F1 2014 season review

[VetteIfan]

Okay, so I think I've done this the past 3 or 4 seasons now, so I might as well continue it in to a 4th or a 5th to continue the tradition.

Best driver(s) of the season:
Worst driver(s) of the season:
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season:
Best team(s) of the season:
Most disappointing team(s) of the season:
Surprise of the season:
Most improved driver of the season:
Personality of the season:
Race of the season:
Drive of the season:
Overtake of the season:
Qualifying lap of the season:
Battle of the season:
Start of the season:
Controversial moment of the season:
Pit crew of the season:

Plus any other comments on the season as a whole :)

[alonsofan46]

Best driver(s) of the season: Hamilton , Rosberg , Ricciardo , Bottas , Alonso
Worst driver(s) of the season: Ericsson
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Magnussen
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes , undoubtedly
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Sauber , Lotus
Surprise of the season: Ricciardo beating Vettel the way he did , same with Alonso and Raikkonen
Most improved driver of the season: Hamilton. I know this one sounds weird but he has been so much better this year than any other year I can remember
Personality of the season: Ricciardo
Race of the season: Bahrain
Drive of the season: Alonso @ Hungary
Overtake of the season:  None stood out.
Qualifying lap of the season: Rosberg at Austin
Battle of the season: Button and Perez at Monza
Start of the season: Hamilton at Abu Dhabi
Controversial moment of the season: Spa or Monaco ? Take your pick.
Pit crew of the season: Merc

[MBKF1]

Best driver(s) of the season: Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Nico Rosberg (in that order)
Worst driver(s) of the season: Marcus Ericsson, Pastor Maldonado, 
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Kevin Magnussen, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes, Williams
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Sauber, McLaren
Surprise of the season: Daniel Ricciardo not only taking three wins, but also dominating against Vettel
Most improved driver of the season: Daniil Kvyat
Personality of the season: Lewis Hamilton, because he really shows his emotions, a real character
Race of the season: Hungary
Drive of the season: Hamilton at China, I don't think he was ever under pressure in that race from anyone
Overtake of the season: Ricciardo on anyone, probably Alonso at Hungary into T1, supreme late braking
Qualifying lap of the season: Rosberg at Silverstone, just out of nowhere really
Battle of the season: Hamilton and Rosberg at Bahrain
Start of the season: Hamilton at Abu Dhabi, just perfect, or maybe Massa at Bahrain
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg's 'mistake' at Monaco in qualifying
Pit crew of the season: McLaren

[VetteIfan]

Best driver(s) of the season: Ricciardo, Hamilton, Rosberg 
Worst driver(s) of the season: Maldonado, Ericsson
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Raikkonen, Magnussen
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes, Williams, Red Bull
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Ferrari, Mclaren, Lotus, Sauber
Surprise of the season: Williams becoming regular front runners, Marrusia scoring first points 
Most improved driver of the season: Come to think of it this is a difficult one
Personality of the season: Ricciardo
Race of the season: Canada and Bahrain
Drive of the season: Hamilton in Bahrain
Overtake of the season: Ricciardo on Hamilton in Hungary 
Qualifying lap of the season: Rosberg in Texas/Abu Dhabi
Battle of the season: Vettel/Alonso at Silverstone
Start of the season: Massa in Bahrain
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg in Monaco
Pit crew of the season: Red Bull

[GoldenColt]

