By Joe Murphy
With a few minor tweaks, I believe the best possible grid F1 has to offer could come to fruition. This is more of a fantasy booking point of view, as this line up means certain contracts broken early.
Red Bull – Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.
Just like that, I’ve made you smile. Max’s seat is a safe as anyone’s. Checo’s, however, is not. Ricciardo is preoccupied, Lawson isn’t ready and Gasly/Albon are clearly better off elsewhere. So who else other that a returning Sebastian Vettel to ride out into the sunset after one more run with the team he had the most success with. Almost poetically, he could be the mad who plays a part in making Max the first four time champion of Red Bull since… well, you know the rest.
Ferrari – Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Alpine – Estaban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
Alfa Romeo – Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou.
I’m not changing these four teams. Ferrari seem to have a very talented young pairing. Mercedes is best to stick with the veteran/youngster British pairing. Alpine aren’t going to get less French at this moment in time and I believe that the Finnish and Chinese drivers have done enough to earn at least one more year in the sport.
Alpha Tauri – Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda.
McLaren – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Again, more confirmed pairs. It’s great to see Danny Ricc back in F1 and Yuki has had a great year. His performances have gone extremely under the radar as of late and is more than capable of holding his own against his rather more experienced teammate. Regarding McLaren, Lando and Oscar are going nowhere. Lando may leave for greater success in the coming years, but that won’t happen for a while yet.
Williams – Alexander Albon and Liam Lawson.
What a parijg this would be. Alex has been carrying the team this season. Logan Sergeant may have scored his first points at one of his home races this weekend just gone, but I don’t feel he can remain on the grid next year. Lawson showed the world he belonged at this level with some excellent stand in performances for Alpha Tauri. This could be an opportunity for a more permenant spot.
Aston Martin – Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez.
Never forget that Sergio Perez raced for Racing Point, now branded as Aston Martin. The Mexican is struggling with the demands of Red Bull but a fresh move to Aston Martin could be a win for all parties involved. Checo needs a seat, Fernando needs a more competitive partner, Aston Martin themselves need more points and Lance Stroll just needs a break from the sport, most likely a temporary one.
Haas – Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg.
Yeah this pairing just works doesn’t it. I’m not removing Nico until he has that podium dammit! It also makes no sense to bring in Mick Schumacher again, certainly not yet.
Bonus entry: Andretti Racing – Logan Sergeant and Mick Schumacher.
Andretti are going to want F1 experience mixed with American-ism and a dash of PR potential. I think they could do worse than Logan and Mick for their first season, even if this won’t be for a few years yet.
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