F1

IT is just 103 days since the final race of the 2020 season in Abu Dhabi, but over the winter there have been plenty of changes.A total of 12 drivers have moved to F1, or left, or changed teams, that’s over half of the grid.
Mick Schumacher has been selected by the Haas F1 teamCredit: AFP
With the new season under way this weekend – we run down all the changes…
IN
MICK SCHUMACHER
The return of the the most famous surname in F1 history, Mick, the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, has been selected by the Haas F1 team.
Schumacher junior won the Formula 2 title last season and has made no secret of his dreams to follow his father into F1.
The 22-year-old is backed by the Ferrari Driver Academy and has effectively been loaned to Haas, who are Ferrari’s customer and they use the Italian team’s engines.
Schumacher will be eager to impress on the big stage but says he is comfortable and proud to bring the family name back to F1.
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Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso makes his return to F1 after a two-year breakCredit: Getty
FERNANDO ALONSO
The two-time world champion makes his return to F1 after a two-year break.
The Spaniard says he has unfinished business in the sport after a frustrating time in the wilderness.
He failed in his attempt to win the Indy 500 and complete the ‘triple crown’ and the lure of F1 got to the 39-year-old.
There is not a question that his skill warranted more than his two titles, but he faces a tough ask in getting a third with Alpine – the rebranded Renault team.
Alonso had his success with Renault in 2005 and 2006, can he turn Alpine into world-beaters too?
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SERGIO PEREZ
The final driver to complete the line up on the grid for 2021, the Mexican has joined Red Bull. It promises to be a major coup by the Milton Keynes based team – and could prove to be a career-defining move for Perez.
He has now been in F1 for 10 years, has plenty of experience with Sauber, McLaren, Force India and Racing Point and could keep Max Verstappen on his toes.
CARLOS SAINZ
The Spaniard caught the eye at McLaren in 2019 with a third-placed finish in Brazil. He went one better in 2020 in Monza, when he finished second in the Italian GP.
A coincidence? The 26-year-old has now joined Ferrari to partner Charles Leclerc, 23,  giving Ferrari their youngest driver line up in 50 years.
DANIEL RICCIARDO
The Aussie has joined McLaren as a replacement for Sainz. With seven-wins under his belt, Ricciardo is looking to move on from his frustrating time at Renault, where he was plagued by reliability issues. He will partner Brit Lando Norris at McLaren.
Sebastian Vettel still has plenty of years left in himCredit: Splash
SEBASTIAN VETTEL
Completing the swap, the four time world champion has replaced Perez at Racing Point – now Aston Martin.
Vettel had a shocking year in 2020, finishing down in 13th place in the drivers’ championship.
At 33, Vettel still has plenty of years left in him and Aston are hoping they can help him rediscover the form that won him four crowns at Red Bull.
NIKITA MAZEPIN
The controversial Russian driver will partner Schumacher at Haas, as the American team go for a rookie pairing.
He finished fifth in the F2 championship last season but almost lost his seat for a social media post where he groped a woman’s breast. His dad is a billionaire, who sponsors the team.
YUKI TSONODA
The first F1 driver to be born in the 2000s, the Japanese ace has joined Red Bull’s B-team AlphaTauri. He impressed during preseason testing and can learn a lot from his teammate, and Italian GP winner, Pierre Gasly.

