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Lewis Hamilton secures inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix pole position as Mercedes continue to dominate

Phil Duncan
·12-min read
Lewis Hamilton - Lewis Hamilton secures inaugural Tuscany Grand Prix pole position as Mercedes continue to dominate - GETTY IMAGES
Lewis Hamilton - Lewis Hamilton secures inaugural Tuscany Grand Prix pole position as Mercedes continue to dominate - GETTY IMAGES

Lewis Hamilton put his car on pole for the 95th time before admitting he is braced for one of the most physically demanding races of his life in Sunday's Tuscan Grand Prix.

Hamilton beat Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes by just 0.059 seconds on Formula One’s first foray to Mugello to take the seventh pole of a campaign which is set to earn the Briton a record-equalling seventh world title.

Ferrari’s test track is being used this weekend as a one-off to commemorate the Italian team’s 1,000th Grand Prix. It has been a miserable year for the Scuderia but they will take some joy in Charles Leclerc starting fifth - less so Sebastian Vettel who qualified a lowly 14th.

For Hamilton, he will move to within just one victory of Michael Schumacher’s record 91 wins - 72 of which the German claimed while racing for Ferrari - should he triumph. But the six-time world champion knows it will not be plane sailing at this fast-sweeping 3.26-mile circuit.

Hamilton will be nudging on 5.5G - almost double the force of a launching Space Shuttle - each of the 59 laps he races through Turns 6 to 9. He will pull 5G or greater in seven of the 15 corners.

Mark Webber did not pull any punches when he assessed the challenge ahead.

“Not one driver’s head is going to stay on around that track,” the nine-time grand prix winner said. “Their necks are going to snap in half. It’s so, so quick.”

“We are all athletes and we train but this track is incredibly physical and it is not at all easy to go through that fast section,” said Hamilton, 35.

“I have found that I am breathing heavier because there is so much focus and there is no room for error. The whole body is completely tense and every muscle is fully engaged. We don’t get to the end of a lap with a low heartrate. This track is phenomenal but it is incredibly challenging, too.”

Hamilton was slower than Bottas throughout practice, but, as he so often does, he saved his best for the crunch. He will now start as the favourite to extend his 47-point championship lead over Bottas by winning for the 90th time in his career. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified third.

Over at Ferrari, the spotlight is on the Prancing Horse at their landmark race. Chairman Louis Camilleri - watching on from the back of the garage - was spared the indignity of seeing his four-time world championship-winning driver fall at the first hurdle. Vettel snuck into Q2 by just five hundredths of a second before qualifying on the seventh of 10 rows.

The German is off to race for Aston Martin next year, and both driver and team will want to hurry through his remaining nine appearances of this sorry chapter.

Camilleri was among a host of Ferrari stars - past and present - to be involved in a public show celebrating the Italian team’s F1 achievements in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria last [Saturday] night.

But they did so in the midst of their worst crisis in a generation. Ferrari head into Sunday’s race sixth in the constructors’ standings, a staggering 220 points behind Mercedes.

Although Leclerc fared much better than Vettel, his performance will do little to improve the mood at the sport’s most decorated team. The Monegasque driver was 1.1 sec slower than Hamilton.

Elsewhere, George Russell extended his unbeaten career qualifying streak to 30-0. The Williams driver has started every grand prix ahead of his team-mate, and here, he will line up in 18th, one slot higher than Nicholas Latifi in the sister car.

Final Positions after Qualifying

  1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 15.144secs

  2. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:15.203

  3. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:15.509

  4. Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:15.954

  5. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:16.270

  6. Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:16.311

  7. Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:16.356

  8. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:16.543

  9. Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:17.870

  10. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Renault No Time

  11. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:16.640

  12. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:16.854

  13. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:16.854

  14. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:16.858

  15. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:17.254

  16. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:17.125

  17. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:17.220

  18. George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:17.232

  19. Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1:17.320

  20. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:17.348

02:09 PM

Mercedes speaks

Lewis Hamilton:

It's a really challenging circuit. I've been working so hard in the background to improve on my lines and my set-up and with the engineers and mechanics we did a great job and we finally got the lap that we needed.

His team-mate, Bottas:

That red flag definitely hampered me in Q3. I didn't get the opportunity. I hope the head wind stays for the race tomorrow as that will be a good benefit.

