2020 Tuscan Grand Prix

Lore & Background

The race was won by Lewis Hamilton of the Mercedes team, with teammate Valtteri Bottas in second; Mercedes scored their third 1–2 finish of the season. Alexander Albon of Red Bull Racing-Honda scored his first podium in Formula One with a third-place finish, becoming the first Thai driver to do so. Albon also become the first Asian driver outside Japan to achieve a podium finish. The race was the first since the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix to have two red flags. Due to the two stoppages, the race had three standing starts.

Reader's Guide

The race was held as an event celebrating Ferrari's 1000th race in the Formula One World Championship and the safety car used a red livery, instead of its usual silver colour, to mark the occasion. The Mugello Circuit hosted a World Championship Formula One race for the first time. The Ferrari SF1000 sported a special livery: instead of the traditional rosso corsa, the car was painted dark burgundy. Both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc wore special racing overalls, and both had special helmet designs.

The championship was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the originally scheduled Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed, prompting the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile to draft a new calendar. While the previous eight events were held behind closed doors, organisers announced that up to 2,880 spectators would be allowed for the Tuscan Grand Prix. Ten teams (each representing a different constructor) each entered two drivers.

The drivers and teams were the same as those on the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for either the race or practice. Sole Formula One tyre manufacturer Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 compound tyres for teams to use in the race, the three hardest compounds available.