OUT
ROMAIN GROSJEAN
The Frenchman was already out before his fiery smash in the Sakhir GP. He has since recovered and will spend this season racing in IndyCar.
KEVIN MAGNUSSEN
The Dans also left the Haas team and will race in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the US and the World Endurance Championship for Peugeot.
DANIIL KYVAT
The Russian has again found himself out of the Red Bull stable. This time he has joined the Alpine team as a reserve driver.
ALEX ALBON
Another driver to feel the axe at Red Bull. The London-born Thai racer has been demoted to reserve and test driver for the team.
Alex Albon has been axed by Red BullCredit: PA
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LIKE father, like son.There have been a total of 14 previous drivers who have managed to follow their fathers into F1 with some more successfully than others.
Mick Schumacher is not the only man to follow in his famous father’s F1 footstepsCredit: PA
Michael Schumacher earned legendary status on the race trackCredit: AFP
Mick Schumacher is now hoping to make his own impactCredit: AFP
From Damon Hill to Nico Rosberg and Michael Andretti to Max Verstappen, here SunSport looks at all those who have achieved it.
TIM PARNELL
Derbyshire-born racer Tim Parnell only took part in four F1 World Championship Grands Prix, making his debut in July 1959.
He qualified in two of the races but failed to score a point, racing his in dad’s Reg Parnell Racing Cooper.
His father, Reg, had only hung up his racing gloves just five years earlier.
Tim Parnell’s best finish was 10th in the 1961 Italian GP at Monza.
He would later manage the BRM Formula One team from 1970–74 and after his father’s death in 1964, he took on the running of Reg Parnell Racing.
Red Parnell took part in seven Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scoring a total of nine championship points.
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TEDDY PILETTE
Theodore “Teddy” Pilette raced in four Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, the first on 12 May 1974 with Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham team.
He is the son of fellow racers André Pilette and grandson of Théodore Pilette, he started his career in go-karts but his F1 career was brief.
He later worked on the movies ‘Grand Prix’, and ‘Le Mans’ starring Steve McQueen and raced in the British Aurora series.
His dad, André, raced in 14 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix and made his debut in June 1951.
DAVID BRABHAM
The youngest son of three-time Formula One world champion Sir Jack Brabham, David made 30 appearances in F1.
He made his debut in 1990 with the team bearing his own surname but in truth the car was a dog.
He returned to F1 in 1994 with the Simtek team but following the death of his teammate Roland Ratzenberger, the team disbanded at the end of the season.
David would later carve out a successful career in sports cars.
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MICHAEL ANDRETTI
While his dad, Mario, was a huge success in F1, winning the title in 1978, Michael could not get to grips with it.
He was quick and when he joined McLaren from IndyCarin 1993, it was expected he too would be a hit.
But one podium in 13 races was a poor return and he quickly went back to the States, where he immediately won upon his return to IndyCar.
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI
Another driver trying to live up to the mantel set by their world-championship winning father.
Christian did not enjoy the best of cars, unlikely his dad, Emmerson. However, he did put in some gutsy drives nonetheless in his 40 races for Minardi and Footwork.
He too later switched to sportscars where he enjoyed more success.
Damon Hill was the first driver to emulate his father’s achievements by winning an F1 titleCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
DAMON HILL
The first driver to emulate his father’s achievements by winning an F1 title. Damon’s dad, Graham, won the title twice in 1962 and 1968, while his one and only title was in 1996.
Damon got to F1 late and made his F1 debut in 1992 aged 31. The following year he was promoted from his role at Williams when Riccardo Patrese left for Benetton.
Hill raced alongside triple world champion Alain Prost and during the early 1990s and was Michael Schumacher’s main rival.
Graham Hill won 14 F1 GPs and took 36 podiums in 176 starts between 1958-1975.
Jim Clark and Graham Hill pictured together back in their heydayCredit: PA:Press Association
NICO ROSBERG
Rosberg was already a solid competitor when he was at Williams in 2006 before he was offered the chance to join Mercedes and race alongside Schuamcher.
Rosberg held his own against the seven-time world champion but it was a different case when he was drawn alongside Lewis Hamilton.
The two had famously been friends during their karting days but that relationship descended into outright war.
Their explosive rivalry came to a head in 2016 when he beat Hamilton to the title with Rosberg retiring soon after, such was the strain of beating F1’s most successful driver.
His dad, Keke, also drove for Williams and won the title in 1982 and took five wins, 17 podiums during his 114 F1 races.
JACQUES VILLENEUVE
Jacques Villeneuve made a sensational debut with Williams in 1996 and won the title the following season.
His bold overtaking and cool-as-a-cucumber approach made him a hero, rather like his dad, Gilles Villeneuve.
Gilles raced for McLaren and Ferrari and was tragically killed at the 1982 Belgian GP.
Jacques Villeneuve made a sensational debut with Williams in 1996Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Gilles Villeneuve was tragically killed during the 1982 Belgian GPCredit: Getty
MARKUS WINKELHOCK
In his solo F1 appearance, Markus Winkelhock stunned the sport to lead for a few laps at the Nurburgring in 2007driving for Spyker until he was forced to retire with mechanical problems.
It was something his father Manfred failed to do in his 47 grands prix. Between 1980 and 1985, he drove for Arrows, ATS, Brabham and RAM Racing, with a best finish of fifth at the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix.
KAZUKI NAKAJIMA
Kazuki made his F1 debut in the final race of the 2007 season as a stand-in for Alex Wurz.
The Japanese driver spent two seasons with Williams but was unable to deliver points like Rosberg, his teammate.
He has since enjoyed considerable success in the World Endurance Championship for Toyota.
His father, Satoru, raced 74 times in F1 but was the first Japanese F1 driver to score points at the 1987 San Marino Grand Prix, where he finished sixth despite it being only his second F1 race.

NELSON PIQUET JR
Piquet Junior is the son of three-time F1 champion, Nelson Piquet, and made his F1 debut in 2008 with Renault where he was Fernando Alonso’s teammate.
But his racing career was left in tatters following the crashgate saga at the 2008 Singapore GP where he was ruled to have crashed on purpose on the team’s orders to allow Alonso to win the race.
He had a stint in NASCAR, Rallycross, won the Formula E title in 2015 and now races Brazilian stock cars.
KEVIN MAGNUSSEN
Magnussen enjoyed a sensational debut for McLaren in 2014 where he was on the podium. But sadly, that was as best as it got.
He endured a frustrating time at the Woking team and then had further hard luck at Renault and then at Haas.
The Dane has since turned his attention to endurance racing, as his combative style will come in handy.
His dad, Jan, made one appearance for McLaren in F1 and 23 for Ford. He too turned his attention to sportscars after his F1 career was over.

