Despite early uncertainty, the F1 2020 season was certainly an exciting one with record breaking performances from Lewis Hamilton who was able to take Mercedes to a 7th consecutive constructors cup and being old records for race wins too. Also some standout drives from names like George Russell who was able to have the opportunity to show he is one of the best drivers on the grid despite not having scored any points prior to his one race stint with the silver arrows. But with a huge shake up to driver rosters, preparations for new regulation change, and a new track, could the F1 grid look very different?
Big roster shifts – As of writing this, Lewis Hamilton is still yet to renew his contract at Mercedes but it is widely expected that he will do so very shortly as he remains a provisional name on the 2021 roster whilst both himself and team boss Toto Wolff have both stated they intend to move forward in to the new year together. This will likely keep Mercedes as the betting favourite for punters as the record-breaking performances in recent years have left Mercedes the obvious choose for bookmakers. You can use our bet9ja code: SPORTMAX and get involved on the markets throughout the season. The other spots on the grid have been shaken up though. Despite a difficult year, Charles Leclerc has shown he is a very talented driver even in a poor car, and now teamed up with the former McLaren driver in Carlos Sainz, Ferrari may be able to pull things back as they remain a fan favourite. With Alex Albon departing Red Bull, Max Verstappen may have some competition toward the front of the pack with Sergio Perez, and McLaren may have a chance to contest too with Daniel Ricciardo joining the youngster Lando Norris as both have shown to keep the pace.
New regs for ’21 – There are also some notable regulation changes coming for the new season too, with others pushed back to 2022. A cost cap will be introduced in order to bring the teams closer together alongside the change in minimum weight requirements which will prohibit the larger teams from spending more on exotic or lighter weight materials, small changes to body shape in the car floor and restrictions on aero testing mean the teams may be brought closer together as design changes could play their part before the big adjustments in 2022. The big change will be for Mercedes, as the Dual Axis Steering system implemented in 2020 has been banned, and fans will get to see how much of a difference that really made to the car.
Many of the proposed changes were supposed to come into play this year, but with the pandemic causing delays many had been pushed back, but it will be exciting to see how much changes based on the adjustments here, and moving forward, and whether or not it can upset the balance of what many fans have considered to be a rather dull grid in recent years with the HAM-BOT-VER era perhaps coming to an end.