Take Two Predicts: Driver Line-up at McLaren and Renault F1 teams in 2021...

May 30, 20203 min read

Updated: Jun 8, 2020

Today, in the third article of this series, we will be having a go at the teams that have a connection. These two teams have been battling it out in the midfield for the last few years and are former world champions. What is also interesting is that one team supplies power to the other. Both McLaren and Renault F1 teams run on the Renault powered engines. However, this changes next year as the McLaren team has announced the deal with their former suppliers, Mercedes.

Now, many of us might know that prior to the 2019 season, when Red Bull parted ways with Daniel Ricciardo, it was not just Renault who chased the Australian. McLaren was also after this driver but they could not get him on board. However, cut to 2021 and things are going to change!

After termination of the contract with Renault, McLaren was quick to get Ricciardo onboard and the Australian will be seen driving for the team in Orange next year. Let's look at what is the most possible driver line-up for these two mid-field fighters:

In case you haven't read the previous articles of this series, follow these links:

McLaren F1:

McLaren knows what it means to win championships. They have won them quite a few times with 12 driver's championships between 1974 to 2008. However, in the last few years, they have been struggling to find the right pace and that place at the podium. Car reliability has also been a problem for the British team.

However, in 2021, things might change and we might see a fourth title contender apart from Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. McLaren is set to bring back the Mercedes power in that garage which might make wonders for the team.

As for the drivers, the move for Carlos Sainz to Ferrari for 2021, was announced last month. Within a few days, McLaren made an announcement that they had settled the deal with Daniel Ricciardo and that the Australian will partner Lando Norris for the 2021 season. Hence, there is no room left for predictions here. McLaren has pretty much sorted their business for the upcoming season and has bought themselves ample time to think about the performance of their cars for the upcoming season.

Renault F1:

This team has also had pretty much a similar history in the sport as the McLaren team. They have tasted what it is to be called World Champions twice in the past. These victories came in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel. However, since then, Renault has not been quite up there. Especially in the last few years, they have seen a dramatic decline with rare podiums coming their way.

From a podium regular until 2013, Renault slipped badly down the ladder in 2014 with the hybrid power systems and their last podium came way back in 2015. For the last four years, the team has made some progress but the return to the podium is still awaited.

For the 2021 season, Renault has Esteban Ocon on board. The Mercedes reserve driver for 2019 made a comeback to Formula 1 with Renault in 2020. He continues to be the driver for the team in the upcoming season as well. As for the other seat, Renault has lost Ricciardo to McLaren and there are strong rumours of Fernando Alonso replacing him. If this is true, the team will have a rather balanced driver line-up with their former hero who won them titles coming back to drive and hopefully win them races.

However, if this deal does not fall through, there are chances of either Nico Hulkenberg making a comeback or someone like Valtteri Bottas going out of Mercedes and driving that black and yellow car. These three are the front runner for that seat at the Renault. Other options seem a bit too far for the French carmaker's liking.

Well, these were the predictions from a fan's point of view. Stay tuned for the next round of predictions where we will be discussing Aston Martin F1 (Racing Point) and Red Bull.