F1 UniONE CAREER S7 2020 Season

Previous: 2019 Season [S6]

Next: 2021 Season [S8]

## Overview

Season 7 of the F1 UniONE CAREER was contested using the F1 2019 official game on PC, with a custom 2020 season grid.

## Teams & Drivers

The following teams and drivers are confirmed entrants for the 2020 season.

### **Free Practice Drivers**

 Williams-Honda
 Aston Martin-AMG

## Regulation Change

points would now be awarded for the top three drivers in qualifying. 3 points for first place, 2 for second and 1 point for third. At races using the Wildcard point system, 5 points would be awarded for pole.

## Pre-Season Testing

### **Williams-Honda**

Although it only came to light recently, defending Champions Williams had been working on an engine deal with a new supplier for this coming season. The team announced a two year engine deal with Honda. Securing the deal early in the season allowed the team to design the chassis around the new Power Unit, but it remains to be seen if Williams can keep as competitive edge, as the Honda Power Units have delivered mixed result since the Japanese marke returned in 2015. The team will be competing for the start of the season with a C-Spec of the FW41 Chassis, as ever since 2015 the Cars have been built around BMW engines, so a little more design work is needed before the FW42 is launched later in the season. It's a C-Spec as the unraced B-Spec Flywheel car never made it to the track. Honda agreed to supply the British outfit since they're only operating as an engine supplier, have two top teams with Honda power will only improve the chances for success. Red Bull were unable to block the move as there is officially no Honda works team.

Mick Schumacher stays on at the team, but will have to work overtime to retain his Championship that the shortened calendar gifted him last year. Partnering the German will be Canadian Nicholas Latifi. Many F1 and Williams team fans view this as a very unpopular move, as Latifi hasn't had the greatest success in lower Formula, and was beaten convincingly by DAMS teammate Sergio Sette Camara in F2 last year. Latifi is bringing $30M in sponsorship for the Williams drive though, which will no doubt help the team in getting back on terms with the top teams. Only time will tell if Latifi is F1 worthy. Williams have accademy drivers Jack Aitkin and Dan Ticktum competing in F2 also, so the pressure is well and truly on the Canadian.

### **Toyota Haas**

Following the withdrawal of BMW from F1, Haas looked to also be out, due to a significant lack of funding. In 2016, Haas entered F1 with major backing from BMW to run as the junior team. However, when it all looked to be over for the American outfit, they were thrown a lifeline by Toyota. Merging the two teams into one, a majority of the jobs were saved, and those that weren't found refuge at the new team joining the new team on the grid for this coming season. The Toyota team itself would be the team to still operate, taking a 95% steak of the Haas team, with Haas sponsorship on the car, much in the way that BMW Sauber operated in the late 2000's. Some of the Haas personnel have stayed on in the major roles. Gunther Steiner would become the Team Principle of Toyota, as previous TP Otmar Saufnour has left the team. The TRD120 is in many ways just an evolution of their 2019 FT119, so the team should have a good understanding of how the car will perform and will allow the team to focus more towards the 2021 regulation changes.

With four drivers going for 2 seats, it was little surprise that 2008 Champion Lewis Hamilton was the first driver confirmed for 2020 - the Brit eager to secure that second title he came tantalizingly close to in 2019. The second seat was hotly contested between Colton Herta, Niko Kari and Nobuharu Matsushita. Eventually it was the latter who got the drive, with Kari landing the reserve drive. Colton Herta returned to America to focus on IndyCar and the IMSA Weathertech Championship.

### **Red Bull Racing-Honda**

Red Bull will look to build off a mixed but encouraging 2019 campaign. A season which saw Honda powered cars win for the first time since the Japanese Motor Company came back to F1 in 2015. The cars proved to have genuine pace throughout the mid part of last season, but tailed off in the final races, as Honda focused its efforts on the 2020 Power Units. Reliability was the main area of focus, as all three of the Red Bull drivers suffered issues or complete failures at the tracks which demanded a lot of power such as Spa and Monza. The Red Bull car itself looks to be in a better position for the start of this season compared to last, with both drivers able to set consistent competitive times, but didn't actually top any of the sessions at any time. The sponsorship deal with Aston Martin will come to an end at the close of this coming season, and will go without renewal.

When the RB16 broke cover, many in the paddock noticed the nose design of the car resembles what Mercedes and Lotus then Renault did in 2015 and 2016, after reaching an end point with the development of the traditional Thumb Nose concept. Many were skeptical is if to adopting a now five year old design concept would be viable, but knowing the expertise of Adrian Newey, he's found a way to make the concept work.

