F1 2020 Season In Review

[Tim_Richmond_Fan]

I thought this might be a fun discussion. Here are some stats and opinions on drivers and team performances for the 2020 season.

Stats:

World Drivers Championship:
1. Lewis Hamilton - 347
2. Valterri Bottas - 223
3. Max Verstappen - 214
4. Sergio Perez - 125
5. Daniel Ricciardo - 119
6. Carlos Sainz - 105
7. Alexander Albon - 105
8. Charles Leclerc - 98
9. Lando Norris - 97
10. Pierre Gasly - 75
11. Lance Stroll - 75
12. Esteban Ocon - 62
13. Sebastian Vettel - 33
14. Daniil Kvyat - 32
15. Nico Hulkenberg - 10
16. Kimi Raikkonen - 4
17. Antonio Giovinazzi - 4
18. George Russell - 3
19. Romain Grosjean - 2
20. Kevin Magnussen - 1
21. Nicholas Latifi - 0
22. Jack Aitkin - 0
23. Pietro Fittipaldi - 0

Constructors Championship:
1. Mercedes - 573
2. Red Bull - 319
3. McLaren - 202
4. Racing Point - 195
5. Renault - 181
6. Ferrari - 131
7. Alphatauri - 107
8. Alfa Romeo - 8
9. Haas - 3
10. Williams - 0

Wins:
Hamilton - 11
Bottas - 2
Verstappen - 2
Gasly - 1
Perez - 1

Poles:
Hamilton - 10
Bottas - 5
Stroll - 1
Verstappen - 1

Opinion:

Driver of the year:
1. Hamilton
2. Perez
3. Gasly

Team of the year:
1. McLaren
2. Mercedes
3. Alphatauri

Race of the year:
1. Monza
2. Turkey
3. Portimao/Sakhir

Driver disappointments:
1. Bottas
2. Ocon
3. Stroll/Albon

Team disappointments:
1. Alfa Romeo
2. Haas
3. Renault

Summary:

Overall I feel it was a great season. I was just happy to get an uninterrupted season in after the ominous misstep in Melbourne. With tracks coming back that we hadn't seen in quite some time and new tracks altogether, I have to applaud F1 and the FIA for getting this season in. We had 13 or so legitimately decent races in my opinion. If you would have told me that 4 constructors would get a win and Ferrari wouldn't be one of them, I wouldn't have believed you.

Feel free to share your thoughts on driver and team performances, maybe this will hold us over until winter testing in a few months.

 

[FLRacingFan]

In a shortened season there were 13 podium finishers, which is the most in the hybrid era and since the fantastic 2012 season that saw eight different winners. The midfield battle lived up to expectations even though it was apparent from the beginning Mercedes were going to dust everyone the whole year.

2019 - 8
2018 - 7
2017 - 7
2016 - 9
2015 - 10
2014 - 10
2013 - 8
2012 - 13

Driver of the Year:

1. Hamilton
2. Perez
3. Gasly

Team of the Year:

1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Racing Point
4. AlphaTauri

Race of the Year:

1. Turkey
2. Sakhir
3. Portugal
4. Monza

Driver Disappointment:

1. Albon
2. Bottas
3. Vettel

Part of the Albon disappointment is due to other teams getting closer to Red Bull I think, but after he was wrecked out of podiums at Brazil last year and Austria this year he looked poised to break out and just regressed more as the season went on. Finishing out of the points entirely several times, "They race me so hard", not making Q3 several times, I don't know what happened to him. Bottas has had more competition from Ferrari and Red Bull than Rosberg had but the fact he has as many wins in four seasons as Rosberg did in 2016 alone is a poor look. Russell being as close to him on debut in qualifying and then falling behind during the race at Sakhir wasn't becoming either. Ferrari had a pretty terribly-handling car by most accounts this year but the fact is Vettel got his ass kicked by Leclerc in qualifying and race pretty much all season.

Team Disappointment:

1. Ferrari
2, Haas
3. Renault

Worst finish for Ferrari since 1980, not much more needs to be said than that. Bad power unit and the car wasn't much better, especially the shapeshifting rear end that carried over to the Haas. Haas are going to have to understand the car and start building more of it on their own seeing as how they lost to Alfa Romeo as well. Renault looked to have the third-best car at points during the year but weren't consistent enough and still couldn't shake their streak of losing to power unit customer teams. I think they still made progress though and have the chance to take an even bigger step forward with Alonso next year and perhaps Gasly in 2022 as well.

