2021 Formula One World Championship

The 2021 Formula One World Championship was the 72nd season of the Formula One World Championship. The motor racing championship is the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars.

Entries

The following constructors and drivers were under contract to compete in the 2021 World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Pirelli. Each team was required to enter at least two drivers, one for each of the two mandatory cars.
+EntrantConstructorChassisPower unitRace driversNo.Driver nameRoundsAlfa Romeo Racing OrlenC41Ferrari 065/678899Kimi RäikkönenRobert KubicaAntonio Giovinazzi1–13, 15–2213–14AllScuderia AlphaTauri HondaAlphaTauri-HondaAT02Honda RA621H1022Pierre GaslyYuki TsunodaAllAllAlpine F1 TeamAlpine-RenaultA521Renault E-Tech 20B1431Fernando AlonsoEsteban OconAllAllAston Martin Cognizant F1 TeamAston Martin-MercedesAMR21Mercedes-AMG F1 M12518Sebastian VettelLance StrollAllAllScuderia Ferrari Mission WinnowFerrariSF21Ferrari 065/61655Charles LeclercCarlos Sainz Jr.AllAllUralkali Haas F1 TeamHaas-FerrariVF-21Ferrari 065/6947Nikita MazepinMick SchumacherAllAllMcLaren F1 TeamMcLaren-MercedesMCL35MMercedes-AMG F1 M1234Daniel RicciardoLando NorrisAllAllMercedes-AMG Petronas F1 TeamMercedes F1 W12Mercedes-AMG F1 M124477Lewis HamiltonValtteri BottasAllAllRed Bull Racing HondaRed Bull Racing-HondaRB16BHonda RA621H1133Sergio PérezMax VerstappenAllAllWilliams RacingWilliams-MercedesFW43BMercedes-AMG F1 M12663Nicholas LatifiGeorge RussellAllAllSources:Official entry lists:

 Free practice drivers 
Across the season, five drivers drove as a test or third driver in free practice sessions. Callum Ilott and Robert Kubica drove for Alfa Romeo Racing at two and three Grands Prix respectively, while Roy Nissany and Jack Aitken drove for Williams at three Grands Prix and at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, respectively. Zhou Guanyu drove for Alpine at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Team changes
McLaren announced that they would change from using Renault power units to ones built by Mercedes, resuming the McLaren-Mercedes partnership that ran between  and . Racing Point became known as Aston Martin. The name change was brought about by the team's part owner Lawrence Stroll investing in the Aston Martin marque. Renault became known as Alpine, taking on the name of Renault's sportscar brand.

Driver changes

Four-time World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel left Ferrari at the end of the  Championship after racing with the team for six seasons. Vettel's seat was taken by Carlos Sainz Jr., who had left McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo moved from Renault to McLaren, where he replaced Sainz. Ricciardo was replaced by double World Champion Fernando Alonso, who drove in Alpine's first season, having last raced in  for McLaren.

Vettel moved to Aston Martin, where he replaced Sergio Pérez. Pérez, who had previously signed a contract to drive for Aston Martin's predecessor, Racing Point, until 2022, moved to Red Bull Racing where he replaced Alex Albon, who was Red Bull Racing's reserve and test driver for the 2021 season. Pérez became the first driver since Mark Webber in  to join the team without being previously a Red Bull Junior Team member.

Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, who had raced for Haas since  and  respectively, left the team at the end of 2020. 2020 Formula 2 Champion Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, took one of the seats at the team while the other was filled by Nikita Mazepin, who finished fifth in the Formula 2 Championship.

Yuki Tsunoda, who finished third in 2020 Formula 2 Championship, graduated to Formula One with Scuderia AlphaTauri, replacing Daniil Kvyat, who moved to Alpine as their reserve driver. Tsunoda became the first Japanese Formula One driver since Kamui Kobayashi in .

Mid-season changes
During the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Kimi Räikkönen tested positive for coronavirus. He was replaced at Alfa Romeo Racing by reserve driver Robert Kubica, who last raced at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, driving for Williams. Räikkönen was also replaced by Kubica at the subsequent Italian Grand Prix.

Nikita Mazepin did not take part in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix due to positive of coronavirus tests. Haas only fielded one car at the event, rather than replacing Mazepin by reserve driver Kevin Magnussen.

