2020 Italian Grand Prix

The **2020 Italian Grand Prix** was a Formula 1.5 motor race that was held on 6 September 2020 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy. The race was the eighth round in the 2020 World Championship.

The race was won by Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri-Honda who started the race in 6th, but gained positions due to a well-timed pit-stop prior to a safety car, sent to retrieve the broken car of Kevin Magnussen.

This was the first race since the 1999 European Grand Prix where the Formula One podium was the exact same as the Formula 1.5 Podium. It was the first instance of there being two standing starts since the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix, following a 2018 change in the regulations to allow for standing restarts after a red flag. This race was the last for both Claire Williams and Frank Williams, as they stepped down from their positions at Williams Racing.

## Background

### **Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic**

The opening rounds of the 2020 championship were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the planned opening round in Australia was called off two days before the race was due to take place; prompting the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile to draft a new calendar. However, the Italian Grand Prix was not impacted by this change and kept its original date.

### **Entrants**

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. Roy Nissany drove for Williams in the first practice session, replacing George Russell.

### **Tyres**

Pirelli brought the C2, C3 and C4 tyres for the race weekend, the second, third, and fourth hardest tyre compounds available.

### **Regulation Changes**

Prior to the race, the governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, issued a technical directive banning qualifying-specific engine modes from the Italian Grand Prix onwards. The ban was initially planned for the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix but it was delayed by one race.

## Practice

FP1 ended with Daniil Kvyat fastest ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez. The second practice session ran without major incidents and concluded with Norris fastest, with Gasly 2nd and Sainz 3rd. FP3 saw Spanish driver Carlos Sainz fastest aheasd of teammate Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo. The session was briefly red flagged after Daniel Ricciardo stopped his Renault R.S.20 due to a mechanical failure.

## Race

### **Race Report**

During lap six the left-rear brake on Sebastian Vettel's SF1000 overheated to the point that the brake assembly caught fire before disintegrating and flying off the car at the start of lap seven. This caused Vettel to miss a couple of corners (in the process he smashed through the polystyrene chicane direction indicator boxes at the first chicane) before limping to the pits to retire.

On lap 18, Kevin Magnussen's Haas suffered a power unit failure and his car stranded to the side of the pit lane entrance. At the end of the next lap, Pierre Gasly elected to make his pitstop. The safety car was deployed shortly afterwards and the pit lane was closed to allow marshals to safely remove the stranded Haas from the track.

Antonio Giovinazzi made a pit stop shortly after the safety car had been deployed despite the pit lane being closed. They were given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for this infraction. When the pit lane was re-opened two laps later, most of the field entered to make their pit stop. This allowed Gasly to move into second place behind Lance Stroll, the only driver who did not stop.

The safety car was withdrawn at the end of the next lap, allowing normal race conditions to resume on lap 23. Stroll held the lead ahead of Gasly. Charles Leclerc crashed heavily after the restart in the Parabolica corner as the car lost its rear end, entered the gravel trap and collided with the barrier, significantly damaging the tyre barriers and his car in the process. Leclerc experienced some pain in his back following the incident, but a medical examination showed he did not have any injuries. The safety car was deployed initially, but the red flags were brought out shortly afterwards to suspend the race to allow repairs to be made to the tyre barriers.

The race resumed later with a standing restart on lap 28. Stroll went wide at turn four dropping down the order. This allowed Gasly to take the lead of the race ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Carlos Sainz Jr. Over the next 25 laps Gasly held off Räikkönen, who gradually fell back to an eventual 11th-place finish, and Sainz to secure victory. Stroll meanwhile fought back to third place to complete the podium.

As Claire and Frank Williams ceased their involvement with the Williams team after this Grand Prix, tributes were paid to the pair from around the paddock, including from George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, the Williams drivers, as they crossed the line.

## Championship Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

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Constructors' Championship standings

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## External links

1. ↑  Includes one point for fastest lap.
2. ↑  Racing Point was deducted 15 points after a protest from Renault was upheld regarding the legality of their car.