2020 Eifel Grand Prix Blog

Many congratulations to Lewis Hamilton for equalling Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of Grand Prix victories on Sunday. Lewis of course is not finished yet and who would bet against him completing the century?

It wasn’t all plain sailing. Valterri Bottas took pole in the race, with Hamilton perilously close to missing out on the front row thanks to a challenge from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. However, Mercedes did get that all important front row lockout and the race played into Hamilton’s hands when Bottas flat spotted his tyres running wide on lap 13. Lewis did not need to be asked twice and quickly passed his teammate. Bottas’ day got worse, as he was forced to pit much earlier than he would have liked (missing out on an opportune moment to stop during a VSC a couple of laps later) and he was then ultimately forced to retire with a power unit issue on lap 19.

With Valtteri out of the race the door was wide open for Lewis and he made no mistake. Verstappen chased the Mercedes all the way to the line, but the Red Bull could never really mount a serious challenge. Hamilton was clearly emotional afterwards, saying: “A huge thank you to everyone back at the factories and also a huge respect for Michael, I feel really grateful today.”

The surprise of the afternoon though was Daniel Ricciardo who managed to steer his car home in third place, securing his first ever podium with Renault and winning a certain bet with Cyril Abiteboul in the process. To be fair, Ricciardo has been knocking at the door having finished fourth on three separate occasions so far this year. He was clearly delighted to have finally achieved his goal, commenting afterwards: “Oh wow, it feels like the first time I ever got a podium. These emotions and that feeling you get when you get out the car, hug the team, the mechanics slapping you on the helmet, it’s just amazing and I am so happy we did it!” As for the tattoo, Riccardo suggested the theme would probably be: “Something to do with me but with a German flavour!” We look forward to seeing that.

Racing Point had a good weekend with Sergio Perez coming home in fourth place. It would also be amiss of us not to mention Nico Hulkenberg. ‘The Hulk’ has now amassed 10 points in the Drivers’ Championship despite not actually having a drive this season. This weekend he was standing in for a poorly Lance Stroll and did amazingly well to finish in eighth place, having started last. Hulkenberg commented afterwards: “What a race and a story that was! I really didn’t think we could go from last to eighth – I’m not sure many thought it would be possible before the race!”

Finally, Romain Grosjean deserves credit for his drive yesterday. The Frenchmen has come under a lot of pressure in recent weeks, but a ninth-place finish secured two much needed points for Haas. Even Guenther Steiner was smiling, saying: “It was a happy day today for us. We come away with some points – which is fantastic for the team as they work hard, everybody did a good job.”

We have another new circuit to look forward to now as Formula 1 heads to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve for the Portuguese GP in two weeks’ time. The team at EDGE have all been looking forward to Portimao and having the chance to catch up with our clients, friends and colleagues during the weekend.

F1 is slowly starting to open up to fans for the 2020 season. We’re currently selling the F1 Paddock Club for the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao & Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. If you would like to join us at a F1 race in 2020, please call us on +44 (0)207 107 1640 or email us at f1@edgeglobalevents.com