How COVID goodwill failed to cease F1's infighting in 2020

As the chequered flag flew at the end of pre-season testing in February, Formula 1 prepared for the opening race in Melbourne with three political battles already brewing. In the space of nine days, controversies had emerged concerning Mercedes, Ferrari and Racing Point that left teams preparing to duel off-track upon touchdown in Australia.

But when not a single car took to the track for the season opener and the COVID-19 pandemic surged, it became clear that F1 had a wider, existential battle that required a level of collaboration rarely seen before in the series' 70-year history.

But once it made its welcome return in Austria to kick-start a 17-race season, such unity quickly broke down as the traditional infighting returned through a number of sagas, some of which proved crucial to defining F1's long-term future. F1's #WeRaceAsOne mantra rang true in many ways, but nothing could stop the fierce competition between the teams from spilling over at points.

The longest-running fight of the year started on the opening day of pre-season testing at Barcelona, when Racing Point rolled out its new RP20 for the first time. The similarities to the 2019 title-winning Mercedes were immediately noticeable, and explained as the team claimed it had reverse-engineered the 2019-spec W10 using photographs. With just one year to run on the regulations, and plentiful resources thanks to Lawrence Stroll's takeover, it could afford to take the risk and adopt a 'Haas Mk2' approach.

But as Sergio Perez set the pace on the opening day of pre-season testing, Racing Point's rivals were less than impressed by the 'pink Mercedes'. Renault executive director Marcin Budkowski called it a "concerning evolution" for F1, believing it could muddy the waters regarding customer cars, and the extent to which parts and IP are shared. By the end of testing, the routes to protest Racing Point's car were starting to be considered, with Renault leading the call.

Renault was not alone in considering action against another team. Mercedes came into its rivals' crosshairs after introducing an innovative steering device, dual-axis steering (DAS), on the second day of testing. Mercedes expressed its confidence that DAS was legal, and the FIA confirmed it was satisfied that it was safe, but Red Bull plotted action on the grounds that it was part of the suspension system because of the way it moved the front wheels.

A final bombshell dropped in the final hour of pre-season testing when the FIA announced it had reached a "private settlement" with Ferrari over its 2019 engine, which was suspected to have used a fuel-flow trick to provide a power boost. With neither the FIA nor Ferrari willing to say any more, the seven non-Ferrari-powered teams announced they were considering legal action.

Heading to Melbourne, the knives were already out, but such acrimony soon fell by the wayside when the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact F1. McLaren withdrew from the Australian Grand Prix on the eve of opening practice after one of its crew members tested positive, throwing the running of the race into doubt. Teams remained fiercely split on the matter, with three - Red Bull, AlphaTauri and Racing Point - still eager to go ahead with the weekend behind closed doors. Facing the prospect
of just six cars on track, F1 cancelled the grand prix altogether a couple of hours before practice was due to begin.

"We had people from Renault working in our factory, in their own team kit, in our race bays, in our facility - unthinkable under normal circumstances!" Christian Horner

As an aside, in the talks that raged through the night in Melbourne, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff informed the other six teams opposing Ferrari and its secret deal with the FIA over details concerning its 2019 engines that his squad would be stepping away from the battle, with parent company Daimler fearing the damage that could be inflicted by a long-running case. There was still a desire for clarity, but Ferrari's refusal to reveal the details of the settlement, citing concerns about giving away its IP, meant the fight was realistically over.

The paddock soon upped sticks from Australia and waited for news on when the season could begin, but the cancellations only mounted up. The races in Bahrain and Vietnam joined China - which had been cancelled back in February - in being scrapped and, as global air travel ceased and lockdowns came into force, it became clear F1 was facing a greater crisis.

As F1 tried to piece together a calendar, teams entered shutdown and ceased operations until they had a start date for the new season. But work for a greater cause was commenced as F1's engineering nous shifted to helping the fight against COVID-19.

Less than two weeks after Australia's cancellation, the seven UK-based F1 teams launched 'Project Pitlane', joining forces to help design and manufacture ventilators to assist patients suffering from COVID-19. Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrain worked with University College London to reverse-engineer a CPAP device in less than 100 hours, while many team members found themselves in rival factories working 18-hour days.

"At that point your competitive spirit goes out the window, and it's about coming up with solutions," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. "We had people from Renault working in our factory, in their own team kit, in our race bays, in our facility - unthinkable under normal circumstances!"

The collaboration also extended to meetings between F1's leaders - all on Zoom, naturally - as they tried to safeguard the series' future. Knowing there would be a massive shortfall in F1 revenue due to the reduced calendar, all teams swiftly agreed to measures to cut costs.

The introduction of the new technical regulations was postponed until 2022, allowing for a majority carry-over of the existing cars into next year. Once Ferrari dropped its opposition to a reduced budget cap in order to maintain the best interests of the sport, it was reduced from $175million to $145m from 2021.

