The Formula 1 season opener is Bahrain is officially less than a week away! Here’s a look at the 20 talented drivers and the 10 teams that are taking over our screens over many weekends throughout 2021. From the front to the back of the grid there are exciting prospects to watch and support this year.
Mercedes
This year Mercedes will be fighting for their 8th constructors championship in a row. The team have been completely unbeatable for years and will hope to continue that this year, and into the new era. Despite a concerning testing weekend in Bahrain, it is expected that the team will remain at the front of the grid. It is possible that Red Bull will be close behind this year, possibly fighting them every week.
Lewis Hamilton
Championships: 7
Race wins: 95
Podiums: 165
Valtteri Bottas
Championships: 0
Race wins: 9
Podiums: 56
Red Bull
Red Bull have been the only team in recent years that has been able to even come close to Mercedes. With Sergio Perez joining the team this year, their chances of succeeding are likely to increase. After such a successful testing, we will see in the coming races whether they are able to compete with Mercedes.
Sergio Perez
Championships: 0
Race wins: 1
Podiums: 10
Max Verstappen
Championships: 0
Race wins: 10
Podiums: 42
McLaren
The McLaren team put in an impressive performance to reach P3 in the 2020 constructors championship. With race winner Daniel Ricciardo moving to the team, as well as a good testing weekend, this team are likely to see a lot more success in 2021. Their many fans will only improve these prospects with so much support throughout the world.
Daniel Ricciardo
Championships: 0
Race wins: 7
Podiums: 31
Lando Norris
Championships: 0
Race wins; 0
Podiums: 1
Aston Martin
Despite much success in 2020 as Racing Point, this year is a fresh start for a new team in Aston Martin. With Sebastian Vettel partnering Lance Stroll, this year could be make or break for the 4-time world champion who struggled so much last year. With serious struggles during testing, it is a complete unknown whether the team will succeed and take third as they were close to doing last year.
Sebastian Vettel
Championships: 4
Race wins: 53
Podiums: 121
Lance Stroll
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 3
Alpine
Alpine is the other new team on the grid in 2021, replacing Renault. 2-time world champion Fernando Alonso is returning to the sport to partner an emerging talent in Esteban Ocon. This could lead to a lot of success, but it is unclear whether the car will be strong enough to complete with the mid-field. This will all quickly become clear as the season gets going.
Esteban Ocon:
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Fernando Alonso
Championships: 2
Race wins: 32
Podiums: 97
Ferrari
Ferrari are the most supported team on the grid as always. This may not help them on the track however. Following a really poor year in 2020, this year is going to be another development year to bring them back to the front of the grid for the team. With Carlos Sainz joining Charles Leclerc, the two young drivers represent a team on the rise again.
Charles Leclerc
Championships: 0
Race wins: 2
Podiums: 12
Carlos Sainz
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 2
AlphaTauri
Red Bull’s development team AlphaTauri are looking seriously strong this year. With their first race win in 2020 and an exceptional new talent in rookie Yuki Tsunoda, this is likely to be an exceptional year for AlphaTauri. This is something that every F1 fan is excited to see.
Yuki Tsunoda
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Pierre Gasly
Championships: 0
Race wins: 1
Podiums: 2
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo made the slightly unexpected decision to retain both drivers from 2020 for 2021. The drivers often get a point or two during a race but often are close to the back of the grid. This will be expected to continue this year, hopefully with Williams being able to compete with them more often.
Antonio Giovinazzi
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Kimi Raikkonen
Championships: 1
Race wins: 21
Podiums: 103
Haas
Haas have made two very odd decisions coming into 2021. Firstly, they chose to take on two rookies in Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. While financially this makes sense, a team of two rookies has never been done before and it will be a big experiment to see how these two young drivers get on. They also chose to not develop their car, focussing on 2022. This combination of decisions is likely to leave them at the back of the grid this year.
Nikita Mazepin
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Mick Schumacher
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Williams
The Williams F1 team have had a tough few years and have recently been taken over my new management. They hope this will improve their hopes for this year and they will begin to fight for points for the first time after years of being the lowest scoring of the 20 drivers on track. They are a team that has so much support and everyone hopes to see the back fighting for wins in the future.
George Russell
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Nicholas Latifi
Championships: 0
Race wins: 0
Podiums: 0
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