mercedes that he wanted to be put on whatever tyre Hamilton didn’t take, Mercedes gave the Finn a set of hards. But a lap later, the team overruled Bottas, bringing Hamilton in for his own hard tyres – while with Bottas having been held up in traffic, the Finn then saw the gap to Hamilton grow from 4s to 7s after the stops.
That meant that Lap 47 marked the start of effectively a 12-lap sprint race to the chequered flag, the order now Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Albon, Perez, Norris, Kvyat, Leclerc, Russell, Vettel, Raikkonen and Grosjean – and the field now just 12 runners.
This was now Bottas’ best chance to attack Hamilton and go for the win – but his start was poor, as Ricciardo surged past the Finn. Albon too looked to have had another bad restart, losing fourth to Perez, before brilliantly repassing the Mexican around the outside of Turn 3 and setting off after Ricciardo – who’d been passed by Bottas into Turn 1 on Lap 48.
Albon looked to have better pace than the Renault ahead of him, and pulled off a sublime move around the tough-but-fair Ricciardo on Lap 51 to take P3 – with engineer Simon Rennie then egging his driver on to get after Valtteri Bottas in front.
Ultimately, though, the Mercedes duo had the pace in hand, with Hamilton holding on to secure his 90th Grand Prix win, leaving him just one victory off the great Michael Schumacher’s record, on a day when Schumacher’s son Mick had demonstrated his father’s Ferrari F2004 around Mugello. Boy, though, had Hamilton had to work for it. Meanwhile, having led early on, an understandably disappointed Bottas had to come home second, ruing another punishing loss to his team mate.
But if Bottas was disappointed, a hyper Alex Albon was a mixture of elated and relieved, having done exactly the job Red Bull needed of him to take his first ever podium and silence his critics – even if Christian Horner told him over team radio that he’d “done it the hard way”.
Cyril Abiteboul probably had mixed feelings, as he avoided having to get a tattoo for Ricciardo claiming Renault’s first podium since their return to F1 in 2016 – the current wager the Renault Team Principal has with the Australian – although it may well have been a sacrifice Abiteboul would have been prepared to make, as Ricciardo took his third P4 of the year.
Sergio Perez completed the top five, on a day when he’d never really looked like threatening for his own ninth rostrum appearance, ahead of Norris and Kvyat, who’d also spent the majority of the afternoon plugging away in the lower half of the top 10. Following two score-less weekends, a double-points finish for Ferrari at their 1,000th Grand Prix will have been welcome news for the Italian team at a Mugello track they own, as Leclerc took eighth and Vettel 10th.
Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen was ninth for Alfa Romeo, taking his first points of the year at the circuit where he first tested an F1 car back in 2000, the Finn having received a five-second penalty for crossing the grass to dive into the pit lane, dropping him behind Leclerc at the finish.
Only two drivers finished out of the points, and sadly for the still point-less in his F1 career George Russell, he was one of them, despite “driving [his] ****s off” in the final laps to try and chase down Vettel, before settling for 11th, ahead of Grosjean in 12th.
So, that’s what Formula 1 racing is like at Mugello. But after an unbelievable, crazy race, the outcome was similar, with Hamilton taking the full gamut of 26 points (yep, he got Fastest Lap too) to move 55 points clear of Bottas in the title race after a memorable Tuscan Grand Prix.
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen commented that his opening lap crash was a direct result of engine problem. Motorsport.com has the full story.
Max Verstappen expressed his mounting frustration at yet another retirement, after being out of the Tuscan Grand Prix on the opening lap.
The Dutchman had briefly got ahead of pole position man Lewis Hamilton at the Mugello start from third on the grid, before his engine suddenly lost power.
That dropped him back into the pack by the time they had exited Turn 1, and on the entry to Turn 2 he was involved in an incident involving Kimi Raikkonen, Pierre Gasly and Romain Grosjean.
Speaking on the team radio as his race ended in the gravel, Verstappen despite it as a ‘shitshow.’
With an engine problem having put Verstappen out of the Italian Grand Prix last weekend, the Dutchman said he was “really not happy” about another mechanical problem, which had first surfaced on the laps to the grid.
“It was not idling and I had an anti-stall on the formation lap as well, just idling,” said the Dutchman to TV reporters.
“I had a good launch and went around Lewis. I had a better launch that Valtteri, but once I went flat out, the engine had a similar problem to what we had at Monza.
“We had no power there and you get into a situation where you are in the middle of the pack. Then it’s easy to get involved in the middle of a crash. I don’t even know what happened.”
Asked if he was frustrated at being put out so early by that, Verstappen said: “We should not even have been in that position. It is really frustrating that we had another retirement.