Best driver(s) of the season: Hamilton, Ricciardo, Bottas, Alonso
Worst driver(s) of the season: Maldonado, Ericsson, Raikkonen
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season:  Raikkonen, Vettel, Magnussen (given the expectations after the first race)
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes, Williams (very happy to see them back near the top)
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Ferrari (the new Turbo-era was supposed to be their era)
Surprise of the season: Ricciardo for destroying Vettel, Rosberg for outclassing Hamilton in quali
Most improved driver of the season: Bottas (rocky start with that mistake in Melbourne, but from the middle of the season he was amazing)
Personality of the season: Has to be Hamilton for me, his fanbase has grown enormously
Race of the season: Bahrain, just epic
Drive of the season: Hamilton fending off Rosberg despite all the advantages on Rosberg's side in Bahrain
Overtake of the season: Hamilton on Vergne in Hungary (around the outside of that ultra-fast left hand corner in S1)
Qualifying lap of the season: Hamilton in China (more than a second faster than Rosberg, outclassed him in the wet)
Battle of the season: Hamilton/Rosberg at Sakhir; Vettel/ Alonso at Silverstone
Start of the season: Hamilton in Abu Dhabi
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg in Monaco and Spa
Pit crew of the season: Once again, Red Bull. These guys are sometimes better than their car.

[LowKeyRacer]

Best driver(s) of the season: Ricciardo, Hamilton, Bottas
Worst driver(s) of the season: Magnussen, Maldonado
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Raikkonen, Vettel
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes, Williams
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Lotus, Caterham
Surprise of the season: Ricciardo and Alonso beating teamamtes.
Most improved driver of the season: Massa maybe? He might still have some pace..
Personality of the season: Ricciardo
Race of the season: Canada
Drive of the season: Hamilton in Bahrain/ Bianchi in Monaco
Overtake of the season: Roll the Ricciardo highlight reel
Qualifying lap of the season: Rosberg in Monaco :smiley: 
Battle of the season: Vettel/Alonso at Silverstone
Start of the season: Hamilton at Abu Dhabi
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg /Hamilton @ Spa
Pit crew of the season: Red Bull (somehow managed to get all 4 wheels on the car in the pitstops this year)

[RevolvingPrawn]

Best driver(s) of the season: Hamilton, Ricciardo, Alonso, Bottas
Worst driver(s) of the season: Ericsson, Maldonado
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Vettel, Raikkonen
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes, Williams
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Lotus, Sauber
Surprise of the season: Ricciardo owning Vettel, and how good Williams have been.
Most improved driver of the season: Massa, after how bad he seemed at Ferrari, and then the somewhat lacklustre start of the season, he's gotten quite a bit better.
Personality of the season: Ricciardo, always a massive smile, loved seeing him win.
Race of the season: Probably Bahrain or Hungary
Drive of the season: Hamilton in Hungary. Finishing ahead of Rosberg after starting from the pits... lol.
Overtake of the season: Ricciardo on Vettel, Monza
Qualifying lap of the season: Massa, Austria
Battle of the season: Hamilton and Rosberg, Bahrain
Start of the season: Massa. 8th to 3rd before the braking point for T1.
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg hitting Hamilton at Spa
Pit crew of the season: Mercedes. Purely because they managed to cover Eddie Jordan with custard.

[VetteIfan]

I'm gonna throw a very debatable curveball out there at everyone which I suspect will be taken quite negatively, but I've been wanting to get off my chest for a while. Has Bottas really been that brilliant? He's clearly a good driver, no doubt about it, but did anyone else other than me expect a bit more?

A lot of his gap to his teammate in the table can be attributed to bad luck for Massa (4 DNF's vs 1 DNF) in races where he definitely would have got good results. And in, if you're being kind a car just as good as the Red Bull (in my view better over the course of the season) he only just beat Vettel and Alonso to 4th place in the championship. One of those guys is in everyone's disappointments of the season. 

[RevolvingPrawn]

3 DNF's for Massa, not 4 :p Australia hit from behind by Kobayashi, Britain nearly avoided Raikkonen crashing, Germany turned in on Magnussen and caused his own DNF. 

I do think they've been a well matched pair this season, but 6 podiums for Bottas, 3 for Bottas, and Bottas finishing 48 points and 3 places ahead in the WDC says it all for me. 
Looking forward to seeing these 2 against each other again, hopefully they'll both score at least 1 win each.

