Tag: leclerc

F1 2021: Dutch Gp Review – To The Max

From Brazil to Monza to Silverstone to Germany there have been crowds that have elevated Formula 1 races to an unbelievable levels of unforgettable passion. And now the Dutch have added themselves to the list of most extraordinary F1 crowds.

A sea of orange greeted F1 from the moment the first wheel was turned in Friday practice. With 70,000 fans packing out the grandstands every single day the electrifying atmosphere built to a breathtaking crescendo on Sunday as Max Verstappen became the first Dutch driver to ever win his home race.

The weekend was preceded by the news that Kimi Raikkonen has decided that 2021 will be the final Formula One season of his illustrious career. And as if by supernatural design Raikkonen continued to dominate the headlines as it was announced on Friday night that he would not be taking part in the rest of the weekend after returning a positive COVID-19 test. Raikkonen will have to return two negative tests before he will be allowed to partake in this weekend‘s Italian Grand Prix. Robert Kubica slotted into the vacant seat for the weekend.

Nevertheless the show must go on and it most certainly did. Despite failing to open the DRS flap on the final run of qualifying three Max Verstappen still secured pole position for his home Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton lined up along side the Dutchman in second while Valtteri Bottas was third quickest in the second Mercedes. As the lights went out on Sunday it was line astern for the top three while the rest of the field jockeyed for position on the undulating Zaandvoort circuit.

Verstappen’s win wasn’t especially dominant but the Red Bull driver also never seemed especially under pressure from Hamilton. Mercedes threw everything they could at Red Bull in terms of strategy even going so far as to use Bottas as a blocker against Verstappen in aid of Hamilton. Unfortunately for them Verstappen made short work of the Finn and from there on seemed able to control the race.

Throughout the weekend what became clear is that the Zaandvoort circuit is a classic old school track with peril around every corner. As such the Practice sessions and even qualifying were littered with red flags. But surprisingly no safety car or red flag was needed in the race. But for few wheel banging overtakes all the drivers were inch perfect.

Mercedes attempted to dupe Red Bull on strategy, which comprised of pitting Hamilton early. But not only did Red Bull not fall for the bluff but it left Hamilton extremely unsure as to the possibility of carrying a set of tires to the end of the race. As it were the Brit was pulled back into the pit line for another stop, which was easily covered by Verstappen. Ultimately Mercedes chose to stop both its drivers a third time with the aim of securing the point for fastest lap for Hamilton.

Behind the top three Pierre Gasly finished a fine fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Fernando Alonso continues to underline his incredible talent with a fighting sixth place finish followed by Carlos Sainz in seventh. Sergio Perez was voted driver of the day for his recovery drive from a pitlane start to eighth. Esteban Ocon was ninth while Lando Norris took the final point in tenth.

Verstappen’s win sees him retake the lead of the driver’s championship but it also a serious statement of intent. No matter what Mercedes and Hamilton threw at him he, seemingly, handled it with ease; and that under the enormous pressure of a highly expectant Dutch crowd.

The worst kept secret in F1 at the moment is that George Russell is off to Merc for 2022. This announcement, and Bottas’s move to Alfa Romeo, is expected in the next few days. In fact the Bottas to Alfa Romeo move may already be official by the time you are reading this.

September 6, 2021
F1 2021: French Gp Preview – Can Title Battle Animate Paul Ricard?

As a travel destination the country of France is arguably one of the most coveted in the world. But when it comes to Formula 1 racing the Paul Ricard doesn’t exactly fill fans with an over boding sense of excitement.

The circuit, located between the cities of Toulon and Marseilles, made its return to the F1 calendar in 2018. Lewis Hamilton won the last race around the circuit in commanding fashion, which racked up Mercedes’s eighth successive victory of the 2019 season. In 2021 Merc and Hamilton arrive at the Le Castellet venue in quite a different position.

Granted the French grand prix has been pushed to earlier in the season but still few were likely to imagine Mercedes arriving on the French Riviera not leading on either of the driver’s and constructor championship standings. After a chaotic Azerbaijan grand prix in which neither Hamilton nor Max Verstappen scored any points the Red Bull driver holds a slender lead of four points over his rival. Checo Perez’s win in Baku also earned Red Bull a 26-point lead in the constructor’s standings.

