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The Fastlies 2019

  • Writer: Fastly
    Fastly
  • Mar 2, 2020
  • 4 min read

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.



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