The 2021 Formula 1 season had everything, but if there is no doubt about something, it is that it was one of the best in history. Over time, the mind tends to take in the positives and forget the negatives, but now it’s time for Motorsport.com to review the five biggest disappointments of the season.
1. Daniel Ricciardo
At 31 years old and after making a name for himself in Formula 1 due to his great work in recent seasons, especially at Red Bull, the Australian driver signed for the McLaren team in his quest to achieve his dream; to be Formula 1 world champion.
Despite what everyone expected, Daniel Ricciardo’s performance was not what he wanted in his first season as a Woking driver. With Lando Norris as his teammate, the Australian already knew that it would not be an easy 2021, but few could have imagined that the young Briton could be so superior.
Although it is true that Ricciardo won the only victory of the season for McLaren , the first since 2012, in the vast majority of races he failed to keep up with his teammate, without showing the progress that could be expected with the passing of the races. .
This was reflected in the final standings of the championship: Norris finished sixth with 160 points, while Ricciardo could not get past eighth position with 45 fewer, considerable numbers that could have been even higher had it not been for the bad end of the season. of the McLaren MCL35M . And in the duel in classification, Norris endorsed nothing less than a 15-6.
2. Aston Martin
The name of one of the best-known manufacturers in the world returned to Formula 1 in 2021 at the hands of Lawrence Stroll , and expectations were really high after seeing the results they had obtained as Racing Point in 2020.
However, the aerodynamic changes made mainly to the floor of the car affected the teams with a lower rake and in that group Mercedes and Aston Martin were well above the rest of the teams.
While it is true that the silver star team was able to recover sooner rather than later, those from Silverstone did not do the same and disappointed by finishing seventh in the constructors’ standings with 77 points, 118 less than the previous season.
Neither Sebastian Vettel nor Lance Stroll could get Aston Martin off the ground. In fact, they went from fighting to be the leader of the middle zone to closing it in the vast majority of races. An example of this is the dismal results achieved, except for two podiums for the German driver in Baku and Hungary (the latter, disqualified), for the four podiums and one victory they achieved in 2020.
3. Yuki Tsunoda
After just one season in Formula 2 in which he managed to finish third thanks largely to his three wins and four other podium finishes, Honda successfully put pressure on Red Bull and managed to get a Japanese driver powered by one of their engines in their Last year in Formula 1.
If you have to admit that patience is required with rookie drivers, there are many reasons to include the young Yuki Tsunoda in this ranking. To begin with, the Japanese driver has not shown great progress throughout the year and has also been the protagonist of many incidents on the track, most of them avoidable.
As for the results, Pierre Gasly has been continuously well above Tsunoda’s performance: an example of this is the 110 points added by the French driver to only 34 by the rookie. Some numbers that largely ended up preventing AlphaTauri from being able to overtake Alpine in the fight for sixth position in the constructors’ championship.
4th. The FIA
Without looking at which driver they have favored or disadvantaged the most throughout the season, this 2021 has left very clear evidence: The FIA has not been able to be at the level of one of the best years of Formula 1 in recent times.
The decisions of the stewards, the race management and the FIA itself have featured on many occasions in front pages that should have been for certain drivers due to their successes on the track. Without leaving anyone happy, the governing body of the category was making enemies as the races passed.
From the Bahrain GP to the Abu Dhabi GP, just as they started, they ended. Without a fixed criterion and applying disparate sanctions that not even the teams understood. In short and more than a disappointment, one of the few blots that this incredible 2021 F1 season has had.
5. The Red Bull and Mercedes squires
Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas had a complicated task in this 2021. With such an even performance between both teams and with their teammates fighting for the drivers’ title, they had to know how to play a double role that neither really knew how to manage.
Except on rare occasions, both the Finn and the Mexican were very far from the struggles between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, thus preventing them from being used to help their teammates through the strategies of their respective teams.
Without counting three or four punctual performances, Bottas and Pérez always finished behind the two contenders for the title and that caused the fight for the world championship to be 1 against 1, something that neither in the Mercedes garage nor in that of Red Bull wanted.
The best example in this case are the numbers: Bottas could only get 1 win and 11 podiums with the same car as Hamilton (8 wins and 17 podiums), while Pérez finished the season with 1 win and 5 podiums, for the 10 races wins and Verstappen ‘s 18 podium finishes.
And for you, what have been the disappointments of the 2021 F1 season? We read you on our social networks.
