The first race of the season - the Australian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for the first weekend in March, was cancelled at the last minute due to COVID19. One of the team members at McLaren tested positive for the virus, causing all of the planned weekend activities to be postponed indefinitely.
Since then, we have all been wondering when - or, rather, if - the 2020 F1 season would go ahead.
Overall, they tried to do a required 2-stop race for the first time this year, but it was not very successful. Most teams found a way around having the 2 stops hold them back. It’s impossible to pass in Monaco, but so awesome and historic.
Practices
Stroll brakes in the hairpin and Charles crashes into him
Lots of people getting into each others way in Practice 1
In practice 2, Hadjar hits the wall and red flags and then hits it again later
In practice 2, Karun says the visit Monaco slogan should be "visit Monaco: it will make you feel really ugly and poor"
Oscar hits the wall and red flags in practice 2, which was overall very hectic
In practice 3, Hamilton hits the wall and red flags
Qualifying
Kimi Antonelli hits the wall at the very end of Q1 and red flags
George Russell’s car dies in the tunnel and they red flag and have to push him all the way to the chicane service road
Lando gets pole, then Charles and Oscar
Race
Hamilton got a three place grid penalty for impeding Max in quali
Bortoleto crashes when being passed by Antonelli by the seafront turn but only VSC
Gasly runs into Tsunoda and his entire front left tire is displaced but he has no brakes to stop so illegally takes it back to the pits so they can stop him
Max holds up Lando before he has done all his required pit stops so Charles behind can give Lando a hard time but it isn’t enough
Lando wins, Charles in second, Oscar in third
Welcome, one and all, to the first annual FASTLY Awards (also known as "the Fastlies"). After much discussion, debate, joy, pain, and heartbreak, Fastly presents to you the awards for the 2019 Season.
Scroll down to see the category, the winner, and a little snippet of the logic.
Thank you and enjoy this year's Fastlies!
MOST INSANE RACE
NOMINEES
Austria (Max steals the win in the last 3 laps)
Britain (Max and Charles race like champions)
Bahrain (Ferrari fails last minute)
Brazil (WHAT was that last 15 laps??)
Canada (Canada-gate)
Germany (?????????)
WINNER
Germany
Why? This weekend was utter humiliation for Mercedes at the Mercedes-sponsored track that they plastered their name all over. It was a poetic reminder that Germany is Seb's house, no matter what anybody says. And it was a rain race.
MOST INSANE YEAR FOR A DRIVER
NOMINEES
Pierre Gasly
...and that's it.
WINNER
Pierre Gasly
Why? WERE YOU EVEN WATCHING THIS YEAR
MOST SAD TEAM
NOMINEES
Williams
WINNER
Williams
Why? Poor Williams.
MOST IMPROVED TEAM
NOMINEES
McLaren
Red Bull
Alpha Romeo
Toro Rosso
WINNER
McLaren
Why? Talk about consistently being best of the rest. They were making Q3 all the time by the end of the season.
BEST MOMENT FOR FERRARI
NOMINEES
Leclerc's first pole in Bahrain
Leclerc wins in Italy
WINNER
Leclerc wins in Italy
Why? Never have I been so sure of witnessing history being made as I was when I saw the tifosi cheering for Charles Leclerc after bringing victory back to the land of Ferrari. If that wasn't enough for Ferrari to prioritize him for the future, I don't know what will make them see.
WORST MOMENT FOR FERRARI
NOMINEES
Monaco Qualifying - Forgetting to send out Leclerc at his home quali
USA Grand Prix - Seb's suspension failure
Brazil Grand Prix - Seb hits Charles and takes both cars out of the race
Bahrain Grand Prix - Charles car fails at the last minute, losing the lead
WINNER
Brazil Grand Prix. There is nothing worse than a teammate taking out the other car, but this time, it was because of typical Ferrari failure of strategy as well as bad decisions on the driver's part. It was the shame of the Ferrari team this year. Plus, this race was complete chaos and this was still the craziest part.
