Shocker: Elimination qualifying -- remember that? F1's feeble, farcical attempt to shake-up a qualifying format which didn't need shaking up backfired in comical fashion at the season-opener in Australia. The format was so bad team bosses agreed that it be dropped immediately, only for F1's Strategy Group to fail to agree. That meant the format remained, in full, for Bahrain despite being universally loathed. Welcome to F1, ladies and gentlemen.
Biggest flop: Ferrari didn't win anything in 2016, so we're going to give them a late Christmas present and let them win this accolade. Coming into the season it seemed like Ferrari could challenge Mercedes - something which looked even more likely after Turn 1 in Australia. But blunder and disappointment followed as Ferrari dropped behind Red Bull in the pecking order by the summer break.
The team's failure was so extreme that the mellow, chirpy Sebastian Vettel of 2015 was replaced by a sweary and frustrated one this season, with the German's relationship with Maurizio Arrivabene coming under scrutiny towards the end of the year. A return to winning ways next year is the absolute minimum Ferrari should be wishing for when the clock strikes midnight this December 31.
Best race: This year's best race was also its longest: the epic three-hour slog in Brazil, which was interrupted by two red flags and five safety car periods, was the standout from the year. Romain Grosjean's crash on the way to the grid set the scene for the chaos which followed. Hanging over everything was a tense title fight, with a nervy Nico Rosberg following a sublime Lewis Hamilton, who led away from pole for his first Brazil win.
But the undoubted star was Verstappen, passing Rosberg superbly early on and then fighting back from a strategy error late on, carving through the field in the final laps to claim the final spot on the podium. A race which will go down as one of the best in recent memory.
Reddest face: Sebastian Vettel was one of the main advocates of the FIA's clampdown on moving under braking after being on the receiving end of Max Verstappen's controversial defensive tactic. Low and behold, who was the first man to fall victim to that very rule? Vettel, in Mexico, losing his podium finish in the process ... but not before his astonishing radio rant at race director Charlie Whiting (see below).
Delusion of the year: At time of writing, Esteban Gutierrez has no race seat for 2017. In fact, for the last few months of the year it seemed certain he would not be retained by Haas. Certain to everyone, that is, but Gutierrez, who played a curious game with the media from Belgium onwards.
First, the Mexican claimed he definitely had a seat for 2017, before revising that to say he definitely would be at an F1 team in some capacity, only to rebuff specific questions about what or where. Even Haas boss Guenther Steiner seemed confused by the Mexican's constant affirmations about 2017. Gutierrez's on-track performances did little to warrant another year in F1 and it remains to be seen whether Manor or Sauber gamble on him next year.
Worst sign of the year: Azerbaijan was clearly impressed with its debut F1 race, adorning the street circuit with signs saying 'Well done Baku'. However, the messages came across as either overly self-congratulatory or, in the age of social media, highly sarcastic, and instantly a strange backdrop for one of the best looking circuits on the calendar.
Overtake of the year: This could easily go to Verstappen for a number of passes on Rosberg in Great Britain, on half the field in Brazil. In fact, his pass on Rosberg at Interlagos earned him the FIA's Action of the Year award for most entertaining moment of the season.
In ordinary circumstances, Verstappen would win it. But he is actually the victim of our overtake of the year -- Rosberg's vital, high-pressure pass on the Dutch teenager during a crucial moment of the Abu Dhabi title decider. Everything rested on that moment and Rosberg -- so often criticised for his lack of overtakes during Mercedes' dominant spell -- made it stick when it mattered.
Breakthrough star of the year: Who else could it be? Max Verstappen proved he was pretty goo in 2015, but this year he rose to the big time in sensational style -- and all while still a teenager. His win in Spain was spectacular, especially given the fact he'd just been promoted to Red Bull, and he got better as the year went on. He's clearly far from the finished article, as his numerous incidents later in the season proved, but 2016 will be remembered as the emergence of a very special talent.
Moment of the year: Lewis Hamilton's engine blowout in Malaysia may well go down as the defining moment of the 2016 campaign. It was a bitter blow to his title ambitions and was when most of the paddock realised it might really be Nico Rosberg's year after all. Rosberg's shocking retirement comes a close second for shere unexpectedness, but his teammate's Sepang blowout will remain the iconic shot of the season.
Quote of the year: "Here's a message to Charlie -- f--- off!"
https://youtu.be/9BFx_VQ6ZNM
Sebastian Vettel's astonishing radio tirade in Mexico still doesn't seem real when listened back. We're not sure what was more shocking -- this quote, or the fact he got away with it without more than a slap on the wrist.
