The 2020 F1 season turned out to be one of drama, intrigue, surprise and suspense right from the moment that the F1 personnel set foot in Australia for the planned first race last March. We were already starting to get an idea of the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic at that point and there quite rightly questions being asked about whether it was right for the race to go ahead. Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen both raised concerns about it in the media, and when McLaren had personnel test positive in the run up to the weekend the event was effectively off. It may have taken until two hours before FP1 for an official announcement to be made but the writing was on the wall and the right decision was made in the end.
For that reason and everything that has followed since that moment when reviewing 2020 the overriding sentiment has to be that we were incredibly lucky to have a Formula One season at all. To get 17 races completed in six months with all the travel restrictions and Covid-19 protocols in place around the world was nothing short of miraculous.
There were moments last year were I personally thought there may not be any racing at all so I start this review by saying congratulations and thank you to all the F1 community for getting the season going and giving us F1 fans something to get excited about during a difficult year. Everyone did e a fantastic job and and deserves a medal in my opinion for finding a way to make it work. There would be positive tests throughout the season, and not it should be said just the high profile ones, but thanks to the systems put in place by F1 and the FIA the racing continued and things turned out ok.
BIG STORIES BEFORE RACING GOT GOING
Aside from all the Covid things going on there were plenty of stories going on before we even got to the rescheduled first race at the RedBull ring in Austria. A rather lackluster driver market was blown wide open when Ferrari announced that they would not be keeping Sebastian Vettel beyond 2020 and had signed Carlos Sainz from McLaren to partner the already signed LeCerc. This left Vettel’s situation unclear and left many wondering if this would spell retirement for the German. Indeed it would be many months before he signed for Aston Martin for 2021 ( Racing Point is becoming Aston from this year).
That left McLaren with a place to fill and it wasn’t that long before we learned that Daniel Ricciardo had decided to jump ship from Renault to join the Woking team. This move before any racing had happened didn’t signnal a great deal of confidence in the Renault package and left team Principle Cyril Abitbul to make a statement detailing the qualities needed and expected by Renault as a company.
By mid season we knew that Fernando Alonso would be making another return to the team that gave him his two world titles and end speculation about whether we would see him in an F1 car again.
NEW RULES DELAYED UNTIL 2022
We also learned before Austria that the new regulations planned for 2021 to add extra excitement to the racing would now be delayed for another year until 22 to avoid the problem of teams having to develop a new philosophy of car in a season where they were receiving less income anyway as a result of the pandemic. This was a good move and one that had to be done to protect teams in these volatile times. Later in the year we did learn that there would a be a ten percent reduction in downforce for 21 as a means to control speeds so the teams still have some work to do over the winter, although with the bulk of the car being carried over to this season there is less to do than in other years. F1 played a smart move here and it was good to see the sport putting measures in place to support its teams.
RACING GETS UNDERWAY AND WE SEE DOUBLE HEADERS FOR THE FIRST TIME
On the 5th of July the 2020 season finally got underway as the cars left the grid to start the Austrian Grand Prix and for the first time in F1 history this would be the first of two consecutive races at the same track. One of the many new aspects that we saw in F1 of course came about as a result of Covid-19 and we would see two further double headers at Silverstone and Bahrain, (although the Sakhir GP was held on the outer loop). Some thought this may lead to repeat races and not much excitement but I personally really enjoyed this aspect. There is something very interesting about racing one weekend, then staying at the venue and having another race the following weekend, and it must be said the three times this happened the races were all different in nature and all pretty good races. Ok in a normal season these double headers wouldn’t be desirable but as something a little different it was enjoyable. And I may be biased here but who wouldn’t want to see two events at Silverstone???
The Austrian event proved to a real corker to start the season with, Bottas got the better of Lewis in quali and controlled the race really well to start the year with a win for the second year in a row while Lewis had his now normal slow start. Higher than normal reliability concerns and some over eager driving lead to plenty of action, safety cars and some thrilling action. Lewis got a penalty for clipping Albon and finished fifth while LeCLerc got what was a surprise podium for Ferrari given their performance woes and Lando Norris drove superbly to get his first podium finish. We may have had to wait a while to see some racing but boy F1 did not disappoint in Austria.
Lewis Hamilton quickly turned things around for the Styrian Grand Prix a week later, taking pole in a thrilling wet qualifying session on Saturday by a staggering 1.2 seconds and then never looking back in the race as Merc took home a 1-2 while Verstappen made up for mechanical problems a week earlier by taking the third spot, a position he would become accustomed to throughout the season. The race saw huge embarrassment for Ferrari as LeClerc made an over ambitious move on team mate Vettel at turn three and caused them both to retire.
Lewis had got into his stride now and once again dominated the Hungarian Grand Prix as Verstappen snatched second from Bottas after the Finn got off the line poorly, a problem that would plague car 77 all year. The two races at Silverstone could not have been more different as Hamilton led the way in the British GP and not even a final lap tyre failure could stop him taking another home victory. The race itself was pretty dull until the final laps when Bottas, Hmailton, Sainz and Raikkonen all had punctures. The others were not so lucky as Lewis as Bottas and Sainz all lost strong results but car 44 was able to cross the line in dramatic fashion on three wheels. After four races Lewis was cementing his position at the top of the standings and Bottas, bad luck aside was starting to feel his opportunity slip away again.
HIGH DRAMA AT THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY GP AS VERSTAPPEN TAKES IT TO MERC
The 70th Anniversary GP at Silverstone just a week later turned out to be one of the races of the season as Pirelli went softer on the tyre compounds than the previous week to create a different tactical challenge. This worked wonders and RedBull grabbed the bull by the horns ( pun intended ) to give Merc the biggest headache they have had for some time. It was a great piece of driving from Verstappen as he even overruled his team when they asked him to back off and save the tyres. The Dutchman saw the Mercs were not in great shape and knew he had to take his chance while it was there and force Hamilton and Bottas to push their tyres more than was safe. He scored a well deserved win and Lewis managed his rubber better to beat his team mate to second place. This race was worthy of its title and showed F1 of at its best.
In Spain we saw a rather dull race as Hamilton couldn’t be touched and admitted he found another zone during the race and rasied his level even more., He crushed his opposition and Bottas again lost out to Vesttappen after yet another bad start. It was days like this that meant Valterri lost his chance of putting any title pressure on his team mate. The Belguim Grand Prix at the revered Spa circuit was another uneventful race where Lewis was unchallenged and left his Bottas in his wake.
THE PINK MERCEDES
One of the stories of the season that must be discussed is the controversy over the design of the Racing Point RP20 and the protests of it by rival teams. Pre-season testing at Barcelona saw Racing Point unveil a car that looked remarkably like the 2019 Mercedes-Benz and when the pace of the car also appeared be a big improvement over the teams previous machine questions were asked about the legality of its design. At first there appeared to be little substance to these concerns but as time went on and protests were be filed after events a full investigation by the sports authorities was conducted and Racing Point was eventually handed a 15 point penalty in the constructors championship and a four hundred Euro fine for running illegal brake ducts. The issue revolved around the brake ducts because in 2019 they were parts that could be supplied by another team but in 2020 they had to be of the teams own design. Racing Point used the same design of brake ducts as the previous year and so were found to be in contravention of the rule.
It is a very complicated issue and in all honesty it could probably be discussed for weeks but the end result was a blow for the team and the lost 15 points were very important come the tail end of the season when they were in an intense fight with McLaren and Renault for third place in the teams title race, a battle that they lost in the end by 7 points. Not much was mentioned about it in the latter part of the year but it was undoubtedly a big issue from 2020 and the team will still feel aggrieved by the loss of points.
MERCEDES CONTINUED DRIVE FOR PERFECTION
Mercedes also made the headlines with what they brought out in pre-season testing when the teams new innovations were seen by everyone. By far and away the most high profile was the DAS system that allowed the drivers to change the tow of the front wheels from inside the car while it was moving. The reasons for this were speculated on by many but were later found out to be about getting the front tyres up to temperature quickly.
It made a strange sight when seen from the on board footage and must have felt very odd for the drivers to be moving the wheel forwards and backwards while driving but it was certainly an interesting and ingenious development by the team. The design of the rear suspension was also a talking point and showed that the team at Brackley was leaving no stone unturned in their quest to stay ahead of the pack. This was allied to the engine developments from Brixworth that were focused on increasing top end speed after Ferrari dominated these stakes the previous season. Everything was being done to continue the run of success and this is why the team has been so successful in the hybrid era, they have never rested on their laurels. It must be said though that if t hadn’t been for the delayed start to the season Mercedes may have been in trouble early on as there were reliability concerns about the new engine that had to be ironed out during lockdown.
