The 2021 driver line up, so far…
Pic: F1.com
Although we have not seen any racing taking place in 2020, the grid for 2021 is starting to take shape. In the recent weeks of this lockdown, we have been experiencing the anticipation of driver swaps. The most recent affair of Sebastian Vettel deciding to not return to Ferrari has given the driver line-up a bit of a shake-up and initiate what us F1 fans like to call “silly season”. We have already seen driver swaps take place in McLaren and Renault; we cannot wait to see what the future holds for the rest of the grid.
Here is a look at the 2021 Driver line-up so far…
MERCEDES AMG PERFORMANCE
2021 Drivers: TBC
In recent years we have related the name Mercedes with the drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, however, there is some speculation that this may change next year. The biggest theory flying around at the moment is that George Russell of Williams will move up the grid to take Valtteri’s seat for next year, with Valtteri taking the free seat at Renault as there has been reports of the driver being “in-talks” with the team. With Lewis Hamilton’s contract running out at the end of the year and no sign of him giving up anytime soon, the question is how long until we hear the news of a renewal?
SCUDERIA FERRARI
2021 Drivers: Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz
With Charles Leclerc being contracted until 2024 with Ferrari there was only one space left for another driver and it was not the one we all expected. After years of being an important team member of Scuderia Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel made the decision to leave the team. This shocked the F1 world and left a free space for the very talented 25-year-old driver from McLaren, Carlos Sainz, to take the seat after his best season yet in 2019. This will be Ferrari’s youngest driver line up for 50 years! We have a positive feeling about this young duo bringing the fight to the track next year for the driver’s championship.
RED BULL RACING
2021 Drivers: Max Verstappen & TBC
As the talented Max Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull until 2022, there is only one seat available for the 2021 season at Red Bull. There are many theories around the team right now, one of the most exciting theories we have heard among the grape vine is that Sebastian Vettel may return to the team that saw him win 4 World Championships. It appears that this may never be a reality as Christian Horner gives the impression that he has no plans having the German driver as part of his team for 2021. We just really hope that the young British driver, Alex Albon, that currently has a seat at Red Bull is at the top of the list for the 2021 seat after showing great potential since the dramatic driver swap between Toro Rosso’s (now known as Scuderia Alpha Tauri) Pierre Gasly and himself halfway through the 2019 season.
MCLAREN
2021 Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo & Lando Norris
After the drama of the Ferrari seat swap it was announced that the empty seat left by Carlos Sainz (current McLaren driver) would be taken by the Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian is currently driving for Renault but he has chosen not to continue his contract with the team but instead move to the British based team that has in the past year shown great potential by being top of the midfield battle. In the midst of all this excitement of Carlos moving to Ferrari and Daniel joining McLaren, the amazing announcement that Lando Norris would continue to race for the team in 2021 seemed to get lost in the hustle and bustle of it all. Either way, we can’t wait to see this funny and talented pair racing in the same team next year!
RENAULT
2021 Drivers: Esteban Ocon & TBC
After taking a short break from F1 due to not being able to get a seat for the 2019 season, Esteban Ocon was supposed to return to racing this year for Renault after signing a 2-year contract with the team. The biggest question facing them right now is who will take the spare seat beside the French driver after Daniel Ricciardo leaves at the end of this 2020 season. There has been some speculation around Valtteri Bottas taking the seat after supposedly being in talks with the team, there is also theories around Nico Hulkenberg making a return to F1 after being dropped at the end of the 2019 season. Although the second driver may remain a mystery at the moment for Renault, we are beyond excited to have Ocon back on the grid where he belongs!
SCUDERIA ALPHA TAURI
Gasly & Kvyat??? With both drivers’ contracts ending at the end of the 2020 season, it is unknow whether the duo will be returning next year. Both drivers have had a shot in a Red Bull Racing seat, could we see that again or have their previous experiences of swapping back to Toro Rosso (the teams old name) hindered their chances of being an option for the seat that awaits further up the grid?
ASTON MARTIN RACING
2021 Drivers: Sergio Perez & TBC
The team formerly called Racing Point already have the Mexican driver Sergio Perez contracted until 2022, so it is a case of who will get the other seat??? With his father financially saving the team also formerly known as Force India, Lance Stroll was able to bag himself a seat in the team last year. The question looms on whether Stroll’s skills or money is the reason he is still in F1, with many stating he is a “pay driver”. The Canadian driver has not been the worst driver on the F1 grid, he managed to gain 38 places overall in the opening lap in the 2019 season and his performance on race days are not too shabby. We have a feeling Stroll may still have a seat here next year, what do you think?
ALFA ROMEO RACING
2021 Drivers: TBC
Both current drivers of Alfa Romeo Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi’s contracts run out at the end of the 2020 season but could we see them returning? There was speculation of the Italian driver, Giovinazzi heading to Ferrari but with Carlos Sainz being the confirmed driver that theory is out the window. Now with Sebastian Vettel leaving Ferrari could we see the German driver taking his seat here or the rumoured Mercedes? The Team Principle of Alfa Romeo, Fred Vasseur, has previously claimed that Kimi could drive with Alfa Romeo for as long as he wanted and the bonus of him scoring 31 points for the team compared to Giovinazzi’s 3 points has made the future of staying in F1 for Kimi Raikkonen hopeful.
HAAS F1 TEAM
2021 Drivers: TBC
Both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen the current drivers of Hass are out of contract by the end of 2020. With a poor performance in the championship in 2019 filled with clashes between driver and poor performance of the new car, the fears of a repeat in 2020 haunts this team. If a repeat does happen could this lead to the American team rethinking their driver line-up??
WILLIAMS
2021 Drivers: TBC
Although the British driver George Russel has signed a 3-year contract with Williams that will not end until 2021 and said it would take something “drastic” to make him leave the contract early, could a poor performance from Bottas in 2020 for Mercedes be the “drastic” thing to happen to move George up to the team dominating the grid? With his current teammate, the Canadian driver Nicholas Latifi, also only on a 1-year contract for 2020 with the team, the future of the Williams drivers appears to be unknown??? Big news has also come out recently about the future of this historic team. They are considering selling stakes in the F1 team following a weak financial performance in 2019. Their sponsorship with Rokit has also been terminated. What does this mean for one of the longest running and historic teams on the grid? Our fingers are crossed.
Overall, not much is known of the 2021 driver grid so far! We will update this blog post as news comes out.
Cheers,
Speak soon!
Sacha and Soph
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