Traditionally, Mercedes have been untouchable around the Paul Ricard circuit. So dominant were Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in 2019 that the nearest qualifier to them, Charles Leclerc, was nearly seventh tenths off. Similarly, in the race Hamilton was roughly twenty seconds up the road from Bottas in second who had put a good twenty seconds into Leclerc as well. But if we know anything from the 2021 season it is that Mercedes have not performed nearly as clinically as they have in past years. Here and there some cracks have begun to show, some instance revealed of a team not at 100%. It isn’t a given then that the team will arrive in France at the favourites and this is exactly what Red Bull needs to take advantage of.

Max Verstappen is driving probably better than he ever has and this removes any doubt that if the car is up to the task the Dutchman will be at the sharp-end. But it’s the ominous consistently of Verstappen that is most impressive in 2021. Even if Mercedes were to be quicker on race day you can bet your house that Verstappen will be a close second, barring unreliability or freak tyre blowouts.

If Hamilton and Mercedes find themselves in uncomfortable territory it is nothing compared to what Valtteri Bottas is experiencing. The Finn has scored only 47 points and had a poor showing in Azerbaijan, which has done nothing but re-ignite the Russell-to-Merc rumours. So boisterous have the rumours become that there are a good few who believe that George Russell may well be announced as a 2022 Mercedes driver during the Silverstone grand prix weekend next month.

As the battle rages for the top honours there is a French driver who has well and truly covered himself in glory this season. Pierre Gasly’s breakthrough podium in Brazil was a true watershed moment. His subsequent win in Monza and another podium in the last race has only solidified his talent. It seems unlikely that a move back to the senior Red Bull team is in Gasly’s future but there should be quite a few teams keen to get his signature in the next few years.

It is an important race for Alpine too as they will race at their home grand prix under their new guise for the first time. Fernando Alonso impressed in Baku but has so far been outdone by French teammate Esteban Ocon. Alpine, headed by Davide Brivio, hasn’t maintained the progress gained towards the end of 2021. But an invigorated Alonso has always been to do miraculous things with cars that have no business being in the points. The question is whether his run in Baku was a once off or if the Spaniard is getting on top his car and his teammate.

Race previews are usually expected to indicate who is favourite for the win. But the best thing about Formula 1 in 2021 is that this has become all but impossible to predict. All indication, and the track layout, says that Mercedes should have the edge but it just hasn’t been that simple this season. What is a certainty however is that the fight for supremacy and victory is red-hot and might even be enough to inject some life into a circuit that has delivered rather dull races in its last two appearances.

June 15, 2021
F1 2021: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Four Teams in the Mix

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix first made its debut on the F1 calendar in 2016. And all of the races since it’s debut have been packed full of drama.

Nico Rosberg who not only secured pole position and the fastest lap but also led every one of the 51 race laps dominated the first race, dubbed the European grand prix. It was an uncharacteristically messy race for Hamilton who crashed in qualifying before coming home in fifth while Sergio Perez scored a brilliant third-place finish for then Force India. A year later the drama intensified ten-fold and is mostly known for the now infamous incident of Seb Vettel bumping into the side of Hamilton under the safety-car. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who, at one stage, was 17th in the running won this race with all of its crashes and controversies, and a red flag. It also marked Lance Stroll’s first podium finish in third. The 2018 race will forever be known for the collision between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo on the start/finish strait. The drama wasn’t over though as race-leader Bottas suffered a late-race puncture ultimately retirement. It handed the win to Hamilton who finished head of Raikkonen and the ever-present Perez. By all previous comparisons the 2019 race was a fairly sedate one in which Bottas earned redemption with a win from Pole.

Because of the global pandemic Baku didn’t feature on the 2020 calendar. Its return in 2021 promises to be nothing short of dramatic if the previous races around the Azerbaijan streets are anything to go by. And it might not by a straight out fight only between Red Bull and Mercedes either. McLaren should fancy their chances around Baku. The car is a rocket ship and did very well, on merit, in Monaco. Perhaps it’s not quite quick enough to take the top spot but any hijinks or drama or mistakes and McLaren will undoubtedly be in position to reap the rewards.

