F1 2021 a gap year? Certainly not contractually!
General
The 2021 F1 season is generally seen as a gap year whilst we wait for the 2022 rules and regulations. As far as the regulations are concerned, that may be the case, but the teams and drivers have been anything but silent for the past year. A large stack of new contracts have been signed and a brief overview of them follows below.
Mercedes
Probably nothing will change for the World Champions. Why would you change a winning team? At the time of writing, Lewis Hamilton has still not signed his contract, but that seems just a formality. The biggest change taking place behind the scenes is that title sponsor INEOS now has almost a third of the shares in the team.
Red Bull Racing
The biggest change at Red Bull is the arrival of Sergio Perez who replaces Alexander Albon. In addition, they enter the season knowing that this is the last year that they receive factory support from Honda. With a freeze in the engine regulations expected, they will want to continue to develop the Honda power source to the limit this year.
McLaren
Perhaps the biggest adjustments take place at McLaren. The most visible of these is the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo, with whom the team has hired a top driver to replace Carlos Sainz. The biggest change, however, is the switch to Mercedes engines. The team has already indicated that they have had to make major adjustments to the car and therefore had to start the usual preparations for the new season a little later.
Aston Martin
A fresh start for everyone at this team? Racing Point's pink car will probably be exchanged for a green one, but apart from the arrival of Sebastian Vettel, very little will change. The car will be built in the same factory, where they will "mirror" themselves to Mercedes, just like in 2020. An expansion of that factory is planned.
Alpine
The same applies to Renault as to Racing Point. The name may change to Alpine, but it is mostly the same team. Several important people have been replaced though. In the first place with the drivers. Just like with Aston Martin, a former world champion also steps in here.
After a two-year absence, Fernando Alonso returns to Formula 1, replacing the outgoing Ricciardo. The team is also saying goodbye to Cyril Abiteboul, the team boss who has often given colour to F1 in recent years. He will be replaced by Davide Brivio, the MotoGP man who helped Suzuki to the first world title in more than 20 years last year.
Ferrari
With the departure of Vettel, Ferrari ends an era. The era in which they wanted to relive the golden times with Michael Schumacher, but ended up empty-handed. Over the past two years, Charles Leclerc has clearly taken the lead in the team and it remains to be seen how his new teammate Carlos Sainz will cope with that. Little else changes on the pit wall, although Mattia Binotto has indicated that he may stay in Maranello more often.
AlphaTauri
After a few turbulent years, AlphaTauri has returned to stability. It is true that Daniil Kvyat has said goodbye, but with Yuki Tsunoda, they have brought in someone they will probably enjoy for years to come. Especially if Red Bull keeps their connection with Honda intact.
Alfa Romeo
This is probably the team that changes the least. For Alfa Romeo, 2021 does indeed seem to be nothing more than a gap year. Some Ferrari talents are not ready for the step-up and so Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi can continue for another year.
Haas
Unlike Alfa Romeo, Haas, Ferrari's other "satellite team" has completely turned things around. Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean have been replaced by Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. The budget cap also means that more Ferrari personnel will be transferred to Haas.
Williams
The biggest changes took place in the Williams team last year. This is the first year that Williams don't start the new season with the namesake at the helm. Investor Dorilton Capital have a lot of money, so in that respect, the advance can start now.
This article was written and originally published by Pelle on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.