Formula 1: The 3 seats still open for 2021
By Asher Fair
Three open seats remain in the 2021 Formula 1 driver lineup, and they happen to be at the only three teams that have won any races in 2020.
Haas became the seventh of 10 Formula 1 teams to confirm their driver lineup for the 2021 season, and the other three have all confirmed one of their two drivers for next year.
Last season, the entire driver lineup for 2020 was confirmed before the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.
Of course, there were only two changes to the lineup, with Esteban Ocon replacing Nico Hulkenberg at Renault and rookie Nicholas Latifi replacing Robert Kubica at Williams.
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The driver lineup for next year has already seen quite a few changes, and they have been announced throughout the season. But with the extension of the 2020 season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, we could still see the 2021 lineup confirmed by the end of the year, if not shortly thereafter.
There are just three remaining open seats following Haas’s confirmation of rookies Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher as the replacements for veterans Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen.
Where are these three open seats? They happen to be at the three teams that have taken at least one victory in 2020. Here’s a list of all three.
Mercedes
While Valtteri Bottas has signed another one-year contract extension to return to Mercedes for a fifth season in 2021, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton remains out of a contract for next year.
All signs point to him returning for what would be a ninth year with the team next year, but there is still some uncertainty here, especially since he has now secured his seventh title and is now the sport’s all-time winningest driver with 95 victories. What else does he have to prove?
Plus, Bottas has already signed an extension while Hamilton still hasn’t, despite the fact that Hamilton has won 42 races to Bottas’s nine since they became teammates in 2017
Red Bull
Max Verstappen signed a multi-year contract extension with Red Bull ahead of the 2020 season, but the seat alongside him remains open for 2021. Alexander Albon is currently his teammate and has been his teammate since replacing Pierre Gasly during the 2019 season, but there are questions about his future with the team.
Red Bull would like Albon to succeed, but there are other options if his performance cannot justify the team giving him another season.
Nico Hulkenberg was on call to replace Albon when he returned an inconclusive COVID-19 test at the Nurburgring back in October, and he is believed to be a candidate to replace Albon should the team let him go. Sergio Perez, who is set to lose his ride with Racing Point to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel after the 2020 season, has also been discussed as an option.
AlphaTauri
Pierre Gasly is under contract to return for another season with AlphaTauri next year, but it appears as though teammate Daniil Kvyat won’t be back, as Red Bull junior Yuki Tsunoda has been tipped to receive a promotion from Formula 2 to drive for the Red Bull sister team in Formula 1 next year.
Other notes…
It is worth noting that Racing Point, set to be rebranded as Aston Martin for next year, have not formally confirmed that Lance Stroll will be back with the team for 2021.
But this has been implied on multiple occasions, and the team selected to replace Sergio Perez, not Stroll, to make way for Vettel, a decision they defended following much criticism, primarily based on the fact that Lance’s father Lawrence owns the team.
They have no plans to replace both drivers after 2020.
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Who will join Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly at Mercedes, Red Bull and AlphaTauri in the 2021 Formula 1 season, and when will these three driver confirmations be made?