The 2020 Spanish Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio de España 2020) was a Formula One motor race held on 16 August 2020 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain.[1] The race was the sixth round in the 2020 Formula One World Championship, and took place one week after the previous round, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
| 2020 Spanish Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 6 of 17[a] in the 2020 Formula One World Championship
| |||||
 Layout of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 16 August 2020 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio de España 2020 | ||||
| Location |
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Montmeló, Spain | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.655 km (2.892 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 66 laps, 307.104 km (190.825 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Partly cloudy | ||||
| Attendance | 0[b] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:15.584 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |
 Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:18.183 on lap 66 (lap record) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Red Bull Racing-Honda | ||||
| Third | Mercedes | ||||
|
Lap leaders | |||||
Background
editImpact of the COVID-19 pandemic
editThe opening rounds of the 2020 championship were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the planned opening round in Australia was called off two days before the race was due to take place; prompting the FIA to draft a new calendar. The Spanish Grand Prix was originally intended to be held on 10 May.[2]
Championship standings before the race
editMercedes driver Lewis Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship by 30 points from Red Bull-Honda driver Max Verstappen. Four points behind Verstappen was Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led by 67 points from Red Bull Racing. In third place was Ferrari, who were 58 points behind Red Bull and 2 points ahead of fourth-placed McLaren.[3]
Entrants
editThe drivers and teams were the same as those on the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.[4] Roy Nissany took part in the first practice session for Williams in place of George Russell.[5]
Tyres
editThe C1, C2 and C3 tyre compounds were made available for teams to use by Pirelli, the hardest three tyre compounds available. These were the same compounds used at the 2019 event.[6]
Free practice
editBottas topped the first practice session ahead of teammate Hamilton. Hamilton went on to top the other two sessions, while Esteban Ocon (driving for the Renault team) spun into the wall during the final session while attempting to avoid a collision with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.[7]
Qualifying
editQualifying report
editHamilton claimed his 92nd pole position in Formula One, beating Bottas, his teammate, by a less than a tenth of a second. It was the eighth consecutive year that a Mercedes driver had taken pole for the Spanish Grand Prix. Bottas said that Hamilton's speed advantage came in the final part of the lap. Verstappen was third ahead of the two Racing Points of Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll. Alex Albon qualified in sixth, over seven-tenths of a second behind teammate Verstappen. McLaren teammates Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris qualified in seventh and eighth while Charles Leclerc qualified ninth for Ferrari with a time less than a tenth of a second slower than Albon's time. Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly qualified tenth after he could not match the pace he had had in the second part of qualifying during the top ten shootout. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat were slower than their teammates and failed to make it out of the second segment. Vettel qualified eleventh and Kvyat twelfth. The Renault cars had looked fast in practice but Daniel Ricciardo could only manage thirteenth place while Ocon was fifteenth. Lap times were slower than those in qualifying for the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix because of the hot August weather.[8]
Qualifying classification
edit| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Final grid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
| 1 | 44 | Mercedes | 1:16.872 | 1:16.013 | 1:15.584 | 1 | |
| 2 | 77 | Mercedes | 1:17.243 | 1:16.152 | 1:15.643 | 2 | |
| 3 | 33 | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 1:17.213 | 1:16.518 | 1:16.292 | 3 | |
| 4 | 11 | Racing Point-BWT Mercedes | 1:17.117 | 1:16.936 | 1:16.482 | 4 | |
| 5 | 18 | Racing Point-BWT Mercedes | 1:17.316 | 1:16.666 | 1:16.589 | 5 | |
| 6 | 23 | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 1:17.419 | 1:17.163 | 1:17.029 | 6 | |
| 7 | 55 | McLaren-Renault | 1:17.438 | 1:16.876 | 1:17.044 | 7 | |
| 8 | 4 | McLaren-Renault | 1:17.577 | 1:17.166 | 1:17.084 | 8 | |
