Drive to Survive…. The Summer Break

Part of the F1 Reaction series

In the lead up to hearing “It’s lights out and away we go!” in Spa-Francorchamps after three long weeks, we’ve decided to not only let you in on what we’ve been up to over the F1 summer break (because, let’s be real, we all know what the drivers have been getting up to and most of it involved boats in some way, shape or form) but we’re also going to pull out the tarot decks and summon up some predictions as to how this season will end.

What did you do during Summer Break?

Emma: I worked. I got vaccinated and I worked some more. I probably worked too much but it’ll be worth it and I know it isn’t the most exciting way to spend the summer but I have things to save up for and places to go next year. I have had slim to no free time to miss F1 these past few weeks but I have met some fellow Red Bull fans while in work or around town and we were all less than pleased with the drivers’ and constructors’ standings after the Hungarian Grand Prix but that is the way the F1 cookie crumbles. This definitely isn’t my first summer break so I’m used to waiting for Grand Prix weekends but I’m very excited to see how this season closes out because it is the closest season of F1 that I’ve seen in a good few years and that makes it all the more entertaining. A lot of the new fans in recent seasons have made the summer break more entertaining as well because the new pages I’ve found and news sources I’ve stumbled across have really been fascinating. There are dedicated fan pages to specific drivers that simultaneously make me laugh and cringe, gossipy ‘insider’ pages that add fuel to some of the rumours that float around during silly season and, of course, the general speculation of avid fans about who is going to end up where and when it’ll be announced has also been hugely entertaining as well. Whenever I wasn’t working, I spent some time getting more familiar with new tracks on the calendar and refreshing my knowledge of the tracks that I already know in F1 2021.

Niamh: It’s safe to say in between the mayhem of work and being rather ill, I fully embraced the fanbase side of F1. I would like to start off my Summer Break ramble with the following – my McLaren British GP merch finally arrived the first week of the break! I am now the proud owner of a stunning mint green Daniel Ricciardo hoodie and a classic blue Lando Norris hoodie! Now onto the interesting stuff… First up, we had the fact that one of my favourite F1 Tiktokers – F1Jonny – decided to start streaming on Twitch. Well ladies and gentlemen, I had to go support him! I am still a part of his streams regularly and I would urge everyone to check out his Twitch streams, I’m there for the entertainment and the community that is forming. Next, I finally gave in and joined the Grid Girls Blog Discord; it’s insane but they are the most lovely and welcoming group of people in that Discord. I look forward to seeing the mayhem of Race Weekend after finishing work one of the weekends. Lastly, in true Niamh fashion… Do I ever give up learning? F1 2021 has been essential in getting my head around the remainder of the season’s races while F1 Nation and YouTube have been helping with some minor question answering. Am I avoiding all speculation of what drivers will be in what seats next year? Heck no! Do you know why? It’s the only tea we are getting from the teams as a whole during their Summer Break. *sips cup of tea*

“I’ve Got Balls But None of Them Is Crystal” – Sebastian Vettel

Well, we have even less balls than Sebastian but we’re still going to try to predict the outcome of this season based on the performances of teams and drivers so far! Some of these predictions are more accurately described as what we are manifesting for our favourites but others are genuine predictions of what we believe teams and drivers can do.

What do you want to happen this season?

E: Well one of the things I wanted to see happen this season has already been taken away from me (Thanks Lando! I WAS hoping you’d move to Red Bull and make up my Red Bull dream team but I digress). What I’m hoping for this season is a fairly clean sheet from Mick Schumacher in the second half of the season and maybe a few mid teens finishes near the end of the season. He has improved immensely since he got to F1 but I can definitely see him getting better even though I really want to see him leave Haas. I’m also hoping (expecting is more accurate) to see Lando Norris on the podium at least 2 more times this season. I feel like he’s very capable of getting up there and he can defend from Mercedes very well when he wants to. And (no pressure Lando) I fully expect him to beat his own run of 15 point finishes for McLaren between the end of this season and the beginning of the next one. I also want to see a shoey this season! It’d be great to round off a tough season for Daniel Ricciardo with a podium finish; it’s overdue and well deserved by now. I also would love to see Red Bull keeping Checo Perez for a second season because, unlike others before him, Checo has gotten a better feel for his car in half a season and I think he’ll be really capable of consistent points finishes for Red Bull in this second half. I would also love to see Callum Illot filling Kimi Raikkonen’s seat (if Kimi does indeed decide to call it quits. The lure of the drink may be too strong) at Alfa Romeo.

