2021 Formula One World Championship (Alt)

This is a fictional account of an alternative version of the 2021 F1 season. For the real 2021 season, see the 2021 Formula One World Championship

The **2021 FIA Formula One World Championship** was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over eighteen Grands Prix, and held around the world. Drivers and teams competed for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively.

## Teams and drivers

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.

### 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. Guanyu Zhou drove for Alpine at the Austrian Grand Prix.

### Team changes

**Renault -> Alpine.** Renault became known as Alpine, taking on the name of Renault's sportscar brand.

**Brawn -> Audi, Sauber: Ferrari -> Audi.** Audi joined the sport, supplying engines to Sauber, and buying out the Brawn team.

**Toro Rosso: Honda -> Porsche.** Porsche also joined the sport, supplying engines to Toro Rosso.

### Driver changes

**Jenson Button: Mercedes -> retirement**

**George Russell: Williams -> Mercedes**

**Nicolas Latifi -> Williams**

**Alexander Albon: Red Bull -> sabbatical**

**Sergio Perez: Aston Martin -> Red Bull**

**Sebastian Vettel: Ferrari -> Aston Martin**

**Carlos Sainz: McLaren -> Ferrari**

**Charles Leclerc: Sauber -> Ferrari**

**Jules Bianchi: Ferrari -> sabbatical**

**Yuki Tsunoda -> Toro Rosso**

## Calendar

The 2021 calendar consisted of twenty-two events, which were subject to the permissive COVID-19 regulations set by local governments and the Formula One Group.

The following rounds were planned, but were cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

 Canadian Grand Prix
 Singapore Grand Prix
 Japanese Grand Prix
 Australian Grand Prix

### Calendar expansion and changes from 2020 to 2021

Liberty Media, the sport's commercial rights holders, announced that there would be scope for the 2021 calendar to expand beyond the planned twenty-two races of the 2020 calendar. The sporting regulations were amended to allow for a maximum of twenty-five Grands Prix per year.

* The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, which was originally intended to be held as a one-off event in 2020, was the second round of the championship.
* The Portuguese Grand Prix at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, which was originally intended to make a one-off return in 2020, was the third round of the championship.
* The Dutch Grand Prix was revived, with the race taking place at the Circuit Zandvoort. The race marked the first time the Dutch Grand Prix has been run since 1985. The Dutch Grand Prix had been included on the 2020 calendar, but was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* The Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park in Istanbul, which was originally intended to make a one-off return in 2020, was the sixteenth round of the championship.
* The Vietnamese Grand Prix would have made its debut, with the race scheduled to take place in the capital Hanoi on the Hanoi Circuit. The Vietnamese Grand Prix had been included on the 2020 calendar, but was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grand Prix was dropped from the 2021 calendar because of the arrest on corruption charges of former Hanoi chairman Nguyễn Đức Chung, a key official responsible for organising the race.

Further changes to the calendar are planned following the disruption to the 2020 championship brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic:

* The Azerbaijan and Monaco Grands Prix returned to the calendar. These Grands Prix were removed from the re-issued 2020 schedule because of the logistical difficulties associated with establishing a street circuit on short notice.
* The Brazilian, French and United States Grands Prix also return. The 2020 races, together with the debut of the Mexico City Grand Prix, were cancelled because of the pandemic. The returning Brazilian Grand Prix was renamed as the São Paulo Grand Prix in deference to the increased involvement from local government.
* The 70th Anniversary, Eifel, Sakhir and Tuscan Grands Prix were not included in the list of 2021 races. These Grands Prix were specifically introduced into the 2020 calendar in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that as many races as possible could be held.

Liberty Media was also reported to have come to an agreement in principle with race organisers to host a second race in the United States. Plans to hold the race at a circuit in Miami Gardens were unveiled. A second proposal to move the former Brazilian Grand Prix from São Paulo to a new circuit in Rio de Janeiro was also suspended.

### Calendar changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic

See also: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on motorsport

The original calendar that was approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council included the Chinese Grand Prix, which was due to take place on 11 April. However, the event was postponed and later cancelled, due to travel restrictions. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, which was originally intended to be a one-off Grand Prix in 2020, was retained in its place. Additionally, the Australian Grand Prix, which had been due to take place on 21 March as the inaugural Grand Prix of the championship, was postponed to 21 November. On 6 July 2021, the postponement of the Australian Grand Prix was revised to be a cancellation for a second consecutive year, due to low vaccination rates and travel restrictions in place in Victoria. The dates for the São Paulo, Saudi Arabian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix were changed to accommodate this.

