Formula One: Drive to Survive
What is Formula One? It is a planned motor racing championship consisting of 20 drivers and 10 teams. With top speeds of nearly 300 km/h, the single seater racing competition is the highest class of international auto racing authorised by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The 2021 season will be the 72nd running of the championship and consists of 23 races around the world with teams including Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo and Red Bull Racing.
So, with that brief introduction to a sport with more history than I can possibly go into in one post we can get started and with pre-season testing completed in Bahrain and two weeks until the first race weekend of 2021, the question is what are Formula 1 fans going to do to stay sane? Well, watch the third season of ‘Drive to Survive’ which arrives on Netflix on March 19th. Hi, it’s Emma and, in case you didn’t know, I’m a huge Formula 1 fan and I’m here to tell you about the best bits of the 2020 season in an effort to convince you that Formula 1 in definitely worth watching (SPOILER ALERT) and then have a look forward to the 2021 season, our new rookies and our new teams and see what we have to look forward to in the upcoming season! So, for the first and hopefully not the last time on Our Muchness Guide, it’s lights out and away we go!
2020’s Big Moments
Australian GP Cancelled – Everyone was prepared for the F1 season to begin with free practice on the 13th of March 2020 but, hours before the event was due to kick off, the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant the entire 2020 season was thrown into chaos and would eventually lead to a heavily altered 17 race season with 2 races in Austria, the UK, and Bahrain (which has two different track layouts at the same circuit) and three in Italy (on three different tracks: Monza, Mugello and Imola) and the introduction of the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao.
Hamilton’s Puncture – Ending an F1 Grand Prix in first place is cool; ending a Grand Prix in first place with only 3 good tires is just a little bit cooler. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton did just that reaching speeds of 230 km/h with a failed front left tire on the last lap at the first of the British Grand Prixs coming from seventh to take the win while Max Verstappen was gaining fast.
Grosjean’s Crash – In one of, if not, the worst crash in recent eras of Formula 1, Romain Grosjean found his life on the line as his Haas collided with a barrier in Bahrain at 192km/h, slicing the car in half and then it burst into a ball of flames. Though Grosjean was in the inferno for less than thirty seconds, he suffered a sprained ankle from yanking his jammed foot from his boot and burns to his hands as he scrambled to escape the cockpit. Luckily, Grosjean escaped and has begun his career as an Indy Car driver in America.
Russell’s Mercedes Moment – When the reigning World Champion tested positive for COVID-19, George Russell was offered the golden opportunity to drive the dominant Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Qualifying second (only 0.026 seconds behind Lewis’ teammate, Valterri Bottas) after very little time in the cockpit of the Mercedes, Russell looked set to win his first Grand Prix until Jack Aitken, Russell’s stand in at Williams, clipped the barrier and ripped off his own front wing which was the catalyst that lead to a safety car followed by a botched pitstop for Russell and a late puncture. Russell managed to get the car home in ninth.
Perez’s Victory – During the first lap, Sergio Perez was involved in an incident and found himself last at the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain. The previous week Perez was all set for a podium finish but an electrical failure forced him to retire from the race. This time he was certain that his chances of a podium were gone and his career in the 2021 season was uncertain as he had no car to drive but he soldiered on and found himself on the top step of the podium for the first time in his career and quickly snapped up by Red Bull for the 2021 season.
Ferrari’s Worst Season – Ferrari were a dominant power in earlier eras of Formula 1 but the 2020 season saw the racing giant’s standing in the F1 Constructors’ Championship take a nosedive to sixth which was their worst finish in the championship in decades.
The ‘New’ Teams – Aston Martin Racing & Alpine
Aston Martin: The team formerly known as Racing Point has decided to upgrade their name, livery (team colours and car design) and identity as a whole this season by donning the traditional racing green and logo of, none other than, Aston Martin. It’s been 61 years since an Aston Martin team was among the crowds in the paddock though the company did provide Red Bull Racing with an engine for a few seasons. F1 fans seem to approve of the new identity change with the team remaining under the guidance of team principal Otmar Szafnauer who picked up 4 time World Champion Sebastian Vettel as a driver to replace Sergio Perez and kept Lance Stroll. Fans seem to agree that Vettel seems to be far more cheerful at Aston Martin though, with the performance of Ferrari last season, it isn’t hard to understand why. I, personally, will be keeping an eye on the AMR21s this season in the hopes that they have more moments like the pink Racing Points had last year but only time will tell. Their pre-season testing wasn’t much to write home about with gearbox issues being an early problem that had to be dealt with, however, the team did rack up some track time and I’ll be very interested to see how Seb and Lance do this season.
Alpine: Meanwhile, Renault had an identity change too becoming Alpine over the winter break and welcomed 2 time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso back to the team and kept on Esteban Ocon from last season. Last season, Renault’s drivers were a constant in the race for midfield (4th-10th) places. During pre-season testing, after the change of colours and team name, Alpine looked to maintain their spot in the midfield pack while Fernando Alonso, who retired from racing in 2018, pushed his car high up the standings showing he hasn’t lost his touch. Alonso was in a cycling accident about 4 weeks ago and had surgery on his jaw but showed no sign of that slowing him down. Alpine as a whole had no real reliability issues during testing and both Ocon and Alonso were regularly among those in the top ten for fastest lap. This season I’m very much looking forward to seeing Alonso working with and extracting every last ounce of power from his car; Alonso’s known for being better than the car he drives, getting more from his cars than his teammates do.
Rookies
Yuki Tsunoda – Tsunoda has quickly become an Alpha Tauri fan favourite, making fun of himself for his height, but, when it comes to driving, Yuki is highly focused. During testing, Yuki showed he was very capable of bringing the best out of his Alpha Tauri and topped the time sheet for a bit. Hopefully, he can maintain that form for the whole season.
Mick Schumacher – Son of the Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, people have some high expectations for the young German driver. Mick was last year’s Formula 2 champion and showed a huge level of consistency later in the F2 season. His testing laps in Bahrain recently were likewise consistent and sure to have provided Haas with some excellent data to work with.
Nikita Mazepin – The less said the better.
And after all that, I’ll call it quits and encourage you to watch ‘Drive to Survive’ on Netflix to see all the highlights and behind the scenes action of the 2020 Formula One season before the lights go out on the season opener in Bahrain on the 26th of March.
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