F1 | The report cards for the 2021 season: the votes for all the protagonists

RED BULL 10

The fifth Drivers' title in the history of the team born from the ashes of Jaguar, formerly Stewart, is probably the most beautiful feat, because it was unexpected at the beginning of the year and surprising, due to the ability to beat Mercedes before the regulatory change and the magical alchemy that took place created with the slingshot (10), a manufacturer who for his efforts deserved to win the world championship again after the glories of the Mclaren era thirty years ago. The RB16B is one of the masterpieces of that genius Adrian Newey (10).

Max Verstappen 10 cum laude Leader, driving force, now mature leader of a team with which he has grown over the years, refining his talent, smoothing out mistakes, then sublimating that pure talent which is overwhelming, irresistible. The fiery temperament remains, the tendency to drive a little over the top, especially when he had to defend himself like a lion in technical inferiority. But when the car allowed him, he was uncatchable for everyone, so much so that he earned compliments from his great rival immediately after the finish line.

Sergio Perez 7 The victory in Baku, many subpar qualifications, many good comebacks in the race, an intermittent presence in terms of results, but for Milton Keyenes Checo was the team man needed: a reliable, available, committed squire. He really raced with the desire and pleasure of leading his teammate to the title, he was great in this, the defenses against Hamilton in Istanbul and especially Abu Dhabi are proof of this.

MERCEDES 9

A few too many mistakes on the wall for a team that was used to having good and bad weather. Brackley, caught off guard by the regulation change in the rear area, is however the same team capable of changing pace since Silverstone, of putting a W12 on the track which in terms of pure performance has often been superior to Red Bull, and it is no coincidence that at the the eighth Constructors' title finally arrived.

lewis hamilton 10 One could criticize his season for some bad races like Monte Carlo and Baku (bad mistake) but overall Sir Lewis dazzles for the desire and enthusiasm with which he fights against a much younger driver, for the class with which he relaunches himself in the championship, giving a top-of-the-class show in GPs like Interlagos, but also demonstrating his greatness when he hangs on to Verstappen in Mexico or at Zandovoort. He lost the world championship (and how he lost it...) but he doesn't come out defeated. A giant.

Valtteri Bottas 7,5 As a torpedoed and Sauber driver in pectore he still does his part by contributing with his seraphic and arrogant nature to Mercedes' Constructors' title. He doesn't give Hamilton a great hand, but in Turkey he holds off Verstappen and wins. Hakuna matata and third place in the Drivers' standings. The Goat of knowing how to make a living.

Ferrari 7,5

From sixth to third force on the track with regulations almost frozen, improving the power unit and the rear axle, bringing an SF21 to the track which compared to the SF1000 is a real racing car: stable, drivable, above all balanced and efficient. The Red car comes close to winning at Silverstone, but fails to dispel the taboo. The team worked well, demonstrating that they have the potential to return to the top. 

Charles Leclerc 7,5 Only one podium at Silvertone which is the great regret of the season, but there are many races in which Leclerc with his class exalts Ferrari by running on par with the leaders, Monza and Istanbul to name two, but also Barcelona or Imola. Not his best season in terms of consistency, he is also unlucky, and the search for the limit leads him to kiss the wall a little too often. Overall, Leclerc is very fast but restless, biting at the brakes, a bit torn between the great expectation of having a competitive Red and the fear that this won't happen.

Carlos Sainz 8,5 He is the antithesis of Leclerc. Where the Monegasque is eager and agitated, he is very calm and patient. He doesn't have the speed of his team mate, but he is a hammer who works at the sides of his opponents, wearing them down. He has a classy consistency, a quality rider who makes pace and solidity his strong points. Fifth in the world championship (the first of the others) and four podiums: his debut in Maranello is in some ways surprising. In 2022 he wants to have his say, he doesn't start out beaten.

MCLAREN 7,5

The double in Monza will remain in the history of the glorious Woking team and is worth half a vote more, but since mid-season the team seems to be working hard to throw away third place in the Constructors' standings, which is well within reach. In the end, there are many points behind Ferrari.

Lando Norris 8,5 In terms of speed, performance and pace, it is certainly one of the best of 2021. Compared to the previous two years, the English pilot seems to have made a further leap in quality, taking the team by the hand. He also loses fifth place in the Drivers due to some bad luck in the last four races, otherwise it would have been his.

Daniel Ricciardo 6 It would be a season of 5 for the idiosyncrasy of the MCL35M and the season made up of few highs and many lows, but the splendid victory in Monza, his eighth career victory as well as the return to success for McLaren after nine years, alone is worth the enough. Luckily for him, the 2022 single-seater will be entirely new.

ALPINE 7,5

The Enstone team was one of the surprises of the year: they had enthusiasm, they seemed to be carrying out a project and over the course of the season they gradually increased their performance. The victory in Budapest was a feat, as was Alonso's podium at Losail. Watch out for the "plan" for 2022... they believe in it.

Fernando Alonso 8 Time has stopped, it doesn't seem to pass with him. It's the Alonso we remembered: combative, bad, driving, tremendously strong in the race, concrete. He has fun and enjoys himself, in the race it's always a spectacle, he sends Hamilton to the mental hospital in Hungary, he finds a podium of pure class, management, perseverance, in Qatar. And he says the best is yet to come. Born in 1981, an example.

Esteban Ocon 8 The twenty-five-year-old Frenchman shows he has what it takes. He holds his own against Alonso, with whom he runs on equal terms, bringing Enstone back to success after 8 years (the last was Kimi in Australia in 2013). Brilliant.

ALPHATAURI 6,5

The little Red Bull is very fast in qualifying, but too often it is clumsy in the race, wasting great opportunities. The combination with Gasly is perfect, and he has the patience to wait for Tsunoda. Sixth place in the Constructors' team is more than decent.

Pierre Gasly 7,5 Ten times in the third row, three times in the second row and one start in the front row. Among the greats in qualifying for fourteen races out of twenty-two, and he drives an AlphaTauri. The Frenchman is very fast, it's a shame that in the race he doesn't always get what he deserves, often through no fault of his own. But he gets some great satisfaction such as the podium in Baku and the fourth places in Zandvoort and Mexico.

Yuki Tsunoda 5 There would be many things to say, for the way it was presented with great fanfare at the beginning of the year, for its proverbial rudeness on the radio, for the too many errors. But he is a rookie, catapulted into F1, and as such he has the right to make mistakes and learn. On the positive side, Tsunoda manages to settle down, he works on himself, he isn't always very fast, he can't keep up with Gasly, but he looks for his size. He closes in crescendo, but it's not enough. To be evaluated in 2022.

ASTON MARTIN 4,5

The great disappointment of 2021, without appeal. What was supposed to be the "green Mercedes", fighting for third place in the Constructors' Championship, ran into trouble right from the start and never really managed to reverse course.

Sebastian Vettel 6,5 The best races for Aston Martin are those of him, Monte Carlo, the podium in Baku, seventh place in Mexico, without mentioning the nice second place in Budapest taken away from him due to a technical irregularity of the single-seater. Compared to the last Ferrari driver Vettel, Seb regains his luster, enthusiasm and desire to race. However, he has to deal with another car without rear stability, a curse. He is the driver who makes the most overtakings in the season, he must hope in the seriousness of Lawrecence Stroll's project.

Lance Stroll 6 It doesn't impress, but it doesn't demerit either. When the car is competitive he manages to easily finish in the points (nine times compared to Vettel's seven), demonstrating that he has a good handle and knows how to finish. But he doesn't have the class of the team mate, and he would be missed.

WILLIAMS 7

With a capable team principal like Jost Capito Grove manages to put a decent single-seater on the track, going from last to eighth place in the Constructors' Championship, finding points and even a (lucky) podium after dark years.

George Russel 7,5 He earned promotion to Mercedes with monstrous performances, especially in qualifying, impressing the world on the wet Saturday in Spa, a performance that also earned him the first podium of his career. He drops a little in the final, with the whole team, but it remains an important and decisive season for his career.

Nicholas Latifi 6 Pretty mistreated, but he's not that far away from a pure talent like Russell. He also scored points in Hungary and in the anomalous Spa. Decent performance. It's a shame that he will only be remembered for the crash in the final corners of Abu Dhabi which indirectly ended up deciding the world championship...

SAUBER ALFA ROMEO 4

The car promised better on the eve, but in reality it was never really competitive. The team often made mistakes in its race strategies, especially with Giovinazzi, and the treatment given to the Italian in some situations (think of the strange call to the pits by Mexico) was not up to the standard of an F1 team.

Kimi Raikkonen 6 It was truly a farewell season, melancholy and a little disengaged, without too many expectations or joys, proving that the time to say goodbye had truly arrived. And yet here and there we have seen glimpses of Iceman, like in Hungary or Mexico, because, after all, class has no age.

Antonio Giovinazzi 6,5 He bids farewell to F1 after his best season, where he gave emotions to Sauber on Saturday, unfortunately not transformed into points on Sunday, but more often than not through no fault of his own. He wasn't perfect, but he gave everything and deserved much better treatment. He moves to Formula E, but the goodbye to F1 is with his head held high, he has shown that he has a heavy foot.

HAAS 3

A Formula 2 waiting for better times, but what a struggle, between cars and drivers a season to forget, all about apprenticeship.

Mick Schumacher 6 A good year of apprenticeship, to take measures, with some mistakes, but also some noteworthy ideas.

Nikita Mazepin 3 Slow, messy, in difficulty. Asphalted by Schumino. The good thing is that he slowly learned how to be on the track. But he will still have to find performance, because then he is not presentable.

FIA – Race Direction 2 We have rarely witnessed a season so exhilarating and yet so poorly managed. Once again the FIA ​​has demonstrated that it does not have uniformity of judgement, but above all the certainty of the regulations was lacking. Michael Masi established himself as the dominus of the regulation by applying it in the last races as he wanted, in an almost "arbitrary" way. The finale in Abu Dhabi left everyone speechless, due to the ease with which a decision was made that effectively "solved" the world championship challenge. The yardstick and discretion of the referee must be reviewed as soon as possible by an often immobile Federation, as the credibility of the entire category is at stake.

Toto Wolff 2 In the terrible theater of Abu Dhabi he was one of the protagonists. Theatrical, melodramatic, petulant, disorganized. And then ambiguous in not accepting the Red Bull victory because it was "stolen" and at the same time complimenting Verstappen. Years of victories, even easy ones, have made him a terrible loser. The press blackout, the grand theft, the desire to appeal, then the abandonment of the appeal, with the accusations however continuing. The conclusive facts say that Mercedes accepted the verdict when he dropped the appeal. There is no point in continuing to talk about the theft of the century if one does not then choose not to even undergo the second degree of judgment. In confusion.

Stefano Domenicali and Ross Brawn 3 Like the three Sprint Races held, so useless, superfluous, avoidable. A revisable format that has only contributed to trampling on the sacredness and tradition of F1, humiliated in assigning poles that are not poles and victories that are not victories. Nobody liked it, but they will continue to maintain the opposite because you want it that way there where you can, what you want, and ask no more. The opinion of the fans counts for nothing.

Antonino Rendina

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