On 28 April 2021, the Canadian Grand Prix was cancelled for a second consecutive year and was replaced by the Turkish Grand Prix, originally intended to make a one-off return in 2020. On 14 May 2021, the Turkish Grand Prix was postponed due to the British government imposing a ten-day hotel quarantine on travellers from Turkey into the United Kingdom. As a result, the French Grand Prix was moved forward a week and the Styrian Grand Prix, which was originally intended to be a one-off race in 2020, was added to the calendar in its place. On 4 June 2021, the Singapore Grand Prix, which was originally due to take place on 3 October, was cancelled due to ongoing safety and logistic concerns and was replaced by the re-joined Turkish Grand Prix.

On 18 August 2021, the Japanese Grand Prix was cancelled for a second consecutive year. The race calendar was revised again on 28 August 2021, consisting of twenty-two Grands Prix, with the Turkish, Mexico City and São Paulo Grands Prix moved a week later, the round in which the cancelled Australian Grand Prix was due to take place left empty in order to replace it, and the confirmation that the Japanese Grand Prix would not be replaced.

## Regulation changes

The 2021 championship was originally due to introduce significant changes to the regulations, including the sport's governance, car designs and the sporting rules but these were delayed in March 2020 in response to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These rule changes were instead introduced in 2022.

### Financial regulation

The championship introduced a budget cap, with teams limited to spending a maximum of $145 million per year. Teams were required to use more commercially available materials and to submit their annual expenditure. Some teams argued to further reduce the budget cap to $100 million, citing concerns that the long-term financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the future of as many as four teams. Formula One managing director Ross Brawn stated that the sport's intention is to reduce the budget cap further in the coming years.

The value of the budget cap was set for twenty-one races; each additional race increased the budget cap by $1 million, and vice versa: each race removed from the scheduled twenty-one race calendar deducted the budget cap by $1 million. However, the budget cap did not include marketing budget, drivers' salaries, and the salaries of the team's top three executives. In addition, under a later agreement among the teams regarding the introduction of sprint qualifying races, each team received an additional $500,000 for the three sprint qualifying races on top of the current budget cap, and further flexibility on budget cap in case the cars got damaged during the sprint qualifying races. There were also additional restrictions dictating how prize money can be spent. The cap only applied to expenditure related to car performance, which remained in place until 2026. In the event that a team broke the financial regulations, the team can be penalised. It was originally planned a range of punishments for exceeding their annual budget, which include being deducted championship points, having reduced testing time, a race ban, or—for the most severe cases—disqualification from the championship. However, Toto Wolff later revealed that the intended sporting penalties such as points deductions and reduced testing for budget cap breaches would not be handed out, having been voted down by three teams including Red Bull and Ferrari.

### Technical regulations

Teams were limited in what components could be modified for the 2021 season, with this requirement introduced to ease financial pressures on teams brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The teams were allowed to apply for special dispensation to make changes, most notably in the case of McLaren, who were given permission to modify their car to accommodate the switch from Renault to Mercedes engines. This prompted the FIA to introduce a token system whereby teams were given a series of tokens which could be exchanged for the introduction of specific component upgrades.

Some aerodynamic rule changes were enacted by the FIA. The floor of the cars were 'clipped' in order to reduce downforce for 2021. In 2020, the floor was permitted to run in a straight line from an area adjacent to the cockpit back to a point ahead of the rear tyre. However, from 2021 that point ahead of the tyre was moved 100 millimetres (3.9 in) inboard, making the floor edge a diagonal line when viewed from above. This change is expected to reduce downforce levels by 5%. Further, some slots on the edge of the floor were removed, brake duct winglets were narrowed by 40 millimetres (1.6 in) and diffuser fences were narrowed by 50 millimetres (2.0 in). These three changes have reduced downforce levels by a further 5%, meaning the 2021 regulations have seen a total 10% reduction in downforce. However, the teams increased downforce by 4–5% over the winter, so the overall downforce reduction was approximately 5%.

The "dual-axis steering" (DAS) system developed by Mercedes in 2020 was banned, starting from 2021. The DAS system allowed the driver to adjust the toe of the front wheels to optimise mechanical grip by pulling or pushing on the steering wheel. The FIA introduced newly revised wing load tests mid-season at the French Grand Prix to clamp down on potentially excessively flexing rear wings. This comes after Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team had claimed, at the Spanish Grand Prix, that the rear wing of the Red Bull RB16B flexed significantly at high speed and load, allowing greater top speeds. Under Formula One regulations wings must be immobile and rigidly attached to the bodywork.

