Hamilton and Mercedes Celebrates Big Victory At Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

 

The 2020 Formula 1 schedule’s thirteenth event presented another wild card of sorts for the improvised season. Returning to Imola’s Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the first time since 2006, Formula 1 teams converged for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. 

Despite returning to a classic race complex, this particular grand prix presented a number of new ingredients. Firstly of all, the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix would be held on a 4.909-kilometer track layout that was assembled after the final 2006 San Marino Grand Prix took place at the venue. The Formula 1 series as a whole has also changed a lot since the last competitive race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Turbo-Hybrid power units, DRS detection zones and the ban on in-race refuelling are some of the differences in 2020 grand prix events. The majority of the current drivers on the Formula 1 grid have been able to familiarize themselves with the current track competing in lower tier racing series such as the Formula 3 European Championship as well as the GP2 Series. Kimi Raikkonen is the only active competitor in the field for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix who had raced at Imola with a Formula 1 car.

Sunday’s 63-lap race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari consisted of 20 drivers led by Valtteri Bottas. Joined by Mercedes-AMG teammate Lewis Hamilton on the front row for the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Bottas launched successfully to hold an early lead. While Valtteri Bottas capitalized on his pole, Hamilton’s #44 car fell to third place at by the first corner as the Honda-powered Red Bull of Max Verstappen found his way around current World Championship leader. Both Bottas and Hamilton entered the weekend with the intention to pilot their W11 EQ Performance race cars to their Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s seventh consecutive Constructors’ Championship. 

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

Although a relatively tame first lap of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, two separate incidents occurred complicating the days for two drivers. After only a few corners in the race, Lance Stroll’s #18 Racing Point lost a piece of its front wing as the Canadian made slight contact with the rear of Esteban Ocon’s Renault while negotiating the traffic at the start on the narrow Imola circuit. Stroll continued to the run but be out of contention for scoring points settling for 13th place. Later on the same lap, the Haas F1 Team car of Kevin Magnussen partially spun coming out of turn seven. Magnussen lost some ground with the rest of the field but quickly recovered. The #20 Haas F1 Team machine would be retired later in the event.  

Though Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen survived their mishaps in the early stage of the race, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix would claim its first casualty on lap eight. After a magnificent fourth-place qualifying effort, Pierre Gasly dropped out of the event when an apparent coolant issue caused the Frenchman to park his AlphaTauri race car. 

Pitting one lap after Max Verstappen on lap 19, Valtteri Bottas surrendered the lead of the race to Lewis Hamilton. Holding the lead through the initial laps, it was later reported that the driver of the #77 Mercedes-AMG race car had hit a piece of debris on the event’s second lap. As his crew was unable to remove the debris during Bottas’ pit stop, the Finnish driver would experience a growing difficulty with handling as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix progressed. 

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

While the Mercedes-AMG team has shown incredible pace throughout the year, Max Verstappen and his Red Bull Racing team has been capable of presenting a meaningful challenge to the German-based group. A Red Bull Racing versus Mercedes-AMG team fight for second-place emerged during the mid way point of the race. Verstappen zeroed in on Bottas and was able to apply some major pressure on the #77 Mercedes. On lap 42, the Honda-powered Red Bull race car pressured Bottas into over-driving turn 17. On the start-finish stretch, Max Verstappen was able to use the additional momentum of DRS to propel pass Valtteri Bottas.  

After making his impressive pass for second place on the tricky Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Verstappen’s efforts would be all for nothing in the final results of the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Heading towards turn 5 on Lap 51, the right rear tire on the #33 Red Bull Racing RB16 race car suddenly failed sending the Dutch driver into a gravel trap. A safety car period was called to recover the now-retired Red Bull machine causing many teams and drivers to choose to make pit stops. During the safety car period, Williams driver George Russell joined the retirement list after losing control of his vehicle coming out of turn 10 on the smooth race track hitting a wall. A visually dejected Russell left his car following the single-car incident commenting in a post-race team release “I came out of the corner and the tyres were too cold and I just lost the car, and I was already in the wall. It is absolutely gutting, and I am really sorry to the team. We were having an amazing race up until then, we were pushing really hard every lap and the pace was good.”

Photo Credit: Honda North America

A last sprint to the finish of the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix resulted in the #44 Mercedes-AMG machine of Lewis Hamilton rolling to his 9th victory of the season. The Imola track becomes the recently-crowned all-time winningest Formula 1 driver’s latest addition to circuits where he has taken the chequered flag in first. This year, Hamilton has previously added victories at the Ferrari-owned Mugello track as well as Algarve International Circuit to his growing list of career conquests.