[VetteIfan]

RevolvingPrawn said:

3 DNF's for Massa, not 4 :p Australia hit from behind by Kobayashi, Britain nearly avoided Raikkonen crashing, Germany turned in on Magnussen and caused his own DNF. 

Nope, he definitely had 4. Count again :p 

[MBKF1]

VetteIfan said:

I'm gonna throw a very debatable curveball out there at everyone which I suspect will be taken quite negatively, but I've been wanting to get off my chest for a while. Has Bottas really been that brilliant? He's clearly a good driver, no doubt about it, but did anyone else other than me expect a bit more?

A lot of his gap to his teammate in the table can be attributed to bad luck for Massa (4 DNF's vs 1 DNF) in races where he definitely would have got good results. And in, if you're being kind a car just as good as the Red Bull (in my view better over the course of the season) he only just beat Vettel and Alonso to 4th place in the championship. One of those guys is in everyone's disappointments of the season. 

I think he has been very good, and he's exceeded my expectations of what I thought he would achieve this season, obviously.

There were times when I thought he under delivered when the pace was there (Sochi Q3 springs to mind) but he got six podiums, many top 3 finishes in qualifying, and I can't remember him making contact with anyone this season, or going off the track making huge mistakes. He's a really clean driver, fast, consistent too. 

Yes he only just beat them but he still beat them. Vettel's been listed as disappointments for people probably due to the fact he has won four world titles, nearly 40 victories, and he's been smashed by Ricciardo in his first season at the top. Sebastian Vettel won no races this season and scored onl 3 podiums to Ricciardo's 8. 

[MATT]

Best driver(s) of the season: Ricciardo, Hamilton, Rosberg
Worst driver(s) of the season: Maldonado, King Joffery, Raikkonen.
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Vettel, Raikkonen, K-Mag. 
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes and Williams.
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: LoLtus, Sauber
Surprise of the season: A 4 time world champion loosing to a man who used to race for HRT, Williams being competitive. 
Most improved driver of the season: Massa.
Personality of the season: Ricciardo.
Race of the season: I missed out on Bahrain and Canada so I really don't know.
Drive of the season: Difficult one, Bianchi in the points at Monaco stands out.
Overtake of the season: ?
Qualifying lap of the season: ?
Battle of the season: Alonso V Ricciardo at multiple races.
Start of the season: Hamilton at Abu Dhabi.
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg and Hamilton incident at spa.
Pit crew of the season: Red Bull. 

[RevolvingPrawn]

VetteIfan said:

RevolvingPrawn said:

3 DNF's for Massa, not 4 :p Australia hit from behind by Kobayashi, Britain nearly avoided Raikkonen crashing, Germany turned in on Magnussen and caused his own DNF. 

Nope, he definitely had 4. Count again :p 

Aaaah Canada lol. He was classified 12th still so I skipped over that one :p Tbf, Bottas finished only 7th in that race, and in the race Bottas DNF'd Massa finished 7th, so maybe that cancels it out? ;) Clutching at straws here haha.

I'd definitely say Massa has found his game again this season though, which is why I named him my most improved driver of the season.

[VetteIfan]

PeteTheDuck said:

There were times when I thought he under delivered when the pace was there (Sochi Q3 springs to mind) but he got six podiums, many top 3 finishes in qualifying, and I can't remember him making contact with anyone this season, or going off the track making huge mistakes. He's a really clean driver, fast, consistent too. 

Yes he only just beat them but he still beat them. Vettel's been listed as disappointments for people probably due to the fact he has won four world titles, nearly 40 victories, and he's been smashed by Ricciardo in his first season at the top. Sebastian Vettel won no races this season and scored onl 3 podiums to Ricciardo's 8. 

I'm not trying to say Vettel's not been disappointment. My point in bringing him up is in comparing him to Bottas. And as I say Bottas only just beat him in, in my opinion in a better car (but it could be argued they were equal), in Vettel's worst season ever. For him to have had a great season I'd have expected him to be much closer to Ricciardo, if not ahead. Considering how good the Williams is, he's not as close as I think he should be, honestly. 