Biggest flop: Ferrari didn't win anything in 2016, so we're going to give them a late Christmas present and let them win this accolade. Coming into the season it seemed like Ferrari could challenge Mercedes - something which looked even more likely after Turn 1 in Australia. But blunder and disappointment followed as Ferrari dropped behind Red Bull in the pecking order by the summer break.
The team's failure was so extreme that the mellow, chirpy Sebastian Vettel of 2015 was replaced by a sweary and frustrated one this season, with the German's relationship with Maurizio Arrivabene coming under scrutiny towards the end of the year. A return to winning ways next year is the absolute minimum Ferrari should be wishing for when the clock strikes midnight this December 31.
 |
| Sebastian Vettel |
Best race: This year's best race was also its longest: the epic three-hour slog in Brazil, which was interrupted by two red flags and five safety car periods, was the standout from the year. Romain Grosjean's crash on the way to the grid set the scene for the chaos which followed. Hanging over everything was a tense title fight, with a nervy Nico Rosberg following a sublime Lewis Hamilton, who led away from pole for his first Brazil win.
 |
| Romain Grosjean after his crash at the Brazilian Grand Prix |
But the undoubted star was Verstappen, passing Rosberg superbly early on and then fighting back from a strategy error late on, carving through the field in the final laps to claim the final spot on the podium. A race which will go down as one of the best in recent memory.
Reddest face: Sebastian Vettel was one of the main advocates of the FIA's clampdown on moving under braking after being on the receiving end of Max Verstappen's controversial defensive tactic. Low and behold, who was the first man to fall victim to that very rule? Vettel, in Mexico, losing his podium finish in the process ... but not before his astonishing radio rant at race director Charlie Whiting (see below).
Delusion of the year: At time of writing, Esteban Gutierrez has no race seat for 2017. In fact, for the last few months of the year it seemed certain he would not be retained by Haas. Certain to everyone, that is, but Gutierrez, who played a curious game with the media from Belgium onwards.
 |
| Esteban Gutierrez - Still without a drive for 2017 |
First, the Mexican claimed he definitely had a seat for 2017, before revising that to say he definitely would be at an F1 team in some capacity, only to rebuff specific questions about what or where. Even Haas boss Guenther Steiner seemed confused by the Mexican's constant affirmations about 2017. Gutierrez's on-track performances did little to warrant another year in F1 and it remains to be seen whether Manor or Sauber gamble on him next year.
Worst sign of the year: Azerbaijan was clearly impressed with its debut F1 race, adorning the street circuit with signs saying 'Well done Baku'. However, the messages came across as either overly self-congratulatory or, in the age of social media, highly sarcastic, and instantly a strange backdrop for one of the best looking circuits on the calendar.
Overtake of the year: This could easily go to Verstappen for a number of passes on Rosberg in Great Britain, on half the field in Brazil. In fact, his pass on Rosberg at Interlagos earned him the FIA's Action of the Year award for most entertaining moment of the season.
In ordinary circumstances, Verstappen would win it. But he is actually the victim of our overtake of the year -- Rosberg's vital, high-pressure pass on the Dutch teenager during a crucial moment of the Abu Dhabi title decider. Everything rested on that moment and Rosberg -- so often criticised for his lack of overtakes during Mercedes' dominant spell -- made it stick when it mattered.
Breakthrough star of the year: Who else could it be? Max Verstappen proved he was pretty goo in 2015, but this year he rose to the big time in sensational style -- and all while still a teenager. His win in Spain was spectacular, especially given the fact he'd just been promoted to Red Bull, and he got better as the year went on. He's clearly far from the finished article, as his numerous incidents later in the season proved, but 2016 will be remembered as the emergence of a very special talent.
 |
| Max Verstappen |
Moment of the year: Lewis Hamilton's engine blowout in Malaysia may well go down as the defining moment of the 2016 campaign. It was a bitter blow to his title ambitions and was when most of the paddock realised it might really be Nico Rosberg's year after all. Rosberg's shocking retirement comes a close second for shere unexpectedness, but his teammate's Sepang blowout will remain the iconic shot of the season.
 |
| Lewis Hamilton's spectacular engine blow-up in Malaysia |
Quote of the year: "Here's a message to Charlie -- f--- off!"
https://youtu.be/9BFx_VQ6ZNM
Sebastian Vettel's astonishing radio tirade in Mexico still doesn't seem real when listened back. We're not sure what was more shocking -- this quote, or the fact he got away with it without more than a slap on the wrist.
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