Race starts at 3:10 pm in Italy/9:10 pm in Malaysia
COVID-19 has caused loss of lives, hardship, disrupted life and businesses and impacted economies. It has also disrupted motorsports all over the world and as conditions eased, the Formula 1 organisers have rushed to try to run as many rounds as possible before the end of the year. And COVID-19 can also be ‘blamed’ for bringing the 9th round of the 2020 championship to a completely new venue – Mugello.
First new circuit for F1 since 2016
Located near the city of Florence in Italy’s Tuscan countryside, the Mugello circuit was opened in 1974 and while it has never had a F1 race, it has had at least 30 rounds of the Italian Motorcycle Grand Prix. It is the 72nd venue to host a F1 round and the first new one in four years, the last being the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan.
Mugello is not entirely new to F1 veterans though, as it was a testing venue until 2012, used mostly by Ferrari which also owns it (since 1988). However, where actual racing is concerned, it will be new to every driver and the teams have had only since last Sunday’s race at Monza to get to know and understand the circuit.
The circuit has a number of steep ascents and descents, long full-throttle sections and some extremely fast corners. Situated in a valley, it subjects drivers to quite a rollercoaster ride, especially at the start of the second sector. There are absolutely no slow corners (even the slowest can be taken in 4th gear at 140 km/h), and the cornering speeds will subject the drivers to higher g-forces than usual.
Needless to say, the cars and the tyres will also be under tremendous stress but comments from the drivers after practices has been enthusiastic as they welcome the challenges of a new circuit.
“Driving an F1 car around this circuit is unbelievable. In all the fast sections, it’s pretty impressive. I think it’s going to be quite a tough race, physically, as already in the long run we’ve done in FP2 the neck starts to feel it! The lack of run-off areas will also make it difficult, but I guess this is what we like as well,” said Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Unusual layout and abrasive surface
Mugello’s unusual track layout has fairly old, abrasive tarmac and bears some resemblance to Suzuka in Japan. The engineers at the Mercedes-AMG team will therefore use the venue of the Japanese Grand Prix as a reference point for their predictions about tyre life and degradation. Both tracks generate a very high sliding energy and put a lot of stress on the tyres.
To cope with a combination of fast corners and abrasive asphalt, Pirelli is sending their hardest compounds to Mugello, with the C1, C2 and C3 on offer. This is also to shield against the potential for thermal degradation exacerbated by very hot weather. The narrowness of the track and the technical nature of the layout are likely to make overtaking difficult, putting an extra onus on strategy decisions.
Some spectators allowed in for a change!
The Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio Della Toscana Ferrari 1000 2020 – which most will refer to as just the Tuscan Grand Prix – will be the 1000th F1 race for Scuderia Ferrari. Last weekend was a blot in the marque’s history book but that’s past and to celebrate this milestone, the two SF1000s took to the track in their special Burgundy livery, the deep red originally seen on the 125 S, the very first Ferrari ever built.
The F1 Safety Car painted in Ferrari Red as a tribute to Scuderia Ferrari’s 1000th race achievement this weekend.
“We will honour the achievement with the Mercedes-AMG Safety Car in Ferrari red – our nod to a racing history that brought us some of the greatest moments in Formula One. The men and women of Maranello have a proud history to celebrate and we’re paying respect to those celebrations this weekend,” said Toto Wolff, CEO and Team Principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.
Championship positions after Monza
Despite registering his worst result of the season at Monza last Sunday, Lewis Hamilton’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship holds steady at 47 points, with team-mate Valtteri Bottas moving into second position after Max Verstappen recorded his second DNF of the season.
Mercedes-AMG, meanwhile, expanded their lead at the top of the Constructors’ Championship as Red Bull Racing’s failed to score. Their lead is now up to 123 points. Behind them, the battle is rather more intense: McLaren’s best result since 2014 saw them extend their lead in the race for third place, pulling out a gap of 16 points ahead of Racing Point, who in turn have an 11-point advantage over Renault.
Keyword: F1 (Round 9): Preview & Starting Grid For 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix