F1 REVIEW OF THE SEASON

Looks at the highs, lows and defining moments of the 2020 campaign

driver of the year

He’s done it: No one ever thought Michael Schumacher’s towering tally of seven F1 world titles would be matched but now Hamilton looks set to overtake. This season, he not only secured that seventh championship well before it was over, he also claimed the record for grand-prix wins, which now stands at 95. The way in which he took the title was extraordinary, fighting his way from the midfield in the slippery Turkish Grand Prix to deliver a win surely no other driver could have mustered. He never gives up. In addition, there is more to Hamilton than sporting success. He is lending his voice to causes of equality, diversity and climate change. Formula One usually steers clear of politics, while Lewis has turned towards it and floored the throttle. Such is the weight of his achievements, a generation of fans and followers are taking a stand – or a knee – behind him.

team of the year

Mercedes won the constructors’ title for the seventh consecutive time, making them the most dominant force in F1 history. But this was to be expected. Without doubt, the threepointed-star fields the best team on the grid, but the outfit that made the biggest strides this season were McLaren. They bounced back from the low of 2015 when they finished ninth in the championship, and having switched from works Honda to customer Renault power, have rejigged the management and driver line-up to build a 2020 car that achieved two podium finishes, and an unflappable team that just secured third place in the constructors’ behind Mercedes and Red Bull. That certainly is one heck of a comeback.

best race

Williams regular George Russell was promoted to Mercedes for one race to fill in for Hamilton, after the world champ caught Covid-19. In doing so, the Briton became the hottest property on the grid. The much more experienced Valtteri Bottas had the slightest edge in qualifying but by turn one Russell had the lead. Then disaster struck. Mercedes fitted the wrong tyres to his car, and he had to make an extra stop. No matter, he had the speed to recover but then he suffered a second blow; a puncture. There was no coming back from that. Meanwhile, with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc DNF’d, the stage was left to Sergio Perez. Spun by Leclerc on the opening lap, the Mexican drove from the back of the pack like a man possessed to take his very first F1 victory. Will it be his last? That depends on Red Bull. Sacked by Racing Point to make way for Sebastian Vettel, ‘Checo’ is currently unemployed – despite being the fourth highestscoring driver on the grid this year.

most thriLLing Lap

This victory will go down as Hamilton’s luckiest, but it was also down to his remarkable skill that he was able to get his Mercedes over the line ahead of Verstappen after the world champion’s left-front tyre failed spectacularly with almost a whole lap still to go. Lewis described the moment as ‘heart-stopping’. ‘You could see the tyre was falling off the rim. Oh my god, I was just praying to get around and not be too slow,’ he said.

best overtaker

It was a tough first full year at Red Bull Racing for the Anglo-Thai driver, but what no one should be in any doubt over is Albon’s ability to overtake. As such, he’s become known as ‘Mr Around The Outside’. Among the best moves this season was one he delivered on Kimi Raikkonen around Copse corner at Silverstone, the gap between the Alfa Romeo and the grass being about an inch narrower than his car. Courageously, he made it stick. Most important was the move he put on Daniel Ricciardo at Mugello – again around the outside – to score his first career podium. Alex is a serious talent that needs better nurturing if he is to continue at Red Bull.

best poLe position

The holder of a record 98 poles, Hamilton scored 11 of them this season. The biggest gap to the field came at the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria where Lewis qualified 1.216 seconds ahead of P2 man Max

Verstappen, and 1.428sec ahead of team-mate and winner of the previous pole Valtteri Bottas. It left the whole field shell-shocked.

most unexpected poLe position

Light rain, cooler than usual temperatures and recently resurfaced asphalt meant the Istanbul Park circuit had the qualities of an ice rink. Everyone was sliding around and spinning wheels in sixth gear. The driver who judged the conditions best and crossed the line in the fastest time in Q3 was the oft-maligned Stroll in his Racing Point.

most unexpected winner

The Italian Grand Prix delivered one of the most surprising podiums in years, with Alpha Tauri driver Gasly winning his first grand prix ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr and Lance Stroll. It brought back memories of Monza 2008 when Sebastian Vettel took his first victory in a similarly unfancied Toro Rosso – the forerunner to Gasly’s Red Bull-backed team. For Pierre, who also scored second place in Brazil at the end of last year, Monza was a vindication. ‘I’ve been through so much in the space of 18 months. My first podium last year, I was already like “wow”, and now my first win. I’m struggling to realise it. I’m so happy.’

best pit crew

The Milton Keynes team dominated the time sheets for fastest pitstops this season, regularly changing all four tyres and releasing the car in under two seconds. With Albon in Portugal and Verstappen in Russia they recorded the unbeaten time of just 1.86 seconds.

biggest disappointment

In finishing sixth in the championship, Ferrari have recorded their worst result since 1980. What has caused their drop in performance isn’t known to the public due to a secret agreement between the Scuderia and the FIA to keep it confidential, but they were doing something in previous seasons that was against the rules and have been prevented from doing it any longer. Ergo, their lap times have plummeted like a stone. Charles Leclerc was able to get a handful of results that exceed what the SF1000 car deserved, such as second place in the Austrian GP. Sebastian Vettel, who had been told before the season started this would be his last year with the Italian team, had one good result – third in Turkey – but almost every other race was a disaster. Taking out his teammate at the Styrian GP was a particular lowlight.

biggest crash

This is probably the most remarkable escape in F1 history, and in any other era Grosjean would be a dead man. His Haas hit the barriers at 137mph and split in two. That the Frenchman is alive with only minor burns is thanks to a confluence of F1’s continuous safety improvements, but the biggest factor in saving the Frenchman’s life was the Halo structure that protects the driver’s head. Disorientated and trapped, he said he was resigned to death until the thought of his young children made him fight free. He was in the flames for 28 seconds before the sport’s doctor helped him over the barrier and to safety.

hardest goodbye

After 43 years and 739 grands prix, Sir Frank Williams and his daughter Claire stepped back from their team after the Italian GP, having sold Williams to US investment fund Dorilton Capital. Williams have won 114 GPs, 128 pole positions, nine constructors’ and seven driver’s world championships. Damon Hill, who took the title with them in 1996, tweeted upon hearing the news: ‘Who are they [Dorilton]? And what can they do with Williams? We shall see in time. Meanwhile, all the best to the heroic Williams family and massive thanks for all you brought to the sport.’

biggest ‘do’h!’ moment max verstappen goes off on out-Lap, hungarian gp

The race started 23 minutes before the lights went out in Hungary, when Max Verstappen slid off the damp track en route to the grid and gave his Red Bull mechanics an almighty challenge to fix his damaged suspension in time. The job should have taken over an hour, yet they sorted it with seconds to spare. For Max to then attack at the first corner, scything from seventh on the grid to third by turn two and, ultimately, claim second was stunningly skillful, but he owes that result to his cool, quick and coordinated team.

greatest save racing during a pandemic

F1 came in for criticism when it landed in Melbourne as the world was being gripped by Covid-19. Practice went ahead but when F1 personnel started to fall ill, the event was canned before qualifying. Tens of thousands of fans were left huddled at the gates, prevented from entering Albert Park. Communications broke down and lessons were learnt. Once the season started in earnest, in Austria in July, fans were kept away, strict bubbles were introduced and the paddock became an epicentre of virus testing. Against all the odds, and thanks to the cooperation of governments, tracks that hadn’t been used by F1 for years and others that held more than one round, the sport was able to put on a thrilling 17-race world championship.