Firstly I need to apologise for the lack of content on Raceweek in recent months. This has been a very busy time period for me over the past few months and it has been hard to find a balance. I wanted to do a long video preview but that is not possible. So I have decided to write a blog post instead. I will be going through team-by-team on what to expect.
Mercedes
Lets start with the reigning 7 time drivers and constructors champions. It is no surprise that the newly knighted Sir Lewis Hamilton is the favourite to take an unprecedented eighth world title. On paper, the odds are in his favour. Chassis’ being carried over from 2020, so they will be using the same chassis that dominated the 2020 season. Whilst his team-mate Valtteri Bottas will be hungry to beat his world champion team-mate over the course of the season. But preseason was not good for them. Both drivers struggled with the handling of their car, and they were not as bulletproof as you’d expect. But it would be very risky to write off Mercedes, and as they are a skilled team there is every chance they could fix their issues before the race weekend.
Red Bull
The team hoping to pounce if the reigning champions have problems is Red Bull. They spent 2020 gradually gaining an understanding of their RB16, which culminated in a dominant victory for Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi. The team looked very strong in preseason testing and look like they could be on the pace right away in Bahrain. One of the big stories of the season will be how new team-mate Sergio Perez gets on. He has experience on his side, so on paper, having driven many types of Formula One car, he should be able to adapt to a car outside his comfort zone much better than the less experienced drivers that preceded him. However if a driver known to be fast underperforms like Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon, then there will be a lot of questions directed at the Red Bull team about their handling of their second drivers.
McLaren
There is a lot of change at McLaren this year. They have returned to Mercedes power for the first time since 2014, and Daniel Ricciardo joins the team to replace the outgoing Carlos Sainz, alongside Lando Norris, who enters his third season in Formula One. The car ran reliably with the new engine in preseason testing, and looked to have outright pace, with a strong driver line-up as well. In order to defend their third place in the constructors they will be hoping to fix the small balance issues that hindered them last year.
Aston Martin
Racing Point have been rebranded as Aston Martin, who enter Formula One as a constructor for the first time since 1960. And with the increased funding, as well as the carryover of the controversial 2020 chassis that brought Racing Point so much success, there is a lot of hype surrounding them. Lance Stroll remains at the team for a third consecutive year. Alongside him will be four time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who will hope for redemption after an extremely difficult 2020 season at Ferrari. A lot is expected of the team heading into this new season.
Alpine
Whilst its a new name and colour scheme, it is still the Renault works team that scored three podiums at the end of 2020. They have decided to use motorsport to promote their Alpine brand as part of a corporate restructuring. This restructuring has also seen change at the top. Cyril Abiteboul is out, and the team now has 3 people in charge, in the form of CEO Laurent Rossi, Executive Director Marcin Budkowski and Racing Director Davide Brivio. The team has also seen a driver line-up change. Esteban Ocon remains at the team, whilst replacing the outgoing Daniel Ricciardo is none other than 2 time world champion Fernando Alonso, who demonstrated he’d lost none of his speed in testing. The car looked quick out of the box and hopes to build on their 3 podiums at the end of 2020.
Ferrari
Surely the only way is up for Ferrari after their worst season since 1980. They seem to have clawed back some of the lost power of their 2020 car, so they could at least join that midfield fight. But with the same chassis’ being carried over, realistically wins are unlikely. Charles Leclerc remains at the team for a third consecutive season, having been one of the stars of 2020 after some solid results in a difficult car, and saving Ferrari from the embarrassment of being beaten by fellow compatriots AlphaTauri. Whilst Carlos Sainz joins the prancing horse from McLaren, replacing the outgoing Sebastian Vettel.
AlphaTauri
Red Bull’s sister team had probably their best season to date last year, with Pierre Gasly being one of the stars of the season and consistently delivering good results, which included a shock win at Monza. Alongside him will be Formula 2 graduate Yuki Tsunoda, who I am expecting to be quick straight out of the box considering his form in testing. This is in my opinion one of the strongest line-ups on the grid and the car looked very good in preseason testing. Because of that I could see them joining the scrap for the top of the midfield.
Alfa Romeo
The team had a difficult season last year, having suffered from Ferrari’s power deficit. But things could be better for them this year with increased power from the engine. Although with the midfield being as competitive as it is, and the likes of AlphaTauri potentially making steps forward, it will be a struggle for them to actually move up the order. Perhaps unexpectedly they have kept their 2020 driver line-up of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Haas
F1’s newest team have had a miserable offseason. They were unable to fire up their 2021 car till just before preseason testing as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. And once the car got going it looked to be quite off the pace. The team have an all-rookie line-up. Both drivers have attracted a lot of attention for reasons at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Mick Schumacher, son of 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher, makes his much anticipated Formula One debut after winning the Formula 2 championship last year. Alongside him is controversial rookie Nikita Mazepin, who has speed after winning 2 races in Formula 2 last year, but has a reputation to recover after he made the headlines for all the wrong reasons just 5 days after his signing with Haas.
Williams
Williams ended the season with the dreaded nul points in 2020. But it was an improvement over their miserable 2019 season. The team will be hoping for a further step up in their first full season under their new management. George Russell starred in his one off race with Mercedes last year and will hope to finally score his first points for Williams, whilst Nicholas Latifi did his job effectively last year in his rookie season, entering his second season in Formula One.
Verdict
As far as the season goes, I am expecting Red Bull to continue their form from preseason testing and hit the ground running at the start of the season and in the early races. But whilst it may be a closer fight, Mercedes have proven in the past how good they are over the course of the season even if they don’t start the season on top. For this reason I am expecting Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to prevail come season’s end. It is going to be an incredibly tight midfield with McLaren, Aston Martin, Alpine, Ferrari and AlphaTauri potentially fighting for third in the constructors, and that will be fascinating to watch over the course of the season.
Here is my prediction for both championships this season.
Drivers
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Max Verstappen
3. Sergio Perez
4. Valtteri Bottas
5. Daniel Ricciardo
6. Sebastian Vettel
7. Pierre Gasly
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Charles Leclerc
10. Yuki Tsunoda
11. Lando Norris
12. Carlos Sainz
13. Lance Stroll
14. Esteban Ocon
15. Antonio Giovinazzi
16. Kimi Raikkonen
17. George Russell
18. Mick Schumacher
19. Nicholas Latifi
20. Nikita Mazepin
Constructors
1. Mercedes
2. Red Bull
3. McLaren
4. Aston Martin
5. AlphaTauri
6. Ferrari
7. Alpine
8. Alfa Romeo
9. Williams
10. Haas
This season on RaceWeek
I have decided that this year, until COVID-19 restrictions ease and I can produce visual content more effectively, I will be putting more emphasis on written content for the time being. However I do still plan on doing a live show on the Monday after each race on the RaceWeek YouTube channel, with more extensive analysis than last year. Once COVID-19 restrictions ease, I hope to be attending multiple motorsport events and producing some good content for the RaceWeek YouTube channel.
It is sure set to be an exciting season and we at RaceWeek hope to cover every twist and turn of the final season of the current regulations cycle.
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