With it being originally set to be the final year of the current regulations, meaning a lot of stability, the odds were in favour of the 2020 season being exciting. And there was a lot of anticipation ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix in March. However as the COVID-19 outbreak turned into a pandemic, it was clear that Formula One was going to be affected. It looked like the season opening Australian Grand Prix might go ahead. However when a McLaren team member tested positive for the virus resulting in the team having to withdraw, the fate of the season opener was inevitable, and the race was called off. Eventually the subsequent races followed suit, either being postponed or cancelled.
Formula One had a mammoth of a task ahead of them. How would the 2020 season get going? Would we even get going at all? Whilst the organisers were working out how to get the season up and running, F1 teams launched the ‘Project Pitlane’ initiative, building equipment to help in the fight against COVID-19. Whilst the drivers entertained audiences through Twitch streams and social media, and F1 launched the Virtual GP esports series, attracting real racing drivers.
More races then fell by the wayside, but eventually Formula One put out a schedule that covered the first 8 races, with the rest of the schedule being gradually put together at a later date. The majority were held without spectators. In the end we had 17 races, which was very impressive in the circumstances. The schedule was a mix of established circuits and new or old circuits that were not originally on the schedule. It was a season packed with action, drama and moments that will not be forgotten in a hurry.
The season kicks off with a bang
The season kicked off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on the 5th July, and after such a long wait it was the sort of race we needed. It was a race packed with attrition, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was in a handy position being the first to retire. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas led the majority of the race ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton but the late safety car period resulting from George Russell grinding to a halt. The Mercedes’ were under threat from the other Red Bull of Alexander Albon, who had pitted for fresh tyres and had a chance of a potential win. But he collided with Lewis Hamilton at Turn 4, sending the Red Bull round and out of the points. Lewis picked up a 5 second penalty for the incident, which meant he would likely lose second to Charles Leclerc, who was driving a brilliant race in a difficult Ferrari. Valtteri Bottas won the race with Lewis Hamilton finishing second on the road behind. However the 5 second time penalty dropped him behind not only Charles Leclerc, but also Lando Norris, who set an incredible lap at the end to get within those five seconds and take his first ever podium in Formula One.
Charles Leclerc’s second place was very impressive, considering how much Ferrari were struggling. Ferrari’s lack of pace was the big talking point at the start of the year. Formula One remained at the Red Bull Ring for the second race of the season, known as the Styrian Grand Prix, which would prove to be a bad one for the Scuderia. Once again lacking pace and then colliding on the first lap, putting both cars out of the race. Aside from some midfield action on the last lap, with Lando Norris getting ahead of a damaged Racing Point of Sergio Perez at it was a relatively uneventful race that saw Lewis Hamilton take the victory ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen. The same 3 filled the podium in an uneventful Hungarian Grand Prix which saw Lewis Hamilton victorious. The most notable moment of the race happened on the grid, when Red Bull quickly repaired Max Verstappen’s front end after he hit the tyre wall on the reconnaissance lap.
Tyre drama at Silverstone
Formula One headed to Silverstone for the start of the second triple header, which turned out to be much more dramatic. A safety car resulting from a heavy crash for Daniil Kvyat encouraged the teams to stretch out their tyres for as long as possible. However 3 drivers would suffer punctures in the final few laps. First Valtteri Bottas suffered a front left puncture whilst running in second, forcing him to pit, dropping him out of the points. A lap later, a front left tyre failure hit the McLaren of Carlos Sainz, robbing him of a solid result. And then on the final lap of the race, race leader Lewis Hamilton suffered a tyre failure. He was half a lap from home and he had a mammoth of a task to bring his Mercedes home in first place on 3 wheels, with Max Verstappen, who had pitted for safety, bearing down on him. However somehow, Lewis crossed the line first, taking his seventh British Grand Prix win. Imagine how the British crowd would’ve reacted to that final lap.
It was a galling defeat for Max Verstappen, but in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, where Formula One remained at Silverstone for a second consecutive week, he would make up for it. He made use of the softer compounds brought in, and in the high temperatures was able to manage his tyres well, whilst the Mercedes’ struggled in that department. He was able to take the first non-Mercedes victory of the season.
It was relatively normal service resumed in Barcelona a week later, with Lewis Hamilton winning ahead of Max Verstappen, who split the two Mercedes. Lewis would continue his fine form two weeks later at Spa-Francorchamps, where he led home a Mercedes 1-2, and extended his lead in the drivers championship to 47 points.
The midfield
Whilst at the front the championship battle was looking rather stagnant with Mercedes leading Red Bull by a considerable amount, that certainly was not the case in the middle of the pack, which had seen some great racing so far in 2020. McLaren and Racing Point were in a tussle at the top of the midfield pack, ahead of the struggling Ferrari and rising Renault. Racing Point were involved in controversy at the start of the season due to the similarities between their 2020 car and the 2019 Mercedes. This reached boiling point when multiple teams protested the rear brake ducts. As they were found to have used drawings from Mercedes, they were fined and deducted 15 constructors championship points.
The Italian Grand Prix looked to be a relatively normal race with Lewis Hamilton in command, whilst Valtteri Bottas dropped back after an awful start, and Red Bull appeared to lack pace. Everything would change when Kevin Magnussen’s Haas ground to a halt on pit entrance. That brought the safety car in, and closed the pitlane. However Mercedes missed the signal that the pit entry was closed, and Lewis Hamilton pitted, meaning a likely penalty was incoming. His issue was exasperated when Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at Parabolica, destroying the barrier and bringing out the red flag. This meant that when the 10 second stop go penalty did come, it had maximum impact. Lance Stroll was in the driving seat at first but locked up at the second chicane. This promoted Pierre Gasly, who had pitted before the safety car which along with the pitlane closure allowed him to jump up to sec0nd, into the lead of the race. But he had a rampant Carlos Sainz, who was picking his way through the traffic, bearing down on him. The gap gradually came down until on the final lap he picked up DRS. However it wasn’t to be for the Spaniard. Becoming the first French winner since Olivier Panis in 1996, and a year after his demotion from the senior team, Pierre Gasly took his maiden victory in Formula One, and the team’s second victory. It was a heartwarming moment seeing a man who has been through so much in the past 12 or so months fulfilling a redemption story and standing on the top step of the podium.
Mercedes continue dominance
Lewis Hamilton managed to recover to seventh in the end in Monza after his penalty whilst Valtteri Bottas struggled to make up ground. Lewis Hamilton was back to winning ways at the Tuscan Grand Prix, in an action packed race that saw 3 race starts and multiple incidents. The first being an incident on Lap 1 that took out an handy looking Max Verstappen. Then on the safety car restart a dramatic multi-car pileup occurred involving Kevin Magnussen, Carlos Sainz, Antonio Giovinazzi and Nicholas Latifi, where multiple drivers thought Valtteri Bottas, who was leading at the time, had put his foot down when he hadn’t. The second red flag was caused by Lance Stroll suffering a tyre failure at high speed and impacting the wall. It was a Mercedes 1-2 finish led by Lewis Hamilton, whilst Alexander Albon finally took his maiden podium finish in third.
Two weeks later, Formula One headed to Sochi, which would become the scene of another judgment error from Mercedes, where they allowed Lewis Hamilton to do a practice start in an area where it was forbidden. This landed him two 5 second time penalties. Valtteri Bottas took the victory ahead of Max Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton ending up in third after serving his penalty in the pits.
Records are there to be broken
Lewis Hamilton was on 90 race victories, on the verge of matching the record set by Michael Schumacher of 91. He did just that in the Eifel Grand Prix, which saw F1 return to the Nurburgring for the first time since 2013. It was a big day in the championship for him as well, as his team-mate Valtteri Bottas retired with mechanical troubles. Max Verstappen finished in second with Daniel Ricciardo finishing in third, taking Renault’s first podium since returning to the sport. Lewis Hamilton would break the record in what was an action packed race at Portimao, which hosted its first ever F1 race. The circuit certainly proved to be capable of putting on a good show. It saw an exciting start which even saw Carlos Sainz momentarily lead after an incredible first lap, and many were calling for the circuit to be permanently on the schedule.
It wasn’t just the driver braking records, it was the team as well, and at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Mercedes finished 1-2 with Lewis Hamilton taking the victory. With Red Bull not scoring after Max Verstappen suffered a sudden puncture and Alexander Albon spinning on the safety car restart, Mercedes secured an unprecedented seventh consecutive constructors title, the first time that has ever been done in Formula One history.
Lewis Hamilton secures a seventh world title
Formula One returned to Turkey for the first time since 2011, and the teams and drivers were greeted with an extremely slippery surface. The track was made even more tricky by rain which fell for most of the rest of the weekend, which led to an action packed qualifying session. The race would turn out to be a thriller. Lance Stroll took the first non-Mercedes pole of the season ahead of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, whilst Mercedes struggled. Lewis Hamilton qualified in sixth with Valtteri Bottas in ninth. Lance Stroll led a Racing Point 1-2 at the start whilst the Red Bulls dropped back and Valtteri Bottas spun. Eventually Max Verstappen worked his way back up the field before he made an over-ambitious move on Sergio Perez and spun. Stroll was in command for most of the race till the pitstops. Due to underside damage, his aero performance was compromised which led to him dropping to ninth. Whilst most the field pitted, Lewis Hamilton stayed out, and it seemed inconceivable that he was going to go to the end. However the tread on his intermediate tyre was wearing, which gave him adequate grip for the conditions, and he started to pull away from the cars behind. He crossed the line to take the win ahead of Sergio Perez, who stayed out but almost lost out to the Ferraris at the end. With Valtteri Bottas not scoring, the win was easily enough to secure a seventh drivers championship, equalling the record set by Michael Schumacher. And it can be said he did it with one of the drives of his career, showing the world why he is one of the greatest human beings ever to set foot into a racing car.
Grosjean survives horror Bahrain crash
Lewis Hamilton took another victory in Bahrain, however this race will forever be known for the horrific shunt suffered by the Haas of Romain Grosjean. After making contact with Daniil Kvyat’s AlphaTauri, he speared into the Armco at speed with enough force to break through the barrier. The monocoque separated from the engine which tore fuel lines and resulted in the car bursting into flames. Thankfully as the car pierced through the Armco, the halo prevented the barrier making contact with Romain’s head, and with the help of Dr Ian Roberts and Alan Van Der Merwe, he was able to escape the wreckage with nothing more than burns to his hands, which saw him miss the rest of the season. There was no doubt a lot of concern about the way the barrier gave way and how the car burst into flames. However the monocoque and the halo appeared to do their job very well, likely contributing to Romain’s escape.
George Russell puts his name in lights 
Formula One remained in Bahrain a week later, this time racing on the outer loop, rather than the traditional circuit. That was not the only unchartered territory F1 was heading into. Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19 in the days following the Bahrain Grand Prix. It would be the first time he has not competed in a race since the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix. Taking his seat for the Sakhir Grand Prix would be George Russell, moving over from Williams. Whilst Jack Aitken and Pietro Fittipaldi made their Formula One debuts for Williams and Haas respectively.
George certainly made the most of the opportunity, qualifying on the front row, a whisker behind Valtteri Bottas, and taking the lead at the opening corner of the race. Instantly the safety car was deployed, as Charles Leclerc hit Sergio Perez, putting the Ferrari out of the race, whilst Max Verstappen crashed in avoidance. George mastered the restart and began to pull a gap, which he would hold until the safety car was deployed again after Jack Aitken lost his front wing in the barriers, the wing ending up on the racing line. And Mercedes made a costly mistake.
Both cars were double stacked under the safety car. However they made the awful mistake of mixing up the tyres. This resulted in Valtteri having to be refitted with his worn hard tyres, whilst George had to pit again at the end of the next lap to correct the error. This promoted Sergio Perez, who had fought back through the field brilliantly from his first lap incident, into the lead of the race. But George Russell wasn’t finished. He was down to fifth behind his team-mate and he instantly muscled his way past Valtteri for fourth. Before long he was up to second and bearing down on Perez, however he would suffer a slow puncture which forced him to pit. He would fight his way back to ninth, along with an extra point for fastest lap but he knew he could’ve won.
This allowed Sergio Perez to bring his Racing Point home and finally take his first ever Formula One victory after 10 seasons of waiting, ahead of Esteban Ocon, who also took his maiden podium, and Lance Stroll in the other Racing Point. Emotions were mixed after the race, with many harbouring a feeling of being delighted for Sergio but gutted for George.
