Getting up to Speed

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 Simon B

    It's February 1st. That means a lot of things: it's black history month, it's the shortest month of the year and it's the last full month of winter. For racing fans, it's also when F1 starts to get ready for the upcoming season. Teams reveal their cars to the public and drivers get into shape for the season. *

    I thought that to start the new month I would write about something new. This is a pre-season look at the 2021 Formula 1 grid.

Big Guns

   Since 2014, F1 has been dominated by Mercedes. They've won every World Championship since then no matter the driver lineup. The one Constant being Lewis Hamilton who won the drivers championship in 2020. I can't see a scenario where Mercedes aren't the favorites to win again. They have 2 strong drivers (Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas) and they have a crew that just came off designing the fastest car in history. Anything other than 1st will be disappointing for the German team.

    Ferrari is the most decorated and most popular team in the paddock. However, 2020 was a year to forget. they designed a slower car and finished 6th in the constructor's championship. They also lost longtime driver Sebastian Vettel who came over from Red Bull in 2014 as a world champion but never brought a championship to Ferrari. Replacing Vettel is Carlos Sainz. He was impressive in 2020 and showed maturity beyond his age. Sainz will drive alongside Charle Leclerc. He is also a very talented young driver. He will be going into his 3d season with the team. If the engineers can design a quick car this season there's no reason Ferrari should finish as bad as they did last year.

Almost There

    MacLaren. They've been a team on the rise since 2018. Last season they finished an impressive 3d in the constructed championship. But, they lost arguably their best driver in Carlos Sainz (Ferrari). The replacement for him is a good one though. Daniel Riccardo is joining the team after a struggling 2 years with Renault. When he was with Red Bull he showed how he could compete with everyone (even Hamilton) on a weekly basis so if MacLaren can have a car as good as last year, Riccardo could really help this team get back to the top. Their second driver is Lando Norris, he's a really outgoing young driver who has shown a ton of skill over the past 2 seasons. Both of these drivers have crazy personalities off the track but on it, they're going to be really good.

Best Of the Rest

    The Middle of the pack will probably consist of Alpine (Renault changed their team name), Aston Martin (previously BWT Racing Point), and Alpha Tauri. All of these teams have had stints where they look like they can easily compete for a top-two spot. Aston Martin missed out on 3d by 7 points last year and had a really quick car. Sebastian Vettel will be joining them from Ferrari and will bring consistency and veteran leadership to the team while Lance Stroll, another one of the young drivers, had a solid performance getting his first career pole position in 2020. 

    Alpine lost their best driver in Daniel Riccardo. However, they brought in 2-time world Champion Fernando Alonso to replace him. Alonso will be 40 this year but his veteran presence will benefit Esteban Ocon, the younger driver who is still developing. Alpine's (Renault) has been mediocre at best but if they have a faster car, they have the driver talent to bet them to a top-three spot. 

    Alpha Tauri is definitely one of my favorite teams to watch. When they are good, they have the energy of a kid on pixie sticks. Their number one driver, Pierre Gasly, can be one of the best on track when the car is performing well and he is coming off a season where he won his first-ever race (Italy). Their second driver is Yuki Tsunoda, a 20-year-old rookie. Rookies are really hard to predict in F1 because we don't know how well they will do in the car they'll drive. Even though they have talented drivers I don't see them finishing better than 6th or 7th next season.

Still, A Ways to Go

    The back of the pack will probably be similar to last season. Alpha Romeo, Haas, and Williams. They are just a step behind most of the other teams in terms of engineering and they definitely don't have as much driver talent (Williams' George Russel is the only driver who can really finish in a top 10 spot). But their rebuilding teams. Alpha Romeo is developing Antonio Giovanazzi all while being home to Kimi Raikkonen who will most likely retire in a few years. Haas will have two rookies driving for them in Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher (Michael Schumacher's son) and Williams really doesn't have the ability to design a car that their drivers, George Russel and Nicholas Latifi can win in.

The Wrap

    This season has a lot of new things. From new team names to drivers in new places. But If things go according to plan, it looks like it may be a race for second place due to Mercedes' dominance. But you never know in F1. Two teams have announced their car reveal dates (Alpha Romeo: Feb 22d and MacLaren: Feb 15th) but more are sure to be announced soon

Thanks for reading! I'd love your comments and questions.

    Please share with friends and take a moment to subscribe (head to the sidebar and sign up under the "subscribe" section) so you can read all my post-game pieces on the Leafs as well as my takes on the big news in Formula One and more. It would mean a lot.

#Formula1 #F12021 #Mercedes #Ferrari #MacLaren #F1

    

    

    

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

Comments

  1. Mom BradtFebruary 1, 2021 at 9:57 AM

    Was this written for Uncle JJ? :-)

    Blue and white till my faves.....xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. CorinneFebruary 1, 2021 at 4:36 PM

    Let's hope for a lot more competition instead of a complete Hamilton domination, et passez la premiere!

    ReplyDelete

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