DESERT REGION – LAS VEGAS CHAPTER
1st Quarter 2021
Written by John Ratto
Edited by Chuck Damus
Dateline: January 2021
A new year brings a glimmer of hope. Yes, the virus is still running rampant, but not so much as during the final days of 2020. Yes, we are still in lock-down mode, but not as severe as the mode of late 2020. And, yes, after much hue-and-cry by the Republicans, it seems the election results will stand and that Joe Biden, for better or for worse, will ascend to the presidency.
Then, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water (a reference to the movie Jaws for you youngsters), January 6 comes knocking. Riots at the Capital – that was a big surprise to the government, the military, and the police agencies, all of which were caught napping. The repercussions continue today.
Still, there is a faint glimmer of hope…hope that things will improve soon. Most of this hope is centered on the vaccines. Suddenly, there are vaccines! A lot of them. Unfortunately, actually getting vaccinated proves problematic. Scheduling an appointment is very difficult. When that appointment is cancelled, it is disheartening. We have a stockpile of doses that are not being used in a timely manner. We need to perform better.
Nevertheless, it is FINALLY obvious that things are getting better, not worse. Hope springs eternal. A corner had been turned, psychologically, if not actually.
Dateline: April 1, 2021
NO (April) FOOLIN, it is a brand new day. The birds are chirping, plants are showing green bud, and vaccination is progressing at an impressive rate; people’s attitudes, and the economy, are on the upswing. Most restrictions have been removed in many states, and further reductions are in the offing. We are seeing the return to restaurant dining and even attendance by fans at sporting events.
Barring unforeseen difficulty, it looks as if the worst is behind us and things will improve in the near future, hopefully to a point where this catastrophe is in the rearview mirror. Only the continued problems in other parts of the world, especially Europe, cast a pallor on the situation.
Our Club did not organize any Socials or Drives during the first quarter of 2021. But, such events may resume in the near future. ‘We’ll be back!!!’ So, please visit the website to be advised of any happenings being planned.
Hope springs eternal.
FORMULA 1 NEWS
Unfortunately, this year testing was not held in Barcelona. As a consequence, I have no behind the scene tidbits to reveal. So, before we start off on the 2021 season, let’s remember back to what happened last season 2020. The final statistics for 2020 are as follows:
Drivers:
Hamilton…..347
Bottas…….223
Verstappen…214
Perez……..125
Ricciardo….119
Leclerc was eighth with 98, while Vettel was 13th with 33
Constructors:
Mercedes Benz..573
Red Bull…….319
McLaren……..202
Racing Point…195
Renault……..181
Ferrari……..131
These statistics show that Mercedes dominated once again. They handily won the constructors’ championship, and their pilots were 1-2 in the drivers’ championship. They also show that 2020 was a disaster for Ferrari. The Italian reds could only manage 6th place in the constructors’, a terrible result for a team with such resources.
The 2021 season will see several driver shake-ups throughout the field, including at some of the major teams, which is unusual. Hell, it will see major shake-ups in the names of two teams:
Racing Point will become Aston Martin Renault will become Alpine
The driver line-ups will be as follows (an * indicates a new driver to that team, an R indicates a rookie driver).
Ferrari:
Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz*
Mercedes-Benz:
Lewis Hamilton
Valtteri Bottas
Red Bull:
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez *
McLaren:
Lando Norris
Daniel Ricciardo *
Aston Martin/Racing Point:
Lance Stroll
Sebastian Vettel *
Williams:
Nicholas Latifi
George Russell
Alfa Romeo:
Kimi Raikkonen
Antonio Giovinazzi
Haas:
Nikita Mazepin * R
Mick Schumacher * R
Alpine/Renault:
Esteban Ocon
Fernando Alonso * Yuki
Alpha Tauri:
Pierre Gasly
Tsunoda * R
Several teams made no changes. Mercedes-Benz won everything last year, and did so convincingly. They made no changes to a good thing. Williams, on the other hand, brought up the rear of the field; they also made no changes. They have George Russell, who is very quick, but they also have a very slow car. Surprisingly, Alfa Romeo brought back both grizzled veteran Kimi Raikkonen and promising youngster Antonio Giovinazzi. Everyone expected one of their seats to be filled by one of the up-and-coming rookies in the Ferrari drivers’ academy. Instead, Alfa opted for a well-functioning pair of familiar faces.
