RACE DEBRIEF

THE TUSCAN GP IN 3 KEY MOMENTS

1 Close but no cigar (again) for Bottas

Another Formula 1 race, another Lewis Hamilton victory. So far so typical for the pandemic-defying grand prix scene of 2020. Except this was no typical F1 race, and winning it was an achievement Hamilton himself said required effort like no other.

The chaos of the first lap, the Safety Car restart and a second standing restart following Lance Stroll’s huge accident, combined with relentless weekend-long pressure from the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, made F1’s first race at the MotoGP mecca of Mugello, for Hamilton “physically and mentally one of the most challenging days I’ve experienced”.

Since his outstanding start to the season in Austria, Bottas has been relatively subdued.

Apart from