Hamilton takes record-equalling win after Bottas sidelined

Lewis Hamilton equalled the all-time record of 91 Formula 1 wins laid down by Michael Schumacher after taking victory in the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was runner-up and Daniel Ricciardo landed a maiden podium for Renault after successfully holding off Racing Point's Sergio Perez to the chequered flag.

Pole sitter Valtteri Bottas lost the lead after locking up on lap 13, and was subsequently forced to retire from the race with a power unit issue. Similar problems also forced the early exit of Red Bull's Alex Albon.

George Russell suffered a more jolting departure from the race when the Williams was left with damaged suspension after being punted off by Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen at turn 1.

• 2020 Eifel Grand Prix - Race results

It was a dry start to the race but with the threat of rain in the forecast. Teams were preoccupied by the cold conditions, a lack of practice, and minimal data on long-distance running as Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton led the field to the grid for the start of the race.

Hamilton got the better start and tried to force his team mate wide at the first corner, but Bottas was up to the challenge and resumed the lead in turn 2 with Hamilton struggling to find grip as he battled to hold off Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc through a tricky first lap.

Meanwhile Alex Albon wasn't able to fend off Daniel Ricciardo and dropped to sixth, with Lando Norris in seventh ahead of Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz. Further back Sebastian Vettel had fallen to 12th behind Antonio Giovinazzi after moving on the grid before the lights went out, but was able to stop the motion in time to avoid a penalty for a jump start.

Once the tyres warmed themselves into their optimal operating temperature the order settled down and Bottas pulled out a tidy 1.5s margin to keep himself out of DRS range of Hamilton and the rest of the competition. Leclerc was struggling to keep up with the top three, and a lock-up on lap 6 dropped him into the clutches of Ricciardo and Albon who were increasingly held up by the Ferrari. Albon reacted by pitting early for a new set of mediums on lap 8, with the team worried about damage to the Red Bull's original front left soft tyre.

Ricciardo took another lap before finally engineering his way around Leclerc on the outside of turn 1 to take fourth place. Leclerc pitted soon after, amid reports of light rain starting to fall on the main straight, and a coincidental spin for Vettel at turn 1 as the Ferrari took avoidance action after coming perilously close to running into the back of Giovinazzi. The damage to his tyres meant that Vettel was obliged to pit and switch to hard tyres earlier than planned next time by.

Turn 1 also took its toll on the race leader, with Bottas suffering a massive lock-up which opened the door wide open for Hamilton to take control of the race, even before Bottas came down pit lane to replace his badly flat-spotted tyres. Bottas fell back to fourth behind Ricciardo as a result, while Hamilton was handed a 5s lead at the front over Verstappen.

The drama continued when Kimi Raikkonen and George Russell found themselves closing up behind Vettel into turn 1 on lap 14. The congestion resulted in Raikkonen running into the right rear of the Williams, briefly jolting the FW43 into the air and fatally wrecking the suspension. Russell attempted to limp his damaged car back to pit lane but fell short, resulting in a brief virtual safety car while it was recovered by the marshals. Raikkonen continued but he inevitably incurred a ten second penalty for causing the collision - not the way he would have wanted to mark becoming the most experienced F1 driver in the history of the sport with 323 Grand Prix starts.

The race leaders both took the opportunity presented by the VSC to make their pit stops, but traffic meant Hamilton was held longer cutting his lead back to just 2s once the race resumed. The minute the track went green there was contact between Albon and Daniil Kvyat in the final corner that ripped the front wing off the AlphaTauri. This time the clear-up of the debris could be handled under local waved yellows, but Albon was handed a five second penalty.

Bottas had been trying to make up for last ground by overtaking Ricciardo, but instead suddenly found himself down in fifth and reporting a loss of power to the Mercedes pit wall. He was called back in to pit lane, but it was quickly apparent that the problem was terminal: the pole sitter's day was over prematurely, and perhaps with it his last lingering hopes of the 2020 title.

The next retirement came on lap 24 when Esteban Ocon took to the escape road after reporting that he had 'lost something' and had no braking, suggesting a hydraulic issue on the R.S.20. Moments later and ALbon joined him on the sidelines after another tussle with Gasly left him with another set of flat-spotted tyres, and moreover deeper problems afoot as the Red Bull engineers detected a terminal issue with the Honda power unit.

Lando Norris was up to third and yet to stop, but on lap 25 he radioed the McLaren pit wall to report "Lost power, it's getting worse!" His race engineer was hoping it was a correctable sensor issue and instructed Norris in making a temporary fix that allowed him to maintain position over Perez and Sainz, with Ricciardo having dropped to sixth after making the first of what looked to be a two-stop strategy. Perez and Sainz made their own stops at the same time on lap 29, and Norris was in a lap later for a change of tyres while still complaining about the worsening loss of power.

At the halfway point, Hamilton's lead over Verstappen stood at 6s followed by Ricciardo and Leclerc, while Norris' problems were on display when Perez cruised past the McLaren at the chicane to pick up fifth place. Sainz was also bearing down on his team mate, with Giovinazzi in eighth place the last man still on the lead lap, but Vettel and Raikkonen were still in the top ten and in the running to pick up points.

Perez also efficiently dispatched Leclerc in turn 14 on lap 36 after which the Monegasque took to pit lane for the second time. It briefly dropped him behind his team mate, but Vettel offered little resistance when it came time to trade places to put Leclerc back up to seventh behind the ailing Norris. Vettel was also unable to do anything about Gasly storming past on lap 42, and then being dispatched by Racing Point super-sub Nico Hulkenberg who was now firmly into the points following his last-minute call-up to replace the unwell Lance Stroll. The Ferrari finally pitted moments later and dropped back to 15th place, with only Kvyat behind him on track.

Norris' race finally came to an end at at the side of turn 6 on lap 45 with pit crews immediately on standby to take advantage of a 'free' stop in the event of a safety car being deployed to recover the McLaren, which duly materialised. Everyone was keen to get a fresh set of tyres for the remaining final 11 laps of the race, with Hamilton leading the restart ahead of Verstappen, Ricciardo, Perez, Sainz, Leclerc, Grosjean, Gasly, Hulkenberg and Giovinazzi and all the lapped cars permitted to get back on the lead lap in time for the restart.

Despite worries about his tyres getting dangerously cold after a prolonged run behind the safety car, Hamilton was able to jump away from Verstappen when the safety car finally pulled in. The Dutch driver was likewise able to maintain the upper hand over Ricciardo and Perez. Meanwhile Grosjean was falling back, having gained his lofty restart position by virtue of not stopping for new tyres and now paying the price, while also suffering from a wound to his hand after the cockpit of the Haas had been showered with gravel early in the race.

With the drama of the restart over, Hamilton was able to control the race to the chequered flag and equal Michael Schumacher's all-time record for the number of career F1 wins. Verstappen settled for second and the bonus point for fastest lap of the afternoon, with Ricciardo claiming his maiden pole position for third place ahead of Perez and Sainz. Gasly got past Leclerc to claim sixth place, while Hulkenberg clinched points in eighth place and Grosjean held on to ninth ahead of Giovinazzi.

Just missing out on the top ten were Vettel, Raikkonen, Kevin Magnussen, Nicholas Latifi and Daniil Kvyat, whose hard tyre gambit had failed to pay dividends. The five retirements were Norris, Albon, Ocon, Bottas and Russell.

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