Clearly, the biggest change was at Ferrari, where 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel was unceremoniously shown the door. There was little question that Vettel had lost his mojo, but this change was handled poorly. His replacement, Carlos Sainz, is quick, but not one of the fastest on the grid. However, he is consistent, doesn’t make mistakes, and takes good care of the machinery. He is a good team player. It will be interesting to see if he can challenge incumbent Charles Leclerc for top dog of the team. I doubt it.
Naturally, Max Verstappen, still a youngster and perhaps the fastest and boldest driver in the field, returns at Red Bull. He is joined by Sergio Perez, who drove for Racing Point in 2020. After nearly 200 starts, Sergio finally won a race last year. Not the fastest of qualifiers, he is a great racer who excels in strategy and passing. He is a consistent points finisher. If Red Bull is looking to mount a serious challenge to Mercedes for the constructors’ title, Perez was the right choice to pad their score tally.
Daniel Ricciardo makes yet another move in his personal game of musical seats. In just a few years he has gone from Red Bull to Renault, and now from Renault to McLaren, which secured Mercedes-Benz power for 2021. McLaren was already fast in 2020, switching to German power should make them serious challengers for race wins, which likely enticed Ricciardo to jump teams. Ricciardo has always been fast and has always been in a fast car, yet mostly due to bad luck, some of it self-inflicted, he has accomplished little. Will he finally find happiness driving the McLaren, paired with upcoming incumbent Lando Norris, who is very quick? Failing to out-perform Norris would be a serious blow to Riccardo’s ego.
Sebastian Vettel moves from Ferrari to Racing Point/Aston Martin (RP/AM). This is the most intriguing change of the year. Vettel seemed disoriented and disinterested last season. Can he regain his luster? RP/AM, with new team owner Lawrence Stroll’s financial wherewithal, was clearly looking to make a splash, and they have done so by bringing on the 4 time world champion. They are also looking to move up the ranks. Bringing Vettel to the team will give them stature and media coverage, and championship winning experience. Can Vettel back it up on the track? He clearly needs to demonstrate superiority to returning youngster Lance Stroll to justify his existence on this rapidly improving team.
Haas will have two rookies (Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher – yes, Michael’s son), setting up a situation where failure is expected. They now have a mercurial car, and two drivers with no experience to drive it, or improve it. The talk in the paddock says that Russian Mazepin brings more rubles to the table than skill…we shall see. This could be a disaster
Alpine/Renault returns reliable Estaban Ocon and brings in former multi-world champion Fernando Alonso, who took a multi-year sabbatical from F1 to drive sports cars, Indy cars, Le Mans prototypes, etc. Does he have anything left in the tank? Will he be old and slow, or rejuvenated and quick? This guy has mad skills. If he can call up his former self, he could be a top competitor in the mid-field driving the Renault. Again, a most intriguing situation.
And, finally, Alpha Tauri returns the very competent and very motivated Pierre Gasly, and brings in the mostly untested and unknown Yuki Tsunoda (as an inducement to Honda for continuing to supply engines) to be his teammate. Gasly is very quick and competitive; he should do well in 2021. With his ‘wild mam’ years behind him, this is his opportunity to grab a drive with a top team in 2022. Tsunoda is rumored to be wicked fast, very talented, and confident. As the youngest driver on the grid, let’s hope he shows some good judgement as well.
This year, pre-season testing was held in Bahrain. The teams were all present and spent three days in early March, sometimes trying for fast times, other times checking their reliability and compatibility with Pirelli’s new for 2021 tires. Testing results are notoriously unreliable, but here is what was gleaned from the days on track. The Red Bulls looked to be the class of the field. Both Verstappen and Perez were near (or at) he front of the field on a consistent basis. Both Mercedes suffered reliability (mainly gear box) and other issues. They showed some speed when they were not in the pits or in the gravel traps after spins. While Lance Stroll was competitive in the Aston Martin, Vettel suffered both self-inflicted and mechanical problems. Other drivers who showed well included Gasly, Norris, and Sainz in the Ferrari!
March 28: GP of Bahrain
In an effort to reduce travel in this time of the pandemic, the first race was held in Bahrain, where the teams had tested just a few weeks earlier. Given the situation, they got down to business rapidly, and soon the sounds of screaming engines permeated the air.
Fifty seven laps around the 3.4 mile circuit were scheduled. Bahrain is in the Middle East, so it was hot. Early sessions were run in the afternoons, when it was blazing, over 100 degrees. Later sessions, including qualifying, and the race were run in the evening, when temperatures were a bit more normal (think 80). Everyone complained of low grip and fading brakes in the two (early) afternoon sessions.
