It’s nearly time! So, here is everything you could want to know about the 2021 season…
The Drivers
Lewis Hamilton
Age: 36 | GPs: 266 | Titles: 7 | Wins: 95 | Poles: 98 | Podiums: 165
Valtteri Bottas
Age: 31 | GPs: 156 | Champ. Best: 2nd | Wins: 9 | Poles: 16 | Podiums: 56
Max Verstappen
Age: 23 | GPs: 119 | Champ. Best: 3rd | Wins: 10 | Poles: 3 | Podiums: 42
Sergio Pérez
Age: 31 | GPs: 191 | Champ. Best: 4th | Wins: 1 | Qual. Best: 3rd | Podiums: 10
Daniel Ricciardo
Age: 31 | GPs: 188 | Champ. Best: 3rd | Wins: 7 | Poles: 3 | Podiums: 31
Lando Norris
Age: 21 | GPs: 38 | Champ. Best: 9th | Race Best: 3rd | Qual. Best: 3rd | Podiums: 1
Sebastian Vettel
Age: 33 | GPs: 257 | Titles: 4 | Wins: 53 | Poles: 57 | Podiums: 121
Lance Stroll
Age: 22 | GPs: 78 | Champ. Best: 11TH | Race Best: 3rd | Poles: 1 | Podiums: 3
Fernando Alonso
Age: 39 | GPs: 312 | Titles: 2 | Wins: 32 | Poles: 22 | Podiums: 97
Esteban Ocon
Age: 24 | GPs: 67 | Champ. Best: 8TH | Race Best: 2nd | Qual. Best: 3rd | Podiums: 1
Charles Leclerc
Age: 23 | GPs: 59 | Champ. Best: 4th | Wins: 2 | Poles: 7 | Podiums: 12
Carlos Sainz
Age: 26 | GPs: 118 | Champ. Best: 6th | Race Best: 2nd | Qual. Best: 3rd | Podiums: 2
Pierre Gasly
Age: 25 | GPs: 64 | Champ. Best: 7th | Wins: 1 | Qual. Best: 4th | Podiums: 2
Yuki Tsunoda
Age: 20 | GPs: 0 | Champ. Best: n/a | Race Best: n/a | Qual. Best: n/a
Kimi Räikkönen
Age: 41 | GPs: 330 | Titles: 1 | Wins: 21 | Poles: 18 | Podiums: 103
Antonio Giovinazzi
Age: 27 | GPs: 40 | Champ. Best: 17th | Race Best: 5th | Qual. Best: 7th
Mick Schumacher
Age: 22 | GPs: 0 | Champ. Best: n/a | Race Best: n/a | Qual. Best: n/a
Nikita Mazepin
Age: 22 | GPs: 0 | Champ. Best: n/a | Race Best: n/a | Qual. Best: n/a
George Russell
Age: 23 | GPs: 38 | Champ. Best: 18th | Race Best: 9th | Qual. Best: 2nd
Nicholas Latifi
Age: 25 | GPs: 17 | Champ. Best: 21st | Race Best: 11th | Qual. Best: 15th
The Teams
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
FIRST GP: 1954 | GPS: 227 | Titles: 16 | WINS: 115 | POLES: 126 | PODIUMS: 236
Red Bull Racing Honda
FIRST GP: 2005 | GPS: 303 | Titles: 8 | WINS: 64 | POLES: 63 | PODIUMS: 183
McLaren F1 Team
FIRST GP: 1966 | GPS: 880 | Titles: 20 | WINS: 182 | POLES: 155 | PODIUMS: 488
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team
FIRST GP: 1959 | GPS: 5 | CHAMP. BEST: N/C | RACE BEST: 6TH | QUAL. BEST: 2nd
Alpine F1 Team
FIRST GP: 2021 | GPS: 0 | Champ. Best: N/A | Race Best: N/A | Qual. Best: N/A
Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow
FIRST GP: 1950 | GPS: 1008 | Titles: 31 | WINS: 238 | POLES: 228 | PODIUMS: 773
Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda
FIRST GP: 2020 | GPS: 17 | CHAMP. BEST: 7th | Wins: 1 | QUAL. BEST: 4th | Podiums: 1
Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen
FIRST GP: 1950 | GPS: 148 | CHAMP. BEST: 6TH | WINS: 10 | POLES: 12 | PODIUMS: 26
Uralkali Haas F1 Team
FIRST GP: 2016 | GPS: 100 | CHAMP. BEST: 5TH | RACE BEST: 4TH | QUAL. BEST: 5TH
Williams Racing
FIRST GP: 1977 | GPS: 761 | Titles: 16 | WINS: 114 | POLES: 128 | PODIUMS: 312
The Grands Prix
Bahrain
SAKHIR | 26-28 MAR | LAPS: 57 | LENGTH: 5.412 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:31.447 (de la Rosa)
Emilia Romagna
Imola | 16-18 APR | LAPS: 63 | LENGTH: 4.909 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:15.484 (Hamilton)
Portugal
Portimão | 30 Apr-02 May | LAPS: 66 | LENGTH: 4,653 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:18,750 (Hamilton)
SPAIN
BARCELONA | 07-09 MAY | LAPS: 66 | LENGTH: 4.675 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:18.183 (Bottas)
Monaco
MONACO | 20-23 MAY | LAPS: 78 | LENGTH: 3.337 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:14.260 (Verstappen)
AZERBAIJAN
BAKU | 04-06 MAY | LAPS: 51 | LENGTH: 6.003 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:43.009 (leclerc)
CANADA
MONTRéAL | 11-13 JUN | LAPS: 70 | LENGTH: 4.361 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:13.078 (Bottas)
FRANCE
LE CASTELLET | 25-27 JUN | LAPS: 53 | LENGTH: 5.842 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:32.740 (Vettel)
