Take Two Predicts: Driver Line-up at Mercedes and Ferrari F1 teams in 2021...
|By Prasham Pratap|
Formula 1 has always been a sport not followed by many, especially in India. Despite this niche fan following, it is a sport with a lot of money. Formula 1 was supposed to celebrate 70 years on track in 2020. But as it was destined to be, the sport celebrates its milestone off the track, thanks to this COVID crisis.
Actually, 2020 was supposed to be the last season for many drivers with their respective teams. Majority of the drivers were going to be seamless after this season. But due to no activities on the track, teams have already started their hunt for the perfect driver's combination for the next season, that is 2021. Many races have already been cancelled in this calendar year.
However, the season is set to resume in July. This is great news for all those involved with the sport and the fans.
There is a lot more drama to follow in the upcoming months and no one knows the final combination for many teams in 2021.
Here is a look at what we think would be the situation in 2021 and which driver will go where:
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1:
Mercedes has two of the most special seats today in Formula 1. But, as 2020 ends, both these seats will be empty. Though Mercedes has the option of retaining the current driver line-up, they have a lot of talent waiting in the wings, if they decide to change things. Reigning world champions since the 2014 season, this is a team that has experienced unmatched success in the last few years. With high car reliability and equally fast drivers, Mercedes is the team to beat every season in this sport.
This year too, it seemed no different as the silver arrows flew across the tracks in pre-season testings.
Mercedes has the second most successful racer in the history of this sport, in their garage; Lewis Hamilton. The British racer has won all his 6 World Championships with a Mercedes Engine running the show. His first championship was with McLaren which ran on the Mercedes Engine and the next 5 have come in the last 6 years, with only the 2016 championship going to his then-teammate Nico Rosberg.
In interviews too, Hamilton has been found saying that he is pretty much happy with the Mercedes connection he has had. So, we can say that there is a heavy possibility that Hamilton will keep his association with this team going. This belief becomes all the stronger after knowing the fact that the seats at Ferrari are already occupied. All other teams seem to be a distant possibility for the reigning World-Champion.
As for Bottas, it has been a great couple of seasons in the last couple of years. He might be interested in continuing too.
But just in case, things go wrong and Mercedes need a driver to team with Hamilton, they have drivers like Esteban Ocon, who might have to break the contract with Renault for a Mercedes call-up. The other option is the young George Russell who is also a Mercedes scouted driver, driving for the Williams F1 team. He runs out of his contract in 2020.
Scuderia Ferrari:
This is another team which has seats that carry high value in the sport. Drivers dream of driving that red car someday. But, as for the 2021 season, Ferrari was fast at closing any speculations. Ferrari has filled both slots with young drivers for the upcoming season.
This is their youngest driver line-up in a long time. Charles Leclerc continues for another season after an outstanding 2019 season. As for the second seat, Vettel is replaced by Carlos Sainz.
Both these drivers have immense potential, but if they are real title contenders? Only time will tell.
So that is it from this five article series of Formula 1. In case you want to have a look at the other four, here are the links to those articles:
Article 1: https://www.taketwoindia.com/post/take-two-predicts-driver-line-up-at-williams-and-alfa-romeo-f1-teams-in-2021 Article 2: https://www.taketwoindia.com/post/take-two-predicts-driver-line-up-at-alpha-tauri-and-haas-f1-teams-in-2021
Comentarios