The new Formula 1 season is in the starting blocks! We give you all the information about the teams, drivers and the abbreviations of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Mick Schumacher and Co.
The wait is finally over! The first official free practice starts in Sakhir on March 26, before the first race of the season takes place two days later.
Formula 1: The drivers and teams at a glance
Of course, all eyes are on Mick, the son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher. The 21-year-old is driving in his debut season at the Haas.
Fernando Alonso is also returning to the world’s largest racing circuit and Sebastian Vettel is entering his debut season for Aston Martin.
| team | Driver 1 | Driver 2 |
| Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton | Valtteri Bottas |
| Red Bull | Max Verstappen | Sergio Perez |
| McLaren | Daniel Ricciardo | Lando Norris |
| Aston Martin | Sebastian Vettel | Lance Stroll |
| Alpine | Fernando Alonso | Esteban Ocon |
| Ferrari | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz |
| AlphaTauri | Pierre Gasly | Yuki Tsunoda |
| Alfa Romeo | Kimi Raikkonen | Antonio Giovinazzi |
| Haas | Mick Schumacher | Nikita Mazepin |
| Williams | George Russell | Nicholas Latifi |
Formula 1: The drivers’ abbreviations
During a race, intermediate results and times are given over and over again. The names of the drivers are abbreviated for the purpose of illustration.
Mick Schumacher, for example, will drive under the same abbreviation as his father Michael once did. You can find the F1 pros under these abbreviations:
| Driver 1 | Abbreviation |
| Lewis Hamilton | HAM |
| Valtteri Bottas | BOT |
| Max Verstappen | VER |
| Sergio Perez | BY |
| Daniel Ricciardo | RIC |
| Lando Norris | NOR |
| Sebastian Vettel | VET |
| Lance Stroll | STR |
| Fernando Alonso | ALO |
| Esteban Ocon | OCO |
| Charles Leclerc | LEC |
| Carlos Sainz | SAI |
| Pierre Gasly | GAS |
| Yuki Tsunoda | TSU |
| Kimi Raikkonen | RAI |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | GIO |
| Mick Schumacher | MSC |
| Nikita Mazepin | MAZ |
| George Russell | RUS |
| Nicholas Latifi | LAT |
Formula 1: The teams’ reserve drivers
Almost every Formula 1 team has a substitute driver if a regular driver should fail or additional tests are pending outside of the race weekend. Last season, for example, George Russel replaced World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who was suffering from Corona, for Mercedes.
If there is no substitute driver available, it is also possible to hire a driver without a team. For example, Nico Hülkenberg was used by the former Racing Point team, now Aston Martin, twice for Sergio Perez and once for Lance Stroll.
Here you can see all the reserve drivers for the F1 teams at a glance:
- Mercedes: Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne
- Red Bull: Alexander Albon
- McLaren: –
- Aston Martin: –
- Alpine: Daniil Kwyat
- Ferrari: Callum Ilott
- AlphaTauri: Alexander Albon
- Alfa Romeo: Robert Kubica
- Haas: Pietro Fittipaldi
- Williams: Jack Aitken and Roy Nissany
See Formula 1 on TV and livestream
You have several options to follow Formula 1 live this season. After RTL’s exit, the pay-TV broadcaster Sky owns the exclusive transmission rights to F1 in Germany.
You can follow the 2021 season around the clock via the recently launched Sky Sport F1 channel. Thanks to an agreement with the pay broadcaster from Munich, RTL is allowed to broadcast four races (Imola, Barcelona, Monza, Sao Paulo) live. You can also be there via livestream with SkyGo and the paid SkyTicket.
The two Austrian broadcasters ORF and ServusTV , which each have twelve races in their program, also offer live reports.
In addition, you can watch all the races on Formula 1’s in-house streaming channel, F1TV. However, this is a paid service.
Formula 1 season 2021: the racing calendar at a glance
| date | Time (CET) | Grand Prix | route |
| March 28 | 5 p.m. | Bahrain | Bahrain International Circuit (Sakir) |
| 18. April | 15 Uhr | Emilia Romagna | Autodrome Enzo and Dino Ferrari (Imola) |
| 2. May | 16 Uhr | Portugal | Algarve International Autodrome (Portimao) |
| May 9 | 15 o’clock | Spain | Circuit de Bracelona-Catalunya (Barcelona) |
| 23. May | 15 Uhr | monaco | Monaco Circuit (Monte-Carlo) |
| June 6 | 14 o’clock | Azerbaijan | Baku City Circuit (Baku) |
| June 13 | 8 p.m. | Canada | Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve (Montreal) |
| June 27 | 15 o’clock | France | Paul Ricard Circuit (Le Castellet) |
| July 4th | 3pm | Austria | Red Bull Ring (Spielberg) |
| July 18th | 4 p.m. | Great Britain | Silverstone Circuit (Silverstone) |
| August 1st | 3pm | Hungary | Hungaroring (Budapest) |
| August 29 | 15 o’clock | Belgium | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Spa) |
| 5th September | 3pm | Netherlands | Circuit Park Zandvoort (Zandvoort) |
| 12. September | 15 Uhr | Italien | Monza National Circuit (Monza) |
| September 26th | 14 o’clock | Russia | Sochi Autodrome (Sochi) |
| October 3 | 14 o’clock | Singapore | Marina Bay Street Circuit (Singapore) |
| October 10th | 7 o’clock | Japan | Suzuka Inernational Racing Course (Suzuka) |
| October 24th | 21 o’clock | USA | Circuit of The Americans (Austin) |
| October 31 | 8 p.m. | Mexico | Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico City) |
| November 7th | 6 p.m. | Brazil | Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace (Sao Paulo) |
| November 21st | 7 p.m. | Australia | Albert Park Circuit (Melbourne) |
| December 5th | 17 o’clock | Saudi Arabia | Jeddah Street Circuit (Jeddah) |
| 12th of December | 14 o’clock | Abu Dhabi | Yas Marina Circuit (Abu Dhabi) |