“But it is what it is. I am really not happy at the moment, but I can’t change it.”
Pierre Gasly, who was involved in the incident with Verstappen, said the crash had been triggered by everyone trying to fight for the same piece of track.
“Too many cars in one place,” he told Sky. “It was quite messy into Turn 1 and then Turn 2. I was in between (Kimi) and Grosjean and I just suddenly got sandwiched in the middle, and we collided in the middle pretty much.”
After scoring his 90th F1 victory, Lewis Hamilton commented that this Tuscan Grand Prix one of my “most challenging” wins. Motorsport.com has the news story.
Lewis Hamilton felt the Tuscan Grand Prix was one of his “most challenging” victories in Formula 1 after a race featuring three grid starts and two red flags.
Hamilton was able to extend his lead at the top of the F1 drivers’ championship with victory at Mugello on Sunday, leading home Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton initially lost the lead from pole position before taking the place back on the first grid restart following a red flag period called on lap nine.
The race was red flagged for a second time after a late crash for Lance Stroll, setting up a 13-lap sprint to the line that Hamilton was able to win ahead of Bottas.
The incident-strewn race saw just 12 cars finish, prompting Hamilton to call it “one of the craziest races” has had in F1.
“It felt like I had three races in one day, I’m pretty exhausted, to be honest,” Hamilton said.
“I didn’t do a good start the first time, then we had the rolling start which wasn’t good, then we had the second start from second, and that obviously was better.
“Then I had a seven-second gap or whatever it is, and pretty comfortable with that gap and new tyres, and then another [red flag].
“Of course anything could happen on those starts, but fortunately I got the best start finally of the day.
“After that, Valtteri was still right there the whole time, so if I made any mistake, he would have slipstreamed me up this 1,000 metre straight.
“Today was physically and mentally one of the most challenging days I’ve experienced.”
Hamilton said the regular stoppages made it difficult to stay focused during the race, but praised the Mercedes team for staying cool under the circumstances.
“Valtteri was so quick all weekend, so keeping him behind, the starts and stops that we had, I wouldn’t say it was very easy to stay in the zone,” Hamilton said.
“But [I’m] really, really grateful to the team for running up an down the pit lane. We had the furthest to go, and with their composure, I think they did an amazing job.
“Just proud to be a part of it, and really proud of the performance today. It was not easy keeping these guys behind.”
Mugello marked another new circuit that Hamilton has won a race at as the track hosted its maiden F1 grand prix this weekend.
It means Hamilton extended his record of winning F1 races at the most different tracks, his tally now standing at 27.
Asked if he would like to return to Mugello, Hamilton replied: “I like it. I don’t know how it was down the rest of the field, but yeah, it’s an incredible circuit, and I would really love to come back.”
Carlos Sainz escaped “very dangerous” restart crash with bruised hand. Motorsport.com has the details.
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl says Carlos Sainz escaped with just some bruising to his hands from the safety car restart crash that stopped the Tuscan Grand Prix
Sainz was caught right in the middle of the melee that was caused at the restart when the back of the pack started accelerating before the race leaders had resumed the race.
Running behind Antonio Giovinazzi, Sainz could not avoid hitting the back of the Alfa Romeo when it ran in to Kevin Magnussen.
Asked afterwards how Sainz was, Seidl said: “I think the most important thing is that Carlos and, as far as I know all the other guys also, are okay. That’s the most important thing.
“I think Carlos had a bit bruised hands but nothing big, which is good.”
Sainz about any after effects: ” I am fine. Only a blow to the wrist and hand, but honestly it does not hurt me at all. I am perfectly fine.”
He claimed that the nature of the restart had triggered a “very dangerous” situation for those in the middle of the pack.
“I’m happy that everyone is well, because apart from the frustration of not finishing the race in this way, I think what happened today is a very dangerous situation,” the Spaniard told Movistar.
“What is clear is that in the rear half of the grid, we thought the race had been restarted, or someone believed it had.
“Then we had to all brake and there was a domino effect. I was coming from last and hit the car in front, taking the slipstream to attack.
“And when we began to accelerate, I found the chaos in front. It was a feeling I do not wish on anyone.”
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was “not at all to blame” for Mugello restart crash. Motorsport.com has the story.
Valtteri Bottas felt he was not to blame for the crash that caused a red flag early in the Tuscan GP, but questioned the safety of the current restart rules.
Following a safety car period for a crash on the opening lap, the race at Mugello was red flagged on lap nine following a multi-car incident on the start/finish straight.
Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen, Nicholas Latifi and Carlos Sainz were all caught up in the collision that saw many of the drivers further back accelerate earlier for the restart than the cars ahead.
Romain Grosjean reacted to the incident by saying it was “f**king stupid from whoever was at the front”.
Bottas was seen weaving and slowly leading the field to the restart line, leaving it late before accelerating, but said he was not to blame for the collision as he had acted within the rules.
“We’re allowed to race from the control line, which has been there for a while I think,” Bottas said.
“The difference this year is the safety car, they are putting the lights off quite late, so you can build a gap pretty late on.
“Of course when you’re in the lead, you try to maximise your chances, and I’m not at all to blame for that. Everyone can look at everything they want for it, I was doing consistent speed until I went.
“Yes, I went late, but we started racing from the control line, not before that. The guys behind who crashed because of that, they can look in the mirror. There’s no point whining about it.”
Bottas questioned the safety of the current procedures and rules that mean drivers can leave it so late before accelerating.
“I don’t know who decides what is happening with the safety cars, but they’re trying to make the show better by turning the lights later, so you can’t build a gap early and go the corner before the race starts,” Bottas said.
“Maybe it’s time to think if that’s right and safe to do so.”
Lewis Hamilton defended Bottas’ actions, saying his teammate was blameless and that responsibility should instead lie with F1’s rulemakers.
“It’s absolutely not Valtteri’s fault at all, it’s the decision-makers,” Hamilton said.
“They’re obviously trying to make it more exciting, but ultimately today you’ve seen they put people at risk, so perhaps they need to rethink that.
“They have been moving the switching off the safety car lights later and later and later, and we’re out there fighting for position, especially when you earned a position like Valtteri earned a position of being in the lead.
“Then they are trying to make it more exciting, but today was probably a little bit over the limit perhaps.
“[Bottas] did what anyone would do.”
Red Bull’s Alexander Albon felt it was “obvious” that Bottas would leave it so late before accelerating, and that the midfield cars had tried to pre-empt this, causing the accident.
“The midfield I imagine know where Valtteri is going to go, and they’re trying to get the slingshot,” Albon explained.
“If Valtteri doesn’t go when they think he’s going to go, that’s when the concertina happens. It’s dangerous, but it’s predictable as well in that sense because the closer you leave it, the less time you let Valtteri decide when to take off, the more obvious, the shorter time he has to go.
“It’s quite easy to read. Even the top five were almost doing like a double formation start because we were all just waiting for the take-off. It’s dangerous.
“I think tracks like this are always going to be difficult as well with the long straights, but definitely something could have been done better.”
Twelve Formula 1 drivers have been warned for their role in the crash at the restart of the Tuscan Grand Prix that resulted in the race being red flagged.
The race at Mugello was suspended on lap seven after a multi-car incident on the pit straight as the field came around to restart the race following an early safety car period.
The incident saw Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen, Nicholas Latifi and Carlos Sainz all retire from the race due to crash damage, with debris being left strewn across the circuit.
As the field came to the control line where they are able to return to racing speed from, led by Valtteri Bottas, a number of drivers further back appeared to accelerate earlier and crash into cars ahead.
The stewards swiftly said they would be investigating the incident after the race, summoning a number of drivers for their actions under the safety car.
After meeting with Magnussen, Latifi and Daniil Kvyat, and considering the onboard footage and telemetry available, the race stewards at Mugello decided to hand 12 drivers a warning.
These drivers were Magnussen, Kvyat, Latifi, Giovinazzi, Sainz, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon and George Russell.
“The Stewards conclude that the root cause of this incident was the inconsistent application of throttle and brake, from the final corner along the pit straight, by the above drivers,” the bulletin reads.
“The Stewards acknowledge the challenges the location of the Control Line presents at this circuit and the desire of drivers to take advantage of the restart.
“However this incident demonstrates the need for caution to be exercised in the restart situation and note that there was an extreme concertina effect which dramatically increased as it moved down the field.
“We also note that some drivers might have avoided being involved in the incident had they not followed directly behind the car in front. By doing so they effectively blocked off all visibility of what was happening immediately in front of the preceding car.
“A warning has been imposed as it is the view of the Stewards that no one driver was wholly or predominantly to blame.”
A warning is part of the FIA-appointed stewards’ penalty system, but has no bearing on drivers’ super licences unlike a reprimand.
Race leader Bottas came under fire from Haas’ Romain Grosjean for slowing the field to the control line, with the Mercedes driver defending his actions after the race.
The stewards agreed that Bottas had “complied with the regulations” as he “had the right under the regulations to dictate the pace”.
Source: Motorsport.com