By Paul Weaver/Theguardian
1. Hamilton’s deserved accolade
The best memory of 2014 is the last: it is of Lewis Hamilton deservedly lifting the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award in Glasgow after winning his second Formula One world championship. While not quite subscribing to GK Chesterton’s observation that golf is merely an expensive way of playing marbles, I have never counted those who hit a stationary ball with a stick among the greatest of sportsmen, Rory McIlroy’s notable achievements notwithstanding. Golf should stop sulking and praise Hamilton instead. We can call him great now, one of the very best of Britain’s 10 F1 world champions. His defeat of his great rival Nico Rosberg was just as convincing as his thumping win over McIlroy.
2. Jules Bianchi’s crash in the Japanese Grand Prix
Sadly, all memories of a terrific F1 season will be framed in black crepe, for this was the sport’s worst moment since the great Ayrton Senna was killed at Imola 20 years ago. Jules Bianchi suffered serious head injuries and his much-loved Marussia team disappeared from the grid a short time afterwards. Bianchi’s achievement in scoring Marussia’s first ever points at Monaco earlier in the season looked all the more poignant after Suzuka.
3. Ricciardo’s pass of
Lewis Hamilton
After Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo was the stand-out driver of the season. Ultimately, he drove Sebastian Vettel, his four-times world champion teammate, out of Red Bull. The Australian’s pace and overtaking panache were consistent features of the racing year, as was his toothpaste-commercial smile. The best memory of him: his pass on Hamilton, around the outside, in Hungary. This is a world champion of the future, which is why Red Bull could shrug off Vettel’s move to Ferrari. Ricciardo is a star, a brilliant driver and a most engaging personality.
4. Hamilton and Rosberg duel at the Bahrain Grand Prix
This is not my favourite place because on moral grounds F1 should simply not have returned here. But if we look at pure racing, Bahrain gave us the best shootout, the best piece of wheel-to-wheel combat we had all season. It was, inevitably, between the two Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and Rosberg. And, just as inevitably, Hamilton’s superior speed and race craft shone through. The race encapsulated the reasons why Hamilton beat Rosberg to the title. The race was under lights and the evening was a triumph. If only you can forget those human-rights issues.
5. Hamilton ignores team
orders in Hungary
The round at the Hungaroring in July was the best of the season, just pipping Bahrain. Ricciardo’s victory, following his first win in Canada, confirmed his class. But the result of a race spiced up by rain and the introduction of safety cars was always in doubt. Hamilton and Rosberg once again had starring roles, with the former producing one of his finest drives, starting from the pitlane to finish third after a fire had ruined his qualifying stint the previous day. Hamilton, with some justification, ignored team orders to let Rosberg past and finished ahead of the German, who had started in pole.
6. Hamilton and Rosberg
come together in Spa
The race in Belgium was the turning point of the season, according to Hamilton. It was there that Rosberg crashed into him and effectively took him out of the contest. Hamilton upped his game and was unbeatable from then. But Spa was an accident. Rosberg was more culpable at Monaco in May, when he blocked Hamilton from putting in a potentially pole-winning lap on the Saturday. We then realised just how tough Rosberg could be, as if we didn’t know anyway.
7. Mercedes winning the
constructors’ title
Their car and engine package was simply better than anyone else’s. It had been years in the making, and owed much to the departed Ross Brawn. But even though Brawn, who stood down a year ago, was missed at times, the management of Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe kept everything on track, even though the rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg was too hot to handle on occasions. The only surprise was that Mercedes had so many reliability problems. But Williams deserve almost as much praise for their stunning comeback after 2013. They were always near the front with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa and that is only partly explained by their Mercedes engine.
8. Anxiety over double
points in Abu Dhabi
F1 is very adept at shooting itself in the tyre and this was another example. It might have ruined the season, handing Rosberg an undeserved title in the very last race. Thankfully it didn’t, though it did distort everything a little at the end. Thankfully this awful idea has been scrapped for the 2015 season. Why is F1 so short of confidence that it feels it has to brighten itself up with silly ideas like this?
9. Ecclestone’s court case
The politics and fall-outs threatened to destroy what – on the track at least – was a very good season. This is the most selfish and capitalistic of sports and sadly age finally caught up with Bernie Ecclestone, who will be 85 next year. Perhaps the chief executive was also distracted by fighting court cases in London and Germany but he was unable to give the sport the leadership it so desperately needed – as was the FIA - as teams struggled to cope with cost of the new engines. Ecclestone needs help and so does the sport. It’s in a mess and didn’t deserve the success it enjoyed this year.
10. Celebrations in Austria
It was a disappointing year for Red Bull, who couldn’t maintain their dominance in the face of Mercedes’ commitment. But they brought their very own track to the F1 calendar and it was an absolute triumph. It was full of festive fun, parties, campers, top facilities and a contagious sense of celebration. And the racing wasn’t bad either.
