Take your shoes off and Salute the 7 time Constructors Champions! Imola GP 2020

This was kind of a crazy race and one I did not expect! The amount of non-finishers was well over what I thought and what I put on my F1Play app. Darn it!! I don't think I will ever win that grand prize if you guess right on all the questions! Oh, well next week for sure!

So, to be honest Imola is definitely not known for its overtaking abilities. An even with a DRS zone added into the mix. It still was really tough for a lot of drivers to find there way around Truly trains. K.Mag being one that held up a few drivers in the first stint of the race. However, the race provided entertainment for sure. Once, the lights went out I wasn't expecting to much chaos into the first turn. Like boom! crash!! Safety car! Like we have been having for quiet some time now, and kind of becoming a common thing now. But, there was some real racing going on that first lap. Bottas got off well and I thought Lewis did as well. However, I was shortly proven wrong because my boy Max was right there and making a move on Lewis right into I believe turn 1 or 2. I don't remember or honestly know how the commentators even pronounced the names for the corners in such a quick manner on lap one. I am a massive Red Bull fan and seeing that car pass Lewis for second was magical. Yes, if you have watched the race you know my magical happiness was gone by the end of the race.

Danny Ric also got a great start as well and looked like the good old days of him being in a Red Bull and going wheel to wheel with Lewis again. Him starting well also sealed a great position for him later on!

Now, we get on to the usual battle between the loan Red Bull vs. the Two Mercs! Max getting into 2nd was amazing for Red Bull and finally they were able to put some pressure on Mercedes. However, not having Alex up there really costed them this weekend. Strategy was in the favor of Mercedes having the two cars up front. Max pitted early to try and undercut Bottas. Which prompted Bottas to pit the next lap and give Lewis the lead. Now, normally you would think that Lewis would come in next to overcut Verstappen. Nope, Lewis being Lewis he stayed out and conserved his tires for a pretty long time. Which ultimately gave him the win. To me I feel Mercedes where definitely focused on a 1-2 situation and it didn't matter who was first. Which kind of screwed Bottas in the end, the man has no luck at all. Speaking of luck! Hamilton has it all! A virtual safety car gets deployed and essentially plays right into Lewis hands and give him that victory. Those relegating Max to battle Bottas for 2nd and it was fun to watch him hunt down that Merc for a change! He finally got his moment when Bottas locked up and gave Max the opportunity.

He made a outstanding move on him in the DRS zone for 2nd. Now, we all knew there wasn't really a chance for him to get first, but it was awesome to see the two Mercedes split...... Then absolute disaster struck!! As well as my heart sinking completely when I heard them say "Max Verstappen is in the gravel!".

It looked at first he got hit by someone, because of the tire puncture in the rear. But, when they showed the replay it just looks like it gave out and he went sailing into the gravel trap. Along with all my hope and dreams as well...

This brought out the safety car and really turned the race for 3rd on its heels again. Side note that during the safety car period George Russell was brought up into 10th and in the points. Then as he was warming up his tires he made a massive mistake and ruined any chance for a point finish!

Back on topic. Danny Ric was handed 3rd, because Racing Point decided to pit Perez. Which was a very bold call and a fatal one at that. Kyvat pitted as well for Alpha Tauri, while Ricciardo, Leclerc and Albon all stayed out. At the restart Lewis and Bottas got away fine and sped off into the distance. While Ricciardo got away clean and managed to keep everyone behind. Now, Albon did not and was passed by Kyvat and Perez. Kyvat having an amazing restart and got pass Perez and Leclerc as well and was on the coat tails of Danny Ric. Albon having been passed by I believe it was Perez. Proceeded to spin his wheel and the car as well. Which I basically said at that moment "Well he just spun his dreams down the toilet! Kiss that seat goodbye now!"

The last little bit was a little tense, but we all knew that Mercedes had that 1/2 and that Danny Ric defended like a champ and claimed another podium! It was awesome to see him up in the top three again. Like a lot of people I came back into F1 off the Netflix series Drive to Survive. And with Ricciardo he instantly became my favorite driver! Even if he isn't at Red Bull no more which is my team and Max is my other favorite driver. But, Danny Ric is and will always be my number 1 driver, whichever team he is at.

An of course with a Ricciardo podium that mean a shoey!! This time he did not forget and Lewis joined in on it as well! Which was a crazy thing to watch live. I was like what is going on and then Lewis grabbed the other shoe!

Now, we cannot finish without mentioning the amazing achievement that Mercedes accomplished over the weekend. 7 times in a row they have captured the constructors championship. No matter what and I say this a lot. Mercedes may be dominate and we may not like it. But, you have to give it up to a team that can constantly create a car that competitive over all these years.