2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Formula 1 returned to Imola for the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and Mercedes left with a historic seventh consecutive Constructors’ Championship. Lewis Hamilton won ahead of Valtteri Bottas, while Daniel Ricciardo claimed another podium after a late safety car reshuffled the chasing pack.

Race Guide

Season: 2020 F1 World Championship
Race date: 1 November 2020
Race start time: 13:10 local time (UTC+01:00)
Circuit: Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola)
Laps: 63 laps
Circuit length: 4.909 km
Previous winner: None — inaugural Grand Prix

Pole position
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:13.609
Fastest lap
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:15.484 on lap 63
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Third	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
31 October 2020	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
31 October 2020	Qualifying	14:00 – 15:00
1 November 2020	Race	13:10

All times are local (UTC+01:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

Imola hosted its first Formula 1 race since 2006, this time under the Emilia Romagna name. A two-day format provided only one 90-minute practice session before qualifying. Hamilton led Bottas by 77 points, and Mercedes had the opportunity to secure another constructors’ title at a circuit rich in Formula 1 history.

Race entries

All 20 regular drivers took part, with no substitutes in the sole practice session. Kimi Räikkönen was the only driver in the field who had previously raced at Imola in Formula 1, having competed there during its earlier spell on the calendar.

Free Practice

Lewis Hamilton topped the weekend’s only practice session with a 1:14.726. Max Verstappen was second, 0.297s behind, with Valtteri Bottas third. The compressed programme meant teams had to combine setup work, qualifying preparation and race running within a single 90-minute session.

Free Practice Classification

2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Practice, 31 October 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:14.726	46
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.297s	39
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.492s	47
4	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+0.907s	46
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.962s	41
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+1.113s	32
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+1.219s	44
8	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.240s	47
9	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+1.335s	41
10	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+1.356s	42
11	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+1.383s	42
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.441s	40
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.824s	42
14	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.834s	42
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.838s	33
16	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.945s	45
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.958s	43
18	63	George Russell	Williams	+2.054s	43
19	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.334s	45
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+3.053s	29

Qualifying

Valtteri Bottas took pole with a 1:13.609, edging Lewis Hamilton by 0.097s. Max Verstappen qualified third, while Pierre Gasly produced an excellent fourth for AlphaTauri ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Alexander Albon.

Charles Leclerc, Daniil Kvyat, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz completed the top ten. With overtaking expected to be difficult, the starting positions and the timing of the first stops promised to carry particular importance on Sunday.

Qualifying Classification

2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Qualifying, 31 October 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:14.221	1:14.585	1:13.609	22
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:14.229	1:14.643	1:13.706	22
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:15.034	1:14.974	1:14.176	16
4	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:15.183	1:14.681	1:14.502	19
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:15.474	1:14.953	1:14.520	18
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	1:15.402	1:14.745	1:14.572	21
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:15.123	1:15.017	1:14.616	20
8	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	1:15.412	1:15.022	1:14.696	21
9	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:15.274	1:15.051	1:14.814	17
10	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	1:15.528	1:15.027	1:14.911	19
11	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	1:15.407	1:15.061	—	16
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:15.352	1:15.201	—	14
13	63	George Russell	Williams	1:15.760	1:15.323	—	18
14	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:15.571	1:15.385	—	20
15	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1:15.822	1:15.494	—	16
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:15.918	—	—	10
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:15.939	—	—	11
18	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:15.953	—	—	10
19	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1:15.987	—	—	12
20	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:16.208	—	—	8

What happened in the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton won at Imola as Mercedes secured its seventh consecutive Constructors’ Championship. Bottas finished second, while Ricciardo inherited and then defended third after a late interruption changed the midfield order.

Bottas kept the lead at the start, but Verstappen passed Hamilton for second. Bottas then picked up debris that damaged his car and compromised his pace. Gasly’s promising weekend ended early with a coolant leak, removing one of the leading midfield contenders.

