WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN 2021

Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin

Never have I seen so many F1 fans so eager and hopeful to see Vettel return to glory or at least contention. The pendulum has swung back from those, rightfully criticizing Seb for some amateur spins and costly rookie errors, to a wave of support based largely on an unfairness and locking of antlers between the four time WC and the corporate Ferrari mindset. Ironically though, Vettel now finds himself in the identical position of bringing former glory to a historic name. The difference this time is Lawrence Stroll’s coup here of buying Vettel’s experience, both for aiding his son Lance and for the “new” team. If Aston Martin do what Ferrari failed to do, which was listen and implement Vettel’s wisdom, then Seb himself is in a very good position to grow a supportive team, and pick up his career once again in what was a very competitive car in 2020. 

Sergio Perez and Red Bull

I would’ve said this was a do or die year for Sergio until a few weeks ago. Albon hasn’t made any lateral movement in motorsports like Magnussen and Grosjean have, and Alex never looks too worried or critical about it making me wonder whether his association with RB is truly over. Unfortunately where Albon failed, wasn’t in failing to win races for RB, but he floundered in placing a capable car in the points for the constructors fight, aka money. You can’t run at the top without putting two cars consistently into the points. It was within reason, with the Gasly/Kyvat/Marko disasters, to believe Red Bull have learned their lesson and kept Albon on a return waiver, giving Perez one year to show his value but then something happened to change my mind about that idea. Red Bull announced their commitment to the IP takeover for Honda’s Formula One engine in 2022. Even though the foundation is established, It takes a lot of money to persevere as a manufacturer and Perez comes with financial security in sponsors, which may secure his seat, regardless of performance in 2021.

Covid ... Again

The Covid crisis produced some unequalled unknowns in Formula One for the 2020 season. Schedule changes were very fluid, throwing chaos into the itinerary. Circuit cancellations meant old school track replacements, made challenging for teams and drivers, as they were anything but the sterile tracks designed for modern cars. Interruptive travel restrictions put pressures on team strategy, parts travel and repair work. Positive Covid infection itself produced some disruptive driver and team member sit outs which may again appear in 2021. Although the thrill of this F1 period will take a step down, now that Formula One teams have experience and data gathered from last season, expect the unexpected to again interfere with team’s best made plans. Those that can adapt on the fly, produce and execute creative solutions, will again flourish and move up the ladder while others may be caught stumbling.

The New In-Team Rivalry

Pre-season smiles and hugs have the real potential to quickly sour as each driver bids to out perform their new teammate. There’s the most giddy teaming of Norris/Ricardo at McLaren. The eagerness to prove their value for Ferrari in both Sainz/LeClerc. The youthful pairing of the volatile Mazepin and heavily burdened Schumacher rookie team for Haas. The intense Red Bull pressures of established Max Ver Stappen versus the rising Sergio Perez. What appears to be the seriousness of the returning and the fittest ever, Alonso with a mediocre Ocon rebirthing Alpine. As each unfamiliar pairing tries to establish driver dominance, expect this 2021 shuffle to turn serious and some sober, on track sparring about to happen when the visors go down this year. 

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goodbye 2017 and halo 2018

You may not like it and I'm pretty sure, deep down, Lewis doesn't like it. Purists hate it as yet another soul destroying aspect of current Formula 1. The ever so polite Red Bull, think it's "aesthetically not elegant" (read: looks like crap,) but love it or hate it, the Halo is a'coming.

Of all the strong reasons for the postponing of the 2017 debut of the Halo, none can be greater than the fact that so little drivers have actually driven with the frikken thing. In fact, that amount is ... wait for it... three drivers. To make matters worse I believe the combined laps the trio did with the safety (a definition currently up for debate) "gadget" (and I'm not sure if that's fair) was the unbelievable number of just four laps and that would be four practise laps, you know, as in, zero race laps.

It would look like one of the test problems right now is the blockage of the air intake. Red Bull came out and said that in the current configuration of the Halo (which by the way, isn't the real deal. It's a mock up used to initially test visibility) they couldn't run any more than two laps before the invention created over-heating problems for both their engine and gearbox. I imagine the triangular shape of the device itself is redirecting or disturbing airflow into the 2016 airbox configuration. 

It means that instead of the current bolt on, test device we currently see, team aerodynamicists would have to get to work engineering the Halo element into the structure of the car. Think of the weight the true Halo will have in order to provide adequate head protection, essentially acting as a frontal roll bar. Contemplate how high that weight is above the centre of gravity of the car and you have a whole new set of problems. That's only one of many complications to add more sleepless nights back in the factories. More coffee?

It would appear that the drivers, rightfully, are worried about the issue of a driver egress in an emergency. This was made all the more real as this season we saw Alonso violently rip through the air. For such an immediate, common concern it would appear that the FIA look to the stewards for the solution to that situation. That is, a bunch of excited, fat dudes flipping your car right-side up to free you. Hmmmmmmmm, tell that to Niki Lauda. Methinks not going to go over well.

I don't see how there cannot be a fundamental visibility issue either. I remember Kimi being asked about how visibility was once; he managed to whisper out a diplomatic "it's okay." I know he doesn't like to waste words but his opinion was hardly reassuring as truth. Two laps tested by Pierre Gasly and his opinion was "weird" and claustrophobic with an ugly view. Huh, Pierre don't mix words. It'll be interesting when all the drivers have a look. This is a solid point to make because the action plan looks like the FIA is proceeding with the safety testing and obviously (I mean hopefully) they believe it's beneficial enough to bring it in, which in itself is hardly a ringing endorsement either. If the drivers want to shit on it, how about the fact that the Halo is primarily being tested for a tire impact. A scary 20kg impact at a scarier 225kmh. Seen in Nascar for specific reasons like tie rod destroying fencing, and an object unavoidable high speed oval, amongst other factors and the ill-fated death of Henry Surtees, a tire strike is right up there in worry. (The FIA in 2017 will also beef up the very successful Zylon wheel tether.) So if there is a criticism to be raised about the effectiveness of the Halo, how about the stat that in a small item test, the Halo will deflect small item debris, get this, 17% of the time. Seems slightly better than plain old luck but the FIA's opinion is that without the Halo, a driver will get hit 100% of the time. Who's gonna argue that?

Look, Formula One is a high speed, high risk sport. Driver's know it each time they get in the car. Shit, as a former paraglider, I can tell you that you can't focus on fear when you're running off a cliff. For a lot of fans, the ability to deal with that risk, to achieve what the average fan can't do, is part of the awe towards a driver and the sport. Managing that risk through training, split timing decisions, etc. is what makes them exceptional athletes and commands our admiration to which we feel is deserved. They know it's high risk, we know it's high risk. And an argument can be made that all we'll be left with in the sport, is (more) boredom if we remove all that risk. Equally, technology and ongoing safety are a big part of this sport too and any dispute to the Halo's use is simply made moot by stating that the Halo could save one life.

So, if the Halo will protect a driver's life (and the FIA from getting sued) after head impacts from a wall, from another car, from tire barriers, "all those things." For those reasons, the Halo will be here in 2018 ....  Blech.

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