Formula 1 2020 Italian Grand Prix

Join us as we take a look at the various solutions used by each team to help reduce downforce and drag for the unique challenges of the Italian GP.<br><br>Mercedes AMG W11 rear wing comparison<br>Photo by: Motorsport Images<br><br>Mercedes carried a fair amount of rear wing when compared with some rivals but, as we can see from this comparison it’s much less than we’ve seen it use at any point ...

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F1 has held a formal demonstration for its anti-racism messaging at races since the British Grand Prix in July, giving drivers the opportunity to take a knee or make other gestures at the front of the grid.<br>Hamilton - F1’s only black driver - has been the leading figure in the series over its anti-racism messaging, but was absent from the demonstration ahead of Sunday’s Italian Grand ...

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AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly scored a shock victory after Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton received a penalty and the other usual front-runners hit trouble.<br>Gasly was joined on the podium by McLaren's Carlos Sainz and Racing Point's Lance Stroll, marking the first race since Hungary 2012 where no drivers from Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari finished in the top three.<br>Hamilton fought back from running 30 ...

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You will be hard-pressed to find as shocking a result in Formula 1 since the turn of the millennium than the one offered in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.<br>Pierre Gasly became the 109th grand prix winner in F1 world championship history with a stunning victory at Monza, coming completely out of the blue.<br>It was a race turned on its head by a safety car, a red flag and a penalty for ...

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The Mercedes driver had another slow start at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, after reacting too early to the red lights going out and having to stop himself.<br>It was not the first time that it has happened this season, with him having triggered his anti-stall at the Hungarian Grand Prix after initially going too early.<br>Bottas says that changes that have been made to the procedure he needs ...

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Ocon, who started 12th, finished the race in eighth place, two spots behind his teammate Daniel Ricciardo.<br>After the flag his engineer congratulated him on gaining four places and contributing to a good points haul for the team, but Ocon replied, "I disagree, I think we missed out completely in this race, there was a massive opportunity."<br>He was then told: "Just hold it on the radio, hold it ...

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But the defining moment that triggered the Monza surprise was when race leader Lewis Hamilton was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for entering a closed pitlane to change tyres.<br>Such a rules breach is deemed a serious offence, and it took Hamilton out of contention for the win on a day he looked set to cruise to victory.<br>Here we look at the background to the incident that changed the shape ...

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Ferrari will become the first F1 team to have raced in 1,000 rounds of the world championship on Sunday, and is set to honour the landmark with a retro car livery.<br>Motorsport.com understands that the Ferrari SF1000 cars raced by Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc will be painted in a darker shade of red for the Mugello weekend, matching the design used by Ferrari back in 1950.<br>It is a ...

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Norris was running in third place for most of the opening stint of the Monza race, behind Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz.<br>However, for the restart after the red flag he found himself behind Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi, who had pitted before the rest of the field, as well as Lance Stroll,  who had not stopped.<br>Stroll was able to take advantage of the rule that allows drivers to ...

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Gasly scored a shock maiden grand prix victory at Monza on Sunday after capitalising on a red flag stoppage and a penalty for Hamilton to move to the front of the order.<br>The AlphaTauri driver faced late pressure from McLaren's Carlos Sainz, but held on to win the race by 0.4 seconds.<br>It marked the latest major landmark in Gasly's career since he returned to the Faenza-based F1 operation ...

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McLaren scored the most constructors’ points (30) at Monza, outscoring race winners AlphaTauri by three, as Mercedes recorded a season-low 17.<br>In a dramatic event – impacted by a safety car and a red flag – Carlos Sainz finished a close second to Pierre Gasly, while Lando Norris crossed the line in fourth. In the early laps, Sainz and Norris ran second and third behind the Mercedes of ...

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Having struggled for pace in qualifying, Vettel and Charles Leclerc failed to make it to the chequered after both were forced out in spectacular incidents.<br>Vettel suffered a brake failure at the first chicane and smashed through the polystyrene blocks in the escape road, while Leclerc had an off at Parabolica and crashed heavily – bringing out a red flag.<br>Reflecting on another bruising ...

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Hamilton was penalised after entering the pitlane while it was closed during Sunday's race at Monza, costing him the lead and dropping him to the back of the field.<br>The pitlane was closed shortly after the safety car was deployed so that Kevin Magnussen's stricken Haas car could be wheeled from the exit of the final corner back towards the garages.<br>Mercedes only became aware the pitlane was ...