02:06 PM

Max Verstappen speaks to Sky

The wind picked up a little bit in Q3. The track was not the same because of the wind. It is what it is and it's really tricky.

But the track is amazing to drive and in qualifying it was something special.

02:02 PM

Mercedes' record continues

Pole in every race in 2020 for Mercedes, still. Remarkable.

02:02 PM

Q3 - final standings

Classification: 

  1. HAM 1:15.144
  2. BOT 1:15.203
  3. VER 1:15.509
  4. ALB 1:15.954
  5. LEC 1:16.270
  6. PER 1:16.311
  7. STR  1:16.356
  8. RIC  1:16.543
  9. SAI  1:17.870
  10. OCO ----

02:01 PM

Hamilton secures inaugural Tuscany pole

Bottas second, Verstappen third and Albon fourth. Mercedes and Red Bull dominate.

Leclerc gives Ferrari something to faintly smile about in fifth.

02:00 PM

Q3 - One last go...

Hamilton gives it one last go to secure pole, but his first sector time is slow.

Leclerc moves fifth and Hamilton is going to secure pole because Bottas was caught behind Ocon who had to stop on the track.

01:58 PM

Q3 - as it stands

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. ALB
  5. PER 
  6. STR
  7. RIC
  8. LEC
  9. SAI
  10. OCO

01:53 PM

Q3 - Mercedes continue to impress

Hamilton takes provisional pole and Bottas comes in second by six hundredths of a second. So close!

Verstappen and Albon are four and eight tenths off pole respectively.

01:49 PM

Q3 - green light

Brand new tyres for the Mercedes pair, who have been dominant.

Stroll of Racing Point is out first as the showdown for pole in Tuscany begins.

01:42 PM

Q2 - final standings

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. ALB
  5. RIC
  6. STR
  7. OCO
  8. LEC
  9. PER
  10. SAI
    OUT
  11. NOR
  12. KVY
  13. RAI
  14. VET
  15. GRO

01:41 PM

Q2 - Ferrari's mixed bag

Alfa Romeo, with Kimi Raikonen, have out-qualified Ferrari's Seb Vettel in Q2. At least Leclerc qualified for Q3 for them.

01:40 PM

Q2 - McLaren battle

Sainz goes ahead of Norris, pushing the Englishman, his team-mate, outside the top 10.

01:37 PM

Q2 - As it stands

  1. HAM - 1:15.309
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. ALB
  5. RIC
  6. STR
  7. LEC
  8. OCO
  9. PER
  10. NOR
    OUT
  11. KVY
  12. SAI
  13. VET
  14. GRO
  15. RAI

01:33 PM

Q2 - Mercedes and Red Bull cleaning up

Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Albon maintaining their grip on the top four.

Bottas trails Hamilton by 0.013 seconds.

01:29 PM

Q2 - underway

As hinted earlier, it is worth mentioning that there was just over 0.35 seconds between Alex Albon in sixth and Kimi Raikkonen in 17th in Q1.

Hamilton has started Q2 well.

01:26 PM

Q1 - standings

  1. BOT
  2. HAM
  3. VER
  4. ALB
  5. PER
  6. LEC
  7. STR
  8. OCO
  9. NOR
  10. KVY
  11. RIC
  12. SAI
  13. RAI
  14. GRO
  15. VET
    OUT
  16. GAS
  17. GIO
  18. RUS
  19. LAT
  20. MAG 

Gasly in 16th eliminated, then, and Kevin Magnussen is eliminated in Q1 once again.  

01:20 PM

Q1 - some choice words from Pierre Gasly on the radio

There was a lot of swearing, because he's been eliminated - he finished 16th.

01:19 PM

Q1 - drop-outs

Pierre Gasly, Kimi Raikkonen, George Russell, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen are all set to drop out, as it stands.

Norris in 15th is under pressure from Gasly and Magnussen, however. Gasly moves into 15th.

Vettel has been pushed down to 17th - but he gets it back to 15th by the skin of his teeth.

01:16 PM

Q1 - tight midfield

About five tenths separates sixth and 16th.

Perez moves into fourth ahead of team-mate Stroll.

01:15 PM

Q1 - as it stands

  1. BOT - 1:15.749
  2. HAM
  3. VER
  4. STR
  5. PER
  6. ALB
  7. LEC
  8. KVY
  9. SAI
  10. RIC
  11. OCO
  12. GIO
  13. LAT
  14. VET
  15. NOR

01:12 PM

Q1 - Vettel with an average start

He's 10th and his team-mate Leclerc is nearly three tenths quicker.

