Palmer: Hamilton dominance made season 'more predictable than fans would like'

After the official end of the Formula 1 season, many Formula 1 experts give their overview of the racing year. Who shone and who stayed behind? Former racing driver Jolyon Palmer has also shared his analysis of the eventful season, starring the glittering races of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. However, Palmer also identifies a pain point in the dominance of his fellow countryman.

In his column for BBC.com, Palmer explains: “Hamilton had an exceptional season, and his dominance made the running at the front more predictable than F1 and the fans would have liked.” Out of the sixteen races in which Hamilton competed, he won eleven. This gave Hamilton a predictable and rapidly growing lead in the battle for the championship, one that the Briton won at the Turkish GP well before the end of the season. 

Palmer continues: “It was an astonishing level of superiority.With Mercedes on a different level to every other team in terms of car performance, many of Hamilton's wins came from pole position.But even when he was not on pole, he could fight back and pass team-mate Valtteri Bottas on track, which he did at both the Nurburgring and Portimao.”

Could be worse

According to Palmer, Hamilton's dominance could have been even stronger if the British rider had not received penalty points in Monza and Russia, and if he had been fitter at the last Grand Prix at Abu Dhabi. Palmer said: “Hamilton was denied two certain victories by incurring penalties in Monza and Russia. And he may not have been back to his fighting best in Abu Dhabi for the season finale after contracting coronavirus and missing the second Bahrain race.”