From the Belgian Grand Prix onwards a new technical directive was enforced surrounding pit stop equipment after concerns teams were flouting the article 12.8.4 of Formula One technical regulations that state that pit equipment may only be filled with compressed air or nitrogen and that sensors on this equipment must 'act passively' to achieve quicker pit stop times and potentially meaning cars could be released in an unsafe condition. To help enforce this new tolerance parameters will be introduced of 0.15 seconds from when the tyres have been fitted and tightened to the dropping of the jack and 0.2 seconds from the dropping of the jack to a car being released by the pit crew. The change was originally supposed to come in for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but was postponed. In a further clarification the FIA will have the means of ensuring the new tolerance limits are adhered to by using an intelligent wheel gun.

### Sporting regulations

It was originally proposed that teams would be required to allow a driver who had competed in fewer than two Grands Prix to replace one of their race drivers in a Friday practice session over the course of the season. Whilst these rules were intended to give a chance to more non-Formula One drivers to test a Formula One car, the wording of this rule meant that teams satisfy the requirement if one of their regular drivers was in their rookie season. Such rules were instead implemented for the 2022 season.

Following the Mercedes tyre error during the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, where George Russell was given front tyres allocated to Valtteri Bottas during a pit stop, the FIA had adjusted the rules on tyre usage; drivers using mixed compound sets or using sets allocated to another driver on their cars were permitted to complete two laps before the driver must pit to correct the error before facing a penalty. Under the previous rules, drivers could be disqualified as soon as such error had occurred. The race time limit for red-flagged races was also be reduced from four hours to three hours. From the 2021 United States Grand Prix, lap times set under double waved yellow flags were automatically deleted.

### Race weekend changes

For the 2021 season, the schedule of a race weekend was revised. Under the pre-existing regulations, a race weekend spanned four days, with the Thursday before the race being reserved for media and promotional events and scrutineering; however, under the new regulations all of Thursday's events were moved to the Friday morning, with the times between activities on that day being reduced. Cars were under *parc fermé* conditions following the end of free practice three instead of qualifying, further restricting teams and drivers from making major changes to setups ahead of the race. The length of the two Friday practice sessions were cut from 90 minutes (as had been the case since the 2007 season) to 60 minutes. The 2021 W Series for female drivers was added to the list of support racing series alongside Formula 2, Formula 3, and Porsche Supercup. The 2021 W Series season started at the Red Bull Ring, where it was a support event for the Styrian Grand Prix in late June. It ended in late October at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Formula 2 and Formula 3 supported Formula One on alternate weekends, rather than the same ones as a cost saving measure.

There were a trial of sprint qualifying at the British, Italian, and São Paulo Grands Prix. Qualifying for these sprints took place on Friday afternoon in place of the normal second practice session and the sprints ran over the least number of laps to exceed 100 km (62 mi), approximately one third of a normal race distance. The result of the sprint race determined the starting grid for the main race. Three points were awarded to the winner of the sprint race, two points to the runner-up, and one point to the third-placed finisher; sprint races are set to be expanded for the 2022 season. The British Grand Prix timetable for 16–18 July revealed that there would be no running for Formula One cars until 14:30 local time on Friday with the normal Qualifying starting at 18:00. Normally, the second Practice Session would have been at around 14:00, with no running in the evening. A second practice session is due to start at 12:00 on Saturday, before the Sprint Qualifying at 16:30. The main race is due to start at 15:00 on Sunday. At events with Sprint Qualifying, the *parc fermé* was not brought forward to Friday after normal Qualifying, which saw drivers only allowed to use the softest available tyre with the usual requirement for the top 10 to start on the tyres they used for their best lap in Q2 removed for events including Sprint Qualifying in their schedule. There is also no requirement to make a pit stop during Sprint Qualifying, and all 20 drivers at events where Sprint Qualifying takes place were given free tyre choice ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix. Teams were given a $500,000 overall grant by the FIA to cover the cost of the scheduled three sprint races.

## Results and standings

### Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top ten classified drivers, the driver who set the fastest lap during the Grand Prix, but only if one of the top ten, and the top three of the sprint qualifying. In the case of a tie on points a countback system is used where the driver with the most first places is ranked higher. If the number of first places is identical then the number of second places is considered, and so on. If this procedure fails to produce a result, the FIA will nominate the winner according to such criteria as it thinks fit. The points are awarded for every race using the following system:

 Sprint qualifying

### World Constructors' Championship standings

 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 12
 Pos. | Constructor