The 2021 formula 1 The season has started and we can look back on an exciting year. At GPblog we asked editors from the Dutch and English editions to fill in and explain their surprises and disappointments from this season.
Tim Kraaij – Editor-in-Chief GPblog NL
Surprises: Honda, Sainz and Norris
Setbacks: Alpine, Ricciardo and Tsunoda
Who would have thought Honda would return to the top three or four years ago? Even last year, it didn’t look like Honda could offer Red Bull teams an engine good enough to fight for the title, but with the 2022 spec, they did so in their final year. Carlos Sainz surprised in its first year at Ferrari by making it a lot harder for yourself Charles Leclerc than everyone expected and Sainz did not exceed expectations for the first time. Lando Norris is the last big surprise for me that made it against all odds Daniel Ricciardo in his shadow.
Switching to the disadvantages is not difficult for me. Despite a win in Italy, Ricciardo should be on that list. I’m sure he can do more and I was disappointed with what he showed in 2021. The same applies Yuki Tsunoda. He doesn’t seem very professional yet and that could cost him a serious future in Formula 1. Alpine has fallen even further this year and is now targeting 2022. As a works team, however, it is embarrassing to have two customer teams (McLaren and AlphaTauri) ahead of you in the overall ranking.
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Verstappen wants to give a fan an “unforgettable Christmas party”
Rishi wig – Editor GPblog UK
Surprises: Ferrari, Ocon
Setbacks: Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo
Ferrari’s controversial decision to replace their four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel with Carlos Sainz the world was completely amazed. Many doubted that the big changes would benefit them in the future. Now we can see the success of your decision. In early 2021, some wondered how Esteban Ocon would withstand the pressure of Fernando Alonso. In doing so, he asserted himself excellently: He won his first race at the Hungarian Grand Prix and was only ten points behind his team-mate at the end of the season.
The 2021 regulations ruined the stability of the rear end – and with it the overall balance of the car – and Aston Martin never managed to live up to the hype they sparked. Alfa Romeo’s promises certainly seemed to come true on the first lap with the drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi 11th and 12th place. However, as the year progressed, they seemed to take a back seat. Now they are only ninth in the constructors’ championship and hope to exceed their targets in 2022.
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Mercedes helps from Pirelli: “Verstappen won the championship there”
Aryans Jena
Surprises: Ferrari and Sainz
Setbacks: Tsunoda and Aston Martin
With Carlos Sainz, Ferrari has made an impressive return this season. Since an engine upgrade for the Russian Grand Prix, Ferrari has consistently outperformed McLaren by one level. Sainz wasn’t as quick as Leclerc in qualifying; the Spaniard lost the qualifying duel 13: 9 and was 0.055 seconds slower on average over all qualifying sessions. However, his consistency, racing skills and racing pace helped him secure fifth place in the drivers’ standings in the very last race, ahead of Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris after his fourth podium of the season.
At the beginning of 2021 there was a lot of hype about Yuki Tsunoda. The rest of his season was disappointing to say the least. The Japanese scored less than a third of his teammate’s total score. Aston Martin spent most of the season anonymously in midfield (with about half as many points as sixth-placed AlphaTauri). Their bad season was marred by a number of operational errors, the most regrettable of which was Vettel’s disqualification from second place at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Jordi Smit – Editor GPblog NL
Surprises: Alpha Tauri and Verstappen
Setbacks: Haas and Tsunoda
AlphaTauri is the most surprising team of the year. This is mainly due to Pierre Gaslywho showed that he was ready for the big time and was much faster than Tsunoda. The final sprint came too late to make life difficult for Alpine, but it shows that AlphaTauri can also be expected in 2022. Despite all the omens Max Verstappen was the most surprising driver of the year in my opinion. Although the Dutchman’s talent was evident, he stood erect all year round when it got hot under his feet. This shows that Verstappen has more for him than everyone thought.
Haas will want to forget the season as quickly as possible. While the American team had shown some great performances over the past few years, they haven’t picked up a single point this season. Guenther Steiner stated that the team wanted to focus on the 2022 car, but the team boss likely didn’t see such a disappointing season coming. Yuki Tsunoda is also the most disappointing driver. The Japanese got off to a promising start to the season, but had to lose his form at lightning speed. However, his last GP in Abu Dhabi brought him some positive things.
Matt Gretton – Editor in Chief of UK GPblog
Surprises: Red Bull and Sainz
Setbacks: Aston Martin and Ricciardo
Mercedes had perhaps the most dominant year of all time in 2020, beating Red Bull with over 250 points in the constructors’ championship. Max Verstappen only drove 87 laps in the lead, 55 of them in the final race in Abu Dhabi. We knew there had been some changes to the regulations regarding downforce, but it is a big surprise that Red Bull was at most, if not on all tracks, even able to compete with Mercedes. Did we expect Carlos Sainz to do that well? Despite all the praise Charles Leclerc received for blowing Sebastian Vettel away, Sainz was able to beat his new teammate.
With the arrival of a four-time world champion, expectations were high at Aston Martin. Perhaps they had to move away from their “Pink Mercedes” philosophy, which meant they had to step backwards. Win at Italian Grand Prix softened the blow to Ricciardo but I don’t think that should cover up Ricciardo’s poor performance in the McLaren. The Australian struggled to find his way around and although he improved as the season progressed, his early form likely cost McLaren third in the championship.
