A major Formula One milestone was met on Sunday at the special Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, which served as round 11 of the revised 2020 calendar.
Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton racked up his 91st career win, equaling the long-held record of Michael Schumacher. Hamilton is also on track to equal Schumacher's record seven championships this season. As a sign of respect, Schumacher's son, Mick, presented Hamilton with one of Schumacher's helmets after the race.
The race saw plenty of action with Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen chasing Hamilton throughout much of the day and ultimately ending 4.4 seconds back. And making his first podium finish for Renault was Daniel Ricciardo who drove impressively to finish third, 14.6 seconds after Hamilton. Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul will now have to get his first tattoo, in line with a pre-season bet he made with Ricciardo.
2020 Formula One Eifel Grand Prix
Hamilton's teammate, Valtteri Bottas, started the race on pole but was passed by Hamilton on lap 13 after locking up at Turn 1. Bottas was forced to retire six laps later when his power unit failed. Red Bull's Alexander Albon would also lock his wheels at the same turn just a few laps later. He almost crashed into the AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly as a result, for which he was handed a five-second penalty. He then suffered a power unit failure on lap 24 and was thus out of the race.
About midway through the race, McLaren's Lando Norris also started to suffer from power unit issues. He held on but by lap 44 his car came to a stop, requiring the safety car to come out. This provided the front runners with a chance to pit and thus set the race up for a hard and fast ending, though ultimately no positions were changed.
Following Sunday's action, Hamilton's lead in the 2020 Drivers' Championship extends to 230 points. Bottas is second with 161 points and Verstappen is third with 147 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes leads with 391 points versus the 211 of Red Bull and 120 of Racing Point. The 2020 season continues in a fortnight with a special Portuguese Grand Prix to be held at Portimao.
Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Formula One Eifel Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2020 Formula One Eifel Grand Prix:
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG
2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +4.470 seconds
3) Daniel Ricciardo, Renault +14.613 seconds
4) Sergio Perez, Racing Point +16.070 seconds
5) Carlos Sainz, McLaren +21.905 seconds
6) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +22.766 seconds
7) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +30.814 seconds
8) Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Point +32.596 seconds
9) Romain Grosjean, Haas +39.081 seconds
10) Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo +40.035 seconds
11) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari +40.810 seconds
12) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo +41.476 seconds
13) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +49.585 seconds
14) Nicholas Latifi, Williams +54.449 seconds
15) Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri +55.588 seconds
NC) Lando Norris, McLaren DNF
NC) Alexander Albon, Red Bull Racing DNF
NC) Esteban Ocon, Renault DNF
NC) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG DNF
NC) George Russell, Williams DNF