[Liaveil]

Best driver(s) of the season: Hamilton, Ricciardo, Bottas
Worst driver(s) of the season: Ericsson
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Raikkonen, Magnussen
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes undoubtedly and Williams for a fantastic resurgence.
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Lotus and Sauber are obvious but I would personally go with Mclaren for their treatment of their drivers and being the worst Mercedes car for the majority of the year and Ferrari for being just simply rubbish all year.
Surprise of the season: Ricciardo's convincing team mate victory over Vettel and the sudden announcements that Vettel and Alonso were leaving their teams. Mclaren taking so long to decide if they should keep the driver who destroyed his team mate or the driver that was destroyed by his team mate.
Most improved driver of the season: Sergio Perez. Less mistakes, cleaner and some superb drives.
Personality of the season: Daniel Ricciardo, Jenson Button, Toto Wolff, Niki Lauda and Claire Williams.
Race of the season: Bahrain and Silverstone stand out for me.
Drive of the season: Hamilton at Silverstone/Hungary and Button at Suzuka.
Overtake of the season: Hamilton on Rosberg at Suzuka. Ricciardo on Vettel at Monza close behind. A shout out for Vergne on Raikkonen at Singapore as well.
Qualifying lap of the season: Grosjean grabbing 5th at Spain was pretty impressive.
Battle of the season: Hamilton vs Rosberg at Bahrain, Button vs Alonso at Austin, Ricciardo vs Alonso at Germany and Raikkonen vs Button at Brazil.
Start of the season: Hamilton today at Abu Dhabi and Massa at Bahrain.
Controversial moment of the season: Think it's quite unanimous that it was Rosberg at Spa and Monaco.
Pit crew of the season: Can't remember every pitstop but Ferrari's always seemed consistently quick from memory.

[Tommig1995]

I agree with Seb (although I would, I've been a Massa fan for a long time now), Massa has matched Bottas when you take into account his retirements (48 - 10 (Aus) - 15 (GBR) - 18 (GER, although that probably was his fault) = 8) plus the poor strategy calls that have cost him a lot of places, eg Austria which cost him net 6 points to Bottas. Massa has been the only guy not in a Merc to take pole this year, and he's not exactly famous for 1 lap pace. Bottas is definitely very good, he equal to Massa who should have been world champion. Whether 2014 Massa is as good as 2008 we'll never know, but he was genuinely quick today, and for most of the 2nd half of the season.

[buttonfan]

Best driver(s) of the season: Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo
Worst driver(s) of the season: Maldonado
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Raikkonen, Magnussen
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes, Williams
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Lotus, Sauber 
Surprise of the season: Ricciardo beating Vettel 
Most improved driver of the season: Massa
Personality of the season: Ricciardo
Race of the season: Canada
Drive of the season: Hamilton in Hungary
Overtake of the season: Ricciardo on Vettel in Monza
Qualifying lap of the season: Hamilton in China
Battle of the season: Hamilton vs Rosberg in Bahrain
Start of the season: Massa in Bahrain 
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg's off in Monaco qualifying
Pit crew of the season: McLaren, especially at the 2nd half of the season

[APR193]

Best driver(s) of the season: Hamilton, Ricciardo, Bottas
Worst driver(s) of the season: Kimi, Vettel, Ericsson
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Magnussen, Vettel, Kimi
Best team(s) of the season: Merc, Williams
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus
Surprise of the season: Vettel/Kimi being so slow, Williams' being quick all year
Most improved driver of the season: Ricciardo, Bottas
Personality of the season:  Ricciardo is the only one I can think of shows something you could call a personality
Race of the season: Bahrain or Canada
Drive of the season: Lewis in Hungary or Rosberg in Canada
Overtake of the season: Between Lewis on Nico in USA (because of what it meant for the title) and Ricciardo on Vettel in Monza
Qualifying lap of the season: No idea
Battle of the season: Nico and Lewis at Bahrain/Alonso and Ricciardo in Germany
Start of the season: Massa but can't remember the track
Controversial moment of the season: Spa between Nico and Lewis (Still don't believe Monaco was on purpose)
Pit crew of the season: Red Bull

