A Season Finale to Forget - Race Edition

 

2020 has been a year to forget, to say the least. But it has been a year to remember too. The coronavirus pandemic took over the globe and put life, as it was for many, to a halt, including F1 for many months. 

In July we saw a revised calendar set up which had races being added to it continuously throughout the season to make up a fully acceptable race calendar. And it all ended in Abu Dhabi as it has every year. The Yas Marina Circuit has seen many incredible races and title deciders. Both in 2014 and 2016 where Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg won their 2nd and 1st world championships respectively. However, compared to the drama that unfolded in those races, this weekend's race was far from that. An uneventful, straightforward race that would have definitely delighted Max Verstappen fans, but disappointed the racing community who look forward to wheel to wheel action. 

A clean getaway from all members of the grid meant that there were no incidents that would bring out a safety car unlike the Bahrain Grand Prix 2 weeks ago. Having said that though, early on in the race Sergio Perez, last week's winner, suffered an engine issue and lost power meaning that he was out of his final race at Force India. A sad moment not only for the Mexican but the entire grid as we watched his mechanics tear up. Not the ideal way you'd want your season to end especially with such a fierce midfield battle which the Pink Panthers ended up on the wrong side. They will want to think about the reliability issues they had towards the latter half of the season which had huge implications on the overall constructors result this season. 

Whilst Sergio's woes were felt throughout the paddock, Verstappen's elation only grew more and more. Following the safety car restart, he continued his scintillating pace which the Mercedes duo could just not keep up with and opened up an 11 second gap comfortably. It could be argued though that the Mercs had MGU-K systems that had been through the blender, meaning that their engines had to be turned down so as to avoid retirements. This may have cost them the pace which Verstappen and the Red Bulls had throughout the race. In addition, Yas Marina is not an easy place to overtake by any means. And this is evidence from the absolutely boring nature of the race. Being an avid F1 fan myself, I nearly slept off! The keyword there being "nearly." As Lewis put it, "once you get within 2 seconds of anybody, its impossible to keep up," the Brit using his hands to show how the car would swerve around in the dirty air of the cars ahead. The 7-time world champion will be delighted to know that the start/finish straight at Silverstone has been named the Hamilton Straight in his honour after his incredible, record-equalling feat. 

Matching the greatness of Max in this race were the boys at McLaren and the Honey Badger himself. Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, notably known as the greatest duo in F1 history according to myself, finished P5 and P6 to take McLaren to 3rd in the constructor's championship to cap off a brilliant season for the team. Meanwhile, the 40 lap lengthy stint that Danny Ric put in from the race start meant that he finished in P7 with the fastest lap of the race - a tribute to the lovely relationship he has had with Renault these past 2 years. Personally, I feel a sense of gloom when drivers leave F1 teams. Vettel from Ferrari, Sainz from McLaren, Ricciardo from Renault, Sergio from Force India. And there's a chance that Kvyat and Albon may lose their seats too. Only time will tell what the 2021 grid will look like. Even Lewis Hamilton has not confirmed where he will be next year which just adds more uncertainty into the mix. 

Moving back to the season finale. I was deeply disappointed this weekend. A season finale is supposed to have fireworks, brilliant racing, and extreme hype. Yet there was nothing to increase my interest levels. No doubt I am happy for Max and the comeback Albon made to nearly pip 3rd off Lewis. But throughout the entire field, there were barely any overtakes. I hope they change the location of the season finale or change the layout of Yas Marina because I'd much rather be watching karting races or F2 than this. 

We look ahead to a season that will see many familiar things return: a start in Australia, a full race calendar, more than a week between Grand Prix's (which I am not too fond of if I'm honest), and a year with hopefully less Covid. Whilst familiar faces will grace the paddock, there will be many new faces too: a Schumacher back in the paddock, and who knows who else?

2020 has arguably been a year to both forget and remember for a lifetime. I wrote this sentence in my very first blog post and I stand by it 100 percent. 2 drivers who achieved their first wins, one driver who achieved the impossible, one driver who survived death, and one hell of a season to remember. 2020, thank you. And Formula 1, thank you even more.