Separations anticipated in Abu Dhabi, final round 2020

Without stakes for the two titles, the last race of the 2020 season is still historic in many ways. Five drivers will officially drive for the last time with their respective teams, not to mention Romain Grosjean, already gone by force of circumstances and assured to leave F1 like his teammate at Haas.

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To this list, there are two uncertainties, two drivers who are not sure if they’ll find their seat in 2021. In short, nearly half of the grid will leave their team this Sunday after the checkered flag!

The end of an adventure… before the start of another

3 drivers on the grid are currently in this situation: the last race with their current team. But we’ll see them next year in Formula 1 under new colors:

Sebastian Vettel: 5 years after the beginning of their collaboration, the four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel, will leave Scuderia Ferrari without having won any titles with the team, following a final nightmare 2020 season… 13th in the drivers’ standings and only one podium in a very particular context!

His latest goal is to finish the Italian adventure on a high note. At least that’s how the future Aston Martin driver presented his last weekend in red during the press conference this Thursday. “I have no regrets. It’s important to finish the work with decency,” he recalled, mentioning among the highlights his first victory with Ferrari at the end of March 2015 during the Malaysian Grand Prix, and his mistake at Hockenheim in 2018 as a decisive moment.

« I have no regrets. It’s important to finish the job with decency » Sebastian Vettel

Carlos Sainz: Successor to Vettel at Ferrari, will the Spanish driver do better? While waiting to find out, the future ex-McLaren driver is preparing to say goodbye… to his teammate Lando Norris. The end of a two-season friendship, which has been beneficial off the track. A friendship summarized in a film published on the team’s social media, featuring the two boys through puppets. “Everything has been very natural from the first day I met Lando,” summarized Sainz this Thursday.

We’re off to the movies for a trip down memory lane with @Carlossainz55 and @LandoNorris. ????️

This is a rewind like you’ve never seen before. It’s #NoStringsAttached style. ????

Watch the full video ???? https://t.co/A5ZaCSoeSY pic.twitter.com/Q8aQ7Bcq0A

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 9, 2020

Daniel Ricciardo: Also joining his team in 2019, Ricciardo leaves Renault to join McLaren as a replacement for Sainz. Before that, the Australian has two goals in sight: fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship and third position in the Constructors’ Championship. « Everything remains to be done. We will aim for a great performance together once again to conclude this year and my adventure beautifully! »

It should be noted that Vettel, Sainz, or Ricciardo are not allowed to participate in the young drivers’ test day after the Grand Prix, unlike veteran Fernando Alonso, who will get accustomed to the Renault. A decision not approved by his Spanish compatriot, future Ferrari driver.

The simple end of the adventure

Kévin Magnussen: Ejected from their seats by the Haas F1 Team, Magnussen’s career end differs from that of his teammate. At 28, the Dane will be on the track in Abu Dhabi before heading to the American endurance championship IMSA.

Revealed by McLaren in 2014 (a 3rd place from his first race), moved to Renault in 2016 before heading to Haas, Magnussen said in front of the media this Thursday: he is at peace with himself. Jan’s son added, clear-eyed: I know that in motorsport, you can never say never. In Formula 1, anything can happen. But I am ready to consider this race as my last.

« In Formula 1, anything can happen. But I am ready to consider this race as my last. » Kévin Magnussen

Romain Grosjean: “K-Mag” at least has the opportunity to take a 119th start: quite the opposite of Grosjean, who will watch the last race of his career from his couch in Switzerland. This is, of course, the consequence of the terrible accident at the Bahrain Grand Prix: the main thing is elsewhere for the Frenchman, who is starting to remove his bandages. We wish Grosjean one last ride, with Mercedes or at the 2021 French Grand Prix, to receive a deserved tribute for a career punctuated by 10 podiums.

The end, perhaps?

In this last category, we find two drivers linked by the same fate: the second Red Bull seat. Winner in Sakhir and still on his high, Sergio Pérez wants to finish his adventure, which started in 2014 at Force India-Racing Point, “in style.” However, the Mexican has only one option to continue in F1: take the seat previously occupied by Alex Albon, who has been disappointing in this latter part of the season. But the Thai driver didn’t seek sympathy for his situation during the press conference. With a positive outlook: still one race to go, there’s no room to slow down. We must give our best. Albon or Pérez, barring any improbable turn of events, there won’t be room for both drivers at the start of the next season in 2021.

Finally, the confirmation has not yet come, but Daniil Kvyat should leave F1 this Sunday evening, replaced by the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda, who has validated his super license. The Russian is once again dismissed from the Red Bull pipeline, as in 2016. But Kvyat clings to the dream, hoping that this departure in Abu Dhabi will not be the last: I feel that I still have a lot to offer to any team. I feel like a complete driver.

« I feel that I still have a lot to give to any team. » Daniil Kvyat