Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton wins as Mercedes clinch title

A well-timed Virtual Safety Car helped Lewis Hamilton to victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as Mercedes officially clinched the 2020 constructors’ championship.

Valtteri Bottas qualified on pole and looked in a good position to claim a third race victory of the season, but damage to the bottom of the Finn’s car coupled with a change of strategy from Hamilton saw the Brit win his third straight race.

Max Verstappen was well-placed to finish second, and perhaps even push Hamilton towards the end of the race, but spun into the gravel with just 13 laps remaining after suffering a problem at the rear of his car.

The Mercedes one-two saw the Silver Arrows claim their seventh successive constructors’ championship and their 11th race victory of 2020, with Verstappen and Pierre Gasly the only drivers to have loosened Bottas and Hamilton’s grip on the season.

Daniil Kvyat deserves a mention for the way he pushed Daniel Ricciardo all the way for a podium finish, with Verstappen also driving well until his spin, but Hamilton’s race victory was a result of his determination to stretch his first stint of the race as long as he could. Hamilton got some luck with the timing of the Virtual Safety Car, but there’s a chance he would have come out from the pits ahead of Bottas even without that Virtual Safety Car. An excellent drive for Hamilton as he edges closer to another drivers’ championship.

1/63 - Lights out! Great start from Verstappen! Hamilton has dropped down to P3! He actually got off the line well, but it was in the second phase where he lost track position to the Red Bull. We have yellow flags on the first lap as Magnussen spins. Ricciardo up to fourth ahead of Gasly too.

20/63 - Bottas box, box! Difference in strategy! So Mercedes have pulled in Bottas to shift him on to the hard compound tyres, but Hamilton's message over the team radio is an interesting one. "I'm going to pick up the pace, don't stop me." So is that a sign that he's going to attempt the overcut? Hmmm…

22/63 - Problem for Bottas! The Finn has been told over the Mercedes team radio that he has damage on the floor. What does that mean for his race? Hamilton is attempting to extend this stint of his race as much as possible. He leads this race, but will have to stop at some point in the not so distant future.

26/63 - Strategy! Hamilton has just been asked by Bono if he can extend this stint of the race by 10 (TEN) more laps. "I can definitely go longer," says Hamilton in response. We were expecting Hamilton to come in soon, but what is this... Plan C? Hamilton is now starting to lose some time as he comes into traffic.

31/63 - Virtual Safety Car! The timing of that Virtual Safety Car was incredible for Hamilton. It was deployed just as he came into traffic. It was even on the right part of the track for the world champion. He's such a good driver, but you can't deny that sometimes things just fall into place for Hamilton. That was such good fortune.

Hamilton takes the chequered flag! It's a Mercedes one-two with Bottas in second and Mercedes have won their seventh straight constructors' championship! Ricciardo completes the podium positions.

“Woooohoooo! Holy Mac and cheese balls. That's another f****** podium!” Ricciardo laughed over the Renault team radio as he finished on the podium for the second time in the last three races. One wonders how Ricciardo feels about that move to McLaren for next season now...

Imola has long held a reputation as one of the most difficult tracks in F1 history to overtake on. However, there was an entertaining tussle for P9 midway through the race which involved Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc, Kvyat and Kevin Magnussen, with Leclerc holding his nerve through no fewer than three turns.