Hamilton, Bottas make it a Mercedes one-two at Tuscany

A late red flag, the second of the race – after Racing Point’s Lance Stroll went off at Arrabbiata 2 (Corner 9) while holding P4 – set up a dramatic finale to the first Formula 1 Grand Prix to be held at Mugello. Meanwhile, Mercedes-AMG Petronas’ Lewis Hamilton held on to his lead, beating teammate Valtteri Bottas and taking his 90th career. Additionally, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon pulled off a fantastic move on Renault DP World’s Daniel Ricciardo to claim his maiden podium, placing an important third with eight laps of the race to go.

Ricciardo was left to come home fourth, tantalisingly close to his first podium with Renault, as BWT Racing Point’s Sergio Perez finished fifth. With just 12 runners classified at the finish, McLaren F1’s Lando Norris was sixth, ahead of the Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat, with Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow’s Charles Leclerc classifying eighth at the team’s 1000th Grand Prix.

Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen’s Kimi Raikkonen was ninth after receiving a five-second race penalty, with the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel rounding out the top 10. That left Williams Racing’s George Russell 11th, agonisingly close to the team’s first points of the year, while Haas’ Romain Grosjean finished 12th.

Max Verstappen and Monza winner Pierre Gasly’s Tuscan Grands Prix lasted just two corners, with both caught up in a melee at Corner 2 – Verstappen having already suffered a power unit issue that saw him fall down the order before getting punted off, with Gasly caught up in the incident as well.

A resultant Safety Car then led to a huge accident at the Lap 7 race restart, with McLaren F1’s Carlos Sainz, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi all taken out of the race – thankfully without serious injury, with the race red-flagged while the debris was cleared up, before the second red flag came on Lap 45 after Stroll’s accident, making for an unforgettable first race at Mugello.

Note: Provisional results. Hamilton scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Raikkonen received a 5-second time penalty for crossing the line at pit entry.