AUSTRIA
SPIELBERG | 02-04 JUL | LAPS: 71 | LENGTH: 4.318 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:05.619 (Sainz)
GREAT BRITAIN
SILVERSTONE | 16-18 JUL | LAPS: 52 | LENGTH: 5.891 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:27.097 (Verstappen)
HUNGARY
Mogyoród | 30 JUL-01 AUG | LAPS: 70 | LENGTH: 4.381 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:16.627 (Hamilton)
BELGIUM
Stavelot | 27-29 AUG | LAPS: 44 | LENGTH: 7.004 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:46.286 (Bottas)
NETHERLANDS
ZANDVOORT | 03-05 SEP | LAPS: 72 | LENGTH: 4.259 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:16.538 (Prost)
ITALY
MONZA | 10-12 SEP | LAPS: 53 | LENGTH: 5.793 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:21.046 (Barrichello)
RUSSIA
SOCHI | 24-26 SEP | LAPS: 53 | LENGTH: 5.848 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:35.761 (Hamilton)
SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE | 01-03 Oct | LAPS: 61 | LENGTH: 5.063 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:41.905 (Magnussen)
JAPAN
SUZUKA | 08-10 OCT | LAPS: 53 | LENGTH: 5.807 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:30.983 (Hamilton)
UNITED STATES
AUSTIN | 22-24 OCT | LAPS: 56 | LENGTH: 5.513 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:36.169 (Leclerc)
MEXICO CITY
MEXICO CITY | 29-31 Oct | LAPS: 71 | LENGTH: 4.304 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:18.741 (Bottas)
BRAZIL
São Paulo | 05-07 NOV | LAPS: 71 | LENGTH: 4.309 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:10.540 (Bottas)
Australia
Melbourne | 19-21 Nov | Laps: 58 | Length: 5.303 km | Lap Record: 1:24.125 (Schumacher)
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah | 03-05 Dec | Laps: 50 | Length: 6.175 KM | Lap Record: N/A
ABU DHABI
ABU DHABI | 10-12 Dec | LAPS: 55 | LENGTH: 5.554 KM | LAP RECORD: 1:39.283 (Hamilton)
The Changes
Drivers
Sergio Pérez replaces Alexander Albon at Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo replaces Carlos Sainz at McLaren
Sebastian Vettel replaces Sergio Pérez at Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso replaces Daniel Ricciardo at Alpine
Carlos Sainz replaces Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari
Yuki Tsunoda replaces Daniil Kvyat at AlphaTauri
Mick Schumacher replaces Romain Grosjean at Haas
Nikita Mazepin replaces Kevin Magnussen at Haas
Teams
Racing Point are rebranded as Aston Martin
Renault are rebranded as Alpine
Regulations
A budget cap of $145 million per year has been introduced
The floor of the cars will be ‘clipped’ in order to reduce downforce
Slots on the edge of the floor will be removed, brake duct winglets will be narrowed by 40 mm and diffuser fences will be narrowed by 50 mm to further reduce downforce
DAS has been banned
Teams will be required to allow a driver who has competed in fewer than two grands prix to replace one of their race drivers in a Friday practice session
Drivers using mixed compound sets or using sets allocated to another driver on their cars will be permitted to complete two laps before the driver must pit to correct the error before facing a penalty
Cars will be under parc fermé conditions following the end of free practice three instead of qualifying
All of Thursday’s events (media, promotions, scrutineering) will be moved to the Friday morning with the times between Friday’s activities being reduced
The Burning Questions
Can Lewis Hamilton make the record for the most world championships his own by taking an eighth title?
Will anyone be able to challenge him? Can Red Bull produce a car capable of doing so? Can Valtteri Bottas upgrade again to 4.0 or whatever model we’re up to?
Can Ferrari improve on their calamitous 2020 season and move back towards the front?
Will Pérez be able to compete with Max Verstappen?
Ditto Sainz with Charles Leclerc?
How much will Mercedes power help McLaren?
Will Alonso still be the same driver that left the sport in 2018?
Can Vettel rediscover his mojo at Aston Martin?
Will we see races being cancelled due to the virus?
How long until the first Kimi bwoah?
