For the first time in its 70-year history, Formula 1 is featuring three events in Italy in a season. After the hallowed Monza held the Italian Grand Prix, and before the return to the Emiglia-Romagna region for Imola at the end of next month, we now come to the evocatively-named Tuscan Grand Prix in the stunning north Italian hills, at a circuit whose name is redolent of exciting driving – Mugello.
In this unusual 2020 season, the inaugural Grand race at the Tuscan circuit is a welcome piece of news, allowing drivers to finally let leash in race conditions around a fast and flowing circuit. Like many of the great tracks, it offers the following simplicity – topography, long and many fast corners and an unbroken rollercoaster rhythm.
Teams have tested on the track various times, particularly Ferrari, entering their 1000th Grand Prix this weekend with a commemorative burgundy livery, who purchased it. In 2012, it was used for an in-season test, at which Romain Grosjean set an unofficial lap record of 1:21.035 in the Lotus. With a BOSS lap record of 1:34.316 and a Group C record in the high 1:39s, one exciting point will be just what that new lap record smash will be. Now, let us take a look at what makes Mugello a bit of magic.
Turn 1 is San Donato and braking could come right between the 100 and 50 metre board. Tucking the car in quickly to the right for the slowest corner of the circuit, the track ascends and Luco and Poggio Seco (Turns 2 and 3) soon follow, a left and a longer right-hander, the climb levelling out at Poggio Seco, the track's highest point. Next up are Materassi and Borgo San Lorenzo (4 and 5), a more open left-right sequence. It will be important not to get too greedy with kerbs on the left, maybe taking a little more on the inside of Borgo San Lorenzo to get a good, fast exit.
Vaulting into Sector 2, it is time to take a deep breath, as we descend into Casanova (Turn 6), a fast right-hander, maybe taking a healthy helping of kerb, before keeping the car to the left to continue the plunge downhill into Savelli (Turn 7). In these 2020 cars, there is a really decent chance of being flat out through here. These lead into the super-fast right-hand Arrabbiatas 1 and 2 (or Turns 8 and 9) which take us back uphill. The car will need to be finely controlled on this climb to maintain momentum, perhaps not taking too wide a line through Arrabbiata 1, the circuit's lowest point, but we might look out for some different lines through this sequence. 'Arrabbiata' is the Italian for 'angry', and these are certainly some fierce turns. There is little respite on the next straight before the downhill right and left at Scarperia and Palagio (Turns 10 and 11) rocket us into Sector 3.
A little patience is called for at Correntaio (Turn 10), as the fairly fast right-hand entry may bely its length of this very long hairpin, and we approach Biondetti 1 and 2 (Turns 13 and 14), the first leading straight into the second, with the car perhaps brought quickly to the apex of 2 rather than kept over to the left coming out of 1. The DRS detection zone is at the end of the subsequent straight and picking a super-late braking point (around 50 metres or less), the angle of the left-hander of Bucine (Turn 15 and the longest bend on the track) opens up a little on the exit and we arrive back on the lengthy start-finish straight.
Mugello had a long association with motorsport before the construction of the permanent track in the 1970s. As early as 1914, motor races were run on a 66km route around the area, taking in places around the current track, including Scarperia, after which Turn 10 of the contemporary circuit is named. In the early days, its races attracted star drivers of the day, such as Giuseppe Campari, Borzacchini, Antonio Ascari and the local favourite, Emilio Materassi. Later, the track held world sportscar championship events in the 1960s, before the new circuit was developed and used for prestigious races such as Moto Grands Prix.
Although Grands Prix in Italy have been run at circuits other than Monza - Montichiari, Livorno, Turin, and notably Imola - it is fantastic to see such an exciting circuit now used for Formula 1. Maybe it will become a permanent fixture.
Circuit length: 5.245 km
Number of laps: 59
Race distance: 309.455 km
Race Lap Record: -
Dry weather tyre compounds: C1, C2 and C3
First Grand Prix at this circuit: 2020
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