Formula 1: The team to watch throughout 2021 Silly Season
By Asher Fair
The team to keep a watchful eye on as Formula 1 Silly Season progresses for the 2021 season will be Alfa Romeo, primarily due to their Ferrari ties.
With 11 of the 17 races on the 2020 Formula 1 schedule having been contested, 11 drivers are under contract at seven of the sport’s 10 teams for next season while nine seats among six of those teams remain open.
Alfa Romeo Racing are one of three teams that haven’t confirmed any drivers in their lineup for next year, with the other two being AlphaTauri and Haas, and their situation is particularly intriguing given their current roster and their ties to Ferrari.
Kimi Raikkonen, who is slated to become Formula 1’s all-time most experienced driver in his next start, is out of a contract at the end of the year, and with him being 40 years old, there are justified rumors that he won’t be back in the sport in any capacity next year.
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As for Antonio Giovinazzi, that’s where Ferrari’s situation comes into play. Ferrari have the right to select one of Alfa Romeo’s two drivers, and Giovinazzi was their selection in 2019 after plucking Charles Leclerc from the team to replace Raikkonen at the works team.
Ferrari backed Giovinazzi to return to the team in 2020, but he also does not have a contract for the 2021 season.
The Italian driver is slated to be 27 years old the day after the 2020 season ends. With Leclerc, 22, under contract at Ferrari through 2024 and Carlos Sainz Jr., 25, having signed a two-year deal to join them from McLaren beginning next year, it is highly unlikely that a Ferrari seat is in his future.
So Ferrari should look younger in terms of their Alfa Romeo pick for next year, and they have three drivers to whom they could turn.
The only question is whether or not they’ll be attempting to fill one seat or two.
Regardless, there will need to be a lengthy decision process to determine who gets promoted.
Mick Schumacher, Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman are all members of the Ferrari Driver Academy who currently compete in Formula 2. All have been victorious this season, and all sit in the top five in the driver standings. All are also 21 years old.
Next. Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time. dark
How do you pick between them?
If you pick one, whom do you pick, and which veteran ends up as his teammate? Does Raikkonen return, or does a driver such as Nico Hulkenberg or Sergio Perez get the call?
If you pick two, who gets left out? Keep an eye on this situation as it progresses throughout the rest of the season, especially with all three slated to make their Formula 1 practice session debuts later this year.