The First Half of the F1 2021 season

 Simon B

This week is the 30 year anniversary of Michael Schumacher's Formula One Debut. Why not write about F1 since it's been a while and we're at the unofficial midway point in the 2021 season.

This has been quite an interesting season so far and there's been a lot of unexpected moments. Here are some things we've learned since the first race in Bahrain on March 28th:

Mercedes Are Not Untouchable This Year

It's been 7 straight seasons where Mercedes capture both the Driver's and Constructor's championships. Naturally, before the season started most thought that we would get more of the same because they still have the same driver's lineup and it's been domination after domination for almost a decade now. 

However, when preseason testing rolled around, Red Bull were the ones with the fastest-looking car and they turned a lot of heads. The Honda-powered RB16 has been blisteringly quick all season and in all honesty, I think it's the best car on the grid. Not only does Red Bull have a great car, they also have one extremely talented driver in Max Verstappen who for stretches has been leading the Driver's championship and is putting Lewis Hamilton's record-setting 8th World Championship in jeopardy. 

Mercedes do have the lead in both championships at the moment but their lead could disappear within one race weekend. Because both Mercedes and Reb Bull lack production from their second Drivers (Checo Perez and Valtteri Bottas), it's most likely going to be either Verstappen or Hamilton who wins the constructors title for their respective teams.

That said, we finally have a legitimate battle for both titles. That is something all fans are excited about.

Polar Opposites at McLaren

When Daniel Ricciardo decide to leave Renault (now Alpine) last season, my initial reaction was that his decision to change teams was a bit premature. He only spent two years with Renault and even though they lacked success at the beginning, Ricciardo finally reached the podium twice by the end of 2020. When they finally announced that he was going to McLaren, I wasn't sure what to expect. On one hand, he's a veteran diver who still wants to win but he also has to get used to a new car and how to drive it to the best of his capabilities.

So far, Ricciardo has struggled with that. He currently sits 8th in the championship and although he has not had a DNF yet this year, his best race result is only 5th compared to his much younger teammate Lando Norris who has been in the top five in every single race that he has completed (DNF in Hungary).

As you can tell, unlike the Aussie, Norris has had a stellar season. It's his breakout year in F1. A lot of people wondered if Lando would be able to succeed as the main man on the team after Carlos Sainz's departure at the end of 2020 but Lando has proven every single race weekend that he's up to the task. he's got McLaren in third place in the constructor's championship (which was more or less expected) but what's even more impressive is that he holds that same position in the driver's championship as he's 5 points clear of Valtteri Bottas in 4th.

A Really Tight Midfield

In 2021, I see two separate midfield tiers. As a general rule, the midfield is the 4th team in the constructor's championship until the 6th. The Battle for third between Ferrari and McLaren is so tight (they're currently tied at 163 points). Looking at the 5th-place team, Alpine, who only has 77 points, I think that's where the gap is.

Ferrari has made some significant improvements to their team after finishing a measly 6th place after last year's disaster season. Carlos Sainz has been a revelation for them. He got used to his new car very quickly and was able to push it to its limit without much hassle. Charles Leclerc has been more like a Mr. Reliable this year as well. Apart from a few DNFs, the Monegasque has been able to finish in the points every other race but one ( French GP where he was 16th). Unlike McLaren, they have been getting their points at almost a 50/50 split between the two drivers. Sainz currently has 83 points and Leclerc 80. Having two cars that can compete for podiums and possibly wins instead of just one is a huge boost and I think that that will make the difference and give the Italian-based team the edge in 2021.

The rest of the midfield may be far away from McLaren and Ferrari but they're certainly not respecting Covid protocols with how close they are to each other (sorry for that joke...).  Less than 30 points separate 5th place Alpine (77) from 7th placed Aston Martin (48) and if it weren't for Sebastian Vettel's disqualification from the results of the Hungarian GP, Aston Martin would have 18 more points. Sitting between the two is AlphaTauri with 68 points. 

Alpine started this season off really slowly but in the last few races, they've really picked up the pace. Esteban Ocon's fist-career win in Hungary certainly helped that. Ocon has been average at best over his tenure at Renaut/Alpine as either he hasn't had a car that can compete with the big boys or he's been struggling with his car. The difference has been that on tracks that suit his car, he's been able to maximize the performance of it and therefore, get those long-awaited results. Fernando Alonso is slowly creeping his way back into F1 form after two years away from the sport. As he said in an interview at the beginning of the season though, his focus is on preparing for next year's championship.

At AlphaTauri, it's unfortunately been a one-car race almost every weekend. Yuki Tsunoda has really struggled throughout his rookie season getting to grips with the car he's driving. His best finish of the season was the last race in Hungary when he placed 6th but other than that it either been in low-scoring point spots or out of the points completely. I don't think the car is the issue here because Pierre Gasly has been able to get somewhat decent results for the team as he currently sits 9th in the driver's championship with 50 points. Gasly has been in the points in all but two races this year (one of which was a DNF) and has been on the podium once as a bonus. Once again, Gasly is proving that he's got what it takes to win in F1.

Aston Martin has a bit of a surprise to them. 30 of their 48 points this season have come from Sebastian Vettel. The veteran driver is in his first year with the team and has taken almost no time to get used to the new car. He's secured a podium (two if you count Hungary where his car was eventually disqualified) and he's always been in the hunt for points finishes. His teammate Lance Stroll has been with the team for a while now and had a relatively good season last year getting a pole position and few podiums. Lance has however struggled this year at being consistent. He's failed to score points in just under half of the races so far this year and has yet to finish above 8th in a Grand Prix. I'm not sure if he's struggling with the car or if he isn't driving at the level he's proved he can but without the Montreal native performing at his best, it's going to be difficult for Aston Martin to gain upon the teams ahead of them in the midfield.

The Wrap

There's one of my favorite races on the entire calendar coming up this weekend: the Belgian Grand Prix from Spa-Francorchamps. a historic circuit, fast chicanes and a chance for Red Bull to retake the Championship lead. They just locked up Checo Perez for 2022 so we will see if this adds confidence in his driving and he can get some great results. 

Should be a good one and I'll write a recap for it after the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Shoots Left and Writes is also doing Radio Updates on Dave's Faves, the Saturday afternoon show on CKOL FM in Campbellford. You can check out the latest episodes on their Facebook page!

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Thanks for reading!

Images Courtesy of Fromula1.com