In a sport and an era where you struggle to finish first, being second is crucial. Especially when it comes to triumphing in the Formula 1 constructors’ championship. The so-called “second drivers”, in some cases chosen specifically, are not making their team shine , while others, as in the case of Bottas and Perez, are shedding more light on the performance of their colleagues than their own. So being second in 2021, how decisive is it for the competition?
A rather weak start to the championship for the second drivers of the main teams, starting with Bottas and Perez, who seem to highlight the performances of Hamilton and Verstappen more than theirs. Coming up to the Ferrari home with Carlos Sainz, or to McLaren with Daniel Ricciardo, who reveal that they are not yet familiar with the car.
Nonetheless, we must look at both sides of the coin. For several drivers this is the first year at the wheel of a car different from that of past seasons. So Carlos Sainz Jr finds himself on the track at Fiorano more often for tests than his colleague Charles Leclerc. We talk not only about adapting to the car, but also about the way Ferrari works both on and off track. Same goes for Daniel Ricciardo, who from what has emerged so far, is still not at ease in driving the new McLaren, often finding himself behind Norris, even if since the last race in Montmelò the Australian seems to be managing to familiarize himself with the MCL35M.
A lot of effort is characterizing the performances of Valtteri Bottas in Mercedes and Sergio Perez in Red Bull. The Finn from the German team started the season by literally not doing it right. Starting from Bahrain, passing through the accident in Imola with George Russell, in which the fault later turned out to be to be more attributed to the Williams driver, but in any case it happened when a much slower car from the penultimate row was about to overtake a the best car on the grid.
Bottas’s epilogue comes on Sunday when team principal Wolff orders him to let his teammate Hamilton pass , as he is faster. Precisely for this reason it is evident that this year has started below his capacity, for a driver who in the past years has found himself somewhat fighting for the title.
In an opposite but paradoxically similar way, Perez’s season also began. The Mexican seemed to be salvation on the horizon for Red Bull , an experienced driver, who has been on the track for several years and capable of earning valuable points in view of the constructors’ championship , also given the victory with Racing Point last year. Still, after four races, chasing the podium with his new team, Perez does not seem to do better than Alexander Albon, the driver he replaced.
The role of the second driver is not yet decisive for this 2021 Formula 1 season. However, the championship has only just begun and there are still 19 races ahead to disprove these theories. The fight for the constructors ‘championship and the drivers’ championship has never been so fierce in recent years, but it is clear that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will decide the fate. For Ferrari, third place in the constructors ‘championship remains the best possible goal, for which the Maranello team will need the contribution of both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
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