News from Formula 1: Finally, well, not quite, but with a heavy heart I tell you: The Formula 1 season 2021 is over. It was a real treat. Such great races, such close fights, such surprising results. I really doubt we’ll see it again next year.
Speaking of 2022, all ten teams stayed at the Yas Marina Circuit for the mandatory Young Driver’s Test. That includes Fernando Alonso, mind you. He is young at heart.
Nonetheless, I am bringing you a sort of summary of developments over the past two days. But first we want to understand how the teams performed in the test.
All ten teams took part in the test and all ten teams put a regular and an experienced driver as well as a young driver in the driver’s seat. The regular drivers drove the Mule cars, essentially the modified versions of the 2019 cars that were adapted to the larger tires, brakes and suspension. The young drivers drove the 2021 cars.
Formula 1 news: which driver drove for which team
Pirelli offered two sets of the C1 blend, two sets of the C2 blend, four sets of C3, six sets of C4, and four sets of the softest blend, the C5. For two days, all drivers had to collect as much data as possible before the 2022 cars were launched.
Mercedes has moved in George Russell, the driver of the 2022 team, alongside the current FE champion Nyck de Vries. Ferrari brought Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Antonio Fuoco and Robert Shwartzman with them.
At Red Bull it was Juri Vips, Max Verstappen and Checo. McLaren had Pato O’Ward, Daniel Ricciardo, and Lando Norris. Alpine thought of Oscar Piastri when it came to driving him in the current F1 cars before handing the car over to regular drivers in Nando and Ocon.
Red Bull Junior Liam Lawson drove for AlphaTauri before Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly took over. Sebastian Vettel had some hydraulic problems in his Aston Martin that stopped his progress, but the team also designed Lance Stroll and simulator driver Nick Yelloly.
Valtteri Bottas was finally allowed to test for Alfa Romeo and had his new teammate Guanyu Zhou as company. As for Williams and Haas, Logan Sargeant drove for Williams on both days, but Haas had Robert Shwartzman, Mick Schumacher and Pietro Fittipaldi.
The crazy 2021 season was only over in the last test round
The strangest happened on Wednesday – at a pure pace (just kidding) Robert Shwartzman finished P1 in the Haas, half a second ahead of Norris.
Speaking of Lando, the Briton tested a new LED lighting system on the rear wheel covers of his McLaren machine, something that Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola believes could be beneficial for marketing purposes in the future.
“It was the idea to put some LEDs in the hubcaps to use those hubcaps for marketing purposes too, meaning you can display any kind of message. You can show the position, you can show logos, you can show the lap time in qualifying or something like that. There are many opportunities. You have the technology so that you can just program what you want to display. “
Other than that, it was a fairly straightforward session for everyone. This officially ends the F1 season in 2021. The circus returns to Barcelona in late February for pre-season official testing in brand new 2022 cars. So long, F1 action.
