Hamilton vying for record setting 8th World Championship

In what was only his rookie season Hamilton was runner up in the 2007 world championship Since then he has won seven world championships in his career. Apart from his first world championship with Mclaren, Hamilton had won the rest of his world titles with Mercedes AMG including four straight from 2017-2020.

Mercedes and Hamilton agreed to extend their partnership for another year in a bid to help the Brit win his record setting eighth world championship. The announcement of their continued partnership came much later than most Mercedes fans would have liked, but the German car giants were finally able to secure the services of Hamilton who will reportedly earn $30M for the 2021 season.

It is clear that Hamilton will not be handed the record easily this season with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finishing only less than a second behind the current champion after claiming pole in qualifying.

Three other former World Champions also on the 2021 Grid

Three other former world champions are also on the grid for the 2021 season with two time world champion Fernando Alonso returning as an Alpine-Renault driver after a two year hiatus. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel publicly fell out with his former team Ferrari last season and has now signed for Aston Martin for the 2021 season. 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen also returns to the grid for his 20th season in F1 remaining with the Alfa Romeo Racing.

Three rookies to watch in 2021

First rookie to score points in a debut race since 2016, Yuki Tsunoda, is a 20 year old Japanese driver who is also the first driver on the F1 grid born after the turn of the Millenium. Tsunoda is joined by two other rookies on the grid, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin who both drive for the Haas team. Mazepin spun out in turn 3 of lap 1 in his debut race, making it one to forget for the Russian rookie driver. Mick Schumacher who is famously the son of F1 legend and seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher, finished in 16th place.