Let me just start with saying that I don't mean to bash Bottas here. He's had enough already. But with his "help", this season hit me hard with some realisations about historic F1 results and stats. Namely, just how much getting the right car influences how a certain driver will be regarded after years and decades. There are of course those who look at the past with more scrutiny and context, but they are the minority - most fans will just look at the numbers and draw conclusions from there. Bottas is an excellent example here. I have absolutely no doubt that at least half of the current and recent F1 drivers could match his results in that Mercedes. Yet many of them probably won't even get such a chance in their career and will leave the sport without any podiums and/or wins, fading into obscurity over the years, meanwhile down the line Bottas will be remembered as a multiple race winner, near the top echelons of F1 drivers. I know this is not some great discovery and many of you probably have that perspective already - I myself knew all of this on some level, in theory, but for whatever reason the full extent of it only came to me during this year. Thanks, Valtteri.
Now, what about you? Will you come away from this recently finished F1 season with any lasting conclusions and realisations? Has anything changed the way you look at the sport in general or any of its many parts?