Although the 2021 F1 2021 season is still a few months away, it’s never too early to get an idea of what to expect. This new season will bring many changes to what we’ve seen over the past year. Varying from new drivers, drivers moving to new teams, vehicle updates, all the way up to cap regulations for each team. There’s quite a bit to swallow.
New Drivers
Several new drivers will be hitting the grid in 2021. Alphatauri has signed F2 rookie of the year Yuki Tsunoda to drive the number 22. The 20-year old finished just one point behind second place in the F2 2020 season.
Along with Tsunoda, Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time F1 champion, will hop into the cockpit for the Haas F1 team. Mick has won the championship in both F3 (2018) and F2 (2020).
Drivers Making Team Changes
#Announce… ?✍️ pic.twitter.com/ShmgTyZg8h
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 17, 2020
Along with new drivers, some of the F1 drivers will be working with new teams in the new year as well. Sebastian Vettel will be leaving the legendary Ferrari racing team and will be partnering up with Lance Stroll at Aston Martin (formerly BWT Racing Point, formerly Racing Point Force India). Carlos Sainz will be filling the spot Vettel leaves at Ferrari with new teammate Charles Leclerc. Daniel Ricciardo is joining the McLaren team. Sergio Perez just recently announced that he will be going to the Red Bull team. And finally, Fernando Alonso will be returning to the series with Alpine (Renault). The same team with which he won back-to-back championships within 2005 and 2006. Mercedes still hasn’t come out with an official announcement on Lewis Hamilton’s return to their top car. Hamilton though to no surprise has made it known he wants to return.
Vehicle Updates
With a new year comes vehicle changes. Just like the years before, the front wing will have some minor changes. The big changes making it a more simplified design and less sensitive to damage. The floor of the car will not be as box-shaped and will have a more streamlined designed to improve downforce on the cars. These changes will improve the way the cars move around each other by dispersing dirty air away from the vehicles behind. This will lead to overall faster racing and more passing!
Cap Fegulations
Finally, in 2021 the F1 will introduce a spending cap on each team. Each team will have $145 million for the 2021 season. Decreasing to $140 million in 2022 and then $135 million in 2023. This is an effort to further the F1’s longevity as a sport and is going to drastically bring the cars closer together when it comes to build quality and spec.
This regulation is going to greatly affect the top three teams Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes. To no surprise, the top teams are not happy with the change as they are going to have to reconstruct their development programs to fit the cap. Now instead of aiming to compete with only two or three other teams for a win/podium, they will have to factor in all of the other teams in the series.
Getting adjusted to all of these changes will take some time to get used to. But all in all, F1 has made it apparent that they’re willing to make the changes needed to prolong their time as the top open-wheel racing series in the world. I personally can’t wait for the light to drop on the grid in March!