It isn’t all about the sharp end of the grid as the plotlines of the season are beginning to take shape. A driver under pressure and who needs to impress his team boss is Yuki Tsunoda. Aside from a splashy performance in Bahrain the rookie driver hasn’t done anything worth noticing on-track. He has however revealed quite a volatile demeanour over team radio. It’s been reported that Tsunoda has been moved from UK to Italy in order to be more closely “supervised”. Which is really just a polite way of saying the young Japanese driver needs to reevaluate his approach and adjust his attitude quickly. After all Red Bull and Helmut Makro aren’t known for their patience. They’ve racked up more than a few merciless axing’s in their time from Jean Eric Vergne to Sebastian Buemi to Dannil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon to name a few.

Mercedes had a nightmare Monaco Grand Prix weekend and will want to rectify it in the most emphatic way possible. Bottas has proven to be quite handy around Baku. But all indications are that it simply won’t be a straightforward weekend. Not only could McLaren be there or there about but Ferrari too has traditionally performed well on the Azerbaijan streets. The Scuderia will be buoyed by the car’s performance on the Monte Carlo streets. And with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc clearly in brilliant form Ferrari could find themselves mixing it at the sharp end.

June 2, 2021
F1 2021: End-of-season Predictions

Formula 1 is likely one of the most difficult sports to predict accurately. There will be those who scoff at this and point to Mercedes’s six consecutive title-winning seasons as the perfect example of how predictable it is. But while championship glory is the ultimate prize there are so many more stories that combine to make Formula 1 the greatest sport in the world.

After a brutal half-season at Red Bull who would’ve predicted that Pierre Gasly so brilliantly rise to the occasion and end 2020 as a race winner? And who would’ve thought that Sergio Perez would win in Bahrain much less be signed up to Red Bull for 2021? And even fewer would’ve expected Ferrari not to keep Seb Vettel in their stable. The point here is that as much predictability as there can be in F1 there can be equally if not more unpredictability too. And on that note let’s set some of our own predictions for 2021. Now, these may well not pan out the way we expect heck they probably won’t, it is F1 after all. But if they do we’ll be happy to take credit and equally as happy to admit that we were wrong after a lengthy steward’s enquiry has been conducted.

We return to some predictions made all the way back in February this year to gauge how right or wrong we were.

Most improved driver

Natalie:

Seb Vettel has endured two and a half miserable seasons at Ferrari. Up to the mid-point of 2018, Vettel looked strong and very much on course to push Lewis Hamilton all the way to the ragged edge for the title. But it spectacularly unravelled and Ferrari fell dramatically by the wayside in succeeding years.

Some would say that Vettel has lost his edge but it might well be a case of Ferrari simply sucking the life out of him. He simply hasn’t looked like the jovial driver we have come to know. With Aston Martin, he may not be challenging for the title but Vettel has a great chance to re-ignite his passion for the sport and to re-discover what has made him one of the greats. The prediction is for Vettel to be on the podium in 2021 and to remind everyone of just how good he is.

End-of-season result: While Seb Vettel did, technically, stand on the podium in Hungary he didn’t quite fulfil the lofty expectations set for him before the start of the season. Though he did get to keep his Baku podium finish.

Final Opinion: Most improved driver – Carlos Sainz. The Spanish driver took like a duck to water in the Ferrari and not only underlined his inherent speed but also beat his highly-rated teammate, Charles Leclerc, to fifth in the driver’s standings.

Our tech writer:

I’m not one to agree with Natalie very quickly and this is no exception. There are quite a few that could be seen as most improved for the year. Sergio Perez is one of the names that come to mind. The Mexican is more mature, he’s measured in his approach and he has a new team to get settled in. Being at Red Bull won’t be very easy. The team is built around Max Verstappen after all. There will be a huge expectation on Perez to beat or just get close to Verstappen. It’s a long shot but my money is on Perez. Honourable mention here for Ricciardo and Stroll.

End-of-season result: I was wildly off with the Ricciardo prediction. Perez didn’t do too bad but not great either. Perez blew hot and cold throughout the season. He delivered when it counted.

