7 The cars are now virtually identical

...so it’s all about the drivers

The F1 field tends to bunch up the longer the rules are stable – there’s only so much downforce you can squeeze out of the same expanse of carbon fibre. Engineers and technical boffins are able to address weaknesses in their cars’ performance. As teams innovate, others start to crowd into the same space. The one positive aspect of 2021’s cost-saving measures is that things could be a bit tighter.

There have been some technical changes to try and stop the cars from shredding their tyres (they’ve got a bit too heavy with all the hybrid gubbins and they’re a bit too fast for the delicate Pirellis to cope), but these have been limited in order to try and save a bit of cash. The cars are mostly all cost-saving carryovers from last year, 2020 hand-me-downs, so similar that the majority have been designated B cars rather than getting new names. It’s all building up to 2022’s grand reveal of a sleek, futuristic new F1, but in many ways this year has us more interested.

Ferrari thinks that it has overcome its myriad problems from last year (the main problem being extreme slowness), and Honda is throwing the kitchen sink and more at its last year in the sport before leaving again. The engine order is too close to call going into the new season, and that more than anything could help create an exciting season of racing.

Exciting for the same reason that team mate battles are so fun to watch – drivers really have nowhere to hide when the cars are more evenly matched. The excuses run out and individual skill comes to the fore. When tenths of a second cover half the grid in qualifying you want an Alonso who can wring the neck of a racing car, or a Ricciardo who will post it round the outside of an opponent when they least expect it.