Formula 1 Is Back
The pinnacle of motorsports begins
You know how that if you hit a horsie’s gluteus maximus, it runs away in a burst of speed? Well, Lando Norris’ stimulant is none other “Last Lap”. All Lando’s race engineer has to say in those 2 aforementioned words, as he obviously can’t wirelessly transmit his hand chakra to the young British driver’s backside, and Lando seems to fall even more into love for the Red Bull Ring.
His love with the racetrack has evolved over his 2 short years in the top tier Formula 1 racing circuit. Garnering a strong 6th place finish in the 2019 race, he performed two stunning last laps in the both 2020 Austrian and 2020 Styrian Grand Prix (Styria, not Syria as the race wouldn’t work with explosions) to achieve a 3rd and a 5th place finish respectively. Both in fortuitous circumstances and a significant helping of talent.
Talent is required when you have to take 2 seconds of the reigning World Champion and resident Albon spinner, Lewis Hamilton. Lando didn’t stop and followed this stellar performance 7 days later by overtaking 3 experienced drivers ( okay 2, Lance Stroll has experience but we all know why he has a racing seat). In one lap. At the age of 20. The young driver is a future champion and McLaren know it. They need to lock him down and make sure he joyfully runs to hug Zak Brown more often. Although you must admit, a helmet might not facilitate a hug.
The one driver who wasn’t joyfully hugging Brown however is Carlos Sainz Jr. The fellow McLaren driver, Carlos achieved a respectable 5th place last week. However, in the Styrian Grand Prix, the Spaniard had qualified 3rd but finished 9th. A point placed finish nonetheless, but what is more worrying for him is the fact that he is moving to Ferrari in the 2021 Season.
Scuderia Ferrari’s Leclerc somehow managed a 2nd place finished in the Austrian Grand Prix a week earlier, but qualifying levels were well below what you expect of the most successful team in Formula 1 history. Vettel finished 10th. A four-time World Champion with a team with the sort of resources like Ferrari finished 10th.
That 10th place finish was replicated by the German in qualifying for the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix. His Monagesque team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified 11th. Both ended up crashing into one another, causing a double DNF for the Italian marque.
This is the sort of team, with the sort of strategist’s Carlos will be joining. The feeling is even bitter when you realise McLaren will be powered by Mercedes for the next year. And Mercedes has been winning the F1 titles for what, the past 6 years? Not looking so good for Carlos right now I’m afraid.
On the other hand, the driver who’s probably looking to his better days is Daniel Riccardo. The Australian driver took over Carlos’s Renault seat and is now doing a peekaboo on Sainz again, except to a manufacturer based in England rather than viva la France. It probably made Renault chief, Cyril Abiteboul’s heart got aie, but Daniel knows that he is not getting any younger and if he wants to win an FIA Formula 1 World Championship, then Renault is currently not the best place to be. So he went full oh la la on the McLaren offering. That opened the door for Fernando Alonso’s spectacular return back to Renault in 2021. It will be interesting to see if he still screams “GP2 engine” to his team.
While the driver’s change faster than Kimi having a drink, we may have to see the departure of Sebastian Vettel from this sport. No teams seem to have any racing seats left and I doubt Vettel would ever want to take a reserve driver position. It is staggering how the driver, who stormed to centre stage in the world with 4 back-to-back F1 World titles fell to such lows.
But there is a poetic end to it too. In 2012, when Sebastian nicked the title from then Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard was very vocal in congratulating his German counterpart but did mention that he won because he had a good car. Alonso said, and I paraphrase here, “Let’s see whether he wins in a slower car”.
It’s been 5 years since the German took to wearing Scarlet Red, becoming the German Red Riding Hood. However, the car underneath his racing gear was the Wolf, never letting Seb reach his true championship potential. And then his form just tumbled.
Arrivederci, Seb? Possibly. But all we know is the 2020 Formula 1 is going to be a hell of a season if these first 2 races are anything to go by.
In the words of the official Formula 1’s YouTube channel:
Gee Gee.