Gasly is at risk here - last year's winner. He's down in 16th despite being in the top six in P3.

01:09 PM

Q1 - Stroll leads the way

Well, he did, but then Lewis Hamilton pips him on the first lap.

Already into the 1.15s in Q1! 

Bottas usurps Hamilton by two tenths.

01:05 PM

Q1 - Latifi and Russell the only cars out

Latifi looking better than his Williams team-mate, and he finishes slightly quicker, by a tenth of a second.

Russell missed out on practice earlier today remember - with a brake problem.

01:02 PM

Q1 - The flag drops

The slow coaches are out first...

12:58 PM

Qualifying conditions

12:49 PM

A nice sight

Some spectators watching this morning's practice in Tuscany from the stands.

Spectators in the stands in Mugello - SHUTTERSTOCK

 Qualifying is 10 minutes away.

12:32 PM

Norris crashes in second practice - video

Could have been a lot worse, actually. He did miss the rest of the session, though. 

12:19 PM

Onboard Mugello's sweeping curves - video

A lot of downforce will go a very long way here. Also, pray for Lewis Hamilton's neck. 

12:11 PM

Bottas completes practice treble

Valtteri Bottas completed a practice treble for the Tuscan Grand Prix after beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen by just 0.017 seconds.

World champion Lewis Hamilton took third at Mugello, only eight hundredths adrift of his Mercedes team-mate.

Sebastian Vettel finished a lowly 18th for Ferrari, with the four-time world champion now facing the prospect of an embarrassing Q1 elimination for the second week in succession.

Mercedes have been on pole at every race this year, but Verstappen looks set to challenge that record after splitting the Silver Arrows here.

The Dutchman is the only driver able to keep pace with the Mercedes duo. Racing Point's Lance Stroll finished fourth, more than half-a-second back, and ahead of last week's surprise winner Pierre Gasly who was fifth.

Ferrari are celebrating their 1,000th grand prix this weekend and while Charles Leclerc will be fairly encouraged to have ended the one-hour running in seventh, Vettel's troubled campaign is set to continue.

The 33-year-old German was beaten by Williams driver Nicholas Latifi, and was a staggering 1.65 sec off the pace.

Lando Norris, who crashed out of practice on Friday, finished last but one for McLaren, while a brake failure meant George Russell did not complete a single lap.

Final practice session:

  1. Valterri Bottas 1:16.350
  2. Max Verstappen +0.017
  3. Lewis Hamilton +0.083
  4. Lance Stroll +0.582
  5. Pierre Gasly +0.696
  6. Sergio Perez +0.811
  7. Charles Leclerc +0.958
  8. Alex Albon +1.008
  9. Danni Kvyat +1.097
  10. Romain Grosjean +1.105

PA

Valtteri Bottas - SHUTTERSTOCK

12:00 PM

Good afternoon

Welcome to our live blog for coverage of the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello. Or, to give it its full name, the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix Ferrari 1000. Not a mouthful at all.

It's Ferrari's 1000th world championship F1 Grand Prix, but will there be anything for them to celebrate? Hmmm. It's looking at least a little better for them this weekend than it did in Italy and Belgium where they failed to score any points at all, but only time will tell.  The challenge at Mugello — a new track for modern F1 cars, with this being the first F1 Grand Prix held here — is quite different to almost anything else. It's high speed but not in the way Monza was. It's undulating with sweeping left/rights throughout the lap and very few significant braking zones. It has been a wonder to watch them wending their way through the five kilometres nestled in the rolling Tuscan hills.

It might be a bit more difficult to overtake here than anywhere else on the calendar, though, so perhaps qualifying will be the more interesting day. It is also a fairly unforgiving track, as McLaren's Lando Norris found out yesterday, when binning his car in second practice. “As much as I hate that there was gravel because of ending up and crashing and damaging the car, it’s better like this,” he said “And I think it’s more tricky but it's more challenging and I think that’s what it should be like. Not ideal, but it’s what happens sometimes.” 

There were a couple of other hairy moments throughout, too, with Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo and Sergio Perez of Racing Point coming together at the start of the lap, causing a red flag. Whatever happens, it should be an entertaining session. We'll be here for the next couple of hours with all the updates.