N: The first thing I am committing to is: Emma and I not playing the Nico Rosberg Drinking Game*, I don’t think I could handle another Hungarian Grand Prix outcome. All joking aside, what I would like to see happen for the rest of the season is as follows. More Podium finishes for Lando Norris, as Emma has said above, he is well capable of pulling it out of the bag and defending against the Mercedes. Two more Podiums I would love but, I don’t want to be too greedy. I’d like more positive consistency for Daniel Ricciardo. It has been a rather tough and a roller coaster start to the season for him but, I believe he’ll find his feet after the break and surprise everyone with his finishes. I would love to see a double McLaren Podium, not going to lie. Anyone who listens to my race predictions during certain weekends will know that I will pinpoint when Alpha Tauri are looking strong ahead of seeing them during Free Practice and Qualifying, especially Pierre Gasly. During a number of weekends, Pierre Gasly has given both the Ferrari’s and McLaren’s a run for their money. With this in mind, I’d like to see Gasly get another Podium finish this season. As for my rookies that I have adopted, I am hoping both Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda keep their heads down and put into practice what they’ve learned from the first half of the season. Here’s hoping both drivers stay in F1 next year (Even if one is with a team I don’t believe deserves them). With mentioning Mick Schumacher, I would also like to see some more wholesome content from him and Sebastian Vettel (Sky Sport F1 Deutschland looking at you!). As for F3 because my Tiktok guy is there… I am hoping Dennis Hauger wins the F3 Championship. Lastly, I shall end what I would like to see on a controversial note, I would love to see George Russell not sign with Mercedes for next year.

*Side Note: The Nico Rosberg Drinking Game requires that Nico is one of the English speaking commentators. You then pick a specific driver and every time Nico mentions your chosen driver, you drink. We chose Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian GP and, oh Lord, it was a mistake.

What do you predict will happen? How will this season end?

E: In terms of a solid prediction, I’m going to put my money on Max Verstappen to win the Drivers’ Championship but I wouldn’t be surprised if Mercedes won the Constructors’ Championship. I’m also putting my money on Lando Norris finishing P3 in the Drivers’ Championship too. I’m going to predict that it will be close closer to the bottom of the table between Alfa Romeo and Williams but Williams will win it. And, lastly, I’m going to throw in one very ballsy prediction: Lando Norris P2 before the end of the season.

Overall Drivers’ Championship Top Three Prediction: 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Lando Norris.

Overall Constructors Championship Standings Prediction: 1. Mercedes, 2. Red Bull, 3. McLaren, 4. Ferrari, 5. Alpha Tauri, 6. Alpine, 7. Aston Martin, 8. Williams, 9. Alfa Romeo, 10. Haas.

Rookie of the Year: Yuki Tsunoda.

N: Surprisingly (or not surprisingly) Lewis Hamilton is not one of my favourite drivers so, my first prediction is Max Verstappen is going to win the Drivers’ Championship. I’m going to predict something I believe may happen; I’m going to predict Red Bull surprising everyone and managing to win the Constructors’ Championship. As for podiums in general, forget about Max, Lewis and Valtteri. I am predicting the following: One more podium finish for Sebastian Vettel, Two more podium finishes for Lando Norris, One more podium finish for Pierre Gasly and one more podium finish for Carlos Sainz.

Overall Drivers’ Championship Top Three Prediction: 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Lando Norris

Overall Constructors Championship Standings Prediction: 1. Red Bull, 2. Mercedes, 3. McLaren, 4. Ferrari, 5. Alpha Tauri, 6. Alpine, 7. Aston Martin, 8. Williams, 9. Alfa Romeo, 10. Haas

Rookie of the Year: Yuki Tsunoda.