Formula One is a sport unto its own when it comes to fanbase loyalty. While you might cheer for a team, a driver can be capture more hearts and minds while building a cult like following throughout the course of their career. Let’s put it this way, most of us reading this cheer for a football team, a baseball team, a basketball team so on and so forth. Do any of us really say that we follow a single player? We’re all fans of individual players like Aaron Judge, Dak Prescott, or Steph Curry but rarely would those loyalties change to a team if that player left for greener pastures elsewhere. Of course of course how could I forget Tom Brady or Lebron, but let’s be a bit honest with ourselves, people who follow those guys from team to team, just do so in order to avoid their own insecurities about losing. Yea I said it, you know it’s true so sit down. I mean if Aaron Rodgers left Green Bay I would be heartbroken, but I’m a cheese head through and through and wouldn’t jump ship just because he’s gone.
If you’re reading this perhaps you just finished watching Drive to Survive or you’re gently trying to dip a toe into the vast ocean that is Formula One and want to know what to do and where to go. It is extremely daunting but unlike other sports, you’ll find fan loyalty is spread out over multiple drivers and teams. Me personally I cheer for Ferrari, I cheer for Charles Leclerc, but my favorite looking car on the Grid? The new Aston Martin. While Ferrari and Leclerc seemingly go hand in hand, at least for the time being, I will cheer for whatever team that man drives for. If you find yourself hunkering down to watch the 2021 season but don’t know who to cheer for, I’ll attempt to help you out over this two part post. Today we’re going to start with the teams:
Uralkali-HAAS F1 Racing Team:
YEA AMERICA FIRST! Well actually, yea they’re first because I’m going backwards up the current grid and you can put two and two together from there. The only American Formula One team entered the game in 2016 by purchasing parts from their Ferrari partners and acting to an extent as a Ferrari feeder team. With Gene Haas of Stewart-Haas racing backing the organization, the team took 8th place overall in 2016 and 2017. Sometimes a small team with commitment to a cause can surprise everyone and in 2018 Haas took fifth place overall. The elation however was short lived as the Rich Energy debacle, aerodynamic troubles, and a completely unreliable car would cut Haas’s knees out from under them. It’s been hard to watch this team go backwards and for the 2021 season, the team boss Guenter Steiner made a bold decision to release both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean from the team paving the way for two rookies to take their seats. Will this shakeup be what Haas needs? Well, if the first race of 2021 is any indication, that is a big fucking NOPE!
Williams Racing
Between 1980 and 1997 Williams Racing won seven F1 World Championships with different legendary drivers. The Williams story is one of hard work and perseverance and I can not do it justice attempting to cover everything here. Frank Williams will go down as a Formula One legend for his accomplishments in the sport, his daughter Claire will also be a legend, however for all the wrong reasons. Claire took over the family business in 2013 as Williams fortunes began to look slim. With an abysmal 2013 season, the company attained new engines from Mercedes for 2014 and onwards looking to restore themselves to former glory. When Lawrence Stroll pulled the plug on sponsorship money and decided to buy his own team, F1 fans from all corners feared the end of the Williams team that continued to fall backwards down the grid. In 2020 the Williams team was acquired by a United States investment group named Dorilton Capitol. Even though Claire was offered a chance to stay on as Team Principal, she opted to step down which marks the first time the team is not under the Williams Family control in the forty three years of its existence. The change in leadership and new possibility of funding bodes well for the struggling Williams team, but will it be enough? If I were a gambling man, oh wait I am, I’d be willing to bet that we’ll see Williams get firmly into the midfield in 2022 when the regulations change. Until then it’ll be another year of suffering for Williams fans.
Alpine Racing (Formerly Renault)
I’m going to fuck this up as I write this so just know that Renault and Alpine are the same fucking thing. Pronounced Al-PEEN, and formerly know as Renault, this team hopes to shake off the troubles of the last several years with a stark rebranding and securing the return of a two-time world champion to their roster. In 2020 Renault finished fifth behind “The pink Mercedes” (we’ll touch on that later), and lost their star driver who opted to go to their direct competitor. If you watched Drive to Survive Season 3, you know how mumble manager Cyril Abiteboul felt about the loss. There is not a doubt in my mind the salty Frenchman knew his future at the team was over before the ink dried on Daniel Ricciardo’s new Mclaren contract. Not only did Renault finish behind Racing Point, but they protested the pink car car early into the season resulting in 15 Constructor’s points stripped from Racing Point which Renault failed to capitalize on throughout the season. Reliability problems already made themselves present at the first race of 2021, but perhaps this shakeup will bring this storied team back into the front of the grid.
Alfa Romeo Racing
Alfa Romeo is a staging or what’s called a feeder team designed to groom or develop drivers graduating from Formula 2 into Formula 1. Since the differences between the two divisions are quite larger than expected, Ferrari uses Alfa Romeo, and Haas to an extent, as a their training grounds in which drivers can learn the ins and outs of the sport with less pressure than the big teams. If a driver can prove themselves, they move up to a bigger team with larger resources available to their disposal. If a driver can’t prove themselves, then the bigger team will swap them out with a new driver quicker than a tire change. Which leads me to question the decision to remain one of the only teams on the grid to retain their driver lineup into 2021. We all know Kimi is there to develop the car and teach young drivers but why keep Giovinazzi? I mean he wasn’t great but I guess Ferrari is really hoping they can put the only Italian driver into an Italian car at some point soon. With the engine troubles of last year seeming to get better, it’ll be interesting to watch where Alfa Romeo ends at the end of the season. While this is a feeder team, don’t let it discourage you from rocking the white and red and embracing them as the separate entity they pretend to be.
