The Official F1 thread 2021

[Noni]

Personally I cannot wait for the season to start next month.

Though sadly for those Hamilton haters, I'm expecting another dominate season from him to clinch his 8th title. Now that all the contracts are sown up with Hamilton only signing a 1 year deal, I expect him to continue for another 2 more seasons though, watch this space.. Expect 11 - 14 race wins .

I'm also thinking McLaren to do better this year and I'm expecting the odd win here or there with Riccardo and Lando Norris. Lots of podiums for this team.

Red Bull could have a better season with Sergio Perez along side Max Verstappen, might even give Max a bit of a heachache Possibly see Perez win a few races. Could be a 3/2 win ratio

Don't think Ferrari will ever get it right, now that they have Carlos Sainz joins Charles LeClerc, I expect maybe a few clashes, specially from Charles side.

1-3 race wins and a few podiums

Renault, I cannot see any race wins here except a few podiums from Alonso and Ocon

Aston Martin, getting frequent points with Lance Stroll edging out Vettel ovreall. No wins

Williams I'm expecting a huge leap for this team with George Russell getting regular points. From pundits they will not be sitting last in the standings.

Alpha Tuari is a question mark, but with Gasley at the wheel should provide good points here. Yuki Tsunoda I know nothing about.

Alfa had a bad season and it was Antonio Giovinazzi scoring more points then Kimi. Could be another struggling Year.

Haas. New driver lineup with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, not expecting miracles as Haas has a bad season with experienced drivers. Could be last in standings

[Newmarket]

[BlackDiamond]

Nicely done NM - wish I had thought of it...

[Gandalf]

My take on the coming season:
Considering the rules are pretty much stable it may be expected to see a re-run of last season. But there are a few things to consider.
The new floor regulations could potentially have a bigger impact than we initially anticipated. And considering the two teams at the front, Mercedes and Red Bull, run different floor concepts it could be the changes affect one team more than the other. I guess the testing days will give us some clues to that.


Mercedes:
Basically it will be a case of as-you-were. I expect Bottas 5.0 to be quick out of the blocks, but his challenge will peter out.

Red Bull:
Last season Albon was emotionally broken and didn't play that wingman role that Red Bull required him to do. Perez should fit into that role nicely, so as a team Red Bull should be able to launch more of a challenge on Mercedes. But, It will be interesting to see how Max handles the situation if Perez starts pushing him. Max likes to drive 'on-the-edge' whereas Perez is smooth. Max will certainly have the upper hand early on but Perez wont take long to get up to speed. Watch this space.

The Midfield:
Last season it was exceptionally close between McLaren, Racing Point and Renault, with the outcome not being decided until the last race. This season we should see Ferrari join that battle so that is likely where the real excitement will be. Hopefully that will go down to the wire again!
And it will be interesting to see what those midfield teams do in terms of car development. With four teams battling over that third spot, and the financial reward that comes with it, will they keep developing late into the season, or will they focus on the all-new regulations for next season? Tough call!


Those as the the back:
Alfa Romeo: I'm expecting more from them this season. Maybe even join that midfield battle. They were seriously hampered by that Ferrari engine, and an inconsistent Giovinazzi. Both of those should be better this season.
Haas: They finished in 9th last season and that is the best they can hope for this season. They will have a better engine but a very poor driver line-up. Schumacher has tended to take a bit of time to get up to speed in previous formulas, and Mazapin in nothing but a pay driver.
Williams: They have to aim for that ninth spot. And personally I think they will get there. It seems ridiculous that ninth would be an achievement for a team like Williams with all their history, but they are very much in rebuilding mode right now. I don't think they'll be spending a penny on development of this years car. But, they do have Russell.

[Noni]

Think the moderators stepped in. Starting another thread!

[Gandalf]

Think the moderators stepped in. Starting another thread!

Yep! I saw it.
Comedy gold!

[Noni]

After a short testing both in the simulator and on circuit, Perez understands why Verstappen's team mates have failed. Too much front end. Perez believes with his experience that he can adapt very quickly. Perez says that Red Bull is a different car to what he is used too. I hope he's right!. Hope he get's more wins.

[Noni]

McLaren doing well in testing with both Lando and Ricciardo....

Mercedes are on the back foot with reliability issues.

Ferrari is average and Red Bull looking good.

[mkhammer]

Murray Walker has passed away......97 amazing didn't know he was that old..Still the voice of F1....
Loved his passion....

[BlackDiamond]

Murray Walker has passed away......97 amazing didn't know he was that old..Still the voice of F1....
Loved his passion....

Ah what good memories - I can still hear 'Ni-Gel Man-Sell...'