HIGH DRAMA IN ITALY
After two uneventful races in Spain and Belguim the next two in Ferrari’s homeland were two of the most memorable of the year, indeed maybe even of this era of F1. Monza saw Mercedes come undone with the safety car pit stop procedure and handed a penalty for Lewis and a massive shunt for LeClerc on the exit of parabolica which saw the race stopped. Upon resumption we saw Lewis come through the field and a great fight up front between Gasly, Stroll and Sainz who were out of position after the safety car. Sainz passed Stroll for second and then set off after Gasly, the frenchman then had to defend on older rubber till the end which he did expertly and came home to a brilliant win for Alpha Tauri. An unexpected win but a great drive and an exciting race.
Next up Mugello made its debut on the F1 calendar and did not disappoint, it is great circuit, a real drivers circuit and presented a tough test for the drivers. Whether or not we see the cars race there again is not known and I fear we probably wont but this is definitely a track that deserves to be on the schedule. The race itself saw two stoppages and plenty of action and incident. Hamilton eventually came home victorious after beating Bottas of the line for the second start. Albon scored his first podium and it was hoped at the time that this may lead on to more good results for him but ultimately this didn’t happen and he was lose his drive for 2021.
Russia gave Bottas his second win of the season ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton. Lewis went of the road in quali forcing him to use the softer rubber to get through to Q2 and so be on an alternative race strategy and then bizarrely made practice starts pre race in the pit exit. For this he received two penalties, one for each practice start and then was in no position to fight for the win. He made up for this at the next two events though at the Nurburgring and Portimao with two wins and Bottas’s none finish in Germany put Lewis comfortably clear at the top.
RETURN TO IMOLA AND TURKEY AND F1’S LUCKY ESCAPE IN BAHRAIN
F1’s return to Imola was a delight and while the circuit does not offer a lot of overtaking chances for an F1 car it is still a great track for the series and the old school nature of it make it a challenge for the drivers. The race was entertaining if not spectacular and Lewis took another win after Bottas was hampered by a piece of Ferrari bodywork damaging his floor on lap two. Ricciardo got his first podium for Renault as Verstappen hit more troubles. Italy has not been kind to the Dutchman this year.
If Monza and Mugello were two of the best races of the year than Turkey was the race that psuhed them both into second place. A low grip track surface caused by new asphalt and wet weather created a thriller and caused a lot of problems for the drivers. For once Mercedes were not the cars to beat and were battling their own problems all weekend but somehow Lewis managed to win when he really shouldn’t have. It was a great drive and clinched him his record equaling seventh title, this after he beat Micheal Schumacher’s record of race wins at the Nurbgurgring. Bottas and Verstappen both had issues and spins and lost ground to the front of the pack on a day when they should have been fighting at the front and challenging for the win. Perez also drove well for a well earned second place and after a late race mistake by LeClerc Sebastian Vettel finally got a podium finish. It was good to see him get something form this season after all his troubles.
The Bahrain Grand Prix will be remembered for the frightening crash and extremely lucky escape of Romain Grosjean from the inferno that was his car after his shunt on the first lap. It was to be the last time we saw Grosjean in an F1 car as he wouldn’t be fit to race at the last two races but we should count ourselves lucky that we didn’t see another fatality on this day. All the safety improvements over the years did their job and saved Romain’s life but the sport still needs to learn as much as it can from the crash as cars shouldn’t explode like that these days.
FERRARI’S DISASTER
From the outset Ferrari were struggling and it was clear early on that they would not be presenting a challenge to the Mercs. What caused this massive turn around from 2019? While the team had been very good on high speed tracks in 19 they had struggled on tracks where downforce was key and so made adding adding downforce a priority for their SF1000. Unfortunately their strength from the previous year had been taken away with the FIA’s technical directive pegging their motor back. No one knows exactly what they had been doing with the engine but the authorities were not happy with it and they were forced to stop it. This resulted in them having a downforce heavy car but without the grunt to push it down the straights. Signs of improvement were witnessed at seasons close but the Scuderia still have a lot of work to do to claw their way back into position.