| 9 | 16 | Ferrari | 1:17.256 | 1:16.953 | 1:17.087 | 9 | |
| 10 | 10 | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1:17.356 | 1:16.800 | 1:17.136 | 10 | |
| 11 | 5 | Ferrari | 1:17.573 | 1:17.168 | N/A | 11 | |
| 12 | 26 | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1:17.676 | 1:17.192 | N/A | 12 | |
| 13 | 3 | Renault | 1:17.667 | 1:17.198 | N/A | 13 | |
| 14 | 7 | Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari | 1:17.797 | 1:17.386 | N/A | 14 | |
| 15 | 31 | Renault | 1:17.765 | 1:17.567 | N/A | 15 | |
| 16 | 20 | Haas-Ferrari | 1:17.908 | N/A | N/A | 16 | |
| 17 | 8 | Haas-Ferrari | 1:18.089 | N/A | N/A | 17 | |
| 18 | 63 | Williams-Mercedes | 1:18.099 | N/A | N/A | 18 | |
| 19 | 6 | Williams-Mercedes | 1:18.532 | N/A | N/A | 19 | |
| 20 | 99 | Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari | 1:18.697 | N/A | N/A | 20 | |
| 107% time: 1:22.253 | |||||||
| Source:[9][10] | |||||||
Race
editRace report
editThe race took place in dry conditions with track temperatures varying between 42 °C (108 °F) and 50 °C (122 °F). After starting in second, Bottas was overtaken by Verstappen and Stroll at the first corner. Bottas then used the drag reduction system on the fifth lap to pass Stroll and move back up into third place.[8] Hamilton won the race by 24 seconds, lapping everyone except for Verstappen and Bottas, who completed the podium in second and third place. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc retired from the race with a mechanical problem after he spun at the chicane.[11] Leclerc's teammate Sebastian Vettel finished seventh after driving for more than half the race distance on one set of soft tyres.[12][13]
Race classification
edit- Notes
- ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.
- ^2 – Sergio Pérez finished fourth on the track, but received a five-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags.[14]
- ^3 – Daniil Kvyat received a five-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags.[14]
Championship standings after the race
edit
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw several Grands Prix cancelled or rescheduled. The revised calendar consisted of seventeen races.
- ^ The Grand Prix was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain.
- ^ Racing Point was deducted 15 points after a protest from Renault was upheld regarding the legality of their car.[17]
References
edit- ^ "F1 Schedule 2020 - latest information". formula1.com. 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "F1 Calendar 2020 - Enjoy a Record-breaking 22 Races in the 2020 Season". formula1.com. 19 August 2020. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "70th Anniversary 2020 - Championship". statsf1.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "2020 Spanish Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 13 August 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Roy Nissany to make Grand Prix weekend debut with FP1 outing in Barcelona for Williams". Formula1.com. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ Cooper, Adam (11 June 2020). "Tyre compounds will switch for second F1 race of Silverstone double-header". Autosport.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ Takle, Abishek; Kerry, Frances (15 August 2020). "Motor Racing–Hamilton completes Spanish GP practice clean sweep for Mercedes". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ a b Dodgins, Tony; Hamilton, Maurice; Hughes, Mark; Kirby, Gordon (8 January 2021). Autocourse 2020-2021. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Icon Publishing Limited. pp. 176–185. ISBN 978-1910584-42-2.
- ^ "Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio de España 2020 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 15 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio de España 2020 – Starting Grid". Formula1.com. 16 August 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Spanish Grand Prix: Leclerc spins and retires after engine cuts out". Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ Richards, Giles (16 August 2020). "Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish F1 GP to extend championship lead". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ Baldwin, Alan; Williams, Alison; Chadband, Ian (16 August 2020). "Dazed Hamilton takes dominant win in the Spanish heat". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ a b c "Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio de España 2020 – Race Result". Formula1.com. 16 August 2020. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ "Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio de España 2020 – Fastest Laps". Formula1.com. 16 August 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Spain 2020 - Championship". statsf1.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Racing Point deducted 15 points and fined heavily as Renault protest into car legality upheld". formula1.com. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.