Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Sochi Autodrom, 2020

RaceFans readers vote Lewis Hamilton as 2020 F1 Driver of the Year

2020 F1 season review

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Lewis Hamilton has been voted the best Formula 1 driver of the year by RaceFans readers, for the fourth year in a row.

The Mercedes driver won the world championship for the seventh time this year. He dominated the season, winning 11 of the first 15 races, but missed the next round after testing positive for Covid-19. He returned in time for the final race of the year.

Max Verstappen, who finished third in the championship after winning two races, came second in the voting. His new team mate for the 2021 F1 season, Sergio Perez, was third.

Hamilton was also chosen as Driver of the Weekend more often than anyone else, topping our poll six times. Other winners included Daniel Ricciardo three times, Verstappen and Perez twice each, and one-time winners Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz Jnr, Nico Hulkenberg and George Russell.

RaceFans F1 Driver of the Year poll winners since 2010

2020: Lewis Hamilton
2019: Lewis Hamilton
2018: Lewis Hamilton
2017: Lewis Hamilton
2016: Daniel Ricciardo
2015: Sebastian Vettel
2014: Daniel Ricciardo
2013: Sebastian Vettel
2012: Fernando Alonso
2011: Sebastian Vettel
2010: Lewis Hamilton

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RaceFans 2020 F1 Driver of the Weekend winners

Here is who you voted as Driver of the Weekend for all of this year’s races, plus who won the official F1 poll for Driver of the Day:

Race RaceFans Driver of the Weekend F1 Driver of the Race
2020 Austrian Grand Prix Lando Norris (58%) Alexander Albon
2020 Styrian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (41%) Sergio Perez
2020 Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (48%) Max Verstappen
2020 British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (34%) Lewis Hamilton
2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix Max Verstappen (65%) Max Verstappen
2020 Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (36%) Sebastian Vettel
2020 Belgian Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo (51%) Pierre Gasly
2020 Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz Jnr (49%) Pierre Gasly
2020 Tuscan Ferrari 1000 Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo (41%) Daniel Ricciardo
2020 Russian Grand Prix Sergio Perez (34%) Max Verstappen
2020 Eifel Grand Prix Nico Hulkenberg (44%) Nico Hulkenberg
2020 Portuguese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (32%) Sergio Perez
2020 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo (34%) Kimi Raikkonen
2020 Turkish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (43%) Sebastian Vettel
2020 Bahrain Grand Prix Sergio Perez (40%) Romain Grosjean
2020 Sakhir Grand Prix George Russell (63%) George Russell
2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Max Verstappen (64%) Max Verstappen

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2020 F1 season review

Read more of RaceFans’ 2020 Formula 1 season review:

Browse all 2020 F1 season review articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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90 comments on “RaceFans readers vote Lewis Hamilton as 2020 F1 Driver of the Year”

  1. Well deserved.

    1. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha … hahahahahahaha.

      1. That’s funny. /s

      2. Meanwhile… Lewis Hamilton wins Racefans driver of the year vote after notching up win No 95, PP No 98 and WDC No 7. Making him the most successful driver ever seen. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha- Hahahahahahahaha.

  2. Surprised Leclerc hasn’t gotten DotW even once this year

    1. On racefans or on official F1 site. And Vettel has won it twice.

      1. If this is true, and I believe you, speaks volume how pointless it is.

        1. More like Britfans. The place is a Hamilton JF.

          1. Awww bless. Is somebody upset the bad Britosh are out to upset you. Didums. Lewis is just the latest in a long line of WDC champions (the most won by any country, ever) and there will be more to follow. Enjoy 🤪

  3. Congrats Champ.

  4. Hmm… Hamilton had a strong year, no doubt, but I think Verstappen was better. Both drove super seasons but Verstappen made less mistakes.

    1. Care to share those mistakes? Because I’m not sure you are correct.

      1. Austrian GP and the clash with Albon, Italian GP and pitting when pit-lane was closed and making a practice start in illegal position in Russian GP. All were avoidable.

        Can’t remember Max doing anything silly this year. Maybe the collision between him and Perez at Portuguese GP was more of his fault but it was still a racing incident.