Crossing the line 5.783 seconds behind teammate Lewis Hamilton, second-place finisher Valtteri Bottas was able to celebrate the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s group accomplishment of securing a seventh-consecutive Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship. With four races remaining, the German-based team has established a large enough gap between them and Red Bull Racing. In the same event where Red Bull Racing fell from mathematical contention to capture the 2020 constructors title points, the team failed to score a point. In addition to Max Verstappen’s before-mentioned retirement, Alexander Albon would slip in the late stage of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to finish 15th. 

For the second time in 2020, Daniel Ricciardo has placed his Renault race car into a podium position. While the two Mercedes-AMG drivers completed the 63-lap distance of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with a two-pit stop strategy, a number of drivers elected to choose track position instead of softer compound tires during the race’s late stage. Ricciardo was the top-placed driver to operate on only a one-stop plan over 63 laps at Imola. Ricciardo’s third-place finish has allowed the Renault F1 Team to move up two positions in the constructors’ standings placing it third overall with one-point ahead of McLaren and Racing Point. 

Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images/Pirelli

Achieving his best finish since the German Grand Prix in 2019, Russian Daniil Kvyat’s fourth place run on the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a much-needed bode of confidence late in the 2020 Formula 1 season. Kyvat is currently fighting to secure a place on the grid for the 2021 tour as his team has yet to announce the second driver joining Pierre Gasly. 

For the second consecutive race, Charles Leclerc claimed a top-5 finishing position for Ferrari thanks to a single pit stop strategy. Leclerc’s teammate Sebastian Vettel crossed the line at Imola in 12th place sandwiched between Canadian drivers Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll. 

Though promoted to third place immediately after Max Verstappen’s retirement, Sergio Perez would relinquish the position to pit his Racing Point during the safety car period. Perez settled for a sixth place finish at the end of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix continuing a streak of scoring points in every grand prix he entered in 2020 (noting the two races is missed due to recovering from COVID-19). The Mexican driver is still seeking a Formula 1 ride for 2021 but faces decreasing prospects as Williams Racing and Alfa Romeo Racing recently solidified their lineups for next year.

Photo Credit: Charles Coates/Motorsport Images/ Pirelli

Qualifying close together on Saturday at Imola, the two McLaren race cars finished together in the final results for the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz Jr. captured seventh place ahead of Lando Norris driving for one of three teams that would place both cars into point-paying positions. Besides Mercedes-AMG and McLaren Racing, Alfa Romeo Racing ended the race in Imola with Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi scoring points for the first time in the same event this season. The veteran Raikkonen placed ninth one position above his younger Italian teammate who captured the last point of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Starting last, Giovinazzi narrowly fended off the Mercedes-Benz powered Williams race car of Nicolas Latifi for the tenth place spot.

Formula 1 teams are given a two-week break ahead of the next race in Turkey. The first Turkish Grand Prix in nine years is scheduled take place at Intercity Istanbul Park on November 15th.

2020 Formula 1
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 
Race Results

Bottas Outpaces Hamilton for Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Pole

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd

 

Leaving Portugal after completing the country’s first Formula 1 grand prix since 1996, the premier open wheel racing group has landed back in Italy for its third race in the nation in the 2020 season. The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (commonly referred to by the name of the nearby town of Imola) is the venue for the first-ever Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Last hosting a Formula 1 event in 2006 (one year prior to the debut of both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel competing on the tour), the Imola race track has previously played host to the 1980 Italian Grand Prix and the San Marino Grand Prix from 1981 to 2006. 

The 4.909-kilometer Italian race track presents relatively new pavement (presenting a similar challenge to drivers when competing at the Algarve International Circuit for the Portuguese Grand Prix) resulting in a smooth yet bumpy surface. The Imola circuit is also noteworthy for being particularly narrow presenting the likelihood for a tight racing line and difficulties in passing.

The first race at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari for Formula 1 in the Turbo-Hybrid era, piloting the massively powerful machines around the circuit also involved the nuance of the event operating on a modified two-day routine. Only a single 90-minute practice session would occur ahead of the grid-setting qualifying show for Sunday’s 63-lap race. The combination of unique circumstances presented some difficulty to competitors throughout Saturday. Time deletions caused by drivers exceeding track limits plagued a number of drivers during practice for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with 60 lap times taken off the time sheet. After drivers disputed the situation with the FIA sanctioning body, the rules were amended ahead of qualifying. 

