Formula 1: Way-too-early 2021 driver lineup prediction
By Asher Fair
The 2021 Formula 1 driver lineup may look nothing like the 2020 lineup with so few drivers under contract. Here is a way-too-early prediction.
The 2020 Formula 1 driver lineup ended up being set with relatively little drama, as 18 of the 20 drivers who competed in the 2019 season are set to stay put and nobody is actually set to switch teams; the two new drivers are both set to replace outgoing drivers.
This relative lack of movement comes just one year after one of the craziest Silly Seasons in recent memory, when only eight of 20 drivers, including just two pairs of teammates, stayed put from the 2018 season to the 2019 season.
Meanwhile, six drivers switched teams and six new drivers arrived to replace six outgoing drivers. In total, four of the 10 teams brought in completely new driver lineups in 2019, and suddenly every lineup except for those of Mercedes and Haas were tied for the third longest tenured lineup in the sport simply be showing up on day one.
The 2021 driver lineup looks like it could look a lot more like 2019’s than 2020’s in that there may be quite a lot of driver movement throughout the field leading up to the 2021 season, although there is also a potential for not much at all.
As of now, only four of the 20 drivers in the 2020 lineup are under contract beyond the 2020 season, and six of the other 16 are over 30 years old.
Additionally, the 2021 season is set to see the introduction of several new rules and regulations by Liberty Media with the aim of making the sport more competitive. Among those new rules and regulations is a $175 million budget cap, but said budget cap does not include driver salaries.
This could potentially set up bidding wars and massive contracts for some of the sport’s most demanded drivers, and with 16 of the 20 drivers set to compete in 2020 slated to become free agents, this could create chaos.
Here is the way-too-early 2021 Formula 1 driver lineup prediction.