"After the pandemic started, there was an understanding that we cannot continue like we are and we need to make changes," Haas F1 boss Gunther Steiner reflected at the end of the season. "By F1 standards, the changes were agreed pretty quickly. We said that nobody can sustain this. People will be leaving and there'll be nothing left if you continue like this.

"It was agreed pretty quickly to lower that budget cap. But F1 is fast-moving in other ways. Now it seems again that everybody is just looking after themselves."

F1's promotional team put plans in place for the season to start in Austria, kicking off with a run of European races to bolster the calendar. An initial goal to still race in Asia and the Americas had to be abandoned, but the final 17-race schedule, featuring old classics such as Imola and the Nurburgring, plus new additions at Mugello and Algarve Circuit, was something most thought unthinkable in the dark days of March.

PLUS: Well done F1 for holding a season in the pandemic - but what happens next?

"It cannot be praised enough what the FIA and FOM have done with the various circuit promoters and the bubble around COVID," said Wolff. "We're one of the very few sports in the world that have started very early, that have managed to put a calendar together of 17 races with some very new exciting race tracks. I must really take my hat off for what has been done for the sport."

But as the paddock reunited under the 'new normal' of F1's biosphere for the season opener at the Red Bull Ring at the start of July, self-interest was quick to return. Red Bull launched a protest against DAS after Friday practice, which was quickly thrown out by the FIA stewards. Renault began its crusade against Racing Point, focusing on the RP20's brake ducts, which as a listed part had to be designed by each team independently.

By the time of F1's celebrations at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, there were multiple battles brewing. The stewards reviewed four races' worth of protests against Racing Point and deemed it had designed its brake ducts by illegal means. The team received a 15-point penalty and a €400,000 (£368,000) fine, but could continue to use the part for the remainder of the season. That was a decision that pleased no one.

Ferrari, Renault, McLaren and Williams all lodged intentions to protest in pursuit of a harsher penalty, while Racing Point planned similar action to clear its name. Team owner Lawrence Stroll made a rare public statement, blasting rivals for "dragging our name through the mud". Wolff tried playing peacemaker to quell the "little revolution", only to get dragged into the saga more as Ferrari and Red Bull started to question Mercedes' involvement in the case.

As soon as the teams could revert to prioritising their own interests and chasing competitive advantages, they did so immediately

Wolff was fighting another fire at Silverstone as talks over the new Concorde Agreement fell into discord. As F1 moved to hasten an agreement and light a fire under Mercedes with the deadline looming, Wolff stood firm. He said his team would be the "biggest victim" under the revised commercial terms, and hit out at the others for being "up the arse" of Liberty Media in public while wanting change privately. F1 responded by saying it would not be delayed any longer in agreeing new commercial and governance terms, leaving the series and its dominant team in a stand-off.

But suddenly on all fronts, there was ceasefire. Within a week, Wolff's tune had changed over the Concorde Agreement as he accepted the compromises, allowing the heavily revised financial structure to be ratified and signed to keep all 10 teams on the grid. The Racing Point saga also petered out as the FIA moved to clamp down on reverse-engineering cars from 2021, satisfying those aggrieved by Racing Point's actions to ensure it would never happen again.

The final proper scrap (the frustration over Fernando Alonso's young-driver test inclusion was really a storm in a teacup) came in the wake of Honda's decision to quit F1 at the end of 2021. Red Bull expressed its wish to continue using the Japanese manufacturer's power units beyond that date on the condition that engine development was frozen, which received support from Mercedes.

Ferrari was against the plan, but then switched sides after agreeing to bring forward the next generation of engines by one year to 2025, only for Mercedes to then oppose a plan for a convergence mechanism between the power-unit manufacturers, leaving the proposal in the lurch once again.

Bearing the scars of battle, the political landscape of F1 is now vastly different to how it looked before the start of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a wake-up call in many ways, driving home the importance of making F1 financially sustainable. It has paved the way for a cheaper, fairer future for all teams. The level of collaboration was greater than ever, but it had to be. As soon as the teams could revert to prioritising their own interests and chasing competitive advantages, they did so immediately.

"I think we have seen two extremes," said Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul. "When things became extremely serious, for the world, for the economy, for the sport, for the health and safety of our personnel, the community, the camaraderie and spirit is here. There is no question about that.

"But let's not be under any illusions: we are all fierce competitors. If we are in this position, there is no coincidence - it's simply because we want to win."

McLaren chief Zak Brown felt all teams had quite clearly recognised what fights to pick and where it was best to unite.

"The politics that relate to on-track activities remain as high as ever," he said. "The teams have done a good job of separating what's sporting politics versus what's good for the sport when we all need to work together. There's a clear line that has divided between those two situations."

Like all sporting series, F1 has been rattled by the COVID-19 pandemic, helping it realise a few unwelcome home truths and put measures in place to give it the chance to celebrate many more anniversaries beyond its 70th. Through its awareness of the bigger picture and, particularly through Project Pitlane, the greater good, F1 was praised for its ingenuity, and this reflected wonderfully on all 10 teams.

But such unity was never going to come at the sacrifice of their political sharpness and willingness to wage war against each other - for better or for worse.