Once again, the Mercedes-AMG race car drivers led the way through all three sessions of the Saturday qualifying. Resulting in the defence of their undefeated streak of pole positions for the 2020 Formula 1 season, drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton battled each other for which one would stand at the top of the time chart in Q3 at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Cranking out a 1-minute, 13.609-second lap time, the #77 of Bottas was able to out-hustle teammate Hamilton by almost one-tenth of a second. The Finnish driver’s fourth pole position this season, Bottas has so far won just a single race from the spot in 2020 (the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix). Finishing second after Q3, Lewis Hamilton cautioned in an interview that Sunday’s race may be a boring affair due to the narrow Imola circuit. 

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd

Max Verstappen’s third-fastest time in the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix qualifying was a hard-fought team effort. The Dutch driver experienced a loss of power in the early part of Q2 but his garage crew was able to repair the issue allowing the #33 Red Bull Racing car to set a time in order to advance late in the session. Verstappen will start alongside the vehicle from Red Bull Racing’s affiliate team Scuderia AlphaTauri. Churning out an impressive time with his #10 car, Frenchman Pierre Gasly recorded one of his best qualifying performances for a season where he and his team have exceeded expectations. 

Daniel Ricciardo will start in fifth place with his Renault machine on the third row with the second Honda-powered Red Bull Racing car fielded for Alexander Albon. Continuing to make a familiar appearance as the highest-qualifying Ferrari-powered race car for the 2020 Formula 1 grand prix season, Charles Leclerc is positioned seventh for the start of the race at Imola. Teammate Sebastian Vettel was only able to obtain a fourteenth place position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix’s grid. Russian Daniil Kvyat placed a strong personal effort with AlphaTauri resulting in an eighth-fastest time in Q1 just 0.080 seconds slower than Leclerc’s Ferrari. The McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. Round out the top-10 starters for the 2020 race at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Every vehicle qualifying in the top-10 for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will start the race on soft compound Pirelli tires. 

Photo Credit: Steven Tee/ LAT Images/ Pirelli

Beyond the top-10, a superb qualifying effort was recorded by the Williams Racing team and George Russell. Breaking out of Q1 once again in 2020 with his Mercedes-Benz powered #63 machine, Russell threatened to be a contender for Q3 at Imola. The Brit ultimately fell short of posting a top-10 time concluding Q2 in 13th place. George Russell’s qualifying performance comes on the week that where Williams Racing announced his services as driver for the team is retained for 2021.

The only driver on the current Formula 1 tour who had driven in the San Marino Grand Prix held at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in 2006, Kimi Raikkonen’s experience was unfortunately not enough to lift his Alfa Romeo Racing team beyond Q1. Raikkonen was one of several drivers that had a time disallowed for exceeding track limits in qualifying. This week, the Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen organization confirmed both Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi are returning as drivers for the team next season.

The 63-lap Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is set for a 1:10 P.M. local start time (7:10 A.M. Eastern time). 

2020 Formula 1
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Lewis Hamilton Wins Inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Wolfgang Wilhelm/Mercedes AMG 

With the initial 2020 Formula 1 schedule, there was going to be two new race courses added to the tour. A visit to the Hanoi Street Circuit for the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix as well as the series’ return to the Circuit Zandvoort for a new Dutch Grand Prix were ultimately scrubbed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Introducing a modified 2020 calender, Formula 1 has still able to infuse some fresh flavour to race audiences and teams through the addition of several new venues. A visit back to Portugal racing for the first time at the Portimão Circuit and a return to Intercity Istanbul Park for the Turkish Grand Prix are among tracks newly included on this year’s revised schedule. Serving as the first special track appearing for the 2020 Formula 1 season is the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.  

Hosting the first-ever Tuscan Grand Prix in a famed Italian region, the Ferrari-owned race course functioned as the second Formula 1 event commemorating a milestone for the motorsport series’ 70th year. While the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (the second race at Silverstone in July) celebrated seven decades of Formula 1, the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello marked the 1,000th grand prix entry for the storied Ferrari marque. In addition to Ferrari running special commemorative colours on their race cars for the Tuscan Grand Prix, the brand’s celebration in Formula 1 at Mugello was marked as the first race in the 2020 Formula 1 season to be run with fans in attendance. 