Overall I agree it was a good season despite the Mercedes domination at the front. The way they managed to secure races at tracks new and old, and even alternate layouts at current venues, to put a season together is commendable. Monza and Sakhir were two of the more emotional race wins we've seen in years, as were Hamilton equaling and then surpassing Michael in all-time wins. And Grosjean's death-defying crash was perhaps the most miraculous we've seen in Formula 1 in many, many years.

 

[Reck]

Well well, only 3 drivers failed to score points this year? That seems like a vast improvements from previous seasons.

I get the feeling a third of the drivers fail to score points on any given season so the fact most scored some this year is really good to see. A great year all around.

When it comes to disappointment of the year I have to say Bottas by a mile. 2018 Was his worst season with the team but somehow this year seems like he has actually taken a few steps back. The fact he almost got nabbed for second in points by a guy who had 5 DNFs and in a slower car more than amuses me.

They have to find a way to put Russel in that second seat next year. Maybe split?

 

[donthaveanickname]

Driver of the year:
1. Perez
2. Ricciardo
3. Hamilton

Team of the year:
1. Mercedes
2. McLaren
3. Renault

Race of the year:
1. Sakhir
2. Monza
3. Istanbul

Driver Disappointments:
1. Vettel
2. Bottas
3. Latifi

Team Disappointments:
1. Ferrari
2. Haas
3. Sauber

Mercedes was as dominant as 2014-16, but overall it wasn't a bad season. The victories of Gasly and Perez were huge upsets, like we haven't seen since Maldonado's win at Barcelona 8 years ago. Hamilton and Mercedes were in another universe for most of the year, but we have seen that even they make mistakes. Those mistakes produced two of the most exciting races I have ever watched. The race at Istanbul was another highlight, I think it was great to see F1 at some of the older circuits again. Portimao was also a great addition to the schedule.
The season was about as good as it could get with one completely dominant driver/team.

 

[acmerocket]

i hated to see haas fall completely apart.and it doesnt look good for them next year.

 

[Truex_rox]

Driver of the year:
1. Hamilton
2. Perez
3. Gasly

Team of the year:
1. McLaren
2. Racing Point
3. Mercedes

Race of the year:
1. Monza
2. Sakhir
3. Turkey

Driver disappointments:
1. Albon
2. Vettel
3. Bottas

Team disappointments:
1. Ferrari
2. Haas
3. Alfa Romeo

Summary:

We could have very well gone without a Formula One season for the first time since God knows when, but as fate would have, we still got to have a pretty regular, full season that produced plenty of action and certainly memorable races. Who knows how the 2020 season would have played out if it weren't for the pandemic. As it was, I think we got one of the best seasons in a few years. We saw two underdogs - teams and drivers alike - clinch definitive victories that would bolster the reputations of everyone involved. Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly, in particular, really showed why they merit their places on the F1 grid. Let's not forget Daniel Ricciardo, the McLaren team, and even George Russell. All played integral parts in making the season very interesting. In fact, I can't leave out Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen! What was probably the best thing to come out of the 2020 situation was the fact that we got treated to more tracks, new and old! I'd say that they did not disappoint!

I hope that we will see some resurgence in the Ferrari camp next year, as well as their B-teams. They all paled in comparison to the other teams besides Williams.

Albon, what can you say? He fits the nice guy stereotype I guess. In 2019, he was a hot commodity. This year was the year all eyes were on him to prove his worth. Albon fell well short. He was never a match for Verstappen. Something was lost along the way it seems, because his junior formula career is certainly no fluke. Maybe his DTM tenure will get his head back in the game.

I know a lot of people are looking at Bottas as a disappointment as well, but for me, I'm going to be just a tad less harsh on him. I do believe he is the de facto number two driver at Mercedes, and while I would love to see it, I do not think the Rubens Barrichello of the Mercedes fold is going to come through and deliver a real challenge to Lewis Hamilton, ever. He is solid enough to be a wingman in a top team, but I'm afraid he's not gotten the DNA of a world champion. Vettel faced deja vu in this defeat to Leclerc. He never looked like a match for his younger team-mate despite his own world-champion status, which is something I am pondering about. This is same thing that happened at RBR when Danny Ric came aboard. This doesn't look great for Vettel. What does, though, is the move to Aston Martin... I think it's fair to say that if Stroll somehow hands his ass to him there, we're all gonna lose our **** lol.