        1. And Max taking an avoidable short cut across the gravel in Sakhir, losing all downforce by unnecessarily cutting behind the RP in a bend on a wet track in Turkey and spinning, in the fence on the way to the grid in Hungary? Just off the top of my head. Couple of poor starts spring to mind

          1. @riptide
            I cannot speak for @huhhii, but the reason why I judge Verstappen less for mistakes than Hamilton is because it’s much easier to be faultless when you have the best car on the grid and start at the front every weekend.

            Sakhir in particular is a great example. Verstappen was caught up in an accident that was started by Leclerc. He wouldn’t have been caught up if he drove a Mercedes, because he would be ahead of the accident.

            Hamilton made significantly more mistakes from 2009-2013 than he does now, not because he was a bad driver back then, but because he was racing more in the pack in those days.

          2. @kingshark It works both ways. If Max had a decent car he would probably be alongside Ham at Monza and would have also been caught out by the pit closed. Or indeed, if he had been in front and Max was called in, Ham might have done the opposite. Its all what ifs.
            As for Sakhir. Im sorry I don’t buy that. Are we gonna let every drive off scot free if someone makes a mistake around them. Max deliberately cut that corner and clearly could have taken a different course. He wasnt forced into the gravel trap.
            And as for the excuse about racing in the pack. Max is way clear of anyone in 4th place in qually and the race. If he is not its down to him; as it was in Sakhir.

          3. @riptide
            Verstappen could do nothing about Sakhir. If he slowed down he’d be hit by Perez. Watch the replay from the helicopter POV.

          4. @kingshark. That would be the Perez who started 2 places behind Max 3 corners earlier? And I would rather watch Max inputs onboard where he decided that to avoid the accident he would drive straight into a gravel trap and into a wall as he didn’t want to slow.
            And not a lot of point arguing that if he had been in the Merc he would have been ahead of the accident if he is going to throw away positions before the first lap is even halfway gone.
            It was only a short while ago that Alonso was the greatest driver of this era if only (put excuse here). Now Max has taken over the ‘if only’ mantle.

          5. @kingshark

            why I judge Verstappen less for mistakes than Hamilton is because it’s much easier to be faultless when you have the best car on the grid and start at the front every weekend.

            Utter nonsense. it’s the blinders that do that. In fact it’s much easier cruising to third in the second fastest car with a team mate that gets no support.

          6. @f1osaurus
            The biggest mistake Verstappen made was to smash his teammates. He should regularly allow his teammate to outperform him to give the illusion of competition like Hamilton does. That illusion was obviously shattered by Russell in Sakhir.

          7. @kingshark Russell showed he’s better than Verstappen yes. That wasn;t th epoint though.

            You pretend that Verstappen somehow has it harder when he’s simply cruising to P3 in Q3 and then to P3 in the race. While Hamilton has an actual team mate to contend with in a car that’s on the same level.

            In fact this season showed again that Verstappen just cannot deal with the shock of having the fastest car. Just like in all those Monaco, Mexico, Hungary and Malyasia races where he had the fastest car and messed it up in quali or the race. He did the exact same again in Hungary, Turkey and Sakhir. Didn’t get pole when he could/should have, and messed up the race when he could still have easily won it.

            Verstappen is a crystal clear example of the fact that having the fastest car (for the track/circumstances) does not make it easy to win a race.

          8. @f1osaurus
            What Russell showed in Sakhir is that winning in a Mercedes car in the hybrid era is easy as pie. Russell never drove the W11 before in his life until he was Sakhir and was easily dominating the race until circumstances outside of his control happened. What Russell showed is that Hamilton’s statistics in the hybrid era are because of the car.

            Anyway, when Hamilton was in a similar position to Verstappen now in 2009-2013, he was renowned for throwing away easy race wins. Hamilton threw away at least 20 potential race victories during this timeframe. He also never finished any higher than 4th in the standings.

            Life is indeed difficult when you don’t have the best car, but no matter how much Hamilton statpads with Mercedes, it won’t erase what happened from 2009-2013.

          9. @kingshark Russell showed he is better than Verstappen.

          10. @f1osaurus
            Russell showed that any driver could win in a Mercedes, even a driver who never scored a point before in his career.

            No idea why you bring up Verstappen when:

            1. He is not part of the conversation
            2. He has never driven the same car as Russell before

            A bit obsessed are we?

        2. @riptide Max’s mistake in Hungary didn’t cost him at all. And about Sakhir were could he have gone? Cut sharply to the other side of the track straight in front of others like Grosjean did in previous GP? You know I’m happy Max didn’t choose that option.

          @kingshark Yes, you make a great point. Hamilton had a chance to drive a faultless season but he didn’t. Both Hamilton and Max were brilliant, but Max just edges Hamilton.
          I mean in the poll I voted for Kimi as he is better than Max and Hamilton combined, but if I had to pick between Hamilton and Max then Max had the advantage by slightest of margins.

          1. Is this irony?

            “ I voted for Kimi as he is better than Max and Hamilton combined”

            I’d write more it I can’t stop laughing long enough!!!

        3. Can’t remember Max doing anything silly this year. Maybe the collision between him and Perez at Portuguese GP was more of his fault but it was still a racing incident

          crashing on the formation lap in Hungary , spinning x2 in Turkey, spinning in wet Styria Q3, driving himself into the barriers Sakhir, colliding with Perez/Stroll in Portugal. Also, Verstappen broke his front wing in Styria by panicking in trying to keep a gap to Bottas (who would have never gotten past anyway) and lost P2

          1. There is a certain urge among some F1 ‘fans’ to put the blame on where they like it to be instead of where it actually is…

            Lewis made at least 5 costly mistakes…. ignoring a yellow flag in Austria, taking out Albon, ignoring a red light in Monza, making two illegal practice starts in Russia, I might add blowing up tyres in Silverstone as well…. the team and Lewis pushed it and where very lucky with the late timing of the blow up. Costly is an important word…. in all these races Lewis either led, or at least could have won.

            Trying to put it against Verstappen’s mistakes is not going to last…Hungary…yes a mistake, but finishing P2 while starting P3 behind the two much faster Mercedes car’s isn’t exactly costly, his incident with Perez people try…. ehm… sorry, but it was a two sided race incident with again no costly consequences.
            Turkey really was Max’ only mistakes…. despite his wing being way-off Max blamed himself… it’s racing.
            to the once who like to point out Max was to eager…. Lewis spun of track in Turkey losing a couple of positions as well…. Max having to pit for new tyres was really the only difference.
            Bahrain…? Are people serious about this…? If he would have barged into Leclerc or Perez people would have blames him for being too aggressive, he avoided two drivers spinning of track, but couldn’t stop within 10 meters… that was all the tarmac left.

            Trying to think of every little flaw to make it look worse than it actually was…..
            Lewis failed 5, 6 or 7 times…he had the car to win the last race, but failed that one as well… Max failed to maximize the car’s potential in just one race

          2. @Matn
            Well, if you are gonna say Hamilton blew up his tyres in Silverstone then i’d argue Max blew up his tyres in Imola.

          3. Hamilton 40 laps on a set with his team mate blowing his tyres as a warning is imo not exactly the same as being 31 laps without any warning. just before the Merc driver blew their tyres FOM showed the tyre wear graphics… they where pushing it

        4. Dave (@davewillisporter)
          28th December 2020, 14:33

          @huhhii I’ll give you Austria but the Monza incident the team called him in. Why would he question it? How many drivers said “are you sure? Is the pitlane open?”
          In Sochi He asked his team if he could do that. They said yes.
          Both could have been avoided if the team were clued up better. Neither was a driving error. Max lost the car twice this season and it nearly cost him a DNS and did cost him a possible race win in Turkey.

    2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      25th December 2020, 14:16

      @huhhii Hamilton does crazy things – his qualifying is downright unbelievable sometimes and his race pace rain or shine is simply impossible to deal with as Bottas and Rosberg have found out. Like all greats, he elevates the sport into art.

      1. I think you may need to watch Rosberg’s career again.

        1. what do you mean? he beat him 3 -1 in the drivers’ championship. no doubt the ratio would have been higher had Rosberg not quit

          1. what do you mean? he beat him 3 -1 in the drivers’ championship. no doubt the ratio would have been higher had Rosberg not quit

            As quoted in this website

            Hamilton won the qualifying battle 42-34 and came ahead in races 39-27. Given that, a championship scoreline of 2-1 instead of 3-0 doesn’t seem unfair.

            1. Hamilton was the better driver but by no means was beating him impossible for Rosberg as stated above.
            2. 2016 was the only year where Rosberg had better reliability than Hamilton.
            3. Rosberg was the only driver publicly condemned by the team after Belgium 2014 which effected his confidence going into the final part of the season.

          2. That being said, one of the things that marks Hamilton out was that he prepared to fight his team-mate and not have a no 1 clause when the car was dominant unlike another 7 time WDC.

          3. @nickthegreek Ever since the incident where Rosberg’s car was inflicted with loss of speeds in its transmission, due to ‘a foreign substance in the steering column’, I have had serious doubts about the two Mercedes-Benz cars being equal. I also remember Nikki Lauda telling Rosberg that his turn would come, in the quest for a championship.

            As long as Hamilton is in that team, he is the chosen winner, and there is nothing Bottas can expect for a championship of his own. It would be interesting to see what the small print in contracts does say.

            Thank you Dieter, Keith and Hazel for enjoyable reading in a rather bleak 2020, here’s hoping that 2021 will be better for all of us!

          4. Dave (@davewillisporter)
            28th December 2020, 13:57

            No Mercedes do not tamper with their own cars to cause a DNF. Be serious.

    3. Agreed, but this is primary a UK site, so a slight bias cant be avoided

  5. I don’t think I ever voted for him, lol.

    1. And it didn’t make much of a difference anyway :-)

      1. Nice burn lol

  6. Deservedly so. With constantly dominant and still improving performances, it’s hard to justify other choice. Algarve springs to mind as a display of total and overwhelming dominance even over his team mate.

    Ricciardo, Verstappen, Gasly and Perez are notable mentions for having a solid season.

  7. It’s so cool how so obvious this choice is. I mean come on Gasly is handed the P1 in Italy and fans treated him like it was the second coming of Christ. He won but didn’t win, it was a gift. Then to approach the media and tell RB it’s time for me to return to the big team….how ever it went down I lost respect for that process.
    What we are seeing today with Lewis us and to be alive at the time it’s happening is remarkable. I mean I hear tales of Fangio and can only try to recall what was happening then. Not the exposure like today’s kids are getting. Clark was killed when I was in junior high school and even then the attention to F1 was growing and once a year one Grand Prix was televised on the same day as the Indy500. The last seven years at Mercedes we are seeing the most dominant driver in the greatest back to back to back to back to back seasons in the most dominant race machine ever. Lewis Hamilton most successful Grand Prix racer of all time.

    1. +1 Well said.

    2. I don’t get why you’re picking on Gasly. His pass at Spa on Perez was both brilliant and brave. I’m sure Fangio and CLark would have both respected that move immensely. And he replicated those audacious passes throughout the season. It didn’t need the Monza win to make it a good season. Though even then, however lucky he was, he had to stay ahead in an inferior car.

      1. There is a quote attributed that Fangio that says; “‘In Order To Finish First, First You Must Finish” so Gasly win is absolutely deserved as is every other winnter

        1. Wasn’t that Stirling Moss? JM Fangio was not a native English speaker, maybe he said some words to that effect, but I seriously doubt he produced the pithy quote as it is. What I do remember he said is something in Spanish that roughly translates as “you have to win while going as slow as possible” (in order to be able to finish, it is implied). So this may be the origin of the quote, polished to its present form by Moss.

        2. How about Mika’s version “To finish first, first you have be Finnish.”

    3. Putting aside Gasly, I did say to my son the other day we are lucky that we have been in a position to go to many events together during a period of Schumacher/Hamilton/Rossi and Marquez.
      And touching on your other point, also able to witness what these guys do in HD, slomo, onboard in every detail possible. Whist I respect those who chose drivers from the 50s and 60s above the likes of Ham or MS, (and I am one of those) you have to ask what they are basing their criteria on? In the case of Fangio, etc some very grainy footage, and in those times particularly; a subservient press. Unless you were lucky enough to witness what they were doing first hand.

      1. To be fair, I don’t think anyone chose drivers from the 50s or 60s in the 2020 f1 driver of the year competition. I think you might be trying to pick a fight with yourself here.

    4. Gasly drove an AlphaTauri, the 6th-7th fastest car overall. So in a completely normal race with 20 cars, the logical thing would be to fight for P11-P14 with the Ferraris and his teammate. Even after Hamilton’s mistake, the logical thing would be for Bottas or Verstappen to lead the race. Yet, obviously with a big amount of luck of course like any other situation where a no-top car wins, Gasly was leading ahead of Bottas, Verstappen, Albon, the McLarens, the Renaults, the Racing Points and his teammate in the same car as his.

      If a driver doesn’t drive a top car in Formula 1 to compete for wins, then it’s all about being on the right place at the right time, to capitalise the leaders’ mistakes. That’s the reason for example Perez has 10 podiums and Hulkenberg 0, he is usually there to grab every opportunity.

  8. These articles revealing the result of a vote are the best.
    The results are a fact, but the same people who voted (and commented) once more use the opportunity to say either ‘he’s the best’ or ‘I disagree’ ;)

    Maybe an idea to have a vote on who agrees with the outcome of this vote.

  9. Time to settle the 2021 contract.

  10. The table in this article says everything.
    Not enough F1 fans on this page and too many fanyboys.
    Difficult to take it seriously when there’s such poor balance.

    1. Reddit F1 has over half million fans, the official F1 Facebook page has 10 million fans–they all voted LH number 1

      1. Reddit and Farcebook probably have 17 actual F1 fans between them.

        1. let me guess, if your favourite driver came out tops then Reddit and F1 Facebook would all of a sudden be deemed as accurate fan barometers! LMAO!

    2. Yea, I feel the same way when the paddock vote Hamilton No 1, bunch of fanyboys. Unless they vote my favourite No 1. Then they are not.

      1. I don’t think the paddock takes this anywhere near as seriously as the fans do.

    3. I actually think these results show the complete opposite. Looking at the Racefans results compared with the official F1 results I think that more often than not Racefans has the more reasonable pick.

  11. Quite a few of us did not vote for Lewis.
    And I have to say Grosjean as DOTD in Bahrain is nonsensical. He caused his own accident unaided, and while we are glad he is well, we are equally glad to wave goodbye.

    1. Had he not swerved, we wouldn’t see the worst crash in 30 years.

    2. You 2 need to meet up for a drink. You would be the perfect couple. Good luck boys 😘

  12. Interesting that in 11 years only 4 drivers have won this distinction. Those same 4 drivers will still be on the grid in 2021.

  13. The truth is that if Hamilton had been in a Haas or Williams, he would never be voted driver of the year, even if it’s the exact same driver, and even if he had dragged even more out of himself. He would also have been involved in more incidents and thus his mistake tally would be poor compared to the frontrunners.

    True it takes more to stand in a championship fight, but in this case it was in reality just to beat his team mate who he already knew he had the measure of, so the pressure was really not that great. Especially as he was in one of the most dominant cars and in the best team in all of history which meant incidents (even on L1) would still mean he’d get on the podium and not really lose many points (but starting from the front row there will anyway be few L1 incidents).

    1. @balue The truth is that if Hamilton wasn’t at Mercedes they wouldn’t have been so dominating.
      The truth is that the best drivers in F1 don’t drive for a back marker team their whole career.

      1. @f1osaurus Yes those are also true, but the fact remains that it seems very difficult or impossible to properly judge drivers based on merit and not the car.

        Like somebody already pointed out, it’s odd that Leclerc has not once been voted DOTW, even if he has dragged his backmarker car way up there, and when he had a good car before everyone agreed his speed and racecraft was fabulous.

        Maybe the best example is Russell who was not really rated all that highly until he subbed in the Mercedes, and suddenly everyone changed their mind. I have no doubt had he been in the Mercedes and won the title, he would be driver of the year, even if it’s the exact same driver that no one now rates all that highly, just because he is in the lowly Williams.

        There must be a better and more objective way to judge drivers. Like a formula of factors.

        1. Wet weather performance?

        2. @balue
          To truly know who Hamilton is and was is to measure his karting days when he was just a black boy dominating some very priviledged kids with huge financial backing.
          He is where he is because he earned it.
          Whether we like it or not he IS very special and none of us leading our very average lives will make a jot difference to his no matter what venom we spew.
          No racing driver I know has been involved in so many other activities during the week and get to the racetrack on the weekend and win..and has done it 98 times so far.
          and negotiate his own contract etc etc etc
          When something is special it just is.

    2. How many FIFA World Player of the Year trophies would Ronaldo and Messi have won if they played for Sheffield Wednesday or Rotheram United?
      In reality, though, they’d quickly be spotted by the top teams and would be snapped up by them – as they were in real life.
      And so, if Hamilton’s talent and ability wasn’t where it is, true, he’d likely be nowhere in some midfield or backmarker team.
      But this is the thing: his talent is way higher than that, as is his ability. That’s why he ended up with McLaren as a rookie, walking straight into a leading team and, in his rookie season, beating the double-defending world champion in the same car, coming to within 1 point of winning the WDC – and then winning it the very following year.
      And so the “where would he be in a Williams” argument is meaningless and also misleading, because it is premised on the assumption that all drivers in F1 have the same levels of talent and ability. Their junior karting racing records onto the lower formula series will easily show you who is more talented than the others. In F1, their records racing in the wet – when most car advantages are washed away by the weather – easily separate the wheat from the chaff.
      So – move on from that lame argument, you don’t have to like Lewis Hamilton, or Vettel, or Max, or Alonso, to accept that his talent and abilities are phenomenal. And if you want to know which of them really is the best, perhaps you should listen to what those in the F1 Paddocks – Team principals, other drivers, etc – say, since they know more about F1 than you ever will?

      1. You’re actually saying Leclerc and Russell are rubbish because they are in backmarker teams and just prove my point. Same with having Bottas and Albon as top tier drivers because they are in the best teams.

        1. @balue No, he’s not. Leclerc and Russel will end up in top teams.

          In fact if you see the audience power ranking then Russel is in P4, Bottas in P10 and Leclerc in P9 (because of poor performances).

          Just that you dislike Hamilton does not negate that he’s truly head and shoulders above the rest of the current field of F1 drivers.

          1. @f1osaurus There is a myth that the best drivers end up in the best teams. There hasn’t been a decade that has had so few WDCs than the 2010s and there was only 2 seasons where the title went down to the wire with drivers from 2 or more teams. That has largely been down to the cars unless you think that Hamilton and Rosberg between 2014-16 were both better than Alonso, Vettel, Ricciardo and Verstappen?
            If Hamilton is head and shoulders ahead of the field how come he only won one title before the hybrid era? Was Vettel head and shoulders ahead of him between 2010-13? Was Buttonhead and shoulders ahead of him in 2009?

          2. F1oSaurus (@)
            29th December 2020, 9:05

            I said top teamS

        2. F1 isn’t for you if the fastest car wins thing is an issue for you Balue.
          Twas always thus but… just for the sake of shutting you up, who was the last person to win in a non WCC winning car? Now… please wind your neck in.

    3. Dave (@davewillisporter)
      28th December 2020, 14:10

      @balou Your point ignores reality which makes it pointless! The reality is because of his skill and proven track record Lewis would never find himself in a Williams in the first place. How many drivers have landed a top seat in F1 from day one and kept it for their entire career? The car might allow him to fight at the front but two things. It’s the driver that makes the difference between 1st and 3rd in that car which means winning or losing a championship. It is the best car but why do you think Lewis is driving it as apposed to Seb or Max or any other driver. 2021 will be his 9th season with Mercedes. Why are they keeping him?

