After the win, Hamilton credited his crew as ‘unsung heroes.”
IMOLA, Italy—November 1st—Lewis Hamilton took advantage of a Valtteri Bottas misfortune and a virtual safety car to win his 93rd Grand Prix race Finn by just under six seconds. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was held at the Enzo E Dino Ferrari Circuit in Italy Sunday afternoon. Daniel Ricciardo finished in third place in his Renault for the second time in three races.
For Hamilton’s Mercedes team, their finish clinches their seventh consecutive Constructor’s championship, breaking Ferrari’s record. “It was an exhausting race,” said Hamilton. “The speed we had to go after a poor start. It is very overwhelming right now.”
Bottas, who had a good lead at the beginning of the race from pole, struck a piece of debris on the second lap at Tosa corner. The debris was left when Sebastian Vettel struck Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen. The damage did not affect Bottas’ tires, but the debris was caught tightly in his car’s bodywork, which slowed him considerably.
Bottas pitted on lap 26, which was the last time that the Finn had the lead. Hamilton stayed out longer and increased his lead when Bottas returned to the track. The Finn lost second place to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on Ravazza corner when the Finn took the corner too wide.
A virtual safety car appeared on lap 30 when Esteban Ocon’s Renault encountered clutch issues. That’s when Hamilton came into the pits for soft tires. Verstappen was hoping to take second in the race. But with a few laps to go in the race, the Dutchman suffered a puncture on his right rear tire that not only ended his chances for a podium but also his bid to win this year’s world driving championship.
For Riccardo, Verstappen’s retirement allowed the Australian to avoid pitting during Verstappen’s accident, which brought out a safety car period. And he was able to hold off a determined Dani Kvyat in his Alpha Tauri for the last podium position.
Hamilton and Bottas clinched another 1-2 Mercedes finish, and that gave the Mercedes manufacturer their record-breaking seventh world constructor’s championship.
Charles Leclerc took fifth in his Ferrar, while Sergio Perez ended up sixth in his Racing Point. McLaren took the next two positions with Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris in seventh and eighth. Alfa Romeo had their first double-points finish since their new sponsorship began. Kimi Raikkonen took ninth, and his Italian teammate Antonio Giovinazzi finished tenth.
Besides the retirements of Ocon and Verstappen, Magnussen left the race with a headache. At the same time, George Russell slid into the wall at Agua Minerali while warming up his tires during the safety car period. Pierre Gasly was the last of the retirements when the Alpha Tauri driver encountered coolant trouble on lap nine.
Now that Mercedes has broken the constructor’s record, Hamilton is closing on tying Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world championships. “I look at my crew and all the men and women here and back in the factory. They are the unsung heroes.”
