Tuscan GP: Hamilton beats Bottas in dramatic race at Mugello

Lewis Hamilton triumphed in a tumultuous Tuscan Grand Prix, beating Valtteri Bottas as Max Verstappen retired, to increase his championship lead to 55 points.

After a dramatic win by Pierre Gasly in Monza last week at a race that included a red flag, there were two this time around – the first time that has happened in Formula 1® since Brazil in 2016.

Amid the chaos caused by multiple crashes - the safety car came out three times - Bottas was in prime position to win after overtaking Hamilton at the start.

But the Briton, who also claimed the fastest lap, fought back to win for the sixth time this season, with Verstappen's retirement on lap one ensuring he holds a dominant position in the drivers' standings.

There was some consolation for Red Bull as Alex Albon claimed his first career podium in third, with Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez and Lando Norris rounding out the top six.

In a dramatic start, Bottas surged past Hamilton while Verstappen suffered a power issue and fell back through the pack.

Moments later the Red Bull was in the gravel, forced to retire along with Gasly after multiple incidents impacted a closely bunched group of cars.

Carlos Sainz was among those affected, spinning into Sebastian Vettel, with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean also involved in contact.

The resulting safety car did not come in until lap seven, with Bottas bunching up the field at the restart and not accelerating until the last possible moment as he sought to remain ahead of Hamilton.

He succeeded in that goal but another huge crash took place in the packed midfield behind, with Sainz, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi all forced to retire on the main straight, causing a red flag, after which Esteban Ocon was unable to restart.

After a delay of almost half an hour, Hamilton swept past Bottas round the outside of turn one in the standing restart, while Albon lost three places to sit seventh.

Bottas initially stayed close to Hamilton but began dropping back amid struggles with his tyres and pitted first. The Finn asked for "opposite" tyres to the world champion, but both ended up fitting the hard compound.

Ricciardo jumped Lance Stroll at the pit stops, with Albon just behind that duo in the battle for a podium place until, running fourth, the Racing Point suffered a puncture and crashed into the tyre barriers to bring out a third safety car, before officials opted for another red flag.

Twelve runners remained for the third standing start, where Ricciardo overtook Bottas while Albon just kept Perez behind.

Bottas got Ricciardo back the following lap and then Albon executed an impressive move to get past the Renault shortly afterwards.

That left Hamilton clear to record victory and he also took the fastest lap from Bottas to rub salt into the wounds of his team-mate, who has still not won since the opening weekend.

HAMILTON CLOSING IN ON HISTORY

As well as further increasing his dominance in the drivers' standings to recover from a weekend of damage limitation in Monza, Hamilton is now on the brink of history. His 90th career win puts him just one behind the all-time record held by Michael Schumacher. He has now won three of the last four F1® races to be held at a track making its debut and claimed a record 222 points finishes.

ALBON ENDS DROUGHT

Thirteen months after being promoted to Red Bull, Albon finally claimed his first top-three finish and it could not have been more timely. Speculation over his position has intensified with his struggles to match the pace of Verstappen this season, and reached fever pitch after Gasly, the man he replaced in 2019, superbly triumphed last week. "Thanks for sticking with me," said Albon on team radio as the Red Bull hierarchy congratulated him.

FERRARI IN THE POINTS

The first-ever team to reach 1,000 F1® races racing on a track they own – an occasion they marked on their car with a darker one-off livery - Ferrari ended up with Leclerc in eighth and Vettel 10th. Monegasque Leclerc was briefly running third early in the race before slipping back through the pack. That is the first time both Ferrari drivers have finished in the points for five races. While it is nowhere near the level they expect, at least the Scuderia's memorable weekend was not a complete write-off.

IN THE POINTS

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +4.880s
3. Alex Albon (Red Bull) +8.064s
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) +10.417s
5. Sergio Perez (Racing Point) +15.650s
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) +18.883s
7. Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri) +21.756s
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +28.345s
9. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) +29.770s
10. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) + 29.983s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 190
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 135
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 110
4. Lando Norris (Renault) – 65
5. Alex Albon (Red Bull) - 63

Constructors

1. Mercedes – 325
2. Red Bull – 173
3. McLaren – 106
4. Racing Point – 92 (after 15-point deduction)
5. Renault – 83

WHAT'S NEXT?

The drivers have a week off before the next race in Russia on September 27, when Hamilton will be looking for a third consecutive Sochi victory.