F1 Racing - UK (2020-03)

36 GP RACING MARCH 2020

ormula 1 hits amajor

milestone at thestart of the

new decade. It’s 70 years since

motor racing’s topechelon

became a worldchampionship

and the starter’sflag dropped

at Silverstone while King

GeorgeVI loo ked on. It’ s

appropriate for this to be

a year inwhichwe ta ke stock ofF1’s past and

present, since2021 will heralda dramatic new

era for thesport, with radicaltechnical,sporting

and financial regulationsarriving to shake upthe

order. We hurtletowar ds thisexciting future with

an unprecedented 22-raceschedule [pending

disruption caused by the Coronavirus outbreakin

China] which kicks off in itstraditionallocation of

Melbourne, Australia on 15March.

As the world championship reaches its 70th

birthday, the arrival of two new races on the

calendar act as a fineacknowledgmentof F1’s

gilded pastevenasitexpandsintonew,uncharted

territories. On 3 May, theDutch Grand Prix

returns for the firsttime since1985, while the ci ty

of Hanoi will host the first-ever Vietnam Grand

Prix onits streets on5 Ap ril.

The seaside circuitin Zandvoorthosted 30

world championshipGPs before F1 went on

hiatus in the Netherlands. Tohave the DutchGP

back is atestament tothe huge fanbase that has

mushroomed aroundMax Verstappen.

At just 22,theDutch racer has already made

over 100 grand prix starts from his fiveseasons

in F1 andin Januaryit was confirmed hisdeal

with Red Bull-Honda willextend to the end

of 2023.His supporters have alreadymade

themselves seen andheard at venues such as Spa

and Austria in great numbers, but Zandvoort will

unquestionably be oneof the busiest circuits this

season. The dunes around the historictrack wil l

become oneof the biggest party venues of the year

if the home herowins the race.

After securing third in last year’s championship

(with three wins), Red Bull will look at 2020as

a critical season as it aimsto mount a sustained

challengeto both Mercedes and Ferrari.

Since the Silver Arrows have won thelast

six consecutive drivers’and constructors’titl es

it’s difficult tolook beyondthe Brackley-based

team as F1 enters its finalyear of the current

regulations. Also, reigning champ LewisHamilton

shows no signs of slowing down as ageis c learly

no hindrance toperformance. Hisquest in2020

is t o ma tch Michael Schumacher’s seven world

championships. The question is whether Valtteri

Bottas can de throne his team-mate? Bottas

has established apatternof starting the season

strong, but slipping back asthe year progresses

• stopping that cycle will be key to any threat to
  Hamilton’s crownfrom within his own team.
  Aside from Bottas andVerstappen, Hamilton’s
  biggest challenge willagain come from Ferrari.

2019 was a year offalse p romise andmissed

opportunity. A run of sixconsecutive poles from

Spa to Mexico showedthe gains Ferrari had made

(particularlyin the power unit department), but

all too often ei ther reliability orstrategicerrors on

Sundays gifted Mercedes victory.

Ferrari’sother cause for concern will be the

in-fighting that hasstarted to develop between

its drivers. NewcomerCharles Leclerc already

had a goodreputation, but when heasserted his

authority asearly as Bahrainlast year, that gave

both four-time worldchampion Sebastian Vettel

and Ferrari’s management a headache.

Once Lecl erc had eliminated his mistakes,

particularlyhis tendencyto overcommit early

in qual ifying, he was supremein the second half

of the year. LikeVerstappen,over the winter he

has beengiven along contract extension which

F

PICTURES

:AND

YHONE

;STEVENTEE

;MARKSUTTON

;SIMONGALL

OW

WA

Y;

ZAKMAUGER

;STEVEETHERINGTON

2020 SEASON PREVIEW

36 GP RACING MARCH 2020

ormula 1 hits amajor

milestone at thestart of the

new decade. It’s 70 years since

motor racing’s topechelon

became a worldchampionship

and the starter’sflag dropped

at Silverstone while King

GeorgeVI loo ked on. It’ s

appropriate for this to be

a year inwhichwe ta ke stock ofF1’s past and

present, since2021 will heralda dramatic new

era for thesport, with radicaltechnical,sporting

and financial regulationsarriving to shake upthe

order. We hurtletowar ds thisexciting future with

an unprecedented 22-raceschedule [pending

disruption caused by the Coronavirus outbreakin

China] which kicks off in itstraditionallocation of

Melbourne, Australia on 15March.

As the world championship reaches its 70th

birthday, the arrival of two new races on the

calendar act as a fineacknowledgmentof F1’s

gilded pastevenasitexpandsintonew,uncharted

territories. On 3 May, theDutch Grand Prix

returns for the firsttime since1985, while the ci ty

of Hanoi will host the first-ever Vietnam Grand

Prix onits streets on5 Ap ril.

The seaside circuitin Zandvoorthosted 30

world championshipGPs before F1 went on

hiatus in the Netherlands. Tohave the DutchGP

back is atestament tothe huge fanbase that has

mushroomed aroundMax Verstappen.

At just 22,theDutch racer has already made

over 100 grand prix starts from his fiveseasons

in F1 andin Januaryit was confirmed hisdeal

with Red Bull-Honda willextend to the end

of 2023.His supporters have alreadymade

themselves seen andheard at venues such as Spa

and Austria in great numbers, but Zandvoort will

unquestionably be oneof the busiest circuits this

season. The dunes around the historictrack wil l

become oneof the biggest party venues of the year

if the home herowins the race.

After securing third in last year’s championship

(with three wins), Red Bull will look at 2020as

a critical season as it aimsto mount a sustained

challengeto both Mercedes and Ferrari.

Since the Silver Arrows have won thelast

six consecutive drivers’and constructors’titl es

it’s difficult tolook beyondthe Brackley-based

team as F1 enters its finalyear of the current

regulations. Also, reigning champ LewisHamilton

shows no signs of slowing down as ageis c learly

no hindrance toperformance. Hisquest in2020

is t o ma tch Michael Schumacher’s seven world

championships. The question is whether Valtteri

Bottas can de throne his team-mate? Bottas

has established apatternof starting the season

strong, but slipping back asthe year progresses

• stopping that cycle will be key to any threat to
  Hamilton’s crownfrom within his own team.
  Aside from Bottas andVerstappen, Hamilton’s
  biggest challenge willagain come from Ferrari.

2019 was a year offalse p romise andmissed

opportunity. A run of sixconsecutive poles from

Spa to Mexico showedthe gains Ferrari had made

(particularlyin the power unit department), but

all too often ei ther reliability orstrategicerrors on

Sundays gifted Mercedes victory.

Ferrari’sother cause for concern will be the

in-fighting that hasstarted to develop between

its drivers. NewcomerCharles Leclerc already

had a goodreputation, but when heasserted his

authority asearly as Bahrainlast year, that gave

both four-time worldchampion Sebastian Vettel

and Ferrari’s management a headache.

Once Lecl erc had eliminated his mistakes,

particularlyhis tendencyto overcommit early

in qual ifying, he was supremein the second half

of the year. LikeVerstappen,over the winter he

has beengiven along contract extension which

F

PICTURES

:AND

YHONE

;STEVENTEE

;MARKSUTTON

;SIMONGALL

OW

WA

Y;

ZAKMAUGER

;STEVEETHERINGTON

2020 SEASON PREVIEW