Final Opinion: Have to go with Sainz. He did well with McLaren the previous season and then got to Ferrari and was classified every race this season leading to his P5 position in the driver’s championship. Mr Consistency this season.

Driver of the year

Natalie:

For some time Sergio Perez has been steadily plugging away, scoring points, and holding Racing Point together. He’d had a chance in 2013 at McLaren but it came to early on in the Mexican’s career and he never found his groove. Perez stepped up to a new level in 2020 and is very likely to build on this. In 2021 he will have a car capable of winning races. His experience, consistency, and speed will combine to catapult Checo Perez into the upper echelon of the grid.

End-of-season result: Checo had some real struggles matching teammate Verstappen, but who can blame him really.

Final Opinion: 10 race wins and 10 pole positions combine to make Max Verstappen not only the 2021 champion but also the best driver of the year. His drives in France and Texas stand out the most.

Our tech writer:

The best driver of the turbo-hybrid era has to be Lewis Hamilton. He’s in the best car and his performances have just been on another level to his peers. If he takes his 8th world title there’s no doubt he takes driver of the year.

Final Opinion: I’d still put Hamilton as the driver of the year. His ability to focus and put in performance after performance to narrow the championship gap down to zero coming into the final race of the season is what a 7-time world champion would do. He fought with everything till the chequered flag in the last race.

Most improved team

Natalie:

McLaren is already on a solid upwards trajectory and it will continue in 2021. Not only is the Mercedes engine being installed in the back of the McLaren chassis but they have also welcomed Daniel Ricciardo to the team. The Aussie will find his feet quickly and when he does he is a proven superstar that will deliver for McLaren.

End-of-season result: McLaren faded a bit towards the end of the season but they delivered a stellar racing year including a brilliant one-two finish at Monza.

Final Opinion: Sticking with McLaren.

Our tech writer:

Ferrari has a low base to work from. 2020 was abysmal for the Scuderia. Some restructuring went on at the office and no doubt some shiny new toys in the factory to improve the car. There are some positive noises coming out of Maranello pre-testing regarding the power unit. Aerodynamically they’ve been making some strides throughout 2020 and seem to be on some sort of pathway. And with Charles Leclerc who’s now the de-facto leader in the team, will be chomping at the bit to get going this season.

End-of-season result: Ferrari started there about, a slight slump in the midseason saw them drop below McLaren in the constructor’s championship. They kept at it and improved the car and ended up securing third in the championship. Finishing best of the rest is the consolation prize when you’re well and truly beaten every weekend. Special mention to Williams who finished ahead of Alfa Romeo in the standings. Another special mention to Alphatauri and their battle with Alpine. Franz Tost was aiming for P5. They were just beaten to it at the end by Alpine.

Final Opinion: Ferrari.

Constructor’s title

Natalie:

This is the type of predication that could very well not come to fruition but we’re going to make it anyway. The combination of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez is one that can deliver big points race-in-and-race-out. Red Bull unlocked some of their potential towards the end of 2020 and with a point-scoring machine like Perez in the car, they have a great opportunity of snatching this trophy.

End-of-season result: Checo Perez’s struggle to get comfortable in the Red Bull were slightly underestimated. But he certainly did the job in Abu Dhabi, didn’t he?

Final Opinion: Mercedes definitely deserved an 8th constructor’s title. There’s no doubt they were nerfed a bit by the new regs, as it customary in F1. There was no doubt a monumental effort to get the car into shape and it showed.

Our tech writer:

Constructors title No. 8 for Mercedes. I just don’t see any other team that’s able to challenge the Silver Arrows this year.

End-of-season result: Red Bull got close. A couple of unlucky races for them together with some poor showings from Perez cost them the constructors title at the end.

Final Opinion: Well deserved by Mercedes.

Driver’s title

Natalie:

When he eventually puts pen to paper on his contract Lewis Hamilton is the likely shoo-in for the driver’s title. A couple of early wins in the season to build his own momentum and to see if the short-term ‘threat’ of Valtteri Bottas and he should be well on his way to title number eight.

End-of-season result: Who would’ve thought that 2021 would finally see the end of Hamilton’s domination. He gave it all he had though in a season that will be remembered for all of time.

