What we are seeing now is not the normal as one driver leaves it has created a spate of driver swaps. Sebastien Vettel and Ferrari announced two days ago that they had come to their end of their contract at the end of the 2020 season. I believe this was bound to happen as Vettel was not happy with the current set up and was not on the same level in the Ferrari team as LeClerc.
Sainz as expected moved from McLaren to Ferrari to partner LeClerc for 2021. Sainz is Spanish but is also fluent in Italian which is important for commercial reasons. Daniel Riccrdo replaces Sainz at McLaren leaving an open seat at Renault. It is reported that Bottas is leaving Mercedes at the end of this season as well so that is now 2 open seats available.
Sebastien Vettel is German so I would not rule out a spin in the Mercedes for one or two seasons before retiring. This would bring more interest back to formula One as having Hamilton and Vettel racing against each other would be absolutely superb. Toto Wolff did hint about this the other day and it doesn't sound that unrealistic.
This is what we know already and things are moving quickly.
Mercedes are supplying engines to McLaren,Racing Point and Williams next year and having George Russel stay at Williams right now would be beneficial to Mercedes as well. Some expect him to take over Bottas position ,but I am not so sure. Bottas could be part of a swap deal with Williams which I wouldn't rule out either.
The two seats that are available are realistically just one depending on who still goes where. Alonso still could come back into the picture as well taking the Renault seat vacated by Riccardo. There is more action off the track making for some decent news and interesting partnerships.
Something is bugging me though and this is not as straight forward as it seems. This is all too easy and still think there is a high possibility of Williams doing something and if George Russel ends up in a Mercedes seat which could happen then Vettel would be a perfect 2 year driver for Williams developing their car.
Vettel being German and Mercedes being German still makes more of a perfect match even for a short stint as the idea of driving for a German company pulled Schumacher out of retirement. If Mercedes go with Russel then they would have two English drivers and a missed marketing opportunity. I think Maercedes would be unbeatable having Vettel and Hamilton together as they will be under attack now from Red Bull and McLaren. Ferrari will be in the mix, but in all honesty they have just weakened themselves considerably.
At the end of the day after all is said and done McLaren must be over the moon as they have come out of this driver swap the strongest so far. Swapping Sainz for Riccardo is a no brainer and it all depends on where Vettel goes to see who is going to be the happiest team. Riccardo with a Mercedes engine in a McLaren will be a possible title contender come 2021.
