Formula 1: Williams confirm 2021 driver lineup, fourth team to do so

Williams are now the fourth team to confirm their driver lineup for the 2021 Formula 1 season, joining Ferrari, McLaren and Renault.

Both second-year driver George Russell and rookie Nicholas Latifi confirmed following the second race of the 2020 Formula 1 season that they are driving for Williams on multi-year deals and are set to return to the Grove-based team next year.

“I signed a three-year deal with Williams and I’ll be staying there for 2021, to build on last year and hopefully what this year turns out to be,” said Russell, who has an impressive 23-0 record in qualifying over his teammates since joining Formula 1 last year.

Latifi, who replaced Robert Kubica after last season and has competed in just two races, is in a similar boat.

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“I have a multi-year deal with the team, so yes I will be with the team in 2021,” he said.

This news marks the first time Williams have retained the same driver lineup from one year to the next since between the 2015 and 2016 seasons when they retained both Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. It also makes Williams the fourth team to confirm their entire driver lineup for the 2021 season. McLaren were the first to do so, just before Ferrari, and Renault recently joined them.

McLaren confirmed that Lando Norris is set to return to the team next year, and they confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo is set to move from Renault to replace Carlos Sainz Jr. The announcement of Ricciardo’s move came just before Ferrari confirmed that Sainz is set to replace four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel alongside Charles Leclerc on a two-year deal starting next year.

Then Renault confirmed that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is set to replace Ricciardo alongside Esteban Ocon next year.

That leaves six teams without solidified driver lineups for next year: Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, Aston Martin, Haas, Mercedes and Red Bull.

Among these six teams, the only two drivers under contract for next year already are Max Verstappen at Red Bull and Sergio Perez at Aston Martin. However, it has been speculated that the latter may be given the boot from the team in favor of Vettel.

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As far as other probable if not certain confirmations, expect Bottas and Lewis Hamilton to be back with Mercedes next year, especially since Russell, who had been speculated to replace Bottas, is officially set to return to Williams.

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