| 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 13 of 17[a] in the2020 Formula One World Championship
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 Layout of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 1 November 2020 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 EmiratesGran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2020 | ||||
| Location | Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari Imola,Emilia-Romagna,Italy | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.909 km (3.050 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 63 laps, 309.049 km (192.034 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Partly cloudy | ||||
| Attendance | 0[b] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:13.609 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:15.484 on lap 63(lap record) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Mercedes | ||||
| Third | Renault | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (officially known as theFormula 1 Emirates Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2020) was aFormula Onemotor race which took place on 1 November 2020 at theAutodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari inImola,Italy. It was the 28th Formula One race held at the Imola circuit, the first since2006 and the first-ever running of a race there under the name ofEmilia Romagna Grand Prix. The race was the 13th round of the2020 Formula One World Championship.
The 63-lap race was won byMercedes driverLewis Hamilton, with his teammateValtteri Bottas taking second place, andRenault driverDaniel Ricciardo taking the final podium place. With their drivers finishing first and second in the race, Mercedes secured theWorld Constructors' Championship, breaking the record for themost consecutive World Constructors' Championships, with seven.
This was the 28th running of a Formula One event at Imola, the first time since the2006 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 the2001 to the2006 edition of theSan 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]
The2020 Formula One World Championship was heavily affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic. Most of the originally plannedGrands Prix were cancelled or postponed, prompting theFIA 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 placebehind closed doors.[5]
Ten teams (each representing a differentconstructor) 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]
Sole Formula One tyre manufacturerPirelli 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]
Lewis Hamilton finished the only practice session fastest ahead ofRed Bull'sMax Verstappen and the otherMercedes ofValtteri Bottas.[8]
Valtteri Bottas took pole by 0.097s ahead of his teammateLewis Hamilton.Pierre Gasly's 4th place wasScuderia AlphaTauri's best qualifying result as a constructor and the best qualifying result for the team since the2008 Italian Grand Prix when they competed asScuderia Toro Rosso.[9]
Valtteri Bottas initially led from pole whileMax Verstappen passedLewis 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 overtookPierre 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 avirtual 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 thegravel 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 periodGeorge Russell, who had been running in 10th, spun and crashed his Williams car into a wall between Piratella and Acque Minerali whilst trying to warm his tyres. After the safety car restartDaniil Kvyat moved up several positions into fourth place whilstAlex Albon spun from fifth and dropped to the back. Ricciardo inherited third place behind the two Mercedes drivers afterSergio Pérez pitted for new tyres behind the safety car.[12][13][14]
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| Previous race: 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2020 season | Next race: 2020 Turkish Grand Prix |
| Previous race: None Previous race at the Imola Circuit:2006 San Marino Grand Prix | Emilia Romagna Grand Prix | Next race: 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix |
