The Polesitter

  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...

  16 qualifying sessions have taken place in 2020 and in every single one a Mercedes powered car took pole. Yet the final qualifying of the year had a surprise in store for everyone.  Following his recent negative covid test, Lewis Hamilton was back at the paddock and ready to continue his fine form following what has been arguably his most dominant season in F1. To the disappointment of probably the entire F1 community including myself, that meant George Russell was back at Williams and would be unable to fight for that first ever victory after the mishaps of last weekend.  As expected, Q1 and Q2 saw the Williams, Alfa Romeo's and Haas boys out but a big surprise as neither of the Renault's made it to Q3 and neither did last week's race winner Sergio Perez. He will start from the back of the grid after taking multiple engine penalties. It will be a spicy race for the Mexican who will have plenty of overtaking to do in a car that has proven to be the 3rd best on the grid....

  If you thought last week's race at the Bahrain Grand Prix was a rollercoaster ride, you were in for a treat as F1 raced once again at the Sakhir International Circuit.  A huge change to the grid took place in the 4 days between Grand Prix's as 7 time World Champion Lewis Hamilton tested positive for Covid-19 following a close contact encounter with a friend who tested positive. Moreover, following last week's horrific accident, Romain Grosjean would not take part in this weekend's race which meant that many shows had to be filled.  At 2 am on Tuesday morning, George Russell who was just chilling in his bathroom received a phone call from Toto Wolff who had requested him to race for the Silver Arrows this weekend - an opportunity that nobody would ever pass off. Pietro Fittipaldi would take Romain Grosjean's seat and Jack Aitken would fill the missing shoes of George Russell at Williams. The stage was set for many young drivers to start making a mark on F1.  A bril...

  Last night's race was a reminder that the risks all Formula 1 drivers take are very, very real.  Yes, Lewis Hamilton may have won. Yes, Red Bull may have achieved a double podium. Yes, Sergio Perez should have been up there in 3rd place. But none of that surpasses the very real threat to life that Romain Grosjean experienced in the first lap of a traumatic Bahrain Grand Prix.  In the 13 years that I have watched Formula 1, I have never seen anything so shocking to the point that I had goosebumps as I worried for the Frenchman's life. It takes me back to the day Jules Bianchi had his horrific incident in Japan. And I am not going to lie, at one point I thought Romain had lost his life in that very accident. Car split in 2, fire consuming the entire vehicle, and in the middle of that Grosjean trying to get out of the cockpit, it was an unbelievable sight to see.  Fortunately, a figure emerged from the flames and Ian Roberts, F1's medical doctor, pulled him away from ...

  Disclaimer: I try to keep an unbiased perspective in all my posts however on this very occasion that unbiasedness has been compromised.  After a qualifying session that stunned the F1 world, the Turkish Grand Prix was always going to be an eventful race especially with the heavy rain that had been forecast.  With the grid jumbled up in positions they had never been in before, the outcome of the race was something nobody could have ever predicted. Stroll on pole, Perez in 3rd, Lewis in 6th, Raikonnen in 8th, and Bottas in 9th. Now if you were to guess who was to win this race what would your guess be? Following the strong qualifying displayed by both Red Bull and the men at Force India, one would only believe that they would occupy all 3 podium positions. Yet the grand Prix ended with a Brit, Mexican, and German sharing the top 3 steps.  Yes, you have heard me correctly, a German occupied the third step and who else would that be than 4-time world champion Sebastian...

  It's been a first of many this year and a return of racing to Istanbul only increased that tally.  Now I know what you're thinking. The race is over. Yes, that is the case. But, I needed to highlight what probably was the most insane qualifying I've been able to witness in the 14 years that I have been following the sport.  A rain filled session that brought out multiple red flags, paired with the extremely slippery resurfaced track meant that drivers had to drive out of their skins to not only keep the car on track, but to get a decent enough lap time in. And whilst some were able to do that, others were not as fortunate. The number of spins that took place were probably more than all the spins we have seen so far this year.  Fast forward 2 hours and you could say that Mercedes did snatch pole in the end, albeit with their 2019 car. An intense battle between the Red Bull's and men in pink from Force India saw Lance Stroll take his first ever pole position with Ver...

  The return of Formula 1 to Imola was something nobody expected at the start of the 2020 season. But it ended out as a return worth remembering.  Imola has been regarded as one of the greatest races that Formula 1 has been able to race at. However, its significance does not come from the twisty high-speed corners and narrow roads but rather the shock that hit the F1 world in 1994. The year which saw a devastating crash leading to the death of arguably the greatest Formula 1 driver ever, Ayrton Senna.  A looming sense of sadness filled the paddock I would assume as memories of that day were reprinted into the heads of the F1 community, many of which witnessed the horrific accident live. Nonetheless, the weekend ended off with smiles and jubilation as a Grand Prix of 2 radically different stages saw Lewis Hamilton extend his win record to 93 races and Mercedes AMG Petronas claiming a 7th straight constructors title - another new world record.  Overshadowing all of thi...