LEAST RELIABLE TEAM
NOMINEES
Ferrari
Haas
Renault
Williams
WINNER
Ferrari
Why? This award was one of the hardest decisions we had to make. Every single team nominated was utterly unreliable.
Haas had two drivers saying opposite reports of what worked on their car, making the car's performance completely unpredictable all season.
Renault still had the most mechanical and engine failure issues of anybody, despite being an engine provider (which is likely why they are the only ones using Renault engines after next year). At one point in the season, both of Renault's cars died at the same time.
Williams was in the mix because they weren't able to deliver, but the upside was that we all knew this was the case from day one, so we expected the lack of pace.
But Ferrari? Nobody holds a candle to Ferrari when it comes to getting your hopes up and then having them crushed at the last minute. The reason they won this category for the 2019 Season was because no other team was so successful at ruining their own success. They may have had occasional competitive speed and picked up a few wins, thanks to their incredible drivers (especially Leclerc), but no other team was so consistently unorganized, unprepared, and unreliable. No other team had so much raw talent and so little conversion into actual success.
MOST RELIABLE DRIVER
NOMINEES
Charles Leclerc
Lando Norris
Max Verstappen
Kimi Raikkonen
WINNER
Charles Leclerc
Why? When the odds are stacked against him, Charles Leclerc pulls through. It's that simple.
LEAST RELIABLE DRIVER
NOMINEES
Pierre Gasly
Antonio Giovinazzi
Robert Kubica
Lance Stroll
Sebastian Vettel
WINNER
Sebastian Vettel
Why? When the stakes are higher, the disappointment is worse. Seb had more chances than anybody to make this season work, and he's the one who made the most rookie mistakes. It pains me greatly to say this, because I have nothing but respect for Sebastian Vettel and I think he has the heart of a true champion. But, in the car this season, nobody let me down more.
MOST ANNOYING MEDIA CAMPAIGN
NOMINEES
- The "Oh, poor Esteban Ocon without an F1 seat this year" story
- The "Daniil Kvyat is a reformed, mature driver" story
- The "Hamilton deserves a sixth championship" story
WINNER
The "Oh, poor Esteban Ocon without an F1 seat this year" story
Why?
Calm down. It's a competitive sport and Ocon caused a lot of problems for his teammate at Force India when he was there. It was so annoying to have to look at him sitting in the Mercedes garage wearing headphones, being Toto's right hand man the whole time, and then have to hear all this boo-hooing over his unfortunate situation. He's going to Renault next year. I do not feel bad for him at all.
BIGGEST WTF MOMENT
NOMINEES
- Azerbaijan - The pothole being sucked up into Russell's Williams, causing a delay to check all the million other potholes for security
- Azerbaijan - The recovery crane hitting the pedestrian bridge and spraying the Williams with hydraulic fluid
- Japan - FP3 cancelled because of impending Super Typhoon
- Mexico - The horrifying post-race podium which had Hamilton rise into the air with his car on a hydraulic lift
- USA - This track is sinking into the ground. Can someone please fix these bumps??
WINNER
The Azbaijan pothole and recovery crane fiasco.
Why? I will never forget the sound of that recover crane hitting the pedestrian bridge. It was easily my favorite moment of absurd television coverage that I've seen all year. It reminded me that on live TV, anything can happen, and it was a supreme delight.
***BONUS MOMENTS I WISH TO RECOGNIZE***
CRAZIEST DRAMA MOMENT
I don't think there was a crazier drama on track as the moment in Canada when Seb given a 5 second time penalty for "unsafe reentry" onto the track, costing him the win. Nothing came close to that level of shock and it set the stage for how the stewards saw penalties for the rest of the season.
MOST CONFLICTED I'VE EVER BEEN
The most difficult moment this season for me was in Austria, when my two favorite drivers were going head to head. Charles lead the whole race, and then Max stole the win in the last 3 laps. I was so overwhelmed by my equal and undying support for both Max and Charles that I had no idea how to feel about it. In the end, it only reminded me how much incredible racing we are going to see from these two in the future - especially against each other. Lord, help us.
