Why so many Formula 1 superstars are struggling in 2021
Multiple driver changes have laid bare how difficult it is to jump into a brand new car and master it.
Monaco emphasized a straightforward, yet under-appreciated quirk of the current generation of Formula 1 cars.
They’re all starkly different.
In Monte Carlo, drivers who had changed teams (or entered the sport) for this year found themselves in the spotlight. Haas rookie Mick Schumacher crashed twice over the course of the weekend, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was half-a-second behind teammate Esteban Ocon in qualifying, and Monaco maestro Daniel Ricciardo was lapped during the race by his less-experienced teammate, Lando Norris.
“It’s more confusing than frustrating at the moment,” Ricciardo said after qualifying 12th. “I’m still getting up to speed with the driving style needed to get the maximum out of this car,” he said, speaking of the McLaren car, the MCL35M. Ricciardo joined the team in 2021 from Renault. This is the first year he has driven a Mercedes-powered car in the turbo-hybrid era.
The Australian is not the only one who has struggled with fresh machinery. With five races done in 2021, Ferrari new recruit Carlos Sainz has only qualified ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc once. Meanwhile, Aston Martin has said some of Sebastian Vettel’s early-season struggles were down to the Aston Martin’s rear-end stability. “It’s just a matter of seat time,” Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer said.
Red Bull have dealt with this too. Since 2019, two highly-rated drivers, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, have both been axed from the team after failing to ultimately get to grips with the Red Bull car. Both had proved their pace at Toro Rosso. Interestingly, after his first weekend with Red Bull in mid-2019, Alex Albon told Motorsport.com driving the RB15 required him to “rewire” his brain. It had a completely different driving style compared to his car at Toro Rosso, he said.
Albon’s replacement for 2021, Sergio Perez, has struggled with the Red Bull car too - though not to the same severity. He has gone from one of the quickest drivers in the midfield (at Racing Point) to arguably one of the slower frontrunners, especially on Saturdays.
He told Autosport earlier this year the Red Bull car was “quite different” to other cars and he could feel its strong front end. “I can see why not every driver can adapt to it,” he said. After finishing 4th in Monaco, Perez said he was still not wholly comfortable during qualifying. Still, he said he felt he was “pretty much there” during races.
Meanwhile, Ricciardo, who struggled the most in Monaco, said Lando Norris’ podium in the principality showed there was pace in the McLaren car. “We’ve just got to work at unlocking it,” he said.
“That will come with time and mileage.”