The 2020 Formula 1 season is over. Although the champion has long been determined, the positions behind Louis Hamilton were divided in the last stage.
The vice-champion still had to be determined today. Although Max Verstapen won the race, he missed 9 points in the overall standings to Walter Bot, who has only won 2 in Austria and Russia this year. It should be noted that in both cases, his teammate Hamilton received a penalty.
F1’s most popular ‘unemployed’, Serhio Peress, finished 4th overall after leaving Abu Dhabi, finishing the season ‘best of the rest’. Daniel Rikjardo finished fifth. Verstapen teammate Alex Albon finished the season with the same number of points as Carlos Sainc, but the sixth place went to the Spanish driver, thanks to a higher place in the best start (2nd place in Monza).
Only the eighth this time is the best Ferrari driver Charles Clare. For the first time since 1980, there is no Ferrari representative among the top 7 drivers. Lecler only beat Noris by one point, while the top ten was won by Italian GP winner Pierre Gazli, scoring the same number of points as Lens Strols. Esteban Okons finished the season in 12th place after three finishes, but Vettel (33 points) and Kvjat (32 points) were the weakest in the battles of the seven leading teams. Qiats, who finished in 14th place, was the highest among riders who did not get on the podium this year.
Racing Point extra Niko Hulkenbergs started in only two races, but that was enough to beat all 3 of the slowest teams. Both Alfa Romeo drivers Kimi Raikonen and Antonio Giovanniac scored the same number of points, George Russell scored his only 3 points with the Mercedes formula, and Haas drivers Grožāns and Magnusens only scored points once. It is significant that the only 3 riders who did not score this year are all the debuters of this season – Nicolas Latifi, Jack Eitken and Pietro Fitipaldi.
There were not many questions about the positions of Mercedes and Red Bull in the middle of the season. Meanwhile, much more drama reigned in the fight for third place. In Abu Dhabi, Renault was unable to take part in the fight, allowing Racing Point and McLaren to settle their bills. After Perez’s resignation, McLaren was in a better position, but there was no clarity about the upcoming judges’ decision regarding the situation in which Saints delayed Strol in the pits. It was decided not to punish Saincu and McLaren won third place with a 7-point margin, meaning that the 15 points deducted from Racing Point at the start of the season decided the fate of third place.
Further behind, with Pierre Gazli’s victory in Italy and Ferrari remaining at zero in the last two stages, AlphaTauri was not enough to beat the sixth most successful Italian team in the sixth place battle. Meanwhile, at the end of the fight, Alfa Romeo prevailed over Haas, while Williams remained without points for the first time in the team’s history during the season.
