The Driving Formula

As we bide goodbye to the 2010s with Lewis Hamilton rollercoaster performances lightening up the decade, there is a need to review the years gone by.

Hence, the various teams and their viable respective drivers are bracing up for the 70th anniversary season of the Formula 1.

In the 2000s, Michael Schumacher notched up 56 grand prix wins, and won five championships with Ferrari. Fernando Alonso - who made his debut in 2001 - also took 21 wins and two titles while racing for Renault. While Kimi Raikkonen won 18 races, and a title in 2007 - Ferrari's last title it must be mentioned.

In the 2010s, Lewis Hamilton had 73 grand prix wins in the Formula One. The dawn of Mercedes turbo-hybrid era signalled the beginning of Hamilton's ongoing dominance.

Sebastian Vettel's 48 wins in the 2010s yielded all four of the decade's first championships before Hamilton domination.

While Nico Rosberg managed to rack up 23 wins , his first in 2012 and his last in 2016 - when he bowed out as champion.

Teams Stats 

Ferrari 

The Italian based team is the oldest and the most successful Formula One team, having competed in every world championships since the 1950.

Stats 

Races entered - 993 (990 starts)

Races won - 239

Pole Position - 229

Fastest laps - 260

Podiums - 776

Constructors Championships - 16 titles (1961, 1964, 1975 -1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999 - 2004, 2007 and 2008).

Drivers Championships - 15 wins (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000 - 2004 and 2007)

Michael Schumacher is the team's most successful driver. From 1996 to 2006, he won 5 drivers titles and 72 Grands prix for the team.

Mercedes Benz 

Mercedes has become one of the most successful teams in recent formula one history, having achieved consecutive Drivers and Constructors Championships wins from 2014 to 2019.

Mercedes debuted in Formula One in 1954, their nickname is the "Silver Arrows".

Stats 

Races competed in - 482 races (480 starts).

Won - 188 race victories

Podiums - 479 times

Pole positions - 194 times

Fastest lap - 170

Points - 10, 377

They had 739 points in 2019 (to emerged champion).

Constructors championships - 8 titles ( 1998, 2009, 2014 - 2019).

Mercedes collected 16 victories in 2014 and 2015 apiece breaking Mc Laren (1988) and Ferrari's (2002 & 2004) record of 15.

In 2016, they extended this record with 19 wins.

Drivers Championships - 12 wins (1954, 1955, 1998, 1999, 2008, 2009 and 2014 - 2019)

Drivers Stats 

- The Drivers Championship was first awarded in 1950 to Giuseppe Farina.

- The first driver to win multiple Championships was Alberto Ascari in 1952 & 1953.

- The Drivers Championship has been won in the final race of the season 29 times in the 69 seasons it has been awarded.

- Overall, thirty - three different drivers have won the championship, with Germany's Michael Schumacher holding the record for most titles (7 wins), while the current Drivers Champion is Lewis Hamilton who won his sixth title in 2019.

- The United Kingdom (UK) has produced the most champions with 10 wins.

Brazil, Germany and Finland are next with three wins apiece.

- Of the 33 drivers to have won the World Championship, 19 are still alive.

 

- Among the teams Scuderia Ferrari has the most drivers wins with 15.

The Formula One new season is set for commencement on March 15th 2020 with Australian Grand Prix.

With 21 races to compete in - China has been cancelled due to the corona virus outbreak - will Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton continues their dominance?

Fabiyi Ridwan

Sports Writer and Analyst

MERCEDES ANNOUNCES REPLACEMENT FOR ROSBERG

World champion Mercedes has made the announcement everyone has been waiting for in the Formula One arena - the new driver to partner Hamilton in 2017 - and it is 27year-old Finnish, Valtteri Bottas.

After four seasons of solid performances with Williams, he has been rewarded with every driver's dream - a seat with the best team in Formula 1.

Bottas has signed a one-year deal with the option for more with the German team, while  retired world-champion Rosberg moves into an ambassadorial role.

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Mercedes' young driver Pascal Wehrlein, passed over in favour of Bottas, joins the Swiss Sauber team for the season. Also coming in to replace Bottas in Williams is Brazilian Felipe Massa, who rescinded on his earlier decision to retire after the end of last season.

Rosberg's shock retirement, announced just five days after he wrapped up his maiden world title, was a "challenging situation for the team to handle", according to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

"Sometimes in life, unexpected circumstances provide interesting opportunities," he added. "Nico's decision in December was a big surprise.
"But weathering the storm makes you more resilient and we see this as another opportunity for the team to grow.

"I think Valtteri fits very well in our team, as a driver he's very fast, and he has also the heart in the right place.
"He shares our values and passion, and he's modest and humble and he's hard wworkingorking."

With his talent and calm disposition - which can be likened to Rosberg - and barring a remarkable slip in form for Mercedes, Bottas will morph from being an occasional podium visitor to a race-winner and possibly title contender this year.

MERCEDES READY TO LAUNCH CAR FOR 2017 SEASON

Current champion Mercedes will launch the 2017 car they which to defend their Formula 1 titles at their home ground Silverstone on Thursday, February 23.

The triple champions will unveil the F1 W08 and take to the British GP track for its very first laps on the same day as a part of an initial pre-testing shakedown and filming day. This is happening just a day before rivals Ferrari  take the covers off their new car at their private Fiorano test circuit in Italy and complete initial shakedown laps before winter testing begins on February 27 in Barcelona.

The Silverstone event will also involve a fan meet-and-greet with Lewis Hamilton and his yet to be announced new team mate, with the Silver Arrows offering a few lucky supporters the chance to join them for the launch.

The unveiling of the new Mercedes W08 will invariably be one of the most eagerly-anticipated of 2017's 'launch season', particularly as it will be the first chance for rivals to catch a glimpse of the world champions' interpretation of the sport's new aero rules.

In a drive for faster and more aggressive-looking cars, 2017's challengers will feature wider front wings, shorter rear wings and overall increases in downforce.

It promises to be a whole lot of fun and excitement this season as Red Bull are expected to mount a more sustained challenge to Mercedes' recent dominance of F1 in 2017, while Ferrari are also eyeing significant strides after they failed to win a single race throughout the 2016 season.