Lewis Hamilton returned for the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Red Bull would save their best till last, with Max Verstappen taking pole and the win in what was a very uneventful race at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The final standings
Lewis Hamilton dominated the season with his largest winning margin to date of 124 points over his team-mate Valtteri Bottas in second. Lewis won 11 of the 17 races, which included a 5 race winning streak from the Eifel Grand Prix to the Bahrain Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas only managed to win 2 races and was lucky to fend off Max Verstappen, it can be said had it not been for a few strokes of bad luck, second place in the standings may have been his. Undoubtedly one of the stars of the season was Sergio Perez. Despite missing two races he finished best of the rest in fourth. He scored in every race he started bar the Bahrain Grand Prix, where an engine failure robbed him of a podium and finally took his maiden victory. He has been rewarded with a seat at Red Bull in 2021. For a while Daniel Ricciardo looked like he was in with a good chance of that fourth place, however his and the team’s results tailed off a bit after his Imola podium. Carlos Sainz had an excellent season for McLaren. Coming so close to winning the Italian Grand Prix and consistently delivering results for the team. Whilst it wasn’t such a good season for Alexander Albon, who now is set to have a year on the sidelines after a year where he commonly underperformed compared to his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, perhaps due to a lack of confidence. For me, Charles Leclerc had his best season to date. He was able to get a handle on what was an incredibly difficult car to drive and put it in places where it simply did not belong. Lando Norris had a strong second season in Formula One to finish in ninth, whilst 2020 proved to be a redemption year for Pierre Gasly, who was undoubtedly one of the stars of the season. Becoming a race winner in Monza and on a regular basis was fighting for the higher reaches of the points. Lance Stroll proved to the world he is more than just a pay driver, an unfortunate string of bad luck towards the back end of the season prevented him finishing in the top 10. Esteban Ocon struggled after a year out but took his maiden podium in Bahrain, whilst it was a miserable final year at Ferrari for Sebastian Vettel. Consistently failing to make Q3 and finishing in the points on only 7 occasions. Daniil Kvyat had a strong end to the season to finish in fourteenth ahead of Formula One supersub Nico Hulkenberg in fifteenth. The two Alfa Romeo drivers finished just behind on 4 points respectively ahead of George Russell, who scored his maiden points in his one-off race with Mercedes. The two Haas’s of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen followed in nineteenth and twentieth, whilst Nicholas Latifi was the only regular driver who failed to score.
The constructors standings
This season was clearly all about Mercedes, who were in full command of proceedings once again. The car was incredible in the majority of departments, and was incredible to watch, particularly in qualifying trim. Red Bull did not have an answer, they finished in a lonely second place in the constructors. McLaren had their best season since 2012, taking third in the constructors at the final race from Racing Point. It can be said bad luck in both the first Bahrain race and Abu Dhabi, along with the constructors points deduction cost them that third place. Renault looked like they could easily take the bronze trophy for a while, but other than Esteban Ocon’s Sakhir podium, their performances tailed off towards the end of the year. One of the major stories of 2020 was Ferrari, who had a miserable season, in some races they were resigned to the back of the midfield. They were lucky to finish ahead of AlphaTauri in sixth in the standings, thanks to Charles Leclerc consistently outperforming the car. AlphaTauri finished in seventh, taking their second victory in Formula One with a victory in Monza courtesy of Pierre Gasly. The only teams not to clear 100 points were Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams. Alfa Romeo and Haas were dogged by the underpowered Ferrari power unit, Haas also suffered from issues working the tyres as well. Whilst Williams finished bottom of the table, failing to score a point despite coming close on many occasions.
Conclusion
It can be said Formula One did a great job to be able to put on a 17 race season during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly to be able to successfully create bio-secure conditions in the paddock, and secondly to come up with a schedule that was not derailed in any way by the fluid COVID situation. And the season we got had everything, including controversy, new tracks, thrilling races, new winners and a miraculous escape. The only thing missing was a title battle, the season was dominated by Lewis Hamilton. Not only did he have his greatest season on track, but also off track as well. As the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction throughout the world, Lewis became an advocate for racial equality in Formula One, spearheading the #WeRaceAsOne movement launched by F1 to promote racial equality. His exploits on and off the track have deservedly resulted in him receiving many awards, which included the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year, and a long overdue knighthood. It can be said that from the beginning, the 2020 Formula One Season belonged to Sir Lewis Hamilton.
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