Whilst the wait for the 2021 F1 Season has seemed eternal, predictions are flying around the F1 community, but how do you make sense of them all? In this blog post, we dissect what the rumours on and off the track are, so you don’t have to. Sit back and enjoy, because those lights aren’t going out just yet.
We’ve scoured some of the most popular avenues for F1 news and gossip for the most popular opinions on the upcoming season. We have looked at Lawrence Barretto’s ambitious predictions; WTF1’s 2021 forecast and The Race.com’s optimistic outlook. We also took to YouTube in the form of Tommo, FP1 and CCF1 for their input too.
It has certainly made for interesting reading and if some of these predictions come true, the 2021 season looks to supersede what was a standout year for the sport in 2020.
And so, here are the headlines.
There is an overwhelming perception that McLaren aren’t to be messed with.
Every set of predictions we saw agreed that McLaren will continue on their trajectory seen at the end of last season. It’s no doubt that with cash injections coming from finishing P3 in the championship last year and from funding from above, there is more money going into the car. The return to a Mercedes engine has already been rumoured to be bringing even more power to the team too. And who can forget this years’ most anticipated driver lineups on the grid. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, who had a great 2020 season, is thought to be a real advantage for the team this year.
Hold on to your hat, but Williams might get points.
Staying on an optimistic level, there was confidence from Tommo, CCF1, therace.com and GP that Williams will have a better season, with some even believing they could avoid being last in the championship for the 4th year in a row. As the Williams family have now stepped back from the running of the team, there is bound to be change. In a similar story to McLaren, more investment, and increased input from Mercedes may lead to more points finishes. Having two drivers who know the team and are well established will certainly help their cause too.
Everyone’s divided on Alpine.
Alpine (formerly Renault) are looking to secure that P3 they so desperately wanted last season. Lawrence Barretto for F1, in an admitted ambitious prediction, is backing them to obtain that goal. However, therace.com disagrees suspecting that this year will be a struggle for the team. Elsewhere, it’s much of the same, even with the return of Fernando Alonso.
Ferrari will continue their struggle.
Scuderia, you may want to skip this bit. It’s more bad news for Mattia Binotto, as CCF1 and GP are predicting the issues from 2020 won’t be solved for the team. This comes alongside worries that Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will be getting too close for comfort during races. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, therace.com think they can work their way back up to be the best of the rest. This perhaps all depends on how they have developed the engine, following the heavy changes that had to be made last year. Have Ferrari put effort into changing an engine that will need to be completely reworked for the 2022 season anyway?
In one team, confidence Haas completely gone.
Anticipation for the season ahead for the American owned team is about as bad as that pun. With many of our YouTubers placing the team P10 in their predictions list, this is set to be another difficult year for Gunther Stiener and Gene Haas. Whilst they’re getting a fresh injection of young talent in Mick Schumacher, they’re already having to deal with the controversy of their other new driver, Nikita Mazepin. Now is not the right time to get into that story, but there will definitely be plenty of eyes on the team and it won’t be directed at Formula 2’s latest champion.
That’s the basic round up of the main stories surrounding the teams of F1. As for the rest, Alfa Romeo and Alpha Tauri are expected to produce similar results as last year. Red Bull have been predicted to perhaps be a margin closer to 1st in the constructors championship, but confidence is strong in Mercedes to dominate once again. But Aston Martin is a mystery that has not been directly addressed in detail.
Now let’s look at how the drivers in the pack are expected to line up.
This year’s comeback kid? Vettel.
Can the four time world champ finally bring back some glimmer of that young bolshy driver of the pre hybrid era? Lawrence Barretto, the race.com, CCF1 and in some capacity, Tommo all believe so. It is thought that the move to Aston Martin will rejuvenate the 33 year old as he becomes the suspected favoured driver in the team. Aston Martin will certainly be ready to learn from Seb’s experience, and if the predictions for Ferrari ring true, this could be a fortuitous move. Regardless of whether you are a fan of Vettel or not, his brutal dumping from Ferrari shocked the grid last year, and just maybe he deserves a new, fresh start.
Even more uncertainty for Perez?
Surely the driver who entered the 2020 season with a fresh 3 year contract only to leave it without one is due some good faith? It seems not, with predictions about the Mexican’s season being nothing short of abstract. Whilst CCF1 believe he has the ability to match Max on race wins this year, FP1 reckon he will be demoted for newly promoted Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda. Therace.com suggests he will aid Max in taking the fight to Valterri Bottas, yet GP are extremely confident he will outperform Max causing a huge feud between them. It would seem that Sergio has got another unusual year ahead of him, let’s hope Drive to Survive are keeping a close eye on the Bulls!
The underdog? Esteban Ocon. Maybe.
But what about Fernando Alonso? Two time world Champion? Formula One legend? Beaten says our sources. WTF1, Tommo and therace.com all predict Ocon will get the better of his esteemed teammate after a rather subdued 2020 season. There was a lot of anticipation for the young Frenchman after what most felt was a rather unwarranted year out of F1. However, it was not to be as his form did not really take shape and admitted himself that taking a year out was challenging. It is this perspective that has been taken on by many critics that will hamper Alonso’s campaign this year after 2 years out himself. Either way, this will be one pairing to watch out for.
In other news, Giovanazzi is thought to outperform the most experienced F1 driver of all time Kimi Raikanon. Max could finally take P2 from Valterri, with aid from a second driver achieving regular high point scores. Hamilton will win, again. But Bottas might cinch it, maybe. But one driver was highly associated with one particular phrase.
“Daniel Ricciardo is in the form of his life.”
This season, the season that was never intended to be, is set to achieve a feat some thought could never happen. Be even more predictable than the last.
