

If it is, George Russell – who impressed on deputising duties at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix – is in the prime position to replace him. Questions will be raised over Hamilton’s one-year contract and whether 2021 will be his final hurrah.
F1 TEAMS 2021 DRIVER
As they defend the title for a seventh consecutive year, star driver Hamilton could become the first man to surpass 100 Grand Prix wins. More major records are on offer for Mercedes this year.

Mercedes have been known to sandbag in testing in recent years, but this appeared a more genuine issue. Hamilton suffered two notable spins – one on day two which caused one of only three red flag periods in the test, and the other as he was setting up a flying lap in the final hour of the final day. After Bottas was kept in the garage for most of the first morning due to a gear shift issue, when the W12 did appear on track, it looked unstable. The usually unflappable reigning champions seemed to struggle more than we’ve grown accustomed to over the three days of pre-season testing. The deal, announced in December 2020, sees Toto Wolff remain as Team Principal. Meanwhile, sponsor INEOS confirmed they had become a 33% stakeholder in the team. Newly-knighted Lewis Hamilton and his team-mate Valtteri Bottas remain team-mates for a fifth season– though Hamilton’s signature was not confirmed until well into the new year. They have achieved unparalleled success in recent years, winning both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in all of the last seven years. Mercedes have been the team to beat since the dawn of the V6 hybrid era. Read more about attending a Formula 1 race in 2021.

One year on from its original scheduled return, Zandvoort is due to host the Dutch Grand Prix in early September, while the all-new Jeddah Street Circuit joins the calendar to host the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the penultimate round of the year. While F1 will return to two of 2020’s stand-in venues (Imola and Portimao, hosting the second and third rounds of the season), the sport is scheduled to add two new races in 2021. However, with the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, nothing can be taken for granted.
F1 TEAMS 2021 FULL
It is hoped that Formula 1 will reach the full quota of a record-breaking 23 races in 2021. At those three races – the first of which is expected to be the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – the traditional qualifying hour will be held on Friday afternoon, with a 100km sprint race held on Saturday to determine the final grid order for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
F1 TEAMS 2021 TRIAL
Meanwhile, for three yet-to-be-confirmed rounds, F1 will trial “sprint qualifying”. The first is that Friday Practice sessions – formerly 90 minutes – have been cut to just a single hour each. There are two major changes to the makeup of a Formula 1 weekend in 2021. Each team will be supplied with two sets of hard tyres, three sets of mediums and eight sets of softs for each event. Unlike in previous seasons, where teams could make their own selections of tyre compounds, Pirelli will now dictate the number of tyres the teams will receive each race weekend. Teams risk sporting consequences should they exceed the limit on spending. The cost capįor the first time, F1 has a $145 million cost cap, brought in to lower the financial strain on the sport’s smaller outfits. This year’s cars will have less downforce than last year, leading to slower lap times but potentially closer racing. Though there are no major changes for 2021’s Formula 1 cars – with some teams even calling their 2021 cars a B-spec of their predecessors – there are some subtle, and important, differences. The most important changes are outlined below. While 2022 will be Formula 1’s latest revolution, there are a few significant changes in the 2021 evolution of the rules. New cars, new rules and new weekend formats.