Aston Martin Cognizant Racing
Ok, yes I’ll admit it, this is my favorite looking car on the grid. I love the green, I just wish they had gone a little more British Racing Green. Enough about me but I’ll try to explain the story of Aston Martin F1 as briefly as I can. This team has seen more names in the past few years than a dog being returned to a shelter and purchased again. In 2008, Force India entered the grid under ownership of Vijay Mallya. The team struggled the first two years, ultimately becoming a solid midfield contender taking 4th place in 2016 and 2017. Unfortunately during the 2018 season Vijay Mallya’s charges of fraud caught up with him forcing him to lose his beloved team. While that may have been the end of the Force India, it wasn’t the end of the team. Enter billionaire Lawrence Stroll and his consortium who purchased the team but were not allowed to retain the points or name of the prior ownership resulting in the birth of Racing Point. With Lawrence at the helm, a team that had made every cent count in their climb up the grid, now had the funding it so desperately needed along with the sheer determination to make it happen. Lawrence would then go on to acquire a majority shareholder stake in Aston Martin uniting his two passions, providing his son a racing seat for years to come, and returning Aston Martin to the grid for the first time since their abysmal performance in 1960. You can hop on board or swear them off early, but this is going to be a wild ride to watch.
Alpha Tauri (Formerly Toro Rosso)
The second “Alpha” on the grid becuase why not make it as confusing as possible right? Alpha Tauri (AT) is to Redbull what Alfa Romeo is to Ferrari. The Redbull organization takes great pride in promoting from within using their Driver Academy. Incoming rookies usually take a spin through Alpha Tauri before being brought up to the big seat at Redbull Racing. If you need more clarification, Redbull sells the drinks, AT sells the clothing line. AT has established themselves as a monster of a midfield team benefitting from the Honda engine as much as their parent organization. In 2020 we were all treated to an utmost delight when Pierre Gasly who had been demoted back to AT, won the Italian Grand Prix coming one week and one year to the day of his demotion which was compounded by the death of his closest friend Antoine Hubert. Mark my words, AT is going to be a force in 2021, cashing in their upgrade tokens to develop the car over the offseason.
Scuderia Ferrari
Let’s try to sum this up as quickly as I can. If you want a team with history then look no further than Ferrari. The longest running team on the grid receives a paycheck every year just for showing up. That’s how synonymous with the sport the team has become. You don’t stick around that long without controversy finding its way to your doorstep and in 2019, trouble found Ferrari in a big way. After the summer break, Ferrari would arrive at Spa, Monza, and Singapore and win all three races in dominant fashion. Knowing what there is to know about Ferrari, the first two races don’t raise an eyebrow as they are designed for speed over downforce and the prancing horse on Ferrari’s shield tell you exactly what they focus on. Singapore however, Ferrari had no business winning on a down force focused track. Maybe top 3 but a flat out win? No not a chance. Some eyebrows were raised and a certain Fuel Flow meter question posed to the FIA would see Ferrari arrive at the US Grand Prix a shadow of what they had been a few weeks prior. Coincidence? Possibly, but there was definitely something wrong with the red car. During the offseason an announcement would be made that Ferrari and the FIA had a few meetings and a “secret deal” had been struck behind closed much to the fury of the other teams on the grid. The details of this deal were never released and Ferrari maintains its innocence, but with the performance in 2020, I think we all know there was a penalty imposed. Add to that the drama around Sebastian Vettel leaving the team and you can imagine just how bad 2020 was to watch as a fan. After the first race of 2021, Ferrari looks to have slightly returned to form but only time will tell.
Mclaren – Mercedes Racing
Oh boy if there was ever a team to get excited for in 2021 it’s got to be Mclaren. Entering the grid in 1966, seven Mclaren drivers have won twelve Driver’s Championships from 1974 to 2008 when Lewis Hamilton bailed from the team and joined Mercedes. Since then Mclaren have struggled to regain their championship contention until the glimmer of hope struck in 2019 when the organization took fourth in the Constructor’s Championship followed by 3rd in 2020. After giving Renault the boot, Mclaren went and secured a new Mercedes engine for the 2021 season hoping to solve a majority of their reliability problems. Mclaren’s upward trajectory looks to continue into 2021 as they currently sit third overall after the performance at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix. If they can continue this kind of momentum, we may just see the bright orange back atop the podium sooner rather than later.
Redbull – Honda Racing
If there was ever a team that could sum up the drama, the political wargames, the backstabbing that is Formula 1, that team would be Redbull. Team Principal Christian Horner is a force to be reckoned with and that man will not pull any punches to get his drivers and his team ahead in the game. From 2008 to 2013 Redbull had won both the Constructor’s and Driver’s championships and they weren’t looking to stop anytime soon, that is until Mercedes decided to show up and say “You call that a run?”. Redbull has been carrying a grudge ever since then and want to win in the worst way possible. Top that off with an obsession to make their contender Max Verstappen the youngest World Champion ever, you get the F1 equivalent of an obsessive parent at a beauty pageant. 2021 kicked off with a bang and while Redbull is always considered within the top three of teams, this year might just be their year.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport
Sticking to their black livery and all it represents, the reigning champs are back in style. It has been a long 7 year domination as Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have made the rest of the grid look like amateurs year in and year out. German efficiency at it’s finest backed by the best talent in the business sets this team apart in every possible way. From supplying engines in 1994, to acquiring Brawn GP in 2010 and rebranding the organization as Mercedes, the team has seen nothing but success. With a massive rule shakeup in 2014, Merced became the dominant force imposing their will on the grid for the better part of a decade. In 2021 however, Redbull looks to have brought the fight for the title. If the hype sticks Mercedes is going to have a tough time this year holding of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. With contract negotiations between Mercedes and Lewis coming to a reportedly ugly head during the offseason and Valteri knowing his seasons are limited with the team as well are we finally starting to see a chink in the armor?