Though the second Italian race for the 2020 Formula 1 season was billed as a celebration for Ferrari’s milestone event, the continuing dominance of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team spoiled the party for the Prancing Horse. The 20-car field for the inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix started with Lewis Hamilton on pole with teammate Valtteri Bottas locking up the front row. While the Mercedes at the front of the grid at a new Formula 1 track brought concerns of a potential dull outing, Sunday’s 59-lap race on the 5.245-kilometer course was anything but a timid event.

In less than a minute after the start of the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, a multi-car incident occurred heading into turn two. Jockeying for positions in the first lap, Romain Grosjean, Pierre Gasly and Kimi Raikkonen headed three-wide towards the Luco corner until the wheels of Gasly’s AlphaTauri and Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo touched. As the field slowed down for turn two, the AlphaTauri race car collided with the rear of the Red Bull Racing entry of Max Verstappen. The Honda-powered Red Bull was pushed off track and came to rest in sand trap where the Dutch driver was unable gain traction to rejoin the race. The Tuscan Grand Prix was the second consecutive DNF result for Verstappen who had been second in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship a few races prior to the tour’s trip to Italy. A race after an upset win at Monza, Pierre Gasly and his AlphaTauri car were relegated to early retirement. Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo and Romain Grosjean’s Haas F1 car were able to continue running. Carlos Sainz Jr. and Sebastian Vettel were also involved in a separate turn two mishap. Though the cars of Sainz and Vettel suffered damage, both competitors were able to be quickly repaired.  

Photo Credit: LAT Images/Mercedes AMG

The opening lap incident immediately drew the safety car that lasted until the end of lap six. An action that escaped attention due to the first lap accident was that Valtteri Bottas successfully beat Lewis Hamilton off the starting grid. Bottas led the field as the safety car returned to pit road taking the field across the start/finish line in a strategically slow manner. The #77 Mercedes AMG driver’s restart caused a bottleneck deeper through the race field resulting in another multi-car collision. The Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi and the Ferrari-powered Haas VF-20 of Kevin Magnussen collided within the accordion effect.  McLaren of Carlos Sainz Jr. as well as Nicholas Latifi’s Williams were also casualties of the front stretch accident having to ultimately retire their vehicles. This time, the major incident required a full race stoppage. For the second consecutive Formula 1 grand prix, a red flag put a stop to race action and brought cars to pit road. 

After a roughly 30-minute delay, the Tuscan Grand Prix was sent back to green with a standing start for lap nine. This second standing start for the event fell into the favour of the #44 Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton rushing past his teammate at the entry of the first corner. Following two multi-vehicle incidents, the race at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello was finally able to proceed beyond a single lap without interruption. 

Though the Mercedes AMG team cars gained a healthy advantage over the rest of the competitors, there would be a heated battle for third place. Charles Leclerc held the spot until lap 18 as the Racing Point of Lance Stroll was able to pass his Ferrari. Running with new aerodynamic upgrades, Stroll fought from a sixth place starting spot to third place in the early stage of the race at Mugello. Returning to the race track in fourth place following a lap 31 pit stop, the Canadian driver and his #18 Racing Point car began to chase down the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo. Leaving the pits nearly three seconds behind Ricciardo, Stroll closed to within 1.1 seconds by lap 43 just before the day turned bad for the Racing Point driver. Believed to be caused by a sudden tire puncture, the pink Racing Point lost control and flew through the sand trap in Mugello’s turn nine colliding hard with a section of the track’s retaining barrier. The Stroll was able to leave his wrecked Racing Point machine without injury but the incident forced a safety car that evolved into a second red flag for the Tuscan Grand Prix. 

Following the third standing start of the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, the race concluded with the Mercedes AMG team showing the way in Italy. Crossing the line first was Lewis Hamilton who won his 90th career grand prix by 4.88 seconds over his teammate Valtteri Bottas. In addition to the winning the inaugural Formula 1 event on the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, Hamilton also locked up the fastest lap of Sunday’s Tuscan Grand Prix registered at 1-minute, 18.833 seconds. Finishing in second place, Bottas attempted to find an edge over his teammate by requesting an alternative pit stop strategy from the Mercedes AMG crew. However, since the Finnish driver pitted prior to the leading #44 machine, Lewis Hamilton was able to simply counter by opting for the same tires one lap after what was the one and only competitive tire change during the race.   

Photo Credit: LAT Images/Mercedes AMG

Joining the two Mercedes AMG drivers on the podium was Thailand’s Alexander Albon. The result for Albon is his first career Formula 1 podium a little more than a full year after being called to drive for the Red Bull Racing team. 