It came as no surprise the there was no change in the driver lineup for the Austrian outfit. Max Verstappen will look to head the team's title fight, but with teammate Alex Albon now on a level playing field, it could be a hotly contested fight to be the Red Bull number one.

### **Aston Martin-AMG**

Aston Martin are the new team on the grid for 2020 and continue from where Haas left off. The F1 grid was due to drop down to 9 teams, the physical assets of the now defunct Haas F1 Team have been bought by billionaire Lawrence Stroll, father of Lance Stroll. The team will race the chassis that Haas would've in 2020, meaning they should have a stable debut season, but not many in the paddock were expecting a repeat of what Brawn managed in 2009. The team however don't have a plan for developing engines for the foreseeable future. Instead, they'll be a Mercedes-AMG customer team, as Daimlier own a 5% steak of the company and have supplied Aston Martin road and GT race cars with engines since 2013.

When the car made its first appearance out on track, it was evident the team had taken a lot of inspiration from the Championship contending Toyota TF119 of last season. Team principle Otmar Safnaur has stated that the the team are looking for a stable debut season, and by implementing a tried and tested method used by Mercedes, the team can focus more towards 2021, without being at a significant disadvantage in 2020.

Aston Martin last raced in F1 back in the late 50s/early 60s, with the best result being 2 6th places. If the 2020 Aston Martin team can achieve a 6th place finish this season, it'll be a great achievement.

A return to a race seat for Pascal Wehrlein was expected, but it was left down to Lance Stroll and the return of Sergio Perez to fill the driving duties. Perez last raced in F1 in 2016 during Force India's final season, which yielded a few podium finishes for the Mexican. Aston Martin's faith in him was clear from the off, as he has a contract with the team until the end of the 2022 season.

### **Renault**

Renault look to put the misery of 2019 behind them. A season in which they were expected to make a push towards the top teams left them languishing near the bottom of the grid. However the team in yellow look to be somewhat of a dark horse. Verge managed to post some blistering lap times, even topping the morning session on day two. On more consistent running, both Renault cars looked to still be somewhat in the midfield, if not on the edges of the top cars. With Renault now still supplying McLaren with customer engines, it's pivotal that Renault beat their customer supplied teams to convince the higher ups to keep up their involvement in F1.

Renault focused most on improving airflow over the front of the car, aiming to increase front downforce, as the main flaw with the 2019 car was moving the air over the top of the car. Early indication is the design shows promise, as the car looks faster in all areas compared to its predecessor.

2020 looks to finally be a step forward for Renault. 2017 Champion Jean-Eric Verge is targeting a top 8 in the Driver's Championship. Esteban Ocon is expected to complete an all French lineup. However, Nico Hulkenberg has an existing contact to race for the team in 2020, so the matter will be settled by the Contract Recognition Board.

Ocon has links to Mercedes, but under his 2 year contract with Reanult, the German giants can't recall him to the team. Ocon will also have to clear his name as the 'Crash Kid' as his dangerous driving at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix proved to be what stalled his career until now.

### **AlphaTauri-Honda**

After 14 years, the name Toro Rosso disappears from the F1 grid, but the team remains exactly the same, now under the name AlphaTauri, to promote the clothing brand of Red Bull. Once again the team look to be near the back end of the grid, but closer to the pack then in recent years. Due to the team's technical partnership with Red Bull, the rear end of the Alpha Tauri car is in many ways similar to that of the Red Bull. This could help the team secure some good finishes in the early rounds, although as of late the Toro Rosso cars improved more as the season progressed.

Pierre Gasly stays on in the Red Bull junior team, and will partner F2 Champion Sergio Sette Camara. Previously Sergio was the Sim driver for McLaren, but was recalled to the Red Bull driver program following his F2 success in 2019. He's also the first Brazilian to race in Formula One since Felipe Massa in 2015. With his 2019 F2 DAMS team mate Nicholas Latifi at Williams, it's clear the on track battles between those two are far from over.

### **Mercedes-AMG**

The 2019 runner-ups look to have slumped a bit in performance. With the 2019 title fight going all the way, Mercedes were forced to continue to upgrade the W10. This meant less time and manpower to focus on the W11 challenger for 2020. Much like Williams, Mercedes will have to get back on top of their underdeveloped car if they're to challenge for the titles again in 2020. At least the car has good straight line speed, with the AMG branded Mercedes engine being one of the best on the grid.

One trick that could save Mercedes' season is the new DAS system. The Dual Axel Steering allows the drivers to push and pull the steering wheel to move the angle of the front wheels. This will allow the drivers to warm up the front tyres better, can slightly improve the speed of the car in a straight line and increase cornering stability. Although the DAS system was proving troublesome for the drivers to get used to, making the car unpredictable under breaking and medium speed corners.

