Max Verstappen’s victory on Sunday was a perfect way for Red Bull Racing to finish off a season in which they have provided the only serious opposition to Mercedes. This was Max’s 10th Formula 1 win, but only his 3rd pole position, which shows the extent to which Mercedes traditionally dominates qualifying and set themselves up for another win on Sunday.
This time Mercedes were unable to quite match Max’s strong pace in qualifying, and after making a really perfect start he opened up the necessary gap during the first two laps to avoid any serious challenge from either Valtteri Bottas or Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes stopped development on their car some time ago, switching their attention to the 2021 and 2022 car projects, and I suspect this has played its part in them not being quite as dominant at the end of year. Added to that, they were being conservative with engine performance, but none of this takes away from Max’s great drive.
Valtteri’s second placed finish confirmed him as runner-up to Lewis in the World Championship for Driver, a perfect result for Mercedes during a season in which they won 13 of the 17 races and finished 254 points ahead of Red Bull in the team’s series.
Lewis did well to come back less than two weeks after testing position for Covid, and he will now focus on finalising his contract for next season. It is unusual to leave a contract negotiation until after a season has finished, but when you consider the success they have had together I am sure that Lewis and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff will not take many days to finalise a new deal.
The question many people are asking, of course, is for how many more years Lewis will recommit to Formula 1? Two years with an option for a third would take Lewis all the way to the end of 2023 when he will be about to turn 39 years of age. Meanwhile his enthusiasm and motivation for Formula 1 appears undiminished as he focuses on an eighth World Championship title.
One of the biggest stories to emerge from Abu Dhabi was McLaren’s success in taking 3rd place in the team’s championship. They finished 9th in 2017, so the rebuilding process has been both fast and impressive. Normally that kind of improvement in performance should take around five years, but Zak Brown and Andreas Seidl have done a fantastic job in rebuilding a team which now has a very capable car and a happy, focused group of people.
The team has also clearly benefitted from the speed, personality and excellent relationship enjoyed by Lando Norris and Carlo Sainz. Lando produced a fantastic lap in Abu Dhabi qualifying to line up fourth on the grid alongside Lewis Hamilton. Following Sergio Perez’s surprise win for Racing Point in the Sakhir Grand Prix one week earlier, it was really important for McLaren to enjoy a smooth, well run race, in order to take third place in the championship away from their rivals. That is exactly what they did. With Carlos starting and finishing 6th, and Lando taking 5th, it was a really great result for my former team.
Max Verstappen's victory at yesterday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was his 10th F1 win.
The Dutchman moving up to joint 30th on the all-time winners list. Verstappen joins James Hunt, Ronnie Peterson, Jody Scheckter & Gerhard Berger on 10 victories.© Motorsport Images#F1 pic.twitter.com/43wlp5fGEm
— The F1 World Championship (1950-2020) (@F1_1950_2020) December 14, 2020
The news that the McLaren board has agreed to sell up to 33% of the F1 team to American investors, MSP Sports Capital, is also good news. It means the team will have the financial stability to continue its progress towards winning once again, and with Mercedes engines coming to the team in 2021 I am certain that is now their clear objective.
Although Mercedes dominated this season, there has been plenty of interest, excitement and some really great racing in Formula 1.
Sergio Perez’s win in Sakhir and fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship marks him out as a driver for whom Formula 1 is probably not over, and it will be interesting to see where he reappears following his exit from Racing Point. Pierre Gasly’s win in Monza and strong season for Alpha Tauri was really interesting to watch. He seems a lot happier to be there than at the centre of attention – and pressure – as team mate to Max at Red Bull.
Ferrari has had a year to forget. Finishing 6th in the World Championship for Constructors is the team’s worst performance for 40 years, but the news about the 2021 car looks positive so long as their optimism about engine development is justified. It is important for Formula 1 that Ferrari is competitive, and with Carlos joining Charles Leclerc next season the Italian team has a really quick, motivated and exciting driver line-up.
Overall, we need to be grateful that Formula 1 happened at all in 2020. When the first race in Australia was cancelled in mid-March I really thought we might not have a World Championship at all, but the Formula 1 Group, working with the FIA, race promoters, teams and suppliers did an amazing job to re-work the season and bring us 17 races. To have this number of Formula 1 races in 23 weeks was brilliant, and the Covid-19 safety measure put in place to protect the travelling staff worked well. Only 1 in 1000 tests were positive, which shows how hard everyone worked to protect themselves, and each other.
Formula 1 now has a short, three month winter during which time the new cars will be finished, tested and shipped to Australia for the opening round of the 2021 World Championship on March 21st. Let’s hope next season is smoother, brighter and safer for everyone, with plenty of flat-out racing to enjoy.
