Lewis Hamilton won another Grand Prix, this time in Tuscany, at the famous Mugello circuit. Even though he confidently led the race and clinched a win that brings him to just one step away from securing the title, the race was pretty exciting due to all the situations that happened behind him. The Brit is now one win away fro reaching Michael Schumacher on the all-time list.
Incidents Mark the Race
We saw two red flags, three safety car appearances, and lots of crashes. The first race here at the legendary circuit will definitely stay in the memory of all the drivers and spectators.
Immediately in the first lap, Max Verstappen had to end the race because of contacts. He started poorly, falling down and reaching the crowd, and with already present mechanical problems, his elimination was inevitable. After being sandwiched, the young Dutch had to end the contest. Besides him, the winner of last week’s Italian GP, Pierre Gasly also finished his appearance. Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel had a minor collision.
That was the reason for the safety car’s first appearance. Yet, when it moved away from the track, another incident took place.
After a flying start, Valtteri Bottas hesitated to push the full throttle, and in combination with a nervous drivers behind him, we got another incident. This time five vehicles were involved. The red flag was active for some 20 minutes, and after the race restarted, Bottas, who passed Hamilton in the first lap, lost that position, with the champ regaining his spot.
By the way, Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen, was summoned for hearing due to the incident.
After 45 laps, there was another incident. Lance Stroll hit the protective tire wall, and he did it full speed. It caused another red flag, and luckily after that one, there weren’t any more such incidents.
Hamilton Nearing Schumacher
Lewis won for the 90th time in his career, and he needs just one win to level himself with the legendary Michael Schumacher. He’ll have that chance next week in Russia.
“It was a bit of a daze. It was like three races in one day. It’s crazy to be here and have 90 Grand Prix wins,” the Brit stated.
His teammate Bottas was second here, with a lot of oscillations. According to some sources, the Fin believes that the team isn’t appreciating him as they should, and we might see some new moments in the remaining part of the season. The last straw for the Silver Arrows’ driver was the command from the pit not to attack Hamilton during the Belgian GP.
Alexander Albon had a big reason to celebrate, as Red Bull’s driver reached his first podium in career.
Hamilton now has 190 points, 55 more than the second-placed Bottas. Max Verstappen collected 110, and Lando Norris 65. alexander Albon has 63.
In the drivers’ standings, Mercedes is far ahead of all the others with 325 points, red Bull has 173, and McLaren 106. Rasin Point is fourth with 92, Renault has 83, while Ferrari sits at miserable 66. Behind them is Alpha Tauri with 53 and Gasly’s win.
