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Friday, February 12, 2021

1 Racing Mind’s Formula 1 Season Ending Team Report Card: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

Photo Credit: Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.



Team Grade: A

Overall: 

In a narrative that has grown impressive and tiresome at the same time depending on fan allegiances, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team captured the 2020 Formula 1 World Constructors’ Championship handily as drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas combined to net victories in 13 of 17 grand prix events. Throughout the 2020 season, the organization’s drivers, staff and leadership were seen as a dynasty in the sport where they have won seven consecutive team titles. The Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance race car demonstrated itself to be the latest in some finely-tuned and engineered Formula 1 challengers from the squad. Only one retirement was recorded for this year’s Mercedes-AMG racer with a power unit failure on Valtteri Bottas’ car during the Eifel Grand Prix.


Achievements During 2020 Season: 

It’s hard to pinpoint a specific moment in the entire season that stands off beyond the others for showing the greatness for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. Winning 13 races in 2020, the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 team finished first and second a total of five times with Lewis Hamilton taking the top spot on every occasion. In the Tuscan, Portuguese and Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the team also scored the pole and fastest lap of the event either with Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas.


Shortcomings During 2020 Season: 

Although Mercedes-AMG rolled to what could easily be assessed as another dominant title defence in 2020, this season was not flawless. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas both suffered from massive tire degradation at the end of the British Grand Prix though Hamilton still crossed the finish line first at Silverstone on only three inflated Pirelli tires. However, tires were also the source of what could be the biggest team blunder of the season at the Sakhir Grand Prix. During a safety car period, the Mercedes-AMG team decided to pit both cars (the #77 of Valtteri Bottas and the #63 being raced by George Russell in a one-off appearance) for tires but mistakenly mixed up the set installed on Russell’s car. With some of Bottas’ tires going on Russell’s vehicle, the #63 needed to return to pit road to correct the matter while the #77 finished the race on used tires.   


Team's Drivers:


#44 Lewis Hamilton: A

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd


Overall Season:

 Although Lewis Hamilton has been the face of Formula 1 almost every year since 2014, the 2020 season gave the British driver a reason to be seen as a true motorsport legend. 

Despite the schedule shortened to just 17 races, Hamilton tied a personal record for wins in a single season with 11 victories. Competing since 2007, Lewis Hamilton passed and/or prepared to set records in the series including a quest for Michael Schumacher’s 91 career all-time victory tally. Hamilton tied the mark in at the Eifel Grand Prix held on German’s Nurburgring (receiving a Michael Schumacher race helmet from the past legend’s son Mick) and took sole ownership as the winningest Formula 1 driver at the Portuguese Grand Prix. With his last race of the 2020 coming at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton currently holds 95 career grand prix victories. In the year that the driver claimed his seventh world championship, he was also recognized outside of the cockpit of his Mercedes-AMG race car for social activism throughout the season. Lewis Hamilton’s successful 2020 campaign was accomplished in just 16 races due to sitting out the penultimate round due to a positive COVID-19 test.


Achievements During 2020 Season: 

With Lewis Hamilton finishing first in 11 races in 2020, there could be at least 11 occasions to cite as the best single grand prix performance for the year. Winning the British Grand Prix while running the final lap on a flat tire is certainly going down as one of the most bizarre Formula 1 victories in his career (in addition, most of Formula 1 history). Hamilton also had three percent races (win, pole and fastest laps) in the Hungarian, Tuscan and Portuguese Grand Prix.

The Turkish Grand Prix might be one of the most impressive race efforts of the season starting sixth and eventually mastering the wet Intercity Istanbul Park circuit. Despite an early struggle, Hamilton recovered and emerged with his dominating style with wet tires changed to intermediate tires. At the end of 58 laps, the #44 Mercedes-AMG race car crossed the line 31.6 seconds ahead of second place Sergio Perez.


Shortcomings During 2020 Season:  

In the 16 races he ran in 2020, Lewis Hamilton finished no lower than seventh place. That result came at the Italian Grand Prix after a penalty when he and his Mercedes-AMG pitted when the pit road was closed during a safety car period. Arguably losing the race due to the miscue in Italy, Hamilton’s next race in Russia also contained another rare mistake with the #44 Mercedes-AMG car. Practice starts conducted by Lewis Hamilton at the beginning of the Russian Grand Prix led race stewards to levy a pair of 5-second penalties. Hamilton also lost second place due to a penalty in the opening event in Austria after being found at-fault for making contact with Red Bull Racing driver Alexander Albon.


#77 Valtteri Bottas: B


Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd



Overall Season: 

Entering Formula 1 in 2013 with Williams Racing, Valtteri Bottas joined the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in 2017 chosen to fill the driver's seat vacated by Nico Rosberg who retired as the 2016 drivers' champion. Participating with the Mercedes-AMG team for the fourth consecutive season, Bottas is a frequent front-runner. 

During the 17-race 2020 Formula 1 tour, the driver of the #77 Mercedes-AMG race car stood at the top spot on the podium after two grand prix events. In addition to the two wins, Bottas finished in the top-three on 11 occasions.  

However, with Hamilton being Bottas’ teammate at Mercedes-AMG, his entire Formula 1 season campaign since 2017 has been measured against an awe-inspiring benchmark. Achieving some great performance in 2020, Bottas has also been less consistent than his teammate.

Achievements During 2020 Season: 

For the second consecutive year, Finland’s Valtteri Bottas secured the place of placing “Best of the Rest” in Formula 1 behind Lewis Hamilton.

Two of Bottas' 11 podium results included victories at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix. For the Austrian Grand Prix held on the Red Bull Ring circuit, the Finnish driver piloted his #77 car to the pole position on Saturday and commanded Sunday's 71-lap main every leading from start to finish. His victory on the Sochi Autodrom came in a race where pole-sitting teammate Lewis Hamilton made a costly error before the start of the event. Bottas' win at the Russian Grand Prix also consisted of him scoring the extra championship point for scoring the fastest lap.

Valtteri Bottas’ second place finish in the drivers’ points standings were locked up on at the season finale in Abu Dhabi maintaining a 9-point advantage over Max Verstappen. 


Shortcomings During 2020 Season:  

Although Valtteri Bottas has been able to maintain his position as being the second-best driver on the Formula 1 grid supported by the 2020 drivers' standings. However, one of the downsides is that the points differential between the first and second place drivers in the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship this past season was 124 points. Certainly racing against the greatest driver of a generation is daunting but the gap between Mercedes-AMG pilots does spawn questions.  

Valtteri Bottas’ Achilles Heel throughout the 2020 Formula 1 season has come at the start of races on Sunday. On more than one occasion, the Finnish driver would lose multiple positions within the first lap of a grand prix. One of the first instances of a poor start by Bottas occurred at the Hungarian Grand Prix where the pilot of the #77 Mercedes-AMG race car mentioned reacting to the wrong light in his cockpit disturbing his race start. 


#63 George Russell (Round 16): A

Photo Credit: Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.



Overall Season: 

The #63 rode only once on a Mercedes-AMG race car this Formula 1 season but made a massive impact on the tour. Williams Racing regular driver George Russell was called over to the German factory squad when Lewis Hamilton was sidelined due to a positive COVID-19 test. While Russell’s major triumphs for most of the 2020 season has been cracking Q2 in his Williams race car, the Sakhir Grand Prix presented the Brit the opportunity to take pole position coming short by just 0.026 seconds from the top time set by Valtteri Bottas. Qualifying and the race showcased the driver’s ability to be a formidable competitor.  


Achievements During 2020 Season: 

The Sakhir Grand Prix was a remarkable performance for George Russell as a driver. Not only did Russell maintain a steady pace throughout his weekend substituting for Lewis Hamilton but was in position to capture a surprise victory running strong as the race reached two-thirds distance. The chance to win in one of the greatest drives in the Brit’s career was foiled by an uncharacteristic mistake made by the Mercedes-AMG crew. Also overcoming a tire puncture late in the Sakhir Grand Prix, George Russell achieved a career-best Formula 1 finish of ninth place while also gaining credit (as well as the extra race point) for setting the fastest lap of the event.  


Shortcomings During 2020 Season: 

George Russell’s outing with Mercedes-AMG has been both a massive achievement and disappointment as a stellar driving performance fell victim to misfortune. 

 

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