F1 2021: Top 5 disappointments of the season

The F1 2021 season was one of the best seasons the sport has seen in a long time. There were multiple breakout performances like the ones from McLaren's Lando Norris or Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.

Concurrently, however, the F1 season did not paint everyone in a positive light. In many of those cases, the protagonists had only themselves to blame. This piece takes a look at the top 5 disappointments of the F1 2021 season.

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Top 5 disappointments of the F1 2021 season

#1 The FIA and the gross race mis-management

Ever since F1 was taken over by Liberty Media, there has been a consistent push towards transitioning F1 from being a niche sport to a more mainstream product.

The endeavor has resulted in standing starts after a Red Flag stoppage, introduction of the sprint race, F1's partnership with Netflix, etc., amongst other things.

There's nothing wrong with bringing in more entertainment to the sport. The trouble starts when the execution is so haywire that the race director appears like an amateur when all is said and done.

The SC restart at the Abu Dhabi GP, if it had happened on lap 56 instead of lap 57, might not have courted the ensuing controversy. It's the lack of clarity that's hurting F1 and its image after such an impressive season on track.

#2 Toto Wolff and Christian Horner

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner had an intense rivalry throughout 2021 to the point that what they were talking about started to lose relevance. The jabs that each of Wolff and Horner made on each other week after week had their effect. Add to it the title battle's intensity, and you had both Wolff and Horner on the radio with Michael Masi instructing him on what he needed to do.

Toto Wolff, in particular, seemed to lose the plot more often, when he started smashing headphones in front of the camera and showing a vast array of emotions every time something happened in the race. Somewhere, if the two had acted with a semblance of professionalism, maybe the title battle would not have had so much drama attached to it.

#3 Daniel Ricciardo

Going beyond the F1 championship contenders, we had other drivers on the grid as well that probably didn't get even half the attention they normally would have at the end of the season.

Daniel Ricciardo was one of them and he would surely be one of the drivers on the grid that breathed a sigh of relief when the season ended. Primarily because the 2021 season was his least competitive season against his teammates in F1.

Ricciardo, a star signing in F1 for McLaren, did not find the car he was driving in 2021 suited to his style and it showed. The way his teammate Lando Norris one-upped the Australian is a testament to the Brit's talent at the level of struggle Ricciardo faced with that car. Sure, the win at Monza was a relief, but on the whole, the 2021 F1 season was the one to forget for Ricciardo.

#4 Alpine and Aston Martin

The F1 2021 season had a lot of anticipation around it even before it had started. The anticipation was not only around Red Bull and Mercedes, it was also around the midfield that potentially had five teams with some amazing drivers in their cars expected to fight it out for midfield honors.

Ferrari and McLaren were able to rise to the challenge, while Alpha