Once again this season, Daniel Ricciardo showed some promising pace with the Renault F1 Team climbing from an eighth place qualifying position in a quest for the pairing’s first podium. Ricciardo finished just short of the hotly-contested third place spot at the Tuscan Grand Prix taking fourth. Finishing fifth, Sergio Perez salvaged Racing Point’s race after his teammate dropped out in spectacular fashion. Perez was also racing in Mugello with the public knowledge that the Mexican will not be returning to the ride he raced with since 2014. Overshadowed by their teammates’ performance in Monza, Lando Norris and Daniil Kvyat posted solid point-paying positions at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello finishing sixth place and seventh place respectively. 

Photo Credit: Pirelli & C. S.p.A.

Although this season continues to be a struggle for Scuderia Ferrari, the combination of their 1,000th race and running on their home turf may have presented a moment of minor fortune for the team. For only the third place in 2020, both Ferrari race drivers finished in the top-10 of a grand prix’s running order. Starting strong in fifth place, Charles Leclerc rose to third place in the early stage of the Tuscan Grand Prix. However, tire degradation on the #16 Ferrari ultimately led to Leclerc settling for an eighth place result after 59 laps. Sebastian Vettel recovered from minor damage suffered early in the grand prix to take tenth. Between the two Ferrari cars, former long-time driver for the Italian team Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth place. The event on the Ferrari-owned race track was the 2007 Formula 1 World Champion’s first points during what has been a difficult 2020 season with Alfa Romeo Racing.

Photo Credit: Ferrari S.p.A.

George Russell came just short of a scoring a championship point with Williams Racing operating through its first event under new team management. The #63 Mercedes-Benz powered Williams finished in 11th place roughly 2.4 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel. 

Two multi-car accidents and several additional retirements in the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix concluded with just 12 cars crossing the finish line. Romain Grosjean’s Haas F1 Team car being the last to take the chequered flag. Ferrari and Mercedes AMG were the only teams to have both cars survive 59 laps at Mugello on Sunday.

The next race for the 2020 Formula 1 tour is the Russian Grand Prix set for September 27th. 

2020 Formula 1
Tuscan Grand Prix
Race Results

A Meaningful Beginning: Rosberg Wins At Monza Following Hamilton's Troubled Start

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

The second half of the 2016 Formula 1 season is well underway as Monza, Italy hosted the 14th race for world tour of open wheel racing's most powerful vehicles. Racing one week after Formula 1 competitors competed in Belgium completing a nearly month-long break for the summertime, the Italian Grand Prix serves as the final European round for the year. Autodromo Nazionale di Monza guaranteed a high-speed finale on the continent consisting of 11 turns and a 5.793-kilometer circuit length.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

What was not promised was whether which one of the Mercedes AMG teammates could prevail in the 22-car field. In qualifying, defending event winner of the previous two years Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole at Monza by a convincing margin over Nico Rosberg. Embroiled in a championship fight with one another, the Mercedes AMG teammates have traded the championship point lead early this summer. Following Rosberg's barn-burning start to the 2016 Formula 1 season, Hamilton re-entered his true form at Monaco. The British driver eventually leapfrog his German corporate rival holding a 19-point lead on Rosberg into the mid-season break. Through past seasons, many analysts of Formula 1 would hand an advantage to Lewis Hamilton based on his instant success reflected by a championship earned in only his second full season. This year appears to be a different scenario as Nico Rosberg has been showing himself to be more resilient and a formidable match to Hamilton.

Lined up for the 2016 Italian Grand Prix, the two Mercedes AMG race cars stood at the front of the grid. As Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were positioned side-by-side, the light signals summoning the official start of the 53-lap race flicked off. It was through that initial stage at Monza where one Mercedes AMG car would rise and the other would fall almost instantly as Hamilton launched slowly. By the end of the first corner, the pole sitter of the Italian Grand Prix had fallen from 1st to 6th place as the pair of Ferraris as well as the Williams-Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo found a way by the #44 Mercedes AMG race car. In contrast, Nico Rosberg engaged in a fine start taking a strong lead into the first lap.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

While the race in Italy would not have the same magnitude of collisions as what was experience last week at Spa-Francorchamps, some coming-togethers were part of the 53 circuits. Deep in the field for the first lap, Felipe Nasr's Sauber and the Renault race car of Jolyon Palmer made contact through the Variante Ascari complex of the Monza course. Fighting for 18th place at the time, Nasr's rear tire touched the front tire of Palmer's car resulting in secondary contact damaging the Renault's front wing and the tire of the Sauber. Neither drivers was able to complete the Italian Grand Prix becoming of just four competitors who didn't make it to the finish (joined later by mechanical failures on the vehicles of Daniil Kvyat and Pascal Wehrlein).

