Pre-season testing is over, and a confusing one it was too, but what are the biggest questions facing each team in 2021? A report by David Ecclestone. AMR
AMR have struggled in recent years, regularly failing to qualify since pre-qualifying was introduced. The biggest question for them is surely can they consistently qualify? While the old adage of to finish first, first you have to finish is an important one, before that AMR have to ensure they actually they get to race to begin with! If they do that can they score their first point since 2017? Finn Schnyder was once one of the brightest prospects in FV, but going into his 4th season for AMR, he will be praying for an opportunity to prove himself again. Can he win himself a better drive for 2022? In contrast, Max Meyer will simply look to compare favourably to Schnyder and impress the man who put him there, will he become a Lopez driver? Meteor This is the first true chance to gauge the impact of the new Italian owners of Meteor. An inspired signing of Lewis Ellington in 2019 helped them to fifth, before an expected fall for 2020 given the difficulties the change in ownership had to deal with. So, can Meteor rejoin the midfield? If not, will Meteor look to change engine supplier? A move to a new supplier, possibly Honda, could provide a bump for 2022. Meteor welcome the vastly experienced Carson Davenport into the team for 2021. With two race wins to his name he brings a reputation, but he's found himself regularly shuffled around in recent years, most recently being moved on from Lucas, despite the obvious affection both feel for one another. So, having driven for and let go by Lucas, Cheema, Phoenix and Fun does Davenport have the motivation for another season of struggle? Felix Beyer goes in to his second season at Meteor having only started 1 of the last 11 V-Prix, while his teammate managed to start 4. Can Beyer sort out his qualifying? Arrow Arrow remain FV's newest team (excluding ownership changes) and they have a simple objective for 2021, can they score a point? Arrow clearly improved as the 2020 season progressed, but the team will be desperate for that first point to reward all the hard work the engineers have been putting in. Yakumi Takahashi impressed many in his debut season, qualifying for significantly more races than his experienced team mate. Now the team leader for Arrow he will look to assert himself further in the team, and as such he shares the goal of his team – score a point. Despite being a rookie, Brynildsen has been at the team for as long as Takahashi and also has test driver experience for Ingram. However, a best championship finish of 6th in FV2 has led some to doubt he has the talent to succeed at the top level, he has to prove them wrong. Highwind A new name for the Irish Cheema team who will want to want to take a step forward this season. Despite it only happening at one race last season, the team will want to finally banish their pre-qualifying demons and qualify for every race. Highwind also have question marks over their driver line up, with both Beckenbauer and Milkovich both in their mid 30s. Will Highwind look for a younger driver to lead the team into the future? While both Beckenbauer and Milkovich will realise they are nearing the ends of their careers, they will have different approaches to this season. Milkovich is the settled team leader who retains a close relationship with the team and will hope to continue in this vein. He'll be after another couple of points finishes. In contrast, Beckenbauer has joined his seventh (!) team and will be aiming to impress enough to keep his seat. Franklin The team with possible the most different expectations from last season. Can they return to the front? Franklin remain one the sport’s most famous teams, and Jamie Franklin remains the sport’s most demanding team principal, anything less than a return to the rostrum will be a disappointment to the three times constructors champions. Topping the opening day of pre-season has only increased the pressure. Nick Addison impressed in his rookie season, and is now tasked with leading Franklin in their comeback year. Has he got what it takes to fight at the front? He's joined by rookie Danilo Forini, who will be instantly thrown into the bear pit that is Franklin's second seat. While he's not facing Enrique Ruiz, he will be eager to show enough to deserve a second season and not end up on the scrapheap like so many before him. Lucas Lucas' return to the sport in 2019 remains one of FVs most surprising stories. The team have slowly but surely building since their return and impressed at the back end of 2020, can they continue their upward momentum into 2021? From a morale point of view, 2021 is the only the second season Lucas have competed without Carson Davenport, the other year being the ill-fated 2015 season which they withdrew from after only 5 races. How important was Davenport to development and will they miss his leadership? Marcus Thunder has scored Lucas' best result since their return and will look to stamp his authority on the team. Consistent points has to be the aim. He's partnered by rookie Maximilian Thunstrom who was beaten to last year's VWRS title by a mere half point last year. Having finished in the top 5 in each of his three seasons in the second tier, Thunstrom has certainly earned his chance and regularly matching and beating Thunder would be a great statement from the Swede. Phoenix The popular purple team have been strong midfield runners since their debut and will be hoping for more of the same in 2021. With the new regulations potentially leading to more varied races, I think Phoenix will be aiming for a first podium. If that proves beyond their means, I think they would settle for breaking the 50 point barrier for the first time in their history. Sergio Alvarez’ reputation has gone from strength to strength since his debut. One of a gaggle of young drivers hoping to win himself a top seat for 2021. A podium would do his chances no harm. In