Final Opinion: Max Verstappen’s triumph as driver’s champion comes after an unforgettable season and it is richly deserved. Super Max!

Our tech writer:

I see I’m going to have to agree with Natalie on something! Bottas 4.0 or whatever version we’re on, it just seemed like beta testing all this time. It’s going to be Hamilton unless something drastic happens and we have Verstappen sneaking past at the end. That will be a coup for the bookies. Worth a fiver on Verstappen for the title then?

Final Opinion: Did anyone place their bets on Verstappen? People were ready to tear them up by lap 1 of the Abu Dhabi GP race. Something drastic did happen a few laps from the end and Verstappen snatched his first world title at the end.

2021 has been a season of anxiety, entertainment, controversy, penalties, and most of all – unpredictability. It is likely to be remembered as certainly the best season of the Hybrid era and definitely as one of the greatest of all time.

February 24, 2021
F1 2020: Hungarian Gp Review – Merc in a class of one

Ninety-one race victories and seven world championship titles seemed inaccessible for so long. But now it is case of when rather than if Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton will reach and break the lofty records set by the great Michael Schumacher.

Lewis Hamilton cruised to a dominant victory in round three of the 2020 championship. An eighth win around the Hungaroring, with a fastest lap and pole position to boot, has also given Hamilton the lead in the driver’s standings. So comfortably dominant was Hamilton’s pace that he was able to pit near the end of the race and still emerge well ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas who completed the podium in third.

The races started in damp condition but the switch to slick tyres happened within a few laps of the race start. There was drama before the race even started for Red Bull as Verstappen fell foul of the slippery conditions on the way to the grid. The Dutchman clouted a barrier with the front-left of his car breaking the track rod and front-wing. Somehow his mechanics were able to change the track rod in record time to get their driver into the race. Max Verstappen may have been voted Driver of the Day by fans on social media but the real MVPs were unquestionably his mechanics.

Saturday qualifying confirmed Racing Point’s pace as they locked out the second row of the grid with Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez. It is often easy to dismiss Lance Stroll seeing as his father owns the team he’s driving for. But his performance and fourth place finish in the Hungarian Gp deserves praise. He thoroughly outpaced Checo Perez whom is the much more highly rated of the Racing Point drivers.

Alex Albon recovered from a nightmarish qualifying position of 13^th to finish fifth ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in sixth. Ferrari’s woes were eased somewhat with Vettel but Charles Leclerc was only able to bring his Ferrari home in 11^th. It’s going to be a long old season and, unfortunately, the light at the end of the tunnel is nowhere near in sight for the Scuderia.

Sergio Perez was seventh for Racing Point however Renault hit them with another protest after the race. Renault had also lodged a protest with the FIA following the Stryrian Gp (Austria Part 2) challenging the legality of the Racing Point’s car design. Racing Point has made no secret about the fact that they had copied, from pictures, the design of the 2019 Mercedes. Renault believe though that Mercedes lent more of a helping hand than was legal.

Renault would likely not have raised the issue if they were ahead of Racing Point on pace, but they aren’t. As it were Daniel Ricciardo finished eighth for Renault ahead of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz in ninth and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen in tenth. Magnussen had finished ninth on the track but was subsequently dealt a ten-second-time penalty for receiving prohibited instructions during the formation lap.

On current pace it is clear that Hamilton might only have one challenger in 2020 – Valtteri Bottas. Valtteri Bottas started the season like he has in the last few years. Victory in race one is almost a given for the Finn but inevitably he is bested by Hamilton in the next few races. Bottas made two mistakes in the Hungarian grand prix. A stutter, nearly a jump start, at the beginning of the race saw him lose several places but luckily avoid a penalty as he was adjudged to still be in his grid slot despite a small amount of relative movement before the lights went out. The second slip-up was his inability to overtake Verstappen despite having significantly fresher tyres and boatload more pace. Yes, overtaking around the Hungarian circuit isn’t the easiest feat but if Bottas is serious about taking the challenge to Hamilton then he must make that pass for second. The fact is that Bottas is not going to beat Hamilton, over a season, on pace. The only way of beating Lewis Hamilton is to get inside his head. Bottas needs to be utterly relentless and to make Hamilton aware that he isn’t going to yield.

