And the 2021 season is go, go, go!

Green lights and ALO is first on track for the 2021 season.

I did post a look ahead to the 2021 season and then posted some updates in February, but here’s the driver line-up (the capitals show the abbreviations I use):

Hopefully the schedule won’t change as much as last year! At this point Australia has already been postponed, China dropped, Portugal and Imola added, and some dates shifted to make room for Melbourne in November. 23 rounds, ending mid-December, and a few circuits we’ve not seen in a while.

I also mentioned in an earlier post some of the new rules:

• Teams must now operate within strict limits on spending. A cost cap of $145 million has come into effect, though there are exceptions to this, including driver salaries and marketing costs.
• Friday’s practice sessions will now last 60 minutes each instead of 90, cutting teams’ track time before qualifying from four hours to three.
• In order to curb potential increases in downforce, some new aerodynamic restrictions have been imposed. These include a reduction in the size of the floor ahead of the rear wheels.

Meanwhile, back in Bahrain, almost everyone’s on the soft compound tyres as the session draws to a close. It’s hard to know how representative this is, with teams running a variety of tests, but it’s good to see a mix of teams at the top of the timings; FP1 ends with VER quickest (1:31.394) followed by BOT, NOR, HAM, LEC, PER, GAS, SAI, RIC & GIO… or Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, AlphaTauri, Ferrari, McLaren and Alfa Romeo.