Why 2020 helped F1

Why was 2020 a revolutionary F1 season?

2020 sucked. Nobody came out of it better than they were in the previous year. Except for F1. The 2020 season was the best precursor for 2021. Financially it was a hard one for all the teams, with Haas, Williams, and McLaren all rumored to be folding before the season started. It ended with exciting additions and a wonderful on-track season.

During the worldwide quarantine, drivers had to continue to train in case they were called up to race at short notice. They also had time to think about their futures. The “silly season” happened before the season even started, helping build up the hype for major transfers, such as Sainz from McLaren to Ferrari, Vettel from Ferrari to Aston Martin and Daniel Ricciardo from Renault to McLaren. While Netflix’s, Drive to Survive, dramatized these transfers a whole bunch, there were still significant differences in treatment, especially for Vettel. Having these big name changes kept those who may not be as interested to come back in 2021 to see the changes in real time.

With a shorter, more compact season, the races were almost constant. There were four triple-headers, with some of the best tracks having doubleheaders. There was a return of old classic tracks, featuring the Nurburgring, Mugello, Imola and Istanbul. New tracks were introduced as well: the Portuguese race at Portimao (the undulation station) and the newest layout of the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain. In total, these circuits made for interesting races where the teams had little relevant data or no data at all, which led to interesting strategies and crazy risks, such as Hamilton’s miracle Inters at Turkey.

Keep in mind, what other live sports were available to watch in June? The pandemic led to shutdowns of most of the major sports leagues, so many sports lovers resorted to F1 to see live sport. And this is where F1 owes Netflix – new fans had an easily-accessible primer to bring them up to speed on the soap opera that is F1. They could learn the teams, drivers, principals and storylines with a short yet entertaining investment in Drive to Survive.

The on-track racing was immaculate; yes, Mercedes dominated like never before, but Hamilton himself had many insane performances, including (and especially) the three-wheel finish in the first Silverstone. This race was followed by the first non-Mercedes victory of the year by Verstappen at the next one. Then, the Italian Grand Prix featured an amazing non-Mercedes, non-Red Bull and non-Ferrari finish with Pierre Gasly on top and the most feel-good podium (besides… S t r o ll – but that’s okay). This race remains one of my favorite races to date.

With the importance of reserve drivers in a year with a global pandemic, we got to see some amazing comebacks. Hulkenberg’s insane P3 qualifying in a pink Racing Point put him ahead of Vettel in the driver standings for a few races. George Russell even got a try-out for the Mercedes, squeezing himself into a car too small for him to fit in. This led to the debut of Jack Aitken as well.

The Sakhir Grand Prix was another spectacular race with Checo Perez making a last to first victory, essentially giving him the drive at Red Bull in the next season. Grosjean’s fiery crash was a reminder to everybody what risk these drivers take every single day they push the limits in these cars. He needed a miracle to survive, and he got it. Now he embraces “the Phoenix” moniker in the US, driving in Indy Car. The crash also led Pietro Fittapaldi to get his F1 debut.

We even got a precursor to what would be arguably the best season in F1 yet (in 2021) with a Pole to victory for Verstappen at Abu Dhabi.

So, that’s 3 transfers before the season, 2 emotional podiums, 3 super subs, 2 debut tracks, 4 retro tracks. Am I missing anything? Yes, a record breaking year for one of the greatest of all time, taking over the most wins and tying Schumacher’s record for WDCs.

We really don’t appreciate the crazy 2020 season enough – the increased fanbase before a season-long championship fight that led to record breaking views of the finale in Abu Dhabi has been very beneficial for Liberty Media, F1, and its fans.

Now, on to 2022.