[f1since08]

Best driver(s) of the season: Hamilton and Ricciardo
Worst driver(s) of the season: Maldonado
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Raikkonen, Kobayashi, Vettel
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes and Williams
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Ferrari, Sauber and McLaren
Surprise of the season: Ricciardo and Williams
Most improved driver of the season: Massa
Personality of the season: Ricciardo
Race of the season: Bahrain
Drive of the season: Bianchi at Monaco
Overtake of the season: Hulkenberg on Magnussen at Monaco and Ricciardo on Vettel at Monza
Qualifying lap of the season: Bottas at Sochi
Battle of the season: Hamilton V Rosberg at Bahrain and Vettel V Alonso at Silverstone
Start of the season: Hamilton at Abu Dhabi
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg at Monaco and Spa
Pit crew of the season: Red Bull

[couger1981]

Best driver(s) of the season: Ricciardo, Bottas, Hamilton, Rosberg.
Worst driver(s) of the season: Maldonado, Ericsson.
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Vettel, Raikkonen, Suitl.
Best team(s) of the season: Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams.
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Ferrari, Force India, Sauber.
Surprise of the season: Ricciardo.
Most improved driver of the season: Massa.
Personality of the season: Ricciardo.
Race of the season: Hungary
Drive of the season: Bianchi getting into the points.
Overtake of the season: Ricciardo v Alonso
Qualifying lap of the season:
Battle of the season: Vettel v Alonso
Start of the season: Hamilton Abu Dhabi
Controversial moment of the season: Rosberg Spa, Perez Canada.
Pit crew of the season:  Red bull.

[SASBlink]

Best driver(s) of the season:Hamilton-Riccardo-
Worst driver(s) of the season: Sutil- Gutierrez 
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Perez-Raikkonen- 
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes-Williams 
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Lotus-Ferrari 
Surprise of the season: Riccardo-kyvat
Most improved driver of the season: Masaa
Personality of the season: Riccardo 
Race of the season: Bahrain
Drive of the season:Hungary, Hamilton podium from pitlane.
Overtake of the season: Vetel vs Alo
Qualifying lap of the season: Riccardo in china, great effort to get 2nd
Battle of the season:Bahrain -Alo v Vet, siverstone.
Start of the season: Masaa or Ham
Controversial moment of the season: Monaco
Pit crew of the season: Redbull, to get a 18 sec pitstop in GER is impressive. nearly 1 sec faster than anyone else.

[Tommig1995]

Best driver(s) of the season: Ricciardo, Bianchi
Worst driver(s) of the season: Erricson, Sutil, Gutierez
Most disappointing driver(s) of the season: Sutil
Best team(s) of the season: Mercedes, Williams
Most disappointing team(s) of the season: Sauber, Ferrari
Surprise of the season: Alonso scoring 3x more points than Kimi
Most improved driver of the season: From the end of last season, Chitlon, from start of this season Vergne (and I don't know if it was the car or what, but Button as well)
Personality of the season: Ricciardo & Massa for smiling
Race of the season: Hungary
Drive of the season: Alonso @ Hungary/ Bianchi @ Monaco
Overtake of the season: Just about anything by Ricciardo
Qualifying lap of the season: Massa @ Austria
Battle of the season: Alonso vs Vettel @ Silverstone/ Alonso vs Button @‌ Austin
Start of the season: Massa @ Bahrain (9th -> 3rd, is there any other choice?)
Controversial moment of the season: Lewis' post race comments at Spa. ~~ "We sat down after the race and he basically said he did it deliberately"/ Everything said by Bernie post Russian GP.
Pit crew of the season: Idk, everyone says RBR, so they're probably right.