By Joe Man
After last week’s first edition, we take a look at the head-to-head battles that lay ahead for the rest of the teams. Who will triumph between Estaban Ocon and Fernando Alonso? Will Sebastian Vettel conquer his young Canadian teammate? And how will rookie Zhou fare against Valtteri Bottas. Let’s discuss…
Aston Martin
Vettel vs Stroll
Sadly we won’t see Sebastian Vettel in the first race due to testing positive to Covid 19. He will be replaced by Nico Hulkenburg. It will be really important for Lance Stroll to beat his stand in teammate. There is nothing worse for a F1 driver than being beaten by a driver drafted in for one race!
Once Vettel is back this is a hard one to call. Nobody really knows where Aston Martin are at this stage. If they have a car that challenges the rest of the midfielder’s then I think we will see the best of Seb. If however things don’t go to plan I think Vettel will become quickly disillusioned and will head quickly towards retirement at the end of the year. For Lance Stroll he needs to beat his teammate badly. His seat is secure due to his dad’s investment but to find his way into a winning car he needs to start to impress if his career is to go anywhere.
I’m picking Vettel to roll back the years and win the team battle.
Alpine
Alonso vs Ocon
This one could be super close and I think is very similar to the Aston Martin situation. Fernando is one of the greats in the sport but you wonder how committed he will stay if the Alpine isnt competitive. His team mate Estaban Ocon however has much to prove and has his eyes still firmly set on getting into a Mercedes seat at some stage. He has been in their program for some time now and will be hoping that if he keeps performing well he might get Lewis’s s Hamiltons seat when the great champion retires. Alonso and Ocon worked great together last year and will continue to do so to bring their team forward.
I’m going for Ocon here as he has so much to drive for this year. Anything other than coming out on top could leave him with no where to go in the sport.
Alfa Romeo
Bottas vs Zhou
There is a real chance that Alfa could be very competitive in the midfield this year. They have a proven race winner in Bottas and he is an integral part of moving this team forward. Valtteri all things considered did an amazing job supporting Hamilton in the five years he was at Mercedes. He played the team game and did everything asked of a number two driver. Being number two wouldn’t have sat well however and he will be relieved to have a new start as the lead driver at Alfa. For Zhou it will be a case of finding his feet at the top level and trying to show he belongs there.
Bottas to win this one all the way
Haas
Magnussen v Schumacher
After writing off the 2021 season to develop this years car Haas will be hoping to be back fighting in the midfield. The drama of Nikita Mazepin loosing his seat due to the Russian, Ukrainian war has to be a blessing for the team. No one saw Kevin Magnussen returning but I think it’s a smart move. Two young drivers was never going to work and with Mazepin’s record the team have dodged a bullet. Of course Magnussen himself is no stranger to toxic teammate battles so this could be interesting.
It’s worked out really well for Mick Schumacher who now has an older driver to test his skills against. Its going to be fascinating to see how this one goes.
Schumacher by a whisker
Williams
Albon vs Lattifi
This is a difficult one to call. Latiffi was well beaten over the last few years by ex team mate George Russell and cannot afford for that to happen again with Alex Albon.
Albon has had a year on the sidelines playing an important roll in the simulator with Red Bull. He impressed Christian Horner last year with his hard work for the team having lost his seat. He put his head down and worked hard and didn’t bag the team the way Pierre Gasly did when he was in the same position.
Lattifi has been with Williams through their worst years and could finally have a chance to show what he can do.
I’m going with Alex Albon to take this one convincingly. His experience over the last two years will help him enormously and with the pressure of Red Bull no longer there I think he will excel.
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