It says a vast amount about the quality of motorsport we were treated to in 2020 that choosing the best races of the year is a significantly more difficult task than it has been in the past couple of seasons. To put it simply, we were spoilt for choice. Sure there were a couple of clunkers (Spain, Russia, Abu Dhabi, I’m looking at you), but that is true of any season of F1 racing, and only serves to make the highs even higher and sweeter. I think fans and drivers alike can almost unanimously agree that the injection of new tracks into the season in response to the Coronavirus laid the foundations for some glorious and exciting racing (though I’m sure Max Verstappen could have done with one or two less Grand Prix in Italy…). Miss Rona also led to the absence and replacement of certain drivers across the paddock, a game of musical chairs that ended with jubilation for some and despair for others. Without further ado then, here are my picks for the top five best F1 races of 2020.
5) Austrian Grand Prix
The first race at Spielberg was just the kind of season opener I was hoping for. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Lewis Hamilton, but his demotion to 5th on the grid, along with Norris’s blistering qualifying performance and the Ferraris’ lack of pace, provided a welcome change from the expected set-up of a Mercedes front row lock-out with Scuderia and Red Bull rounding out the top six. This set the stage for a race of heartbreak (Alex Albon’s hopes of a first podium being shattered once again by Hamilton), and elation (Norris’s sensational last lap gifting him his first podium). Apart from being a weekend of frustration and penalties for Sir Lewis, this race actually provided a glimpse of how the rest of the season was to run. A first-time podium sitter, retirement for Verstappen through no fault of his own, disappointment for Albon, Charles Leclerc majorly outdriving the SF1000, inconsistent results for Racing Point, and high levels of attrition across the field – these were all talking points that continued to crop up across the course of 2020.
