Formula One 2021 season preview

Team partners & suppliers

Mission Minnow, Shell, Ray-Ban, Richard Mille, Kaspersky, UPS, Weichai, Estrella Galicia, OMR, Mahle, Pirelli, Puma, Radiobook, SKF, VistaJet, Giorgio Armani, Marelli, NGK, Brembo, Experis, Riedel, Iveco, Palantir, Bell, Technogym, Alfa Romeo, Garrett & Sabelt.

Team Principal & Drivers

Oh, dear! What a poor few seasons the team in red have had, not so much a challenge for Red Bull, but more the speed of a Red Squirrel.

Even with the young, talented and hungry Charles Leclerc and the serial winner Sebastian Vettel, they haven’t managed to challenge the top teams, simply not good enough for Ferrari, and even though that may sound harsh, Ferrari themselves will tell you the same.

The name is known for winning, it isn’t known for battling for making it into the top 10, something they failed to do on a number of occasions last season. This year they have the Spaniard Carlos Sainz joining Charles Leclerc as a teammate at the prancing horse, is this a recipe for success? Of course, it is, two great drivers, but they have to provide a car to win. To do that they would have to tear up the designs of the 2020 car and start again, but have they? Probably not because they’ll have one eye on the big changes for 2022.

There’s plenty of positive energy coming from our two drivers. Carlos has spent a lot of time in the factory and has integrated with the team very quickly. As for Charles, he is already perfectly at home with the team: he knows what he wants and is also very aware of the role he has in the team, both in and out of the car. Over the winter, we have witnessed the two guys getting on very well together and this can only be a good thing for the whole team.

Laurent Mekies

Racing Director, Scuderia Ferrari

In my humble opinion I predict a year of Ferrari going further back unless they have managed to do something with the engine, being a factory team, they can pull themselves out of a hole by improving the engine.

I feel that halfway through the season Carlos Sainz will be watching the papaya cars of McLaren disappearing up the road, and he’ll wonder why he ever moved, however, I am sure he would have been sold on the idea of 2022. This will be a season of midfield battles for the cars in red, I can’t see them improving enough to challenge the front runners.

Charles LeClerc will drive the backside out of the car and may get some surprising podiums, but apart from that, I predict another season of woe for this historically great team. Closest challenges, well I suspect somewhere around Alpine and Alpha Tauri, maybe even Alfa Romeo who look to have produced a nice looking car.

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