After the epic thrill of Monza last weekend culminating in Pierre Gasly’s maiden F1 victory, Formula One heads 185.6 miles to Mugello for the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix to celebrate Ferrari’s 1000th Grand Prix.
Ferrari though enter this race in a sorry state with no Q3 appearances in their last two outings, meaning that the pressure will be on to deliver at their home circuit despite lacking speed which is a key characteristic of Mugello.
Mercedes meanwhile lead both drivers and constructors’ standings as Lewis Hamilton leads Valtteri Bottas by 47 points, whilst the team itself leads Red Bull by 123 points in the constructor battle as a five way battle for third ensues below the pair.
Track Guide
Circuit: Mugello Circuit
Laps: 59
Race Distance: 309.455km
Tyre Compounds: C1, C2 & C3
Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (BST) |
| Friday 11 September | FP1 | 10:00am |
| Friday 11 September | FP2 | 2:00pm |
| Saturday 12 September | FP3 | 11:00am |
| Saturday 12 September | Qualifying | 2:00pm |
| Sunday 13 September | Race | 2:10pm |
Five Key Pointers
- With no slow corners at this track, cornering and in particular exit speeds will be crucial to nailing the perfect lap given the tightness of midfield teams
- Mercedes and Renault powered cars will be relishing the super long main straight in terms of straight-line speed, which could well lead to slipstreaming strategies being deployed in Qualifying.
- Teams will need to strike a balance between ideal race setup and retaining maximum speed for Qualifying under the new single engine mode rule.
- Having done a post lockdown shakedown at Mugello in June, Ferrari have a small advantage in terms of data, but their cars lack straight-line speed which could be an issue in Qualifying and possibly the race too if they don’t get strong starts.
- Mugello is traditionally known for being tough on tyres with its amount of high-speed corners, meaning that unless drivers can work out how to unlock the ideal approach to looking after their tyres during race simulations in FP2 then we are in for a mixed strategy race of two to three stops.
Race Recaps
If missed any of the eight previous rounds of the 2020 season, please click on the links below to catch up on the missed action.
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