Start, Albert Park, Melbourne, 2019

The top stories, the best features: RaceFans’ complete 2019 F1 season review

2019 F1 season review

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As we prepare to welcome a new year, make sure you didn’t miss out on the pick of our coverage from the 2019 Formula 1 season.

RaceFans’ essential feature reads of 2019

We published long-form articles on a range of subjects during 2019. Here are some of our of favourite pieces, our most interesting interviews, and a few particularly popular features.

‘We want a champion to show skill, not how good the car is’: Jean Todt interview

Senna’s ‘private kart mechanic’ Tche reveals the secret to his speed

Why one team is warning F1’s 2021 cars will be a “nasty piece of work” to drive

The game changed and they didn’t: The true cause of Williams’ decline

How much do F1 drivers really earn? Don’t believe the clickbait

Why Red Bull gave Gasly’s seat to Albon instead of Kvyat

Tatiana Calderon, Alfa Romeo, Paul Ricard, 2019
F1’s old V8s are still in service
Why do Formula 1 teams still use their old V8 cars so often?

Was Shanghai the right place for the 1,000th race?

Why Hamilton didn’t get a penalty in Monaco – but Vettel did in Canada

Vettel vs Leclerc: Complete Ferrari Singapore team radio transcript

Vettel vs Leclerc round two: Complete Ferrari Russian Grand Prix team radio transcript

Why Brawn wanted F1’s 2021 revolution to be even more radical

Too much information? Why F1 is adding yet more TV graphics

The surprising lengths F1 is going to read fans’ minds

The F1 ‘minders’ who help drivers unlock their last percent of performance

‘We thought: What the hell was going on in motorsport?’: How W Series came to be

Why Lewis Hamilton’s lack of a knighthood is no surprise

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Our top news stories of the season

Racing Point in Aston Martin colours
Analysis: What a Racing Point-Aston Martin deal would mean for them, F1 – and Red Bull
These are some of the stories which attracted the most attention from RaceFans readers during 2019:

Racing Point could become Aston Martin as Lawrence Stroll eyes buy-in

Formula 1 teams’ prize money payments for 2019 revealed

New F1 team Panthera seeking to join grid in 2021

Renault thrown out of Japanese Grand Prix result as FIA upholds Racing Point protest

First pictures of new Ferrari SF90 leaked

Wheel rim lights planned for 2021 F1 season

Toro Rosso planning name change to Alpha Tauri

Vettel unimpressed by ‘selfie guy and s***** trophies’

Leclerc ignored order from Ferrari to stay behind Vettel

F2 driver banned after collecting nine penalty points in one race

Vettel is considering his future in F1: ‘It’s now more show than sport’

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Those we lost last year

The motorsport community mourned many losses during 2019, but three in particular hit many especially hard.

Charlie Whiting: 1952-2019

A life lived in service to F1: Thank you and farewell to Charlie Whiting

Niki Lauda, 1949-2019

Anthoine Hubert, 1996–2019

F1 driver rankings

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Yas Marina, 2019
Number 44 was our number one
While Lewis Hamilton topped our rankings, he was also chosen as the Driver of the Year by RaceFans readers.

2019 F1 driver rankings #1: Lewis Hamilton
2019 F1 driver rankings #2: Max Verstappen
2019 F1 driver rankings #3: Carlos Sainz Jnr
2019 F1 driver rankings #4: Charles Leclerc
2019 F1 driver rankings #5: Valtteri Bottas
2019 F1 driver rankings #6: Sergio Perez
2019 F1 driver rankings #7: Daniel Ricciardo
2019 F1 driver rankings #8: Lando Norris
2019 F1 driver rankings #9: Kimi Raikkonen
2019 F1 driver rankings #10: Sebastian Vettel
2019 F1 driver rankings #11: George Russell
2019 F1 driver rankings #12: Alexander Albon
2019 F1 driver rankings #13: Pierre Gasly
2019 F1 driver rankings #14: Kevin Magnussen
2019 F1 driver rankings #15: Nico Hulkenberg
2019 F1 driver rankings #16: Daniil Kvyat
2019 F1 driver rankings #17: Antonio Giovinazzi
2019 F1 driver rankings #18: Romain Grosjean
2019 F1 driver rankings #19: Lance Stroll
2019 F1 driver rankings #20: Robert Kubica

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Every story from every race

Want to look back on a particular round from last season? Find all our coverage from each race here:

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2019 F1 season review

Browse all 2019 F1 season review articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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3 comments on “The top stories, the best features: RaceFans’ complete 2019 F1 season review”

  1. It’s interesting to re-read through old articles, and especially through the comment-sections. Even now I find it weird (as I already did at the time) how many questioned the credibility of China hosting the 1000th World Championship-race even though there weren’t many alternative options for that for climatic reasons, as well as, how much re-shuffle could’ve potentially been required on the race calendar just for a single season.

    1. Besides, what does it matter? That was just another race. Hosting the season finale at an unimaginative, soulless place bothers me much more. At least the season opener hasn’t remained in Bahrain.

  2. One thing is missing: the 2019 Rate The Race scores! Looking forward to the list, especially the German GP. Based on the histogram I wouldn’t be surprised if it had matched 2012 Brazil.

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