Mercedes keep the same driver lineup for this season. Daniil Kvyat will have to work overtime if he's to finally take the Driver's title, having now missed out on three occasions. Teammate George Russell is still hungry for his first win, have been denied it three times in 2019. The Brit showed he has raw pace, but will need to improve on his consistency if he's to be on level terms with Kvyat. Pascal Wehrlein remains the reserve driver for the team.

### **Ferrari**

Just Like Williams and Mercedes, Ferrari also look to be somewhat off the pace. After dominating both Championships in 2017, the Scuderia have been on a decline ever since. Charles Leclerc showed the 2019 car had winning potential, but it was plagued with reliability issues. Ferrari's 2020 challenger, despite working a lot more than it's predecessor, seems to be slow on a legitimate pace basis. The design philosophy Ferrari adopted in 2019 has proven to have little in terms of room to work with and develop. The team will be reliant of the engine power to drag the car up the order in the early round until they can get on top of the 2020 car.

No doubt Charles Leclerc is the future of Ferrari, and one of the future stars of F1. After convincingly beating Sebastian Vettel in the Championship last year, Leclerc received an extension to his contract to remain at the red team until the end of 2024. His teammate for this season will once again be Vettel. It was thought throughout the 2019 season that Vettel would leave the red team, but the higher ups managed to negotiate a deal with the German to keep him at the team until the end of this season at least.

### **McLaren-Renault**

McLaren quietly went about their business throughout testing. Once again the team look set for another decent season. Building off their 2019 success, which yielded a podium finish at the Spanish Grand Prix, and a shock 1-3 finish at USA. The team's primary focus is still on the 2021 regulation changes, so in some ways 2020 is in some ways a throwaway season. The team did focus more on the short runs, as throughout qualifying in 2019, neither driver managed anything particularly special. This often crippled their race performances, with how close the midfield was in 2019.

McLaren name an unchanged driver lineup for 2020. Rio Haryanto will need to up his performances now he's had a season to get used to the new regulation cars. Popular Brit Lando Norris will look to build off a very encouraging debut season, with that podium he scored at Spain.

### **Alfa Romeo-Ferrari**

The feel good team of 2019 Alfa Romeo will once again be looking to cause an upset amongst the top teams. Throughout the later stages of the 2019 season, Alfa Romeo looked to have one of the best cars on the grid, winning three races, with the win at home in Monza being on outright pace of the car with its low drag setup. The team have come out and said though that the car for 2020 is more like a B-spec car of their 2019 challenger. As when the 2021 regulation changes were announced, everyone noticed that the front wing of the new car resembled much of what Alfa had as their 2019 wing. Not wanting to reveal any more of their design, the team will limit its aero upgrades for 2020, and isn't concerned if the team doesn't fair as well in 2020.

There's no change to the aggressive driving nature of either of the two drivers at the Italian outfit. Despite Alfa Romeo downplaying their chances for this coming season, Josh Tirowee is determined as ever to keep his seasonally race win streak alive, with Kevin Magnussen eager to also win a race on merit in 2020. The Dane showed great speed in qualifying last season but will need to work on his race pace if he's to challenge his teammate for number one status in the team. Although Kevin's spirited qualifying efforts could secure the team a point of two at the high-speed circuits.

Carmen Jorda stays at the team, now as the Sim driver, as Robert Kubica takes over the reserve driver role. The Pole proving he's not quite ready to hang up his F1 helmet just yet. Robert also has a great working relationship with Josh Tirowee, from their time as teammates at Williams. Kubica also brings his ORLEN sponsorship money with him, which will no doubt help the team this coming season. ORLEN also become co-title sponsor for the team in what's being called a major multi-year deal, suggesting Kubica is sticking around for a few years to come yet.

## Championship Standings

Points were awarded to the top 12 classified finishers using the following structure:

During Wildcard races, all drivers would score points. 25 for the winner, 20 for second, 18 for third, 17, 16, 15, etc. During these races and driver can take the point for fastest lap and 5 points would be awarded for pole.

Click on the points table to enlarge it.

Key;

* ¹ - Pole Position
* ² - Started in second
* ³ - Started in third

* Gold - Race Winner
* Silver - Second Place
* Bronze - Third Place
* Green - Points finish
* Blue - Classified finish outside of the points paying positions (regular points races)
* Blue ^ - Driver did not finish, but was still classified
* Purple - Did Not Finish
* Black - Disqualified
* White - Driver/ Team did not race
* ***Bold*** - Fastest lap