After 2 days of testing, let's hear your 2021 F1 predictions.
WCC:
1 - Mercedes
2 - Red Bull Racing
3 - McLaren
4 - Aston Martin
5 - Ferrari
6 - AlphaTauri
7 - Alpine
8 - Alfa Romeo
9 - Haas
10 - Williams
WCC notes:
- Mercedes had BY FAR best car of 2020. 2021 cars are all just an extension of 2020 cars. Mercedes floor looks to be the most advanced, which should be the biggest area to develop this season.
-RBR again should have amazing chassis. Max Verstappen is the best driver. Perez should always be able to get points, even if not much of a challenge to Max.
- McLaren now has Mercedes power. Their trick diffuser should be an advantage for the first couple races. Ricciardo is a stud and should be an upgrade over an already strong driver line up.
- Aston Martin. Looks like Mr Stroll wrote another check to Mercedes for all their aero innovations for 2021. Should be a podium challenger for the first 3-4 races at least. If the car has balance I expect Vettel to get back to form. Lance Stroll is still a bottom level driver.
- Ferrari gets a supposed significant PU upgrade. It will not be worth 2 seconds a lap to get up with Mercedes or RBR. I have to believe the PU may only get on par with Honda or Alpine, could still very well be the worst PU on the grid. The chassis should be as good as McLaren, but their nose is already 2 or 3 seasons behind the times. Ferrari sadly isn't known for being efficient, and have always had an enormous budget. With a $145m budget cap this year, I think Ferrari's development program could struggle.
- AlphaTauri will get the hand downs from RBR big brother. They do great work with a mediocre budget, so budget cap fit their program nicely.
- Alpine has one of the greatest drivers of all time in Alonso, but nobody steps away from F1 and comes back in the same form. Secondly they have no engine development support which means any reliability issues will be costly to fix. Their car has a very different aero approach than the rest. Rarely does that ever prove to be a home run when it comes from a mid pack team.
- Alfa Romeo has not a great chassis, not a great engine, but good driver experience.
- Haas also not a great chassis, not a great engine, and has 2 rookies. I expect plenty of mistakes
- Williams has new funding and one can hope they make another large step to at least fight with the bottom 3. Russell appears to be an elite talent, but that only goes so far if the car is rubbish
WDC:
1 - Hamilton
2 - Bottas
3 - Verstappen
4 - Ricciardo
5 - Perez
6 - Vettel
7 - Leclerc
8 - Lando
Teammate battles:
Mercedes - Hamilton > Bottas
Red Bull - Max > Perez
McLaren - Ricciardo > Lando
Aston Martin - Vettel > Stroll
Ferrari - Leclerc > Sainz
AlphaTauri - Gasly > Yuki
Apline - Alonso > Ocon
Alfa Romeo - Giovinazzi > Kimi
Haas - Schumacher > Mazepin
Williams - Russell > Latifi
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