F1 2020...erm...yeah...it's all a bit dull actually (and other thoughts)

 Justin:

Well, not all of it is dull, but the racing at the front is. Lewis is in a league of his own. We all know who will win most of the races. He himself said after the last race that he recalls watching Schumacher dominate all in 2002 and it got a bit boring. He even apologised to the fans saying sorry if it appeared boring.

I've actually published 3 blogs this year, but haven't shared until this one. So please do read the blogs before this one, in the menu to the side of the screen.

Yep, so as usual there isn't much racing at the front but there is plenty of fun further back. Wasn't it in Spain where Hamilton was absolutely, outrageously good when he finished 25 seconds ahead of Max and 45 seconds ahead of his own teammate? Insane. Everyone else was lapped! That shows you the mega gulf in speed between Mercedes and the rest. It also shows the gulf in speed between Max and Alex Albon.

Alex has made some daring, bold overtakes this year. He is a real racer, but if results don't start coming together soon I do fear he'll be replaced, such is the ruthless nature of having a Red Bull seat.

Gasly is absolutely flying in the Alpha Tauri this year, so look out!

The last race in Belgium, Hamilton was over half a second quicker in qualifying than Bottas. Core blimey and ouch!

Let's see what Monza brings today in qualifying. I strongly suspect a Mercedes 1,2.

It's probably a good thing there are no Ferrari fans, or any fans, present in Italy as they'd probably riot with regards to how bad the car is performing.

Still, there are a few things to look forward to still. I think we can all agree that generally speaking 2020 has been utter garbage (not F1, but life in general grinding to a halt with coronavirus etc). But, the pandemic has forced F1 chiefs to think outside the box on the championship rounds, resulting in a few fun, new tracks being visited, which could help create surprises. And we return to Turkey - what a blood great track that one is!

Fernando Alonso will return to Renault next year. And that car is looking fairly racy on the power tracks like Belgium - Danny Ric came 4th last time out. So this gets the F1 juices flowing.

Fernando also has an autobiography coming out in November, which of course I cannot wait for.

Then there is also the small matter of attending the Dutch GP next year, hopefully, perhaps, maybe. I was gutted not to be able to go this year as it would have been the usual fun F1 getaway with quality mates.

Ok, that's all my ramblings for now, in this, my 11th year of F1 blogging. Blimey.

 

F1 2020....finally!

Justin:

It looks like I gave up blogging on F1 in May last year, more or less. No great shakes. The championship and the racing up front was dull for the most part, save a couple of races (Austria and Brazil). Yawn.

So, when coronavirus stopped the world turning, my esteemed colleague and I joked that we weren't actually missing much in the way of F1, based on last year.

But this somewhat truncated, unique championship could produce opportunities for drivers where once there were none.

I'd originally discounted Bottas and his title chances, after remarking that he might start stronger than Lewis and get a good foothold in the championship, but would eventually fall away across the entire season.

Well, he won handsomely in Austria at a track where he always excels, and the next race is only in Austria again. I'd say this year could be his best bet at a title shot. But I still put 95% of my money on Hamilton and world title number 7.

Austria report - Round 1

Austria was an ok race, fun in places but quite dull in others to be honest.

I have to say, I felt Hamilton was treated pretty harshly by the stewards. The first incident (yellow flag) in qualifying was looked at on the Saturday and that was it. No further action. Then Sunday morning Red Bull whinge about it, new footage miraculously emerges and he gets a 3 place grid penalty. Hmmm.

Then in the race. I'm with David Coulthard on this. Racing incident, pure and simple. Albon was very brave and skillful to get his car around Hamilton on the outside, all be it on soft, fresh tyres. But Hamilton was on the inside, he didn't release the steering into Albon at all and gave him as much room as was possible. It's a 50/50 for me as Albon's car was not entirely ahead. But they give Hamilton a 5 second penalty. Brutal frankly.

Bottas was fairly dominant and drove a great, controlled race. Read the BBC race report here.

Ferrari

They seem to be pretty far up shit creek without a paddle. In the alleged words of Niki Lauda in Rush, when asked what he thought of the Ferrari when he tested for the first time... "it's a shitbox". 7th and 11th in qualifying?!

Then again, Ferrari was 1.5 seconds off the pace in qualifying in Australia in 2012 and Alonso only missed the title by 3 points, so go figure.

I believe they and other Ferrari engine teams are all slower relative to their 2019 cars, where others have gained pace. Something engine related perhaps...ehm.

LeClerc drove well to 2nd, which flattered to deceive the pace of the car, what with all the safety car periods. I think probably the car is more setup to suit his driving style, given his dominance over Vettel last year.

Vettel

I feel for the guy frankly. I was pretty surprised when Ferrari and he announced a parting of the ways, given the sounds they'd been making before that. Despite the errors of 2018 and 2019, he still brings home good points and is an experienced head for the young LeClerc.

I was even more surprised when he revealed they'd not even offered him any talks of a contract, that he was done. That is that.

Unfortunately, no matter how difficult he is finding the car to be at the moment, his teammate was 2nd and he was 10th via spinning into a McLaren that was at the time ahead and fighting another car. Vettel locked up and drifted into the car ahead. The errors are still coming.

With Alonso about to announce a return, I say anything is possible in F1 and I'd say it's still 50/50 as to whether Vettel pops up at Mercedes next year or not. If not, I'd imagine retirement beckons.

Sainz and Norris

Great drive by Norris in Austria with a P3. Boom. McLaren look to be picking up where they left off in 2019 for sure. I think Norris gets my driver of the day. Or maybe Perez?

And Ferrari calls for Sainz in 2021. Huge move for him. I think he'll prove to be equal to LeClerc, so I think all these people speculating he has signed a number 2 contract can probably think again. All he needs to do is be quick and stand up to LeClerc. But it could be tricky if he isn't involved in the car development as by the time he gets there it will be built and ready to drive.

Fernando Alonso

A legend returns.