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Monza was awesome because we got to see a completely new podium for the season plus a maiden win for Gasly, who totally deserves it after the rocky year he had in 2019. Not to mention, seeing Lewis recover from his penalty and absolutely storming up the field.
Sakhir was fantastic because my man George Russell got himself a drive in the best car, proved himself as a well-rounded and capable driver (not just Mr. Saturday), and got his first championship points, all while being killed by an awful pitstop and a very unlucky puncture (caused by debris from his own Williams, no less). We watched him run up the grid twice in the space of 20 laps, and it was just so insane to watch. But also, Checo's maiden win, Ocon's maiden podium after a tough start to the season, and finally a double-podium for RP (who clearly had the 3rd best car, but couldn't capitalize on situations and were stricken with bad strategy and reliability issues all season). Not to mention, a great points haul for McLaren, arguably making the difference in their points standing while RP recovered from a disastrous Bahrain GP and brought the fight back to McLaren for P3.
But really, in terms of pure chaos, the first race of the season in Austria was one of my favourites. 9 DNFs, Mercedes being knocked down a peg due to electrical issues requiring them to drive conservatively, Albon getting punted by Lewis again, Lando securing his first podium, LeClerc nursing the worst Ferrari since the 80's to P2 with a sneaky-good drive, and Gio, of all drivers, scoring 2 points. This was just such a memorable race because of the last 5 laps after the SC restart, starting with Albon and Hamilton's collision and ending with Lando's incredible final lap (securing fastest lap in the process). Also, after everything that happened due to the pandemic, it was peak silly season with the added hype of being the first race of the season with a very competitive-looking midfield.
I'll never forget the 2020 season. Despite it being shortened, so much happened and it was an absolute roller coaster the whole way. Especially if you don't pay any attention to the Merc dominance. Let's not forget, out of the 17 races he competed in, Max Verstappen retired 5 times and ended up on the podium 10 out of his 11 remaining races. One of those podiums being after he crashed his car ON THE FORMATION LAP. Absolutely mad season.
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