5 predictions for the 2021 F1 season
Just one week until the 2021 F1 season kicks off. With pre-season testing done, the new season is already upon us yet it feels just like yesterday when Lewis Hamilton won his 7th drivers’ championship.
Going into the pre-season testing Mercedes were the clear favorites to win the constructors’ title and Lewis the drivers’ title but the pre-season testing revealed some things that has everyone wondering.
Having said that there is a lot of changes made after the testing phase, also cars continue to undergo changes throughout the season, so take any predictions out there with a pinch of salt.
Here are my predictions for the upcoming 2021 season.
5) Hamilton Retires
Let’s face it, Hamilton is 36 now and has re-signed with Mercedes on a one-year contract, this just shows the faith both the team and Lewis have towards each other towards a long term future together, but even after a disappointing pre-season testing Mercedes are still the team to beat.
With big design changes and salary cap and regulations coming up in the 2022 season, we don’t really know if Mercedes would be as reliable as it has been over these years. Hamilton could ride off in the sunset if he wins his 8th drivers’ title with one of the most illustrious careers in the sport. It would make sense for him to retire on a high while he can and pass on the mettle to the next generation.
4) Alpine will finish best of the rest
A P4 finish for Alpine(Renault) might not seem very far fetched considered they already finished 4th in 2018, but with Aston Martin bringing on Vettel and with other teams namely Ferrari, AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo making significant improvements in car development the midfield battle is going to be very close and worth a watch. Despite all of this, the return of Alonso and consistent performances from Ocon producing speed similar to last year, Alpine might have an edge over the others.
3) McLaren will win a race
McLaren have been consistently improving since 2017 putting one step ahead of another and we also saw them on the podium twice last season, with a P3 finish in the constructors championship last year, they must be feeling very optimistic since their 9th place finish in 2017. Adding a proven race winner like Daniel Ricciardo to their lineup, winning a GP feels like a natural progression.
2) Vettel returning to form
With a new team in Aston Martin and a fresh start, Sebastian Vettel is out to prove that he can still compete with the best of the best on the grid, it won’t be very surprising to see Seb on a few podiums in the upcoming season as Racing Point(Aston Martin ) did manage to get 4 podiums last season including a dramatic race win for Sergio Perez at the Shakhir GP.
1) Red Bull wins the constructors’ championship
Red Bull have been lurking around the 2nd and 3rd spot for the constructors’ title for a few years now, the pre-season testing revealed that they have more speed along with reliability this time over rivals Mercedes. Replacing Alex Albon with Sergio Perez who is known for his reliable pace and consistency gives Red Bull another driver that can constantly push both Hamilton and Bottas on a race day while Verstappen can be his offensive self, however Verstappen did have 5 DNFs last season, if he can get more consistent like his fellow teammate Perez by not going all out in the first lap he would surely rack up more points, add to that Red Bull also has momentum on their side after a strong finish to the 2020 season if they can exploit these advantages over Mercedes throughout the season it would certainly mean a constructors’ title for Red Bull.