While Nico Rosberg lead the way for Mercedes AMG, Lewis Hamilton had to regain ground from the poor start. Hamilton quickly took fifth place and would later overtake Bottas' Williams-Mercedes but his rear-mounted Pirelli soft compound tires quickly wore out through his charge back to the front. Both Mercedes AMG race cars opted for a single pit stop plan and were the only vehicles that finished in the top-10 using the strategy. Since other competitors chose a two-stop tire plan, this led to a majority of runners pitting between lap 13 to 16. Following the opposing team's pit stops, Lewis Hamilton was promoted to second place in the running order.

After an eventful start, the Mercedes AMG team settled into a typical pace. Cruising to a second consecutive victory, Nico Rosberg took his seventh win of the season at Monza with a 15.070-second advantage over teammate Lewis Hamilton. Citing the race as a perfect outing for him, Rosberg stated in post-race team transcript, "It means so much for me to win here at Monza. The crowd were unbelievable over the entire weekend and especially during the podium ceremony. A momentum-building set of races for the German driver, he now closes to within 2 points of his Mercedes AMG teammate Hamilton in the current points standing. Settling for second, Lewis Hamilton had been the Italian Grand Prix winner during past two seasons.

A country containing perhaps the most energized and passionate devotion to Ferrari (understandable since the company operates in the nation), the final spot on the podium was a sentimental achievement. Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel held onto a third place spot he earned in qualifying. Vettel was followed across the finish line by teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Still hunting for a first win for the 2016 Formula 1 season, a third and fourth place result for Ferrari did provide a worthwhile reason to celebrate. Mentioning engine upgrades to the Ferrari, Vettel was proud of the effort at Monza but acknowledges challenges as the organization has been working to break into the win column for 2016 saying, "This podium here, it’s not the Adriatic sea, it is the sea of tifosi.. We had a rough season, we had high expectations, we have put ourselves on high pressure, we have also done mistakes, but the most important thing is that we stay a team, that we stay together."

Photo Credit: Ferrari S.p.A.

the 5th and 6th place spots swapped positions from the starting lineup with Daniel Ricciardo taking fifth while Valtteri Bottas captured sixth. Max Verstappen had a quiet grand prix at Monza concluding 53 laps in seventh place with the second Red Bull-TAG Heuer machine.

Overall, the finishing results of the Italian Grand Prix maintained a remarkable amount of stability to the starting order. Positioned at a season-high starting spot with the Haas F1 Team, Estaban Gutierrez would be filtered out of the top-10 over the course of the 53 laps in Italy. Gutierrez would finish 13th placing two positions behind his teammate Romain Grosjean in a similarly prepared Ferrari-powered race car. With the Haas F1 Team out of the points, the second Williams Martini Racing car of Felipe Massa would enter the top-10. Taking 9th place, Massa joined fellow Williams-Mercedes pilot Bottas in the points. Scoring constructors' points with both cars, Williams Martini Racing has claimed at least one point in all but one grand prix in 2016 (the British Grand Prix in Silverstone was the only non-point scoring event for the team). Force India also enjoyed a third-straight double-point finish with drivers Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg. Perez grabbed 8th place while Hulkenberg took the final available point in the Italian Grand Prix finishing order in 10th.

Although to McLaren Honda team were not able to crack the top-10 for the Italian Grand Prix, the mid-marker team does leave Autodromo Nazionale di Monza with a small, discrete victory. Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap of the race with a 1-minute, 25.340-second lap time achieved on a set of supersoft Pirelli tires. Two-time winner at the circuit in previous seasons, Alonso finished 14th in the Italian Grand Prix.

The last race on the 2016 Formula 1 schedule takes place in Singapore. On September 18th, the unique nighttime street race at the Marina Bay Circuit will provide an illuminating next round.

2016 Formula 1
Italian Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
4 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer
6 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
7 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer
8 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
9 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
11 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari
12 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
13 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari
14 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
15 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
16 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
17 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault
18 31 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes-Benz
19 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz
20 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
21 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault
22 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari