It’s time for the third annual Racing Clothesline Awards! These awards are determined by my personal opinion, as well as the general views and opinions which I witness on social media and among fans. There are a variety of awards given to drivers for their activities both on and off of the track. Do you agree or disagree with the awards listed below? Please let me know in the comments below.
Yes, yes, I know some of you are already yelling at me through your computer screen for picking Verstappen as my Driver of the Season and I was going to pick Nico Rosberg, honest. However, the Driver of the Season is about more than just race results. I mean, of course congrats to Rosberg for winning the ultimate title because I really did want to see him win this season.
However, if I had to pick a driver to see in a battle, I would choose Verstappen. He has shown us that he isn’t the immature youngster that we all thought he was when he first appeared in Formula One. He has a lot of potential that he will be able to tap into later in his career, especially now that he is with Red Bull. He was by far one of the most entertaining drivers to watch this season and many of his overtakes had fans on the edge of their seats. I look forward to seeing him make some more great overtakes in 2017.
While some will argue that Mercedes was the best constructor this season, having won all but two races on the 21-race calendar, I happen to strongly disagree. Although they were able to dominate the season and take home both championship titles for the second consecutive season, they were by no means the best team this season. The tension within the team was far too high this season and that really prevented them from performing to the maximum potential which they are capable of, so there is no way that I can award them the Constructor of the Season award this year.
So, which team was the best? I think that Red Bull showed that they are ready to return to the top in the very near future, if not in 2017. Although they were slightly behind Ferrari at the start of the season and had a very rough start to 2016, with the driver swap and all of that drama, the team persevered and never wrote off their chance to take second in the World Constructors’ Championship. Around the halfway point of the season, they got their act together and were able to zoom past Ferrari.
I was a little undecided about which driver deserved this award: I couldn’t decide between Daniil Kvyat and Esteban Gutiérrez. Kvyat had a rough time when he was demoted to Toro Rosso, but I think Gutiérrez was more unlucky. Although Formula One is sometimes about luck, it’s more often about driver skill. I think that this is the case for Kvyat, rather than being unlucky. He just wasn’t ready to be promoted to Red Bull and whatever mistakes were made has nothing to do with luck.
However, I feel that luck played more of a factor for Gutiérrez. After being dumped by Sauber, he was given a second chance in Formula One by Haas. He had a lot of race retirements and poor race performances, many of which were due to mechanical issues. Gutiérrez isn’t as bad of a driver as many people make him out to be and it just feels like it was poor luck that lost him his seat at Haas.
Ricciardo finished quite low down the World Drivers’ Championship table last season and he was only able to finish on the podium twice, whereas this season he was able to finish third in the championship and pick up eight podiums finished, one of which was a victory. While most of the other drivers on the grid performed roughly the same as they did in 2015, Ricciardo was able to excel this season.
Faced with a lot of mechanical glitches in 2015 after their switch to the Honda power unit, it’s hard not to award McLaren the Most Improved Constructor award with 76 points scored this season. The car was much more reliable this season and the drivers appeared to be a lot happier as a result. If their performance continues to improve at this rate, it will be exciting to see the results that they will be able to achieve in 2017, especially with the big changes in store for the technical regulations.
Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are a winning combination and they could be quite competitive next season. Ricciardo has the experience to help the younger Verstappen learn the ropes of Formula One and he also has a positive attitude that allows him to cope with being beat by his teammate occasionally. Verstappen, despite the lack of Formula One experience, has proven in 2016 that he certainly has a lot of potential that he will be able to unlock in the seasons to come. The pair seem to get along well and you don’t see some of the tension that you have at some of the other teams like Mercedes.
Up until last week, the Historic Moment award was set to go to Felipe Massa for his memorable walk back to the pit lane after crashing out of his final Brazilian Grand Prix. It was truly touching to watch and I think that it will be a moment remembered in the Formula One history books for many years to come.
However, it’s impossible to ignore the shocking news that took the world of Formula One by surprise: Nico Rosberg, the World Drivers’ Championship winner, announcing that he would be retired. Whether you think it was a cowardly thing to do or whether you think that he is brave for having retired, to cannot deny that Rosberg’s retirement will go down as one of the most shocking and most memorable retirements in Formula One and sporting history.
Because I feel that both events are so memorable and historic, I decided that they were both worthy of the Historic Moment award.
The Rookie of the Season award was really only between Jolyon Palmer and Pascal Wehrlein because they were the only two drivers who drove the entire season. They both earned one point in their opening season, although I think that Wehrlein’s point is a little more significant than Palmer’s. Scoring a point in the Manor is a more impressive achievement in the Manor than in the Renault, as Jules Bianchi showed us in 2014. Renault scored 78 points in 2015 when they were Lotus and, although they are a different team with a different car, the team had a greater starting block for 2016 than Manor did.