The good news for Bottas is that there is unlikely to be a consistent challenge from anywhere else. Mercedes Benz is simply in a class of its own. The on-board footage of Hamilton’s qualifying lap pretty much defied the laws of gravity so ridiculously planted was the Merc around the Hungaroring.

It is quite astonishing that the Mercedes factory and engineers is still able to produce an even quicker car than they have in the previous six years. Every year the car created is a masterpiece of engineering and innovation to the point where one thinks it surely cannot get any better. But it does. And what they have conjured with the W11 in 2020 is gob-smacking. It is unfathomable to imagine that the championship titles will be going anywhere other than Mercedes’s undoubtedly overflowing trophy cabinet in Brackley. In fact, the rest would do well to get a win off them this season, on merit.

July 23, 2020
F1 2020: Who Will be the new Ferrari Driver?

Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel have jointly announced that after the conclusion of the 2020 season, assuming it actually gets underway, they will no longer be partners.

If you’d cared to look for it the writing has been on the wall for some time. Yes, hindsight and all that but Vettel just hasn’t seemed to be as in love with Formula 1 as he had been in his Red Bull heyday and even his early years at Ferrari. Vettel and Ferrari’s story is a romantic one that the four-time champion had been dreaming of since the days of watching his hero Michael Schumacher win five consecutive titles for the Prancing Horse. A title with the famed Italian team was always Vettel’s ambition but it simply hasn’t come to fruition, for a number of reasons. There is still a chance for Vettel if things get underway in 2020 and Ferrari can get their act together.

Immediately, and likely because we’re all terribly bored without any racing, the attention has turned to who Vettel’s replacement is likely to be. Naturally, it is every driver’s dream, at some stage, to don the famous red overalls. And because we fancy ourselves as extremely dedicated to F1 we must do our part and partake in the silly season rumours that is about to catapulted into overdrive, no pun intended.

Here at F1 Madness we have some ideas as to who might partner Charles Leclerc in 2021.

Natalie’s inkling:

Most likely

Carlos Sainz.

He’s quick, he’s consistent, and he’s only 25. Carlos Sainz has all the attributes that will be attractive to Ferrari. He appears, from what we’ve seen so far, to be a fairly low maintenance driver who gets on with the job. This should be very attractive to Ferrari after the spells with Fernando Alonso and the tension between Vettel and Leclerc caused unneccesary distraction.

Sainz is hungry too. Even though its years behind him now he was left behind in the Max Verstappen promotion to Red Bull. He could have dropped his head after that and easily could’ve morphed into an also-ran. But he rebounded incredibly well and finished best-of-the-rest in 2019.

Sainz has big potential and could very well come into his own without upsetting the Ferrari apple cart.

Daniel Ricciardo.

The Aussie has been a fan-favourite from day one and will undoubtedly be embraced by the Tifosi. He’s a proven race winner and a dynamite overtaker. He would join Ferrari as a bonafide championship contender from day one, should the machinery suffice.

BUT. He also left Red Bull because Max Verstappen was clearly the top dog. At Ferrari he will be coming into Leclerc’s team. As much as he may be assured of equal status within the team it is never a seamless process. No matter what they may say in the press the team will inevitably lean towards Leclerc because there is already a level of comfort and familiarity between the two.

Out-of-the-box

Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn has been on record as saying that the yearly contract negotiations are a distraction. He is a capable driver on his day for whom a change of scenery could make a world of difference.

While Ferrari might not admit to it in public they have set their stall on Charles Leclerc as the future of the team. Heck, he’s been signed up to the end of 2024. With this in mind Ferrari needs a back-up for their new star and Bottas has already shown that he is willing to play the team game as wingman. Sorry Valtteri.

Kimi Raikkonen.

The 2007 champion remains, to date, Ferrari’s last world champion. Yes, his last stint with the team came to an end at the conclusion of 2018. But lest we forget he racked up twelve podiums in his last Ferrari season including an impressive win in Texas.

With 103 podiums and a wealth of experience the Iceman has never been bothered with the politics. Raikkonen’s move to Sauber proved that he is in the sport for the love of it and this could make him the perfect foil to Leclerc.

