JOHANNESBURG - The start of the 2021 Formula One season is upon us with the first race the Bahrain Grand Prix tomorrow at the Sakhir International Circuit. We look at a handful of highlights for the 23-race schedule.
1. A Schumi on the grid
Look, it is wishful thinking that Haas F1 will achieve anything of substance this year, such has been the underwhelming development of the VF-21. They do have a new sponsor in Uralkali this season, so they have at least got that going for them. Nevertheless, the US-owned team was the slowest in pre-season testing, and unless the racing gods conspire with them, it is improbable that they will finish with a podium this year.
Even so, there is one development within the team that cannot be ignored - Mick Schumacher, the son of the legendary Michael, will make his full debut this season racing for the team, and his signing with the team is no doubt linked to the above mentioned sponsorship deal. Schumacher junior joins the team as the F2 champion. The 22-year-old has still many years of racing ahead of him and his journey in F1 begins earnestly at this weekend’s race. If he is even half the driver that his father was, then the sport can look forward to another era of Schumacher in the not so distant future.
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2. A calendar of jewels
In all honesty, Monaco is arguably not the most exciting of races - the modern F1 car is perhaps too fast, too wide and too powerful to facilitate anything else except a procedural race. Nevertheless, the return of F1’s most prestigious event is a sign that there will be a degree of normality returned to the 2021 season. For traditionalists, the fifth race in the calendar epitomises everything special about the sport, and after its absence due to Covid-19 last year, the OG street track’s return will be a welcome one.
Fans can also look forward to the return of the postponed Australian GP, Azerbaijan street track in Baku, the Canadian GP and infamous Wall of Champions, the French GP with its fantastically long Mistral straight and the figure-eight Japanese GP, not to mention the extremely challenging Mexico City GP, which sits at 2km above sea-level, and the US GP in Austin, Texas.
3. The return of the matador
Turning 40 this year, the former double world champion is back in the cockpit after a hiatus out in the cold. Fernando Alonso will be racing for the rebranded Alpine-Renault F1, and has in recent years kept himself busy by participating at the Indy500 and in the Dakar Rally. Alonso is such a special talent and consummate professional who can eke out every last drop of pace out of any car’s setup, that it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he will find himself in the hunt for a podium this season. During pre-season he barely missed a beat, and looked like he had never left.
Alpine also have one of the more noticeable developments on the A521 this year - their engine cover and intake is far larger than their competitors, with the hope that the redesign will give them an advantage over the other teams. They will be a strong presence on the grid this year, which brings us to our next point …
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4. A midfield firing on all cylinders
This year could see the strongest midfield in years, with McLaren having taken a huge step to compete against the big two - Mercedes and Red Bull. They were excellent in pre-season, and in the right conditions, time and place and with a bit of luck, could find themselves on the top step of the podium in the races to come. In new driver Daniel Ricciardo, they have a proven race winner, while the stock of Lando Norris keeps rising.
They are not the only team who will be battling for a top 3 finish in the constructors’ championship, though. AlphaTauri with Pierre Gasly and the young and talented Yuki Tsundo, have a competitive package this season as well, and will be pushed hard by the Sebastian Vettel led Aston Martin, formerly Racing Point, and Alpha Romeo with veteran Kimi Raikkonen as No 1 driver. After a horrid year in 2020, Ferrari still remain an unknown quantity they had an average pre-season, to be honest, but at least seemed to have sorted their power supply issues that dogged them in the previous season. They might not be out-and-out contenders this year, but at least will be a bit more competitive, especially with the rising stock of both their drivers Carlos Sainz jr and Charles Leclerc.
5. The year of the bull?
Lewis Hamilton can win a record-breaking eight world driver’s championship, of that there is no doubt. Such has been the Silver Arrows’ dominance in recent years, that there has been very little uncertainty at the start of each season for the last several years that Mercedes will once again rule the roost. The team is also in the hunt for an unprecedented eight consecutive constructors’ title.
They will be no pushover. If pre-season is anything to hedge your bets on, however, then it could well be that they find themselves on the backfoot at the start of the season in Bahrain. Red Bull were the best team in testing a fortnight ago, with Max Verstappen especially happy with the RB16B, and its responsiveness. The young Dutchman was the quickest during those sessions, over a second faster than Hamilton. Mercedes, meanwhile, had issues with their reliability, while the backend of the W12 made controlling the car an extreme sport, team principal Toto Wolff going so far to call the car “toxic” and a “diva.”
Could this be the year where their dominance is ended?
Most F1 fans will hope so - it will only make for more exciting races and a championship that goes down to the wire - which the sport desperately needs.
@FreemanZAR
IOL Sport