Verstappen and Bottas made their tyre stops first. Hamilton stayed out, using clear air to extend his opening stint and build an advantage. A virtual safety car following Ocon’s retirement reduced the cost of Hamilton’s eventual stop, allowing him to emerge in the lead.

Verstappen continued to pressure Bottas and eventually moved into second. His challenge ended abruptly, however, when a tyre failure sent his Red Bull Racing car into the gravel. The safety car brought the field together and forced another set of strategic decisions.

Perez stopped for fresh tyres, giving up track position to Ricciardo and others who stayed out. George Russell, running in the points, crashed while warming his tyres behind the safety car. It was a painful end to a strong opportunity for the Williams driver.

Hamilton controlled the restart and Bottas remained second. Kvyat made several decisive passes to reach fourth, while Albon spun and dropped to the back. Ricciardo held third to take his second podium in three races.

Leclerc finished fifth, followed by Perez, Sainz and Norris. Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi completed a double-points result for Alfa Romeo Racing. Hamilton also took the fastest lap, extending his drivers’ lead to 85 points as Mercedes celebrated an unprecedented run of seven constructors’ crowns.

2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix race results

The 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was held on 1 November 2020, with a scheduled start of 13:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	63	1:28:32.430	26
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	63	+5.783s	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	63	+14.320s	15
4	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	63	+15.141s	12
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	63	+19.111s	10
6	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	63	+19.652s	8
7	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	63	+20.230s	6
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	63	+21.131s	4
9	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	63	+22.224s	2
10	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	63	+26.398s	1
11	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	63	+27.135s	0
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	63	+28.453s	0
13	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	63	+29.163s	0
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	63	+32.935s	0
15	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	63	+57.284s	0
Ret	63	George Russell	Williams	51	Accident	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	50	Puncture/Spun off	0
Ret	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	47	Gearbox/Illness	0
Ret	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	27	Gearbox	0
Ret	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	8	Coolant leak	0

Lewis Hamilton earned the additional point for fastest lap.

Romain Grosjean finished 12th on the track, but received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.

2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	63	14:41:45	1:15.484	234.121
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	63	14:41:50	1:15.902	232.831
3	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	63	14:42:42	1:16.177	231.991
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	62	14:40:41	1:17.552	227.878
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	44	14:11:48	1:17.637	227.628
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	62	14:40:42	1:17.666	227.543
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	44	14:12:52	1:17.767	227.248
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	63	14:42:06	1:18.069	226.368
9	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	49	14:18:58	1:18.084	226.325
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	63	14:42:07	1:18.088	226.313
11	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	62	14:40:47	1:18.118	226.226
12	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	62	14:40:45	1:18.173	226.067
13	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	46	14:15:50	1:18.360	225.528
14	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	37	14:03:40	1:18.719	224.499
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	61	14:39:32	1:18.794	224.286
16	63	George Russell	Williams	43	14:11:29	1:18.811	224.237
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	45	14:14:20	1:18.822	224.206
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	45	14:14:42	1:19.273	222.930
19	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	22	13:43:31	1:19.606	221.998
20	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	5	13:20:03	1:20.403	219.797

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h.

2020 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

2020 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	282
2	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	197
3	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	162
4	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault	95
5	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	85
6	Sergio Perez	MEX	Racing Point	82
7	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	69
8	Carlos Sainz	ESP	McLaren	65
9	Alexander Albon	THA	Red Bull Racing	64
10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	AlphaTauri	63
11	Lance Stroll	CAN	Racing Point	57
12	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Renault	40
13	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	AlphaTauri	26
14	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	18
15	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Racing Point	10
16	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	4
17	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	4
18	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	2
19	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	1
20	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams	0
21	George Russell	GBR	Williams	0

2020 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	479
2	Red Bull Racing	226
3	Renault	135
4	McLaren	134
5	Racing Point	134
6	Ferrari	103
7	AlphaTauri	89
8	Alfa Romeo Racing	8
9	Haas	3
10	Williams	0

Racing Point’s constructors’ total includes the 15-point deduction imposed over its rear brake ducts. The drivers’ points were unaffected.