RUSSELL STARS AND PEREZ TRIUMPTHS
Grosjean’s accident lead to the Fittipaldi name making a return to F1 as Emerson’s grandson Pietro replaced the Frenchman for the final two rounds. And then on the Tuesday after the race in Bahrain we had the news that Hamilton had tested positive for Covid-19 and would have to miss the upcoming race on the outer circuit at Sakhir. His replacement it was announced on the Wednesday would be Mercedes protégé and Williams driver George Russell.
Merc took the opportunity to put him in the car to assess what he could do with a top machine under pressure. Any idea that he might struggle was blown out the water on Friday when he was fastest in both practice seesions and then qualifeid only a couple of hundreds of a second behind Valterri on Saturday. Given how close the Finn has been to Lewis all year this was a good performance. But on Sunday he went better by beating his teammate off the line and taking control of the race. Indeed it looked like he would score his first win as he had the pace to stay ahead of Bottas and was managing the tyres well. Had it not been for a safety car caused by Russell’s replacement at Williams Jack Aitkin leaving his front wing on track and the ensuring chaos in the Mercedes pit then Russel may have taken the race and scored a very memorable victory. As it was he was forced to climb back to the front and then faced more agony as he picked up a slow puncture and had to pit again. He made it back into the points but his win was gone.
His disappointment though should not mask the fact that he did an outstanding jib and proved that he is a star of the future and not just a talented hopeful. Russell’s time will come and when it does he is certainly ready to make it count.
Russell’s pain though meant delight for Sergio Perez as he took a popular win, his first in the sport and the first for the team from Silverstone since the Jordan days of 1999. It was well deserved and a just reward for his efforts over the last several years, also at this point it was not clear that would be in F1 next year so it felt right that he had this special day if he was not to come back.
Lewis was back in the Merc for Abu Dhabi and although visibly not fully fit it seemed right for him to end the year in the car after such a successful campaign. Third place was all he could do as his team mate finished second and Max Verstappen got a deserved second win of the year to go into the winter with. Abu Dhabi was not a great race by any stretch but as mentioned at the top of this blog it was great that the sport had been able to complete the season with very few issues and everything that had happened between Austria in July and Abu Dhabi had been thrilling. We may not have the championship battle that we had all hoped for but there was plenty of excitement and action to enjoy and keep us entertained in this crazy year. I for one enjoyed it immensely.
BATTLE FOR THIRD IN THE CONSCTRUCTORS
One of the most intriguing aspects of the final few races was the tight battle for third in the constructors title race between Racing Point, McLaren and Renault. After a retirement for Perez and a difficult race for Stroll in that final round it was left to McLaren to take third with a solid weekend and good drives from both their drivers. It has been the consistency and performances of both their men that has earned them that prize, they have never had the third best car and both Renault and Racing Point have had podiums finishes but the latter two teams have only had one driver scoring the really big points. Norris and Sainz have been very close to each other and have both been capable of top performances.
HULKENBERG THE SUPERSUB
When Sergio Perez was sidelined with coronavirus just before Silverstone and Racing Point needed someone to step in they turned to the out ot work Nico Hulkenberg and he did an excellent job. With no prep time at Silverstone he was close to Stroll’s times straight away and qualified well. It was to be disappointment for him at the British GP as car problems meant he couldn’t take the start but a week later he got his chance to race and had a solid drive to a points finish. He was to make another return later in the season at the Nurburgring when this time Stroll was sidelined with what was later confirmed as coronavirus and again did a great job. It was not enough to get him a full time drive for 2021 even though he was mentioned in relation to the second RedBull seat.
NEW ANDS RETURNING CIRCUITS
The pandemic forced a major rejig of the schedule this year and the final 17 race calendar looked nothing like the original. What it did give us though was a chance to revisit some older tracks and become acquainted with some new ones. To see Imola, Nurburgring and Turkey again was a real pleasure and they did not disappoint. Likewise Mugello and Portimao impressed everyone and the outer loop used for the Sahkir Grand Prix gave the drivers and us fans something different to get our teeth into.
And so that was the 2020 Formaula One season. Apart from everything above it was a season of anniversary’s and records being broken. F1’s 70th anniversary season had a bit of everything and I think in many ways it exemplified what we all love about this sport : action, drama, superb driving and the unknown.
Thanks F1, Bring on 2021.
My F1 talk 