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Goals achieved, both at Red Bull and Mercedes. It is not usual to see the two best teams happy with the result of a Grand Prix, in fact pursuing the same objectives, but the last race of the season completes two classifications, stage one and the general.
So at the end of Yas Marina’s 55 laps, Red Bull and Max Verstappen celebrated the best weekend of 2020, a weekend that both the Dutchman and the Milton Keynes team had been looking forward to since the start of the season.
There were three reasons that determined Verstappen’s dominance: the excellent work done by Red Bull in the RB16 (flawless in the 5,554 meters of Yas Marina), the physical problems of Lewis Hamilton and the line of prudence chosen in the Mercedes garage in the Front Power Unit.
The first alarm in this regard was raised in Bahrain, when Sergio Pérez saw a deserved podium vanish due to the breakdown of the MGU-K, then the sirens were reactivated in Abu Dhabi, with the same problem that blocked George Russell in free practice. Friday.
Bottas, a ‘second’ World Cup
Mercedes had only one goal of the season left, which is Valtteri Bottas ‘second place in the drivers’ standings, and at that point in the World Champion box they decided to pull the oars on the boat: weakened power units and only one goal, which is to get under the checkered flag.
Verstappen’s slim chances of snatching second place from Bottas were linked to (very likely) success and a Valtteri run ended in fifth place.
In the end, Verstappen did his part, but so did Bottas, closely followed by a Hamilton in the unprecedented role of squire.
Lewis struggled a lot and ongoing conversations with his engineer Peter Bonnington were limited to a few comments on strategy and, from ‘Bono’, frequent messages to remind his driver to drink.
By the end of the race it was clear that Hamilton suffered greatly on the Abu Dhabi night, but he still finished with dignity a weekend that the world champion would probably have saved himself.
A victory that is launched towards 2021
In the end, though, it was a Red Bull win, regardless of the opponents’ woes, and Christian Horner enjoyed the moment.
“We will carry with us the results of this weekend as a positive impetus towards next season – explained the Red Bull team principal – we will be back on track in 2021 with many components of this car, and that is why we have continued to advance. season. Next season is not that far off, so it is important for us to maintain this momentum and a good dose of confidence. “
And speaking of 2021, at Red Bull still not everything is clear, given that there is no confirmation on the name of the driver who will join Verstappen.
“Albon did a great job today – Horner pointed out – beyond the final fourth place, this was probably his best weekend of the entire 2020 season. In the final stages of the race he put pressure on Lewis, and now we will do our evaluations. I don’t think it will take us long to make the final decision. “
McLaren celebrates, Racing Point disappointment
The sprint for the final third position in the Constructors’ classification ended with a great party in the McLaren garage and, a few meters away, some mechanics crying in the Racing Point garage.
After the Bahrain Grand Prix it seemed made for McLaren, then came the incredible feat of the Perez-Stroll tandem in Sakhir’s race, and even seven days ago the games seemed close, obviously in favor of the Silverstone team. A week later, another reversal (this time definitive) came in favor of McLaren fifth with Norris and sixth with Sainz, sealing a surprising season with an unexpected and undermined result.
Lance Stroll’s tenth place was of little use (even the Canadian, like all Mercedes engines, ran with the powertrain in ‘safe’ mode), but the withdrawal of Sergio Pérez weighs like a boulder in the balance of the day due to a problem in the (new) motor mounted on Friday.
The regret for the Racing Point ‘guys’ stems from the role that the unreliability of the Mercedes engine has played at a crucial moment in their season, a truly unexpected variable that the team suffered without room for maneuver. But Racing Point’s 2020, which started amid much controversy, will certainly not be a season that the team finds disappointing, and in a few days it will be time to change uniforms and start Aston Martin’s new adventure.