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Hamilton sat over 10 seconds clear of Formula 1 field at Monza when the safety car was deployed when Haas driver Kevin Magnussen parked up at the side of the track near the pit entry.<br>It prompted race control to deploy the safety car and then close the pit lane 11 seconds later, preventing drivers from coming in so that Magnussen’s car could be wheeled to safety.<br>But Hamilton came into the ...

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Ferrari is the last of the teams that originally submitted a notification to appeal to announce its withdrawal, which means that the case now won’t go to the International Court of Appeal, and is effectively over.<br>The original verdict announced by the FIA stewards at Silverstone will stand. <br>It means that Racing Point will retain the penalty of a €400,000 fine and 15 constructors’ ...

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Lewis Hamilton is now 47 points ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who finished two places in front of him at Monza. Bottas moves ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to second in points after Max’s DNF with engine trouble.<br>Racing Point’s Lance Stroll jumps up to fourth and is level on points with McLaren’s Lando Norris. Carlos Sainz’s runner-up spot moves him up to ninth ...

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Stroll was able to rise from eighth in the opening stint to sit second when the race was red flagged after Racing Point opted against pitting the Canadian under the two safety car periods.<br>It meant the team could complete a free tyre chance on Stroll’s car under the red flag, saving him a pit stop.<br>This made Stroll the net leader after Lewis Hamilton was handed a stop/go penalty ahead of ...

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The McLaren driver had run second behind Lewis Hamilton in the early stages of the Italian GP, and looked best placed to capitalise on the world champion being given a stop-go penalty for entering a closed pitlane for new tyres.<br>But a well-timed pitstop by Gasly's AlphaTauri team helped the Frenchman move to the front of the field, and he was able to hold on to lead until the chequered flag ...

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Gasly capitalised on a red flag stoppage to rise from 10th in the first stint to line up third on the grid for the restart behind Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll.<br>Gasly was able to pass Stroll before inheriting the lead when Hamilton was forced to serve a stop/go penalty after entering the pit lane when it was closed during the first safety car period.<br>A late charge from McLaren’s Carlos ...

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Starting from pole position, Hamilton led Carlos Sainz, a slow-starting Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris into Turn 1. Norris passed Bottas at the Roggia chicane, with Bottas then making a big mistake at the Lesmos, and he dropped back to sixth.<br>Hamilton pulled clear of the McLarens out front, but his huge lead was negated by a safety car on Lap 20 for Kevin Magnussen’s stranded Haas on the ...

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McLaren driver Sainz chased Gasly relentlessly over the second half of the race at Monza, which was red-flagged when Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at the Parabolica, but he could not find a way to finish higher than second ahead of Lance Stroll.<br>Hamilton dominated the early stages, but a penalty for pitting when the pitlane was closed  dropped him to last and left him having to charge ...

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Leclerc crashed out at high speed near the exit of the final corner at Monza, losing the rear of his car and spinning into the barrier at one of the fastest points of the circuit.<br>Leclerc was quick to report that he was unharmed and managed to get out of his car unassisted, but the medical car was deployed due to the severity of the crash along with the safety car.<br>Following one lap under ...

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Carlos Sainz starts the Monza race from third place, and McLaren’s form off the line in 2020 suggests that he has a chance of mixing it with the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas that start from the front row.<br>However Seidl insists if Sainz does get ahead of a Mercedes at the start, McLaren won’t compromise its battle for third place in the race, and especially with the ...

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The decision to rename Renault’s F1 team as Alpine next year is aimed at building a bigger future for the French sportscar manufacturer that was founded in the 1950s.<br>But while Alpine achieved its most famous sporting successes in the 1970s, which included a victory at Le Mans, de Meo insists that the change is not a nostalgia move.<br>Instead, he sees it as an important step to plot a ...

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Racing Point was hit with a 15-point Formula 1 constructors' championship penalty and a €400,000 fine after it was deemed to have used an illegal design process for its 2020 rear brake ducts.<br>The team maintained its innocence throughout the case, claiming it had not illegally used information from Mercedes on its 2019 brake ducts, which its 2020 part was judged to have been a copy ...

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From this weekend’s race at Monza, F1 teams have been told that they must use the same engine modes in qualifying and the race, which means they can no longer use special power boosts for the final runs in Q3.<br>While the FIA introduced the rule because it wants more confidence it can police what teams are doing, Mercedes had suspicions that some rivals, including Red Bull, had been pushing for ...

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The announcement that Frank and Claire Williams will end their involvement with F1 after this weekend’s race at Monza followed the sale of the squad to investment firm Dorilton Capital last month.<br>In the two weeks since the sale was revealed, the Williams race team has travelled to Belgium and Italy as part of F1’s latest 2020 triple header, with drivers George Russell and Nicolas Latifi ...

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Sainz qualified third at Monza, behind the Mercedes pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, and he has the Racing Point of Sergio Perez, the Red Bull of Max Verstappen immediately behind, with his teammate Lando Norris and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo next up.<br>The McLarens have usually made good starts this year, and Sainz suggested that he could mix it with the Mercedes drivers at the ...

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Following the appointment of new Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo earlier this year, the French marque has undergone a review of its various brands, including its Alpine arm.<br>Renault officially announced on Sunday ahead of the Italian Grand Prix that its F1 operation would be known as Alpine F1 Team from the 2021.<br>The team will race in blue, representing the colours of France and running with ...

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Hamilton currently leads the F1 drivers’ championship by 47 points ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas sitting 50 points off the lead.<br>Hamilton would equal Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of seven F1 titles if he can win the championship this year. He would also break Schumacher’s record for the most titles won with a single team, as it would ...

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Verstappen currently splits the Mercedes drivers at the top of the F1 drivers’ standings, trailing Lewis Hamilton by 47 points, with Bottas a further three points behind.<br>Verstappen has regularly moved to downplay his chances of winning the championship in 2020 given Mercedes’ dominant form, with the German manufacturer having won six of the opening seven races of the year.<br>The Dutchman ...

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Mercedes topped Friday practice for the Italian GP with an extended margin, leaving Valtteri Bottas "slightly surprised" by how far ahead the German manufacturer was after the opening day of running.<br>McLaren driver Lando Norris was Mercedes' closest rival in FP2, but he finished nearly seven tenths down on pacesetter Lewis Hamilton.<br>Max Verstappen, who has been consistently Mercedes' closest ...

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In a bid to avoid a repeat of the traffic farce that marred qualifying last year, the FIA made clear to drivers that it would come down hard on any shenanigans, and imposed a pretty swift maximum time for preparation laps.<br>But while the protocols helped avoid too much chaos into the final Parabolica corner, it did not stop drivers tripping over each other as they started their laps, especially ...

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This weekend's Italian Grand Prix is the first race where teams have been banned from changing engine settings during qualifying and the race, requiring them to run a single mode throughout the sessions.<br>It was seen as a move to try and rein in the dominant Mercedes cars, but Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas managed to sweep to a front row lock-out at Monza in qualifying on ...

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Italy marks the first weekend where the FIA’s new technical directive banning drivers for changing engine modes during qualifying and the race takes effect, forcing them to use the same setting throughout sessions.<br>Red Bull endured a difficult qualifying session at Monza as Verstappen could only finish fifth, nine-tenths of a second down on polesitter Lewis Hamilton, while teammate Alexander ...

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The final runs in Q3 for the 2019 event at Monza were blighted by farcical scenes where the top 10 runners jostled for position to avoid running without a tow – an issue that also occurred in FP3 and Q1 this year.<br>But the Mercedes squad sent Hamilton and his teammate Valtteri Bottas out with over five minutes of Q3 remaining for this final runs, which meant they ran at the head of the field ...

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Mercedes swept to a front row lock-out at Monza as Lewis Hamilton scored his 94th F1 pole position, edging out teammate Bottas.<br>Third-placed driver Carlos Sainz from McLaren was a distant eight tenths of a second off the pole time, while Hamilton's lap was a new track record, setting the fastest average lap speed in F1 history.<br>Mercedes' domination came despite the FIA's ban on changing ...

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The McLaren driver had looked strong throughout qualifying, but nearly threw away all his efforts on his final run in Q3 when he almost lost control of his car at the first Lesmo corner.<br>Knowing that he needed to make up for the time lost, Sainz risked everything over the remainder of the lap before pulling off a slot on the second row – and the effort left him drained afterwards.<br>“On ...

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Leclerc could manage only 13th place in Q2, while his teammate Sebastian Vettel failed to progress from the first session, and will start 17th.<br>It's the first time since 1984 that there are no Ferraris in the top 10 on the grid of the Italian GP.<br>On that occasion Michele Alboreto started 11th and Rene Arnoux 14th, although on a Sunday afternoon of high attrition the former rose to second ...

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