  14. I think everyone here knows i am in no way a Hamilton fan but it’s impossible to disagree with this!

    I would easily rate this Hamiltons best season for Mercedes… Second in his career only to 2007!

    Apart from being a bit rusty at round 1, he was heads, shoulders and even a whole body ahead of Bottas at every race!

    His off track activities this year were even better… He finally put his actions where his mouth was all these years… Set a good example

    Lastly he is now the most successful F1 Driver of all time! That alone makes him deserve driver of the season!

  15. Well deserved for Hamilton. His critics are the harshest I’ve seen in years, but he delivers.

    Best race he performed was definitely Turkey, qualifying 5 on the grid, running wide losing places on a track that was challenging and not in the fastest car and managed to win by 30 seconds, no spins.

    1. Hamilton had the quickest car when the track began to dry out. Clearly the quickest car. He was nowhere when it was wet.

      1. @deanfranklin Rbr was the quickest the entire weekend in all conditions, Hamilton would’ve won that race a lot easier if driving that car instead.

        I expected it to be an Rbr 1-2 but driver errors with strategy errors kicked them off the podium.

        The 30 second lead was mainly down to taking one less pit stop, excellent tyre management and going against the pit wall reference another stop, plus not taking unnecessary risks, that is all down to the driver, cars can’t make those decisions.

        1. RP was quicker than RBR. Hamilton was very nervy in the wet conditions.

          When it dried out Hamilton was seconds per lap quicker than the RP.

          In the wet Hamilton spent 30 laps or so stuck behind Vettel.

          1. F1oSaurus (@)
            29th December 2020, 9:11

            @deanfranklin RBR was quicker all weekend. Fastest in every session apart from when Verstappen choked in Q3.

            He does that a lot really. He somehow cannot deal with the pressure of driving the fastest car and actually getting the pole. Pretty much Every Monaco, Mexico, Malaysia and Hungary quali (or subsequent race) he finds a way to mess it up when he has the fastest car and is destined for an easy win.

          2. Ridiculous statement. He extracts the maximum from the car in my opinion.

            RP was quicker in Turkey.

  16. Got to give it to Verstappen. I don’t think Russell could get in the Red Bull and have it contending with the Merc. Russell could get in Hamilton’s car with Hamilton’s setup and do Hamilton’s job.

    1. @deanfranklin We will never know plus don’t forget Russell has been test driving the Merc for years, hardly an alien car for him to get used to plus he didn’t have Hamilton’s setup as the car needed changes to get his ( Hamilton’s) setup back.

      Verstappen seems to be the only driver to get to grips with the Rbr, makes you wonder why that is.

      Versus a driver getting into a car that doesn’t fit him correctly and able to perform and is also going to take the experience he had with the team back to Williams.

      I seriously hope Checo can help the Rbr team with regards to car development.

      1. Verstappen more than anyone wants a fast well balanced car like Hamilton has but it’s difficult to do.

        Mercedes can set their cars up to run within their absolute limits because they are comfortably 0.5 to 1 second faster than the next best car.

        RBR need to be pushing the absolute limits of the car at every race. Obviously when you are trying to discover every bit of latent speed in a car, the car will be operating at or near it’s grip limits, braking limits, engine limits, aerodynamic limits.

        Remember when Mercedes got a little bit of a fright in 2017 because Ferrari and RBR were competitive at some tracks. Mercedes were still massively dominant winning double the races of Ferrari, but Mercedes were forced to push the development and setup limits of the car to find extra speed. Remember how Toto called it a Diva?

    2. F1oSaurus (@)
      29th December 2020, 9:13

      @deanfranklin Verstappen has a car designed to his exact wishes. Hamilton has a car that is designed to be good in general so that both Mercedes drivers can drive it well.

      The problem is that Verstappen is so poor in describing what he needs from the car. Red Bull has been losing pace relative to Mercedes ever since Ricciardo left.

      1. “Hamilton has a car that is designed to be good in general so that both Mercedes drivers can drive it well.”

        Mercedes is built around Hamilton. They strip Bottas of wins, sabotage his race if they feel it gives Hamilton an advantage. Just look at what they did in Singapore last year. Deplorable.

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