Hamilton to Williams? Verstappen to Ferrari? Leclerc to McLaren? Find out below...
The 2020 season has flown by. It has been a season firstly of frustration, but then of joy, excitement and drama. 2021 looks to be one of the most exciting seasons to date, as the Bulls close the gap to the Silver Arrows, the midfield battle is more thrilling than ever and the silly season will be one to behold. For 2021, driver transfers have been common. Vettel kicked things off by leaving Ferrari, replaced by Carlos Sainz from McLaren. McLaren signed Daniel Ricciardo from Renault (now Alpine), who shocked the world with the return of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. Haas replaced both their drivers, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, with two young guns: Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Hamilton has not yet signed a new contract with Mercedes but we can only assume he will. Finally, Vettel announced he would be driving for Aston Martin in the coming season, leaving Sergio Perez to grab a seat at Red Bull, which knocked Alex Albon out of the picture, and Dani Kvyat was dropped for the young Yuki Tsunoda. However, many of the drivers' contracts are up at the end of this year, and with new regulations incoming, teams will have to make some tough decisions on their drivers; should they stick or twist? These are my driver predictions for the 2022 season.
- All but one seat has been filled for the 2021 season- the stage is set for one of the most thrilling seasons to date (image taken from formula1.com)
Williams
We are starting off with Williams, currently employing Nicholas Latifi and George Russell, two very different drivers. Latifi is a 25 year-old Canadian driver who has only been in F1 for a year. He is arguably only in the seat for his dad's money. He has not been achieving at the high standard set by his teammate but he did come close to scoring points on three occasions last season, finishing eleventh each time. Russell on the other hand, is a highly rated, 22 year-old Brit who is rumoured to be the next Lewis Hamilton. He has come very close to points many times in his two-year stint in F1, and finally managed it when given the opportunity to shine at the Sakhir Grand Prix last year, as Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19 and Russell was given the drive. A stunning performance saw him miss out on pole by 5 hundredths of a second to his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, and dominate the race when firstly, his team made a mix-up with the tyres and he had to come in twice to get them sorted. However, he was hunting down the leader until a puncture saw him come home an excruciating ninth, albeit his first points in F1.
Prediction
For 2022, I predict that Williams will stick with Latifi for the money and the consistent results and that Jack Aitken from F2 will partner him. Aitken has been delivering some good results this season in Formula 2 and has even taken part in a race for them at Sakhir when Russell was called up for the Mercedes drive. This means however that George Russell will be leaving the team, but where will he end up?
- Jack Aitken competed in his first F1 race last season at Sakhir to replace the Mercedes-bound George Russell (image taken from Motorsport.com)
Haas
Next up we have Haas, who have signed two youngsters for the 2021 season in Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Schumacher is 21 years old and the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher while Mazepin is also 21 and the son of Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin. Starting with Schumacher, many thought that a move to F1 so soon would be premature for him after 2019. However, he really stepped up to the plate in 2020, winning the title and earning his seat in F1 for the following season. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Nikita Mazepin. Nikita's junior career has been rife with controversy. This includes punching Callum Ilott in the face, hitting a sign into Yuki Tsunoda and most recently, posting an abhorrent video of him inappropriately touching a woman and even though he later posted an apology, he deleted it soon afterwards. While he has had some success, his aggressive and frankly disgusting actions have led to a social media campaign to stop his transition into F1, the highest tier of motorsport.
Prediction
For the 2022 season, I predict that Haas will keep both their drivers. They have both signed on multi-year contracts and the talent that Schumacher offers plus the money that Mazepin brings will persuade Haas to retain both of their drivers, despite the controversy surrounding one of them. In terms of other options, they could look to the Ferrari driver academy again and take someone like Callum Ilott but that would only be if one of their two drivers does not perform, but it is likely that they will perform as expected.
- Mick Schumacher has already tested for Haas in preparation for the 2021 season (image taken from F1i.com)
Alfa Romeo
Moving on to Alfa Romeo, the team that has nurtured the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc, and the two drivers that will be racing for them are Kimi Raikkonen, the former world champion, and Antonio Giovinazzi. They are both only signed on until the end of this season, and Raikkonen, at a grand old age of 41, may soon be looking for a goodbye to his distinguished F1 career. Giovinazzi's seat is also under a lot of pressure and he will have to perform in a big way this season if he wants to keep his seat in F1, as there are plenty of Ferrari juniors snapping at his heels.
Prediction
In 2022, I predict that Alfa Romeo will let Kimi Raikkonen go but keep Antonio Giovinazzi. Raikkonen's replacement will be the highly rated, 2020 F2 runner up, Callum Ilott. Ilott has performed very well in F2, fighting with Mick Schumacher all the way and narrowly losing out in the season finale in Bahrain. The reasoning for Raikkonen's retirement is that he will have been racing with a bottom team for three years straight, probably with not much improvement in 2021, and he will slowly lose his passion for F1. He will probably go and race elsewhere in rally or something like that, but I predict that his time in F1 will end at the end of this year. Finally, Giovinazzi has had a surprisingly good year at Alfa and will look to build on that and secure his seat. I don't think that he will ever make it to the Ferrari works team but he may, at some point in the future, secure a move to a midfield team such as McLaren, Alpine or Aston Martin and have a few years with them. After all, he isn't a bad driver and is more talented than people think.
- Kimi Raikkonen may retire at the end of this season (image taken from gpfans.com)
Alpha Tauri
Coming up next, we have Alpha Tauri, the Red Bull junior team, who currently have Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda contracted for this season. Gasly is an extremely talented young Frenchman, who, after an unsuccessful stint at Red Bull, has shone at Alpha Tauri, with one second-place finish at Brazil in 2019 and a magnificent win at Monza last season, emulating four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. Yuki Tsunoda is an up-and-coming Japanese driver who finished third in the 2020 F2 season. He is a highly-rated rookie looking to make the step up to Red Bull in a couple of year's time.
Prediction
I predict that in 2022, Alpha Tauri will have Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon. Tsunoda shouldn't have many problems in 2021 and will most likely even challenge teammate Pierre Gasly throughout the season. Albon though has just been dumped by Red Bull in favour of Sergio Perez, and is going to be racing in DTM in 2021. However, I think that Red Bull will put him back in the junior car come 2022, as they did with Dani Kvyat in 2019. This, of course, leaves Pierre Gasly out of a seat but will he be able to secure a seat elsewhere?
- Alex Albon may return to Alpha Tauri, where he started his F1 career in 2019 (image taken from motorsport.com)
Ferrari
Now it's the turn of Ferrari, with exciting talents Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in their pay roll. Leclerc, at 23 years old, is arguably Ferrari's best driver since Michael Schumacher and is signed on until 2024; he is not likely to be going anywhere anytime soon, despite Ferrari's worst season for 40 years. Carlos Sainz is a slightly more experienced driver, at 26 years old, who became the shining light in the midfield in the last two years and was soon snapped up by the Scuderia. He is signed on until the end of 2022 and there aren't that many options to replace him at the present.
Prediction
I predict that Ferrari will retain both their drivers for 2022, because they are both exciting young drivers who will hopefully bring Ferrari back to winning ways. Charles Leclerc is their Max Verstappen, a massively talented young driver with world championships surely in store for him. Carlos Sainz was preferred over 7-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo for the Ferrari seat and is clearly highly rated in the paddock and on the track.
- Charles Leclerc is Ferrari's answer to Max Verstappen- he's quick, aggressive and young (image taken from motorsport.com)
Alpine
Then comes Alpine, the newly rebranded French team, that have signed Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso for 2021. Esteban Ocon is a promising young driver who managed to score his first podium in Sakhir last season, but wasn't really much of a match for Daniel Ricciardo. Alonso is a two-time world champion with a huge reputation looking to possibly stay in F1 for a few more years after this. However, he's now 39, only two years off Kimi Raikkonen, and his skills may have dropped off a bit since we last saw him in an F1 car in 2018.
Prediction
For 2022, I predict that Alpine will have Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly driving for them. Alonso is good enough to still be the de facto number one driver, and I don't think that Ocon will improve much from last season. I think that the first action the team will have is signing the outgoing Pierre Gasly from Alpha Tauri. Then, they will have to make the choice between pairing him with Esteban Ocon, even though the pair have stated 'they are not friends', or Fernando Alonso, whose experience will no doubt boost Gasly to greater things. Signing Gasly would also have the added benefit of a French driver for a French team. Now, there aren't that many seats left for Ocon, so will he manage to snag one or will it be another year or two out on the side-lines for the Frenchman?
- Fernando Alonso has signed for Alpine for this season and is looking for possibly an extended stay in F1 (image taken from CAPosts.com)
Aston Martin
Now we have Aston Martin who have Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel under contract for the following season. Lance Stroll is, of course, the son of the team owner and will likely only go elsewhere if his dad does but, to be fair, he has really stepped up in 2020, with two podiums and even a pole position. Sebastian Vettel has just departed from Ferrari, after a relatively unsuccessful stint in the red cars, and is looking to rebuild his career at Aston Martin. The team have taken big strides in 2020, with a car that should have put them P3 in the Constructor's standings but were just pipped by McLaren. Vettel has signed for three years while there isn't even an exit clause in Stroll's contract.
Prediction
My prediction for Aston Martin in 2022 is that they will be retaining both their drivers. This is the obvious choice for them as they don't have any other options, Stroll's dad owns the team and Vettel is set to impress this season. All in all, it's a healthy line-up for the British-based team.
- Sebastian Vettel has jumped ship from Ferrari to Aston Martin for 2021 and is signed on for three years (image taken from planetf1.com)
McLaren
Next up, it's McLaren, with the young Brit Lando Norris and the experienced Aussie Daniel Ricciardo. Norris is a promising young Brit who secured his first podium last year after a standout season. Ricciardo is a seven-time race winner at Red Bull, before moving to Renault and not having as much success. He still hopes to achieve his dream of a world championship and moving to McLaren seemed like the best choice for that. Norris is signed on until the end of 2022 and Ricciardo has a multi-year contract as well.
Prediction
I predict that the 2022 McLaren driver line-up will be the same, with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo. Both drivers are very talented and they will almost certainly get on well with each other, both being regarded as the jokers in the paddock. In terms of other options, they don't really have much of a driver academy and their current drivers are better than any of the realistic other options on the grid.
- Daniel Ricciardo has signed for McLaren in 2021 and the dynamic between him and Lando Norris could be very strong indeed (image taken from foxsports.com.au)
Red Bull
2020 was a frustrating year for the Bulls, with their car not quite up there with Mercedes and Alex Albon underperforming and getting dropped at the end of the season. For 2021, Red Bull have signed the experienced Mexican Sergio Perez, who had his best season in F1 last year, finishing fourth in the championship and even winning a race. However, he is only signed on for one year, although that doesn't mean the team are looking to drop him at the end of the season. Max Verstappen is probably the second best driver on the grid, managing to outperform Lewis Hamilton on occasions when his car is good enough to match the Mercedes. He is also signed on until 2024 and not looking to move anywhere else.
Prediction
I predict that Red Bull will keep both their drivers in 2022- Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Verstappen is their superstar and they wouldn't dream of letting him go. Perez is a good driver for them to have and I think that he will stay for another year but will eventually be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda when he is ready to make the step up. Other options include Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Dani Kvyat but all of these drivers have had a shot in the Red Bull car and none have performed very well in it. Now, that may mean that there is an ingrained issue with Red Bull's second car but I don't think that Dr Helmut Marko will give them a second chance.
- Max Verstappen is Red Bull's superstar driver, challenging Lewis Hamilton for race wins and maybe even championships soon (image taken from planetF1.com)
Mercedes
Finally, we have the big guns, the Silver Arrows. While Hamilton is not yet signed on for 2021, you can only assume that he will and all indications from him and the team point to that as well. The other driver is Valtteri Bottas, who is signed on until the end of this year. Bottas' seat has come under fire in recent years, firstly from Esteban Ocon and then from George Russell. He is a good driver, who racks up a few wins each year and acts as a very good number two driver for Lewis. Speaking of the seven-time world champion, if Hamilton leaves it will be his choice; Mercedes are not exactly going to drop him.
Prediction
For 2022, I predict that Mercedes will sign Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Hamilton will keep on racing for as long as he can, as he not only wants to break the record set by Michael Schumacher, but continue to be at the forefront of motorsport so he can still have his opinions on the world heard and talked about. I also think that it must be finally time for George Russell to make the step up, as he so impressively proved himself at Sakhir and should have won the race even though he didn't even really fit in the car. That was surely the sign for Mercedes that the young Brit is ready to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes. In addition, this will give Mercedes plenty of options for the future, with reserve drivers featuring Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon and Stoffel Vandoorne if my predictions are correct.
- George Russell shone in a Mercedes last year and could well be given the opportunity to do so full-time in 2022 (image taken from standard.co.uk)
Summary
So, after all that then, here's a rundown of my predicted driver changes. Firstly, Jack Aitken will go to Williams and George Russell to Mercedes, leaving Valtteri Bottas out of a seat. Callum Ilott will replace Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo and Alex Albon will replace Pierre Gasly at Alpha Tauri. Gasly will in turn move to Renault and kick Esteban Ocon out of a seat. Haas, Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull will stick with their current driver line-up while Williams, Alfa Romeo, Alpha Tauri, Alpine and Mercedes will replace one of their drivers.
Thank you for reading- Marcus.