F1 2021

Good post. I was wondering about it just the other day.

Hamilton will get the seat for sure. I can't imagine otherwise. Also hard to believe that until a few days ago it was Bottas whose seat was in jeopardy and who was rumored to swap with Russell given Russell's performance in Mercedes in Hamilton's absence.

I also really think Perez has a good shot at replacing Albon at Red Bull, rumor mills churning and lots of behind the scene stuff going on and his win apparently left an impact with a lot of higher ups (of course this is all from me reading up articles, absolutely zero direct insider info from me lol).

Also I remember Guenther saying something along the lines of looking into Mazepin clarifications for behavior with objectivity (or something along the lines). But yeah Nikita seems to be confirmed for HAAS even after that PR fiasco. I haven't watched him drive so will reserve judgement. Also looking forward to Mick simply because of the legacy factor. Will be great to have a Schumacher on the starting grid.

Kind of sad to see Magnussen and Grosjean leave but name of the game and young ones need the spots. Plus they had their chances I guess. I'm just glad Grosjean came out unhurt after that accident and would be great to see him do a farewell run in F1 car like Totto promised.

Also looking forward to seeing Tsunoda with Gasly in Alpha Tauri. Kvyat was very unimpressive to me for some reason.

Ricciardo will be one to look out for IMO. And I'll also keep an eye out for Vettel, I'm sure he's hungry. Not sure how Racing Point (by then Aston Martin) will be perfomance wise so seems like a step down. Anything will be better than what he has been through with Ferrari recently I think.

Who is your favorite driver and team?

I can't imagine RB keeping Albon again. Especially if RB thinks they have a championship contending car. They can't waste the opportunity with Albon battling midfield teams when he needs to be providing support for Max.

Jim Clark, Lotus.





Oh, you mean now? I've always held Fernando Alonso in very high regard, sooo pleased to see him back.

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/...demo-laps-they-werent-expecting-me-to-push-it

I guess based on rumors, Perez is the best choice with Albon serving as the reserve driver. I'm sure RB is going to make it clear that team orders dictate he makes way for Max and to not race him like he did with Ocon. RB could get away with Albon doing nothing most races this season since Ferrari was terrible and the 3rd best car was miles away from them.

Speaking of Hulkenberg, he did some good racing when Perez was out. I'm surprised I haven't heard about him in the driver chatter.

Yeah I don't think Hulkenberg would have a chance to come back next year...

Given the choice between Hulkenberg or Perez, I can see why teams would go with Perez. Better race results and more $ backing him.

Yep. But it certainly helps that Hulkenberg didn't have a permanent seat for 2020 and Perez is coming off as # 1 driver for Racing Point with a P1 finish not too long ago. Perez and Hulkenberg have not been considerably far apart performance wise in last few years and if I remember correctly, Hulkenberg has been ahead in drivers rankings a few years as well (including one time when they both were team members at Force India Mercedes). He also performed when he drove as a temp for Racing Point. Just me but I find Hulk to be a better driver. I do agree about the sponsors and money backing Perez.

Edit:
Was Force India Mercedes back when they raced together.

Popped up in my newsfeed and thought I'd share:

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/30518094/ranking-f1-class-2020?platform=amp

What do you guys think? Fair assessment by Michaels over at ESPN?

Pretty fair. I can't really argue with anyone's grades saying they were over or underrated.

I’d argue that the F rating of Albon is unfair. RBR has set the cars up to perform in a way that Max likes. As it should be, he’s probably the most talented driver in F1. However, in listening to interviews with Horner, Max enjoys the car very loose. And he’s skilled and fast driving the car that way. It is very possible this is why RBR-Max has been successful, as loose cars on the edge can also be quite fast.

If Albon (and possibly Gassly before him) are better in a more neutral setup, it’s likely this is part of the reason they have been less effective than Max. The car might just take a skill level that they don’t have. Gassly’s success at AT, and them likely setting the car up more to his liking as their #1, might also demonstrate this.

I also think the characteristics of the car, are part of the reason they have been slow to decide on a lineup for next year. Can Perez make the car work, does he like a loose car? Or would Albon’s experience allow him to continue to grow into the car, like he seems to have done toward the end of the year.

So, I’d grade Albon around a C. Certainly he hasn’t set the world on fire, but I think it might be a very difficult car to drive fast. Russell jumping into the Mercedes, and performing as well as he did, show both his skill level, but also a car that is relatively easier to go fast in vs. the RBR.

Another ranking. This one from formula1.com
.

I can’t say that I’m surprised. I guess we’ll see if Albon & Gasly were really that bad or if the RB is too geared toward Max for anyone else to drive well.

That is good news.