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What a race! Pierre Gasly wins Italian GP, becomes first French winner since 1996

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Pierre Gasly (Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images)
Pierre Gasly (Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images)
Rudy Carezzevoli

• Pierre Gasly wins 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

• Lewis Hamilton had a difficult day and finished in seventh place.

• Ferrari suffered a double retirement.

For more motoring stories, go to www.Wheels24.co.za

Wow, what an absolutely amazing Italian Grand Prix! In case you missed it, Pierre Gasly crossed the finish line first ahead of Carlos Sainz (McLaren) and Lance Stroll (Racing Point). It was AlphaTauri's first win since 2008 when the team won this very race while racing under the Toro Rosso name.

Gasly made the most of the chances when the race restarted after Charles Leclerc shoved his Ferrari into the barriers and the race was red-flagged. The Frenchman came under intense pressure from Sainz for the win but managed to keep a calm head as the orange McLaren grew bigger in his rear-view mirrors.

And Lewis Hamilton? The Mercedes driver entered the pits illegally after Leclerc's crash, which handed him a 10-second stop-go penalty, which he served at the end of the first lap after the restart.

A fine race

While AlphaTauri is celebrating the second win in their history, Ferrari suffered a double retirement. In the opening laps of the race, Sebastian Vettel suffered rear-brake failure, while Leclerc lost control of his racecar after the safety car period. It was one of Ferrari's most challenging race weekends this year and one they would want to forget as soon as possible.

Sadly, the poor form will continue into and throughout 2021.

Valtteri Bottas also had a tough race. Having started in second place behind team mate Hamilton, he slipped down the order to sixth place in a matter of laps. What it highlighted was that Mercedes' F1 car has a difficult time following another car closely, which made it difficult for Bottas to regain the lost positions.

The reshuffling of the grid after all the incidents allowed for great racing to take place. The podium finishers would, in all likelihood, have not been there in the 'perfect' race, but the absence of Mercedes and Red Bull from the front of the grid allowed for exciting racing to have taken place. The next race takes place this weekend, 11 - 13 September.

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