FIA Formula One World Championship 2021 
MARCH 28 - DECEMBER 12

The opening race of the Formula 1 World Championship signals the starting lights on a season of thrilling manoeuvres, breathtaking drama and unrivalled precision over more than 20 Grands Prix that span the globe

Race schedule 	European races 	World races

Inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix set to be held at Jeddah Street Circuit. Dutch Grand Prix returns to F1 calendar for first time since 1985

1 Bahrain	Sakhir		Mar 28
2 Italy		Imola		Apr 18
3 Portugal	Portimao	May 2
4 Spain		Barcelona	May 9
5 Monaco	Monte Carlo	May 23
6 Azerbaijan	Baku		Jun 6
7 France	Le Castellet	Jun 20
8 Austria	Spielberg	Jun 27
9 Austria	Spielberg	Jul 4
10 Britain	Silverstone	Jul 18
11 Hungary	Budapest	Aug 1
12 Belgium	Spa		Aug 29
13 Netherlands	Zandvoort	Sep 5
14 Italy	Monza		Sep 12
15 Russia	Sochi		Sep 26
16 Japan	Suzuka		Oct 10
17 U.S.		Austin		Oct 24
18 Mexico	Mexico City	Oct 31
19 Brazil	Sâo Paulo	Nov 7
20 Australia	Melbourne	Nov 21
21 Saudi Arabia	Jeddah		Dec 5
22 Abu Dhabi	Yas Marina	Dec 12
 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
   

POINTS SYSTEM
25 1st place 
18 2nd
15 3rd
12 4th
10 5th
8 6th
6 7th
4 8th
2 9th
1 10th

Single point awarded for fastest lap – but driver must finish in top 10


Lewis Hamilton
Signed new one-year contract with Mercedes for 2021 season. Became most successful F1 driver last year – surpassing race victories record of legend Michael Schumacher, before equalling German’s haul of seven World titles

RACE WINS 2020 
Five different drivers claimed chequered flag
11 Hamilton 
2 Bottas
2 Verstappen 
1 Gasly
1 Perez


Official Logistics Partner DHL estimates F1 cargo travels over 130,000km on up to six Boeing 747s during average season


ACROSS GENERATIONS
Season opens amid fierce debate comparing talents of Hamilton and Schumacher – two of the greatest drivers of all time – as British driver chases another record-breaking year


Race starts
Hamilton 266 
Schumacher 306

Pole positions
98 (36.8%) 
68 (22.2%) 

Fastest laps
53
77

Race victories
95 (35.7%) 
91 (29.7%)

Podium places
165 
155

Laps leading
5099 
5111

Wins in single season
11
13


Roll call of champions

Hamilton targeting eighth title to lead elite club of only five drivers with four or more World Championship titles.
Britain heads list of national triumphs, with 20 crowns won by 10 different drivers

WINNERS BY COUNTRY
     
GBR 20 
GER 12
BRA 8
ARG 5
AUS, AUT, FRA, FIN 4
ITA 3
USA, ESP 2
NZL, RSA, CAN 1


7 Michael Schumacher GER 
1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

7 Lewis Hamilton GBR 
2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

5 Juan Manuel Fangio ARG 
1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957

4 Alain Prost FRA 
1985, 1986, 1989, 1993

4 Sebastian Vettel GER 
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013


Rule changes 
Radical changes delayed to 2022, teams will run their current cars in 2021

Proposed 2021-22 car

Wheels: 18-inch wheels with low-profile tyres – to handle increases in downforce – delayed

Current 13-inch wheels to be used with new tyres

Power units: Retain 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged hybrid engines with Energy Recovery Systems. ERS provides extra 120kW of power per lap

Higher rear wing to lift wake over following car

Smaller rear brake duct winglets to cut downforce

Floor: Downforce cut by 10%. Floor area reduced by “exclusion zone” around rear tyres

Dual-Axis Steering banned: DAS changes alignment of front wheels from “toe-out” on bends to increase straight line speed

Tyre-wake cleaning blades control airflow over tyres, reducing separation and turbulence

ADDITIONAL CHANGES:

Minimum weight increase: Weight of cars in unfuelled states rises from 746kg to 752kg – discouraging use of weight-saving materials

Cost cap: Set at $145 million per team, with increases if the revised calendar of all 23 races all take place


Teams and drivers

20 drivers compete for 10 constructors

In 2020, Mercedes claimed seventh successive Constructors title – with 573pts, winning 13 of 17 races – eclipsing record held by Ferrari (1999-2004)

Key: 2020 finish	2020 points

MERCEDES
1st 347
Lewis Hamilton

2nd 223
Valtteri Bottas 

RED BULL
3rd 214 
Max Verstappen

4th 125 
Sergio Perez

MCLAREN
5th 119 
Daniel Ricciardo

9th 97
Lando Norris

ASTON MARTIN
11th 75 
Lance Stroll

13th 33
Sebastian Vettel

ALPINE
12th 62
Esteban Ocon

– –
Fernando Alonso

Alonso last F1 Championship 2018  

FERRARI
6th 105 
Carlos Sainz Jr.

8th 98
Charles Leclerc

ALPHA TAURI
10th 75
Pierre Gasly

– –
Yuki Tsunoda

ALFA ROMEO
16th 4
Kimi Raikkonen

17th 4
Antonio Giovinazzi

HAAS
– – 
Mick Schumacher

– –
Nikita Mazepin

WILLIAMS
18th 3 
George Russell

21st 0
Nicholas Latifi


Pictures: Getty Images
Sources: F1, Autosport 
© GRAPHIC NEWS