Practice: The durations of the three Practice sessions were reduced to 60 minutes. Not much that was unexpected transpired during Practice; the Red Bulls, Mercedes, and McLarens topped the charts, followed by the Ferraris and Gasly (Alpha Tauri). Everyone set faster lap times in the evening session, meaning that much of the data from the early sessions might not be representative of the true speed of the cars. One thing was clear: lap times of the cars were closer than they were last year. The slower cars have improved – become faster, while the faster cars have not.
Qualifying: From Q1 on, it was clear that the Honda (Red Bull and Alpha Tauri) powered cars were very fast. Meanwhile, Russian Nikita Mazepin (Haas) was all over the track, and into the gravel traps as well. The really quick guys (Mercedes and Red Bull) contested Q2 on the medium tires so they could begin the race on that compound. They were generally successful, but Perez failed to advance. However, in order to advance to Q3, Ferrari (and most others) had to run Q2 on the soft tires. The final qualifying order: Verstappen, Hamilton (4/10 of a second behind), Bottas, Leclerc (soft tires), Gasly, Ricciardo (soft), Norris (soft), Sainz (soft), Alonso (soft – no one expected this performance), and Stroll (soft). Meanwhile, Vettel continued his baffling ways. He initially qualified 17th!, and then was penalized to the rear of the field for ignoring a yellow flag.
What do these results show? Ferrari has gotten better over the off-season. Alonso is still Alonso; the man can drive. Gasly and the Alpha Tauri can challenge. Vettel still seems lost in space. And finally, the McLarens, with Mercedes engines, are a threat to the front runners.
Race: Race evening was cooler and windy, so much so that it affected the driving characteristics of the cars. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) suffered electrical issues on the formation lap, stopped on the track delaying the start of the race, managed to restart his engine, drove through the pits, and wound up starting from the rear of the pack. Meanwhile, a second formation lap was run. After all that, the race commenced.
Leclerc managed to pip Bottas on the start, while Mazepin managed to execute one of his becoming famous spins, smacking the wall and bringing out the Safety Car. When things settled down, Leclerc was motoring along in third place. But, Bottas reclaimed the position a few laps later. From that point forward, the field was running in close order and there were many terrific battles for position throughout the pack. For example, Bottas and Norris managed to pass Leclerc, but only after several exciting wheel-to-wheel battles. Laps 6 through 13 were excellent. It is to be noted that Perez, who started dead last, was up to 12th place by this time.
The first pit stops for those (including Alonso, Stroll, Leclerc, Norris…) who had started on the soft tires began on lap 13. The big surprise was that Hamilton, who had started on the mediums, also stopped. New rubber meant bolder drivers, and more battles for position. On lap 30, after a series of exciting laps, the running order (and tire choice) was Hamilton – H, Verstappen – M, Bottas – H, Norris – M, and Leclerc – M. At this point, the two Mercedes stopped for a second time, with Bottas enduring a very long delay in the pits. He was never a challenge again. On the other hand, Verstappen delayed his second stop to lap 38; he rejoined, on hard tires, about ten seconds behind Hamilton. Game on.
From this point forward, all attention was focused on the two leaders, and the excitement was palpable. Verstappen, on newer tires was slashing Hamilton’s lead by about a second a lap, and by lap 48 he was on the Mercedes’ tail. But remember, as we all know, catching someone is one thing, passing is another. Verstappen zigged and zagged, probed and juked, but Hamilton repeatedly rebuffed his attempts to get by. Two factors were hampering the Red Bull’s efforts. 1) When tracking down Hamilton, Verstappen was running in clean air. Now he was running in Hamilton’s turbulent air, and that was slowing him down. 2) Verstappen’s tires were now also beginning to show the effects of wear, and that was contributing to his difficulties in passing. As a consequence, despite his best efforts and amazing skills, Verstappen could not pass Hamilton in the remaining 8 or so laps of the race. The finishing order was Hamilton, Verstappen (less than a second behind), Bottas, Norris, Perez (once again demonstrating his race craft, starting last due to mechanical issues and finishing 5th), Leclerc (nice job in the Ferrari), Ricciardo (finishing behind teammate Norris), Sainz (nice work in his first race for Ferrari), and Tsunoda (a points finish in his first F1 race!).
This, my friends was a fabulous race. Let’s hope they are all like this. As a bonus, this race shows that Ferrari is back on the pace. It doesn’t get much better than this.