Results and standings
Grands Prix 
RoundGrand PrixPole positionFastest lapWinning driverWinning constructor1Bahrain Grand Prix Max Verstappen Valtteri Bottas Lewis Hamilton MercedesReport2Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport3Portuguese Grand PrixValtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas Lewis Hamilton MercedesReport4Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton MercedesReport5Monaco Grand Prix Charles Leclerc Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport6Azerbaijan Grand Prix Charles Leclerc Max Verstappen Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-HondaReport7French Grand Prix Max Verstappen Max Verstappen Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport8Styrian Grand Prix Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport9Austrian Grand Prix Max Verstappen Max Verstappen Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport10British Grand Prix Max Verstappen Sergio Pérez Lewis Hamilton MercedesReport11Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Pierre Gasly Esteban Ocon Alpine-RenaultReport12Belgian Grand Prix Max VerstappenNone recognised Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport13Dutch Grand Prix Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport14Italian Grand Prix Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-MercedesReport15Russian Grand Prix Lando Norris Lando Norris Lewis Hamilton MercedesReport16Turkish Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas MercedesReport17United States Grand Prix Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport18Mexico City Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReport19São Paulo Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas Sergio Pérez Lewis Hamilton MercedesReport20 Qatar Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton MercedesReport21Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton MercedesReport22Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Max Verstappen Max Verstappen Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-HondaReportSource:

Scoring system

Points for both championships were given to the top ten of each race. One point was given to the driver who did the fastest lap, only if they finished in the top ten of the race. At events where a sprint qualifying session happened, points for both championships were given to the top three finishers in the last sprint qualifying session result.

Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th Race2518151210864211Sprint qualifying321colspan="8" Source:

World Drivers' Championship standings
DriverBHREMIPORESPMONAZEFRASTYAUTGBRHUNNEDITARUSTURUSAMXCSAPQATSAUABUPoints1 Max Verstappen121Ret1 P9Ret2 P2212395.52 Lewis Hamilton1115243Ret15212387.53 Valtteri BottasRet3Ret12432Ret1235631 PRet362264 Sergio Pérez5114541346Ret198593334Ret151905 Carlos Sainz Jr.851172811656310763876783164.56 Lando Norris4358355534Ret1410278101091071607 Charles Leclerc646416782Ret85415445587101598 Daniel Ricciardo76961296137511411413512Ret125121159 Pierre Gasly1771010637Ret91164Ret136Ret47116511010 Fernando AlonsoRet108171368910741168616Ret9931388111 Esteban Ocon139799Ret1414Ret9179 101410Ret1385497412 Sebastian Vettel151513135291217RetDSQ5131212181071110Ret114313 Lance Stroll10814118Ret108138Ret201271191214Ret611133414 Yuki Tsunoda91215Ret16713101210615RetDNS17149Ret15131443215 George Russell14Ret1614141712Ret111282179101514161317RetRet1616 Kimi Räikkönen1113Ret121110171115151018WD81213812 1415Ret1017 Nicholas Latifi18Ret18161516181716147916111917151716Ret12Ret718 Antonio Giovinazzi12141215101115151413131314131611111114159Ret319 Mick Schumacher1616171818131916181812161815Ret1916Ret1816Ret14020 Robert Kubica1514021Nikita MazepinRet171919171420181917Ret17RetRet182017181718RetWD0DriverBHREMIPORESPMONAZEFRASTYAUTGBRHUNNEDITARUSTURUSAMXCSAPQATSAUABUPointsSource: Key Colour  Result Gold  Winner Silver  2nd place Bronze  3rd place Green  Other points position Blue  Other classified position  Purple  Not classified, retired (Ret)Red Did not qualify (DNQ)  Black  Disqualified (DSQ) WhiteDid not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank  Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD)AnnotationMeaningSuperscriptnumberPoints-scoring positionin sprint qualifyingPPole positionFFastest lap
Notes:
  – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was included because he completed more than 90% of the race.
  – Half points were given at the Belgian Grand Prix because less than 75% of the race happened. Fastest laps were not included in the final result.

World Constructors' Championship standings
ConstructorBHREMIPORESPMONAZEFRASTYAUTGBRHUNNEDITARUSTURUSAMXCSAPQATSAUABUPoints1 Mercedes 2 Red Bull Racing-Honda 3 Ferrari 4 McLaren-Mercedes 5 Alpine-Renault 6 AlphaTauri-Honda 7 Aston Martin-Mercedes 8 Williams-Mercedes 9 Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 10 Haas-Ferrari ConstructorBHREMIPORESPMONAZEFRASTYAUTGBRHUNNEDITARUSTURUSAMXCSAPQATSAUABUPointsSource: Key Colour  Result Gold  Winner Silver  2nd place Bronze  3rd place Green  Other points position Blue  Other classified position  Purple  Not classified, retired (Ret)Red Did not qualify (DNQ)  Black  Disqualified (DSQ) WhiteDid not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank  Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD)AnnotationMeaningSuperscriptnumberPoints-scoring positionin sprint qualifyingPPole positionFFastest lap
Notes:

  – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was included because he completed more than 90% of the race.
  – Half points were awarded at the Belgian Grand Prix because less than 75% of race was done. Fastest laps were not included in the points.
 Rows are not related to the drivers: within each team, single Grand Prix standings are categorised only based on the end result of the race (not by total points scored in the event, which includes points given for fastest lap and sprint qualifying).

References

Notes

Category:2021 in sports
Category:2020s in motorsport
Category:Formula One seasons