Bottom 5 of 2020: Disaster for Ferrari, low marks for Pirelli

1. The Ferrari engine

It already feels like an eternity ago, but the beginning of this Formula 1 season started with the Ferrari engine affair. In 2019, the engine had been tampered with and at the end of the winter tests, the FIA ​​made a statement. An agreement had been reached with Ferrari that had been punished, but clarity never came to the outside world.

We are now used to it, but of course, it is not normal for the company with the most money at their disposal to deliver the worst engine. Haas and Alfa Romeo tumbled back in the rankings and Ferrari itself were much further away. A shame for the proud Ferrari, which normally shows off the power of their engine. What will Enzo think of this…?

2. Alexander Albon

Alexander Albon will be replaced by Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing in 2021 and that is not without reason. The Thai was given a lot more time and patience than Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly ever got from the Red Bull leadership but failed to turn it around.

Albon did not succumb to the pressure. Albon was calm and happy when he was a little closer to Max Verstappen. The harsh reality is that Albon doesn't seem to have the speed for the top and unfortunately, you can't teach someone that.

3. Ferrari

The Ferrari engine has already been named, but of course, it has been a total debacle for Ferrari in 2020. It started with the engine affair, but also the way Sebastian Vettel was dealt with is disappointing. How the season then went seems a logical consequence of the previous actions.

The question is whether improvement can be promised in 2021? Mattia Binotto has been in charge for some time. With Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, two young ambitious drivers will drive for the team next season, but how long do they want to keep driving for the brand if it continues to lag behind the big brands?

4. Nicholas Latifi

You will not often find a rookie in the bottom 5 list, but Latifi really belongs in that. Latifi is lucky to drive with Williams. Nobody sees the fact that he has been far behind his teammate all season.

However, if you look a little further than just the points or the place in the results, you will see that the difference between George Russell and Latifi is immense and that Latifi did not even make a huge impression when newcomer Jack Aitken was allowed to step into the car for one race. The Canadian brought with his father a lot of money for Williams, who must quickly build a better car with that money to be able to get better drivers.

5. Pirelli

In fact, Pirelli makes an annual appearance in the bottom five lists. Since the arrival of Pirelli in 2011, the tyre supplier has been under pressure. The tyres generally wear out too quickly. Partly it is due to the FIA ​​and Formula 1 who gives the order to the Italians, but we can also look at Pirelli.

Despite limited testing possibilities, Pirelli has not been able to design a tyre that makes for fun races in ten years. In fact, at Silverstone, we also saw that Pirelli tyres can sometimes suddenly fail and aerodynamics must be reduced before 2021, otherwise, the tyres cannot cope. There are extenuating circumstances here and there, but a new tyre supplier would work wonders for F1.

This article was written and originally published by Tim on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.