What box?

Romain Grosjean.

The Haas driver has had his issues in the last two seasons but when it all comes together he is a very quick driver. He’s proven his ability alongside Raikkonen at Lotus in 2012 and 2013 and has a total of 13 podiums and four pole positions.

While Grosjean to Ferrari would undoubtedly be a shock he is a driver who hasn’t truly tapped into his potential. A chance at a top three team may be just what finally unlocks his speed and that elusive consistency.

Special Mentions:

Antonio Giovinazzi – He’s Italian and already in the Ferrari stable. And he’s Italian.

George Russell – Yes, he is tied to Mercedes and Toto Wolff wouldn’t want to let him but Russell could sever ties with the Germans if the Italians make him an offer he can’t refuse. Russell is unquestionably a star of the future and Ferrari could snap up a real talent here.

Our tech writer’s musings:

Most likely

Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo has been coveting the Ferrari drive for some time now and would a be a good fit at the Scuderia. Ferrari’s tradition of going with tried and tested drivers went out the window when they signed Charles Leclerc in only his second season in F1. Bringing Ricciardo would bring things back to that tradition. We know Ricciardo is fast, he’s hungry for wins and after a podium less stint at Renault there’s no doubt he’ll want to show just what he can do.

Ricciardo will bring the playful energy to Ferrari that Vettel brought but Ricciardo is more boisterous about it. It will shake things up at Ferrari. The other upside is that he will be pushing Leclerc and vice versa. And we already know that Ricciardo can soak up pressure. Working under Helmut Marko could not have been easy. Whether he’d be willing to play the number two role is something that might make Ferrari reconsider.

Carlos Sainz.

Strong rumours floating around that Carlos Sainz will get the nod to join Ferrari. He is out of contract with McLaren at the end of 2020 and with Sainz joining Leclerc we’d see a young, dynamic Ferrari team going into a new era of F1.

Sainz’s performances at Renault and at McLaren have no doubt been noticed by the Ferrari management. He’s qualifying pace was good and he brought home solid results for McLaren. He could potentially be a great supporting driver for Leclerc. Will he play the number two role though?

Out-of-the-box

Nico Hulkenberg.

A year away from F1 is a long time but it does not mean you’ve forgotten how to drive. Nico Hulkenberg is the modern F1 tragedy, kind of like Fernando Alonso. Right guy for the job, bad car for the season or just bad luck. As of February 2020 Hulkenberg held the record for the most F1 Grand Prix starts without a podium. A staggering 129 starts.

A drive at Ferrari would certainly change that. Although he was vaguely linked to Ferrari some or other time in the past, it could be a viable option as a support role for Leclerc.

Kevin Magnussen

It’s not the worst idea and I could’ve thought of worse. But Kevin Magnussen has already shown his mettle. He’s quick, he fights hard on track and gets the job done. He’s had a very painful 2019 with Haas mainly due to the car design yet he still managed to outscore his team mate Romain Grosjean in the same equipment.

Haas uses Ferrari engines. Ferrari has data on Magnussen already and will make evaluating his performances a touch easier.

What box?

Alexander Albon

Albon is under contract till the end of 2020. With the Ferrari seat opening up why not take a shot? Ferrari already broke tradition of not singing an established driver and why not do it again and sign Albon.

Mentally strong and quick on track he had the monumental task of taking Pierre Gasly’s place in the Red Bull midway through the season and did well. Considering it was his first season in F1 and being promoted to what is essentially the first team to play with the big boys, he held his nerve and no doubt exceeded expectations at Red Bull.

It will be an interesting dynamic at Ferrari with both drivers hungry for wins and both fighting it out on track. With Leclerc and Albon very good friends off the track, it could bring about an interesting dynamic on the track. Mind you they’ve been racing each other all throughout carting, through F3 and F2

Special Mentions

Sergio Perez – simply because he’s always been linked with a Ferrari seat.

Valtteri Bottas – After Raikkonen announced he’d be leaving Ferrari, Bottas’ name popped up very quickly. He could be considered yet again. But after having played wing man to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, he’d have to play wing man once again at Ferrari.

May 13, 2020