An F1 Grid Shakeup? 

With the start of the 2021 F1 season just around the corner and the pre-season testing bringing some interesting results, it’s certainly set to be a great year. There have been a number of huge changes for the start of this year too that could see the grid change, but what are the biggest things to keep in mind as the new season is set to start, and could this year see a big shake-up of the grid to change the course of racing throughout the year?

Some big roster changes

Perhaps the most notable change for many who casually follow will be the big changes in the different teams – Haas have changed to a full rookie team with both Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher stepping into F1 and returning legends as Fernando Alonso has re-joined the grid in the former Renault and now Alpine team. A move around for some of the big names like Danny Ric and Carlos Sainz will certainly bring more excitement too, as it could lead to a very different grid this year. 

Pre-season testing woes

 Whilst it’s tough to take anything too seriously from pre-season testing as it is just that, a test, after all – the Mercedes struggles will surely be on everyone’s radar after difficulty putting in too many laps following a sputtering of different issues throughout the testing weekend that saw the usually flawless Lewis Hamilton in a couple of spins. Having been the dominant favourites for quite some time given their strong performances over the past few years, if testing is anything to go by it’ll be a very different set of podiums, something certainly exciting for punters looking to take advantage of a Bet365 NJ Bonus Code as some bookies have already started to float their early odds. Many experts expect this to just be a hiccup and that the silver arrows will return to their normal dominant form, but never say never. 

 (Image from formula1.com)

The changing regulation

As F1 heads through a transformative period, the changing regulations are going to be just as important to the teams too – whilst some of these big adjustments were pushed back to 2022 during the pandemic period, many have been put in place this year as new tyre compounds and requirements on the cars come into play – with changes to shape and weights of the cars, there will certainly be a lot of trial and error towards the start of the system, and unique features like the Mercedes Dual-Axis Steering being removed could have its own complications too – the changing regs will only get more important as things like spending caps come into play and could continue to change the market.