MAX VERSTAPPEN
When Max Verstappen made his F1 debut in 2015, he was just 17. In doing so, he followed his father Jos, into the sport.
Now with 10 wins in 119 races, it is difficult to think of him as a veteran at only 23-years old.
Tipped to be a future F1 world champion, he is super-fast and is now cutting out the mistakes that cost him earlier in his career.
He is fantastic in the wet, ruthless in the dry. And brilliant to watch. His achievements have already surpassed that of his old man, who drove for Benetton, Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell, Stewart, Arrows and Minardi, achieving two podiums in 106 starts.
JOLYON PALMER
Likeable Palmer has not only followed his dad, Jonathan into F1, but he’s also now followed him into the commentary booth working for the BBC.
He was promoted to F1 in 2016 after winning the GP2 series but over two years at Renault he was unable to match Magnussen or Nico Hulkenberg and quit racing in 2017.
His dad raced in Formula One between 1983 and 1989 and drove for Tyrrell, Williams, RAM, and Zakspeed. He won 14 championship points from 83 starts.
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IF you listen to most people inside the paddock, there are only small changes to the rulebook for this season.This was supposed to be the radical season that F1’s owners, Liberty Media, had hoped would transform the series.
A number of rule changes are set to hit F1 this seasonCredit: AFP
A complete new set of rules that would allow the cars to race closer together and make the sport more competitive again.
But the Covid-19 pandemic and decrease in revenues across the board saw them correctly delay those plans for 2022.
As a result, it means this year, the sport will see some carry over aerodynamic parts and car designs, but there are still plenty of new rules to get up to speed with.
FLOOR IT!
The biggest change to the aerodynamics is to do with the car’s floor.
Essentially these have been reduced in size so there is less surface area to generate downforce.
Last year’s floor were complicated structures that created vortices to suck the car towards the ground.
In 2021, these floors have to be solid, and cut back at the sides, to reduce their width. The rear diffuser and the brake ducts have also been tweaked.
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TIGHTER SPENDING
The introduction of a cost-cap, set at $145million or £106million is an F1 first. That covers the cost of running the F1 team for a season, but it excludes drivers salaries, the three highest-paid members of staff and marketing costs.
The idea being that it stops the big teams – who normally spend three-times that amount – from gaining an advantage.
The benefits are that the sport becomes more competitive, it reduces cost to make it more sustainable and finally, has a new business model that would appeal to new investors looking to join the series.  
Teams are also allowed to run up costs of $45 million or £33million for purchasing new equipment for their factories between now and the end of 2024.
WEIGHT IS OVER
The minimum weight of the cars and their power units has increased.
A car without fuel must weigh a minimum of 752kg this season, up from 746kg the previous year.
The minimum weight for the engine has also gone up. From 145kg in 2020 to 150kg.

TESTING TESTING…
Testing is still limited to young driver tests while there will be a new sliding scale on aerodynamic testing for 2022, based on where a team finishes the 2021 season.
Those finishing bottom of the constructors’ championship will be given more time in the wind tunnel or using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.
The idea is they will get a boost in data for their 2022 model allowing them to catch up with the rest of the field.
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NO COPYING
After last year’s pink Mercedes, the rules have been adjusted to stop teams from blatantly copying another design.
The FIA state that copy-cat designs can only be achieved through conventional images.
As a result, the use of 3D cameras to photograph a rival’s car is banned, along with agreements to share car designs.
It would not be a new season without a new set of tyre rulesCredit: AFP
TYRE TALK
It would not be a new F1 season without a new set of tyre rules. Thankfully, for 2021, the changes are pretty simple.
Pirelli will bring longer-lasting tyres in 2021 following the three blowouts at the British GP where Lewis Hamilton crossed the line on three wheels.
Another change is that Pirelli will now supply all drivers with the same allocation, rather than the team’s picking their selection.
So each driver will get a standard requirement of two sets of hard tyres, three sets of mediums and eight sets of softs per race weekend.
DAS GET THE BOOT
Mercedes’ clever DAS system has been outlawed. Remember it was the perascore design that allowed their drivers to pull the steering wheel forward to change the tyres’ pitch.
The Dual Axis Steering system was hailed as a genius design, as it allowed the Merc drivers to heat and cool their tyres accordingly to preserve their life span and performance.
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EXHAUSTING
Exhaust systems join the list of components that incur penalties when changed, Each driver is allowed eight per year; a ninth would trigger a grid penalty. It follows on from the penalties issued whenever a driver is forced to take more than his allocated components of engines (ICE) (three per season), motor generator units-heat (MGU-H) (three), motor generator units-kinetic (MGU-K) (three), turbochargers (TC) (three), energy stores (ES) (two) and control electronics (CE) (two).
TIME REDUCED
Another move to cut costs, all practice sessions are set at 60 minutes, rather than 90.
The hour reduction will force teams to use the track time they have, making it more exciting for the spectators and harder for them to dial their cars into the sweetspots. The maximum race time, including suspensions, has also been cut from four hours to three.
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