MOTORSPORT: Ricciardo fourth in Tuscany

Yet another Mercedes-AMG one-two and Lewis Hamilton’s 90th Formula 1 win ahead of the eternally frustrated Valtteri Bottas were the only predictable outcomes from a carnage-strewn Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello last night.

Three major accidents including a frightening four-car shunt on the main straight, two red flag stoppages and three race starts meant just 12 cars finished a race that made last week’s incident-packed Italian GP look tame.

Red Bull’s Alex Albon scored a pressure-relieving first podium for himself and Thailand, passing Australian Daniel Ricciardo for third on lap 51 of the 59-lap race.

The dominance of the Benz crew was aided by Max Verstappen’s first-lap exit. The Dutchman’s Honda power unit suffered an electrical issue that killed the Red Bull’s acceleration following a strong launch from third on the grid.

The chaos started at the second corner when Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo smashed into the back of the slowing Verstappen after a side-by-side clash with Italian GP winner Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Roman Grosjean (Haas).

Within milli-seconds McLaren’s Carlos Sainz had also been spun to the rear of the field after contact with Lance Stroll’s Racing Point as they battled for sixth.

A safety car then ran for eight laps to restore order before Bottas led the field to the restart.

Cue more chaos as Sainz smashed spectacularly into Antonio Giovinnazzi’s Alfa Romeo on the main straight as the midfield and tail-enders launched and then checked. Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Nicolas Latifi’s Williams were also involved and out of the race.

The red flag was immediately thrown.

“The crash was very scary because we are doing 290-300 kph at that point,” said Sainz.

“The crash I had could have been very, very worse.”

Post-race stewards issued warnings to 12 drivers including Ricciardo who were judged to have contributed to the incident. Bottas, who had dictated a slow pace before launching, was exonerated.

Red flag two came when Stroll speared off at high-speed into the tyre barriers on lap 44 after what was initially diagnosed as left-rear tyre failure.

The Canadian was uninjured but the car was severely damaged, even before it caught fire as the marshalls tried to lift it away.

Bottas had jumped Hamilton from second on the grid at the first start, Hamilton rounded Bottas up at the first corner after the second start and then the six-time champ got a clean restart third time out to settle the fight for the win.

Ricciardo had climbed progressively up through the field from eighth on the grid to third by the third start and was briefly second after a blistering launch in the R.S.20.

Sadly, Renault’s first podium since its 2016 return to F1 racing was not to be as both Bottas and Albon passed him in faster cars.

“It looked like we were on for third towards the end of the race, so it’s a shame to come so close,” said Ricciardo.

“We can’t get any closer than that and we’ll keep pushing. Our starts were good, we got Valtteri [Bottas], but he and Alex [Albon] were just too quick to hold on. It hurts not to be on the podium after that, but fourth is still a big result today.”

As disappointed as Ricciardo and Renault were, they were far better off than struggling Ferrari.

In the Scuderia’s 1000th race on the track it owns, Charles Leclerc finished eighth and Sebastian Vettel 10th, just holding out the Williams of George Russell for the final point.

It was the first time in three races that Vettel had scored points. During the week it was confirmed he would be replace Sergio Perez at Racing Point in 2022, when it will become the Aston Martin works team.

At least picturesque Mugello was a win for Ferrari in its F1 debut. The track’s 1000m straight made for plenty of drag reduction passes into the looping positive-camber first corner and the high-speed flow of the 5.245km course showed off the enormous grip F1 cars have.

Hamilton now has a 55-point lead in the F1 drivers’ championship ahead of Bottas. Verstappen is third, 80 points off the pace. Ricciardo is seventh.

The championship resumes in Sochi, Russia, in two weeks’ time. Eight rounds remain.

Meanwhile, Australian Will Power dominated the first of two races in the Mid-Ohio IndyCar double-header on the weekend.

The Penske driver qualified on pole and dominated the race for his first win of 2020. Second time out he was seventh.

Power is fifth in the championship standings with three races to run. Kiwi Scott Dixon leads the title chase.