contrast, Thierry Xylander seems to be at last chance saloon. While he will fairly point to reliability issues, Xylander has to score consistent points in 2021. It does not bode well for him that he’s sitting out the first race. Injury or not, rumours will start swirling if Thompson does well. Ocelot Ocelot have been one of the more up and down teams of recent seasons, with rumours that they deliberately sacrifice the odd season to improve performance in others. However, last season’s 8th place suggests a change in strategy and I believe they will look to establish themselves at the front of midfield with an eye on more in 2022. Puccio Giodano returns to the team alongside a teammate he dispatched with ease in 2019. Giodano continues to rehabilitate his name, can he re-establish himself as the best driver outside the top teams? Hunter Ryan has no doubt improved since he last partnered Giodano and he will be eager to beat the Italian in a straight fight. Westwood Westwood had a very strong 2020 season, considering they started from scratch. This has understandably led some to question if the focussed too heavily on 2020 and not enough 2021. We know Westwood can develop a car in season, can they build a contender from the get-go? Westwood have reunited with Tumo Kinnumen, the pair having many happy memories together. A completely new line up for 2021 means Kinnumen will be expected to score regular points as his rookie teammate settles. That rookie teammate is no slouch however. The reigning VWRS champion, Jules Barclay has a great yard stick to measure himself up against. Can he push his race-winning teammate? Lopez Lopez effectively find themselves with the opposite questions to Westwood. Race winners at the opening race, a mere 4 points from the last four races, can they be competitive for a whole season? If so, we know their strategy team is capable of pulling off surprise results. Allar Kangur has one goal for 2021, and that’s to return to Mathershaw for 2022, potentially replacing the veteran Adrien Simon. The Estonian clearly has speed and will aim for another crushing victory over his teammate. Elroy Wagner, on the other hand, needs to effectively ignore the 2020 season and rediscover the form that helped him win the 2015 championship. Ingram Perpetual midfielders Ingram experienced a new dawn in 2020 as the lead team for an engine marque, and yet found themselves in the familiar position of 5th by seasons end (the fourth time they’ve finished there). Can they finally make a step forward? If not, then questions may be asked by both Arrow and Jaguar. They also need to start thinking about a succession plan for Jean Mattson. James Vasquez has been given the number 37 car for this season and will be expected to continue where he left off. A podium may not be off the cards for the Colombian. A man who did score a podium last season, finally, Jean Mattson will be annoyed that he lost the team battle last season. Can he beat Vasquez and become Ingram’s main man again? If not, perhaps he will consider his place in the sport. North Star North Star have impressed many in the last few years, consistently moving forward without the serious lows other team seem to have. They will target the top three. However, a mixed pre-season means they may regard another season of leading the midfield as a success. Johan Halvosen finished best of the rest last year, but Halvosen will be aiming for more podiums having scored two in his last two seasons. He will partnered by the highly rated Brock Kidd. He may be a rookie, but he’s had success in both IndyVirtual and eVirtual and the successes of other IndyVirtual drivers have put the pressure on Kidd. He will want to score regular points and provide North Star with two drivers capable of big points in the midfield fight. FIRST The American outfit have long been considered the team to break into the top group of teams. This year they have to compete for the championship. Some experts are placing FIRST as favourites going into the season and it will be interesting to see if they can cope with the pressure. One help for them will be the experienced Will Hoskins who has seen it all before. This may be his last chance to fight for the title. In contrast this will be the first year Felix Perez has been right at the front, but nothing has fazed the young Mexican so far. He will look to win more races. Is this his time to join the top tier of drivers? Mathershaw Porsche 2020 looked like it would be a walk in the park for the Anglo-Franco-German team. 3 wins in the first 4 and some dominating Enrique Ruiz performances, and yet they walked away with neither title. The team have openly admitted that they expect to struggle this year. But this is a team that have never finished outside the top three before and I expect that internally they want to continue this record. Enrique Ruiz, the two-time champion, will have been hugely frustrated not to add a third title. He will accept one off year from Porsche but will still target wins and podiums. Adrien Simon will also have been annoyed by 2020, but more due to the fact that his reputation took a big hit as Ruiz comfortably beat him. Simon will want to settle that score. Downton For the first four years they were also-rans. The next four years saw 6 championships. It’s clear what’s expected at Downton – another title. Beyond that there are potential driver headaches coming. Nathaniel Powers and Klaas van Snelheid are both clearly in the top echelon of drivers, but young Matteo Zetticci is pushing his case in the junior formulae. If Zetticci meets expectations and wins VWRS what will they do with Zetticci? Quadruple world champion Nathaniel Powers will be aiming to be making it a quintuple. On the other Klaas van Snelheid will be trying to lose the tag of being FVs nearly man. He’s capable of beating Powers, finishing 20 points clear in 2019 and yet the title evades him. Surely the uber-talented Dutchman will convert soon?
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