By Joe Murphy
After grading the Red Bull pair, McLaren drivers and Haas rookies on their 2021 season, it’s time for part two of this end of year review. Did these members of the grid pass their exams? Or is detention, around the corner?
Charles Leclerc – B
Charles Leclerc had the very definition of a ‘B’ season. He had some strong performances, particularly towards the start of the year. Had he kept up that record throughout the rest of the campaign, he would certainly have earned over 200 points. Unfortunately, despite the Ferrari becoming a solid point scorer in the latter stages of the season, he will be disappointed to only finish seventh in the standings, behind both a McLaren and, arguably more importantly, his teammate. As a direct comparison, his Spanish teammate (who will be discussed shortly), outperformed Charles over the season. This will surely disappoint the man from Monaco. He showed glimpses of past success in qualifying in Azerbaijan and his hometown but failed to turn either of these into podium finishes. He will be hoping for better next year in a car that should compete more, with Red Bull and Mercedes up front.
Carlos Sainz – B+
I am going to go and entire entry on Carlos Sainz without mentioning the name of the song. I believe it is possible. The Spaniard had a fantastic year and won the semi-coveted “Best of the Rest” award, finishing fifth only behind the Red Bull and Mercedes pairings. In his debut season for the Scuderia, he showed remarkable consistency and used his expertise to even achieve four podium finishes. The only reason he didn’t achieve top marks is for the continued absence of a victory. Something, comparable with Lando Norris, is surely a matter of when, rather than if. He only finished outside the points twice all season, on both occasions finishing 11th. This shows that his car, race and tyre management has been superb this year. As much as Leclerc will be disappointed, Sainz will be equally happy to have finished above his teammate, as well as both McLaren’s. A feat that, hopefully, he can use to springboard to even more success in 2022, in a car that should be even more competitive, at the front of the grid.
George Russell A-
An improvement from last season wasn’t much to ask for, seeing as zero points is pretty hard to do worse than. George Russell indeed went from zero (numerically) to hero when he achieved his first points finish in Formula 1 earlier in the year. Moreover, this was bettered when he managed to get himself on the very wet and contentious podium in Spa. Williams finishing eighth is, rather depressingly, a huge step for the constructor. In what has been a difficult year for Williams, George has primarily been the man where all the positives have come from. In this continued comparison to school grades, George is the talented schoolboy who takes ages to understand the subject content, but now he has, the possibilities are endless. His performances have led to the ‘promotion’ to the Mercedes seat for next year where, surely, points finishes and race wins will be on the horizon. Has the young Brit got the ability to challenge his older compatriot teammate for the World Championship next year? Time will tell. One thing for sure is that Mercedes have replaced Valtteri Bottas with some incredible young talent.
Nicholas Latifi – C+
The Canadian was having a relatively quiet season in the sister Williams, until five laps to go in the final race. He played the integral part in the huge controversy that surrounded the conclusion of events in Abu Dhabi. That aside, it hasn’t been a hugely successful campaign. Yes, he did achieve his first points finishes this year. Much like Buses, none came for years then two came at once. However, on both occasions, as previously hinted at with Russell’s entry, had their own caveats with Hungary and Spa being two of the strangest races we have seen in recent Formula 1 history. With five DNF’s to his name, he cannot get the highest of scores. And as soon as he was overtaken by a Haas in Portugal, a C is about as generous as I can be. Latifi will return to the grid early next year, this time alongside the returning, Alex Albon.
Kimi Raikkonen – C
No matter what Kimi Raikkonen did this year, his career has been a success. And as repeatedly stated on Wheel2Wheel, the grid will be a worse place without him. Despite this, he cannot get a strong score for this year’s performances alone. There were too many occasions where he wasn’t even close to competing. Tussles with Haas and Williams about all Raikkonen did this year. Granted, the car has been dreadful and was only better than the walking-pace Haas. As the Finn said himself at Silverstone, the car needs more pace. Instead, Alfa Romeo has opted for two new drivers, again a mix of experience and youth with Bottas and Zhou both incoming to the team. Kimi earned ten points from his four separate hauls in outings including venues such as Azerbaijan and Russia. In fact, he won over three times more points than his teammate. Speaking of the Italian…
Antonio Giovinazzi – C-
A long-time critic of the Italian personally, I have developed a fondness of Antonio Giovinazzi this season. When you look at his record and see he only scored a total of three points from two races, it’s hardly a surprise the team have gone for a change in their line-up. However, I don’t place the blame at the foot of Tony. The car simply cannot compete with those ahead and, right now, Alfa Romeo looks much more like the Sauber it originally was a few years ago. The days of Charles Leclerc putting this car in the top five are long gone, it seems. In 2021, Giovinazzi finished close to the points on multiple occasions, eleventh in four races, and twelfth and thirteenth several times also. He cannot get much more than the mark above, with only three more points than Nikita Mazepin. Fingers crossed he returns to the sport sometime in the future. For 2022, you’ll find the Italian in the Ferrari garage as one of their two reserve drivers (alongside Mick Schumacher). The starting grid will miss Gio, who many feel has been developing and improving hugely over the last couple of years. One thing is for sure, the grid will be a lot less sexy and Holy, without this better-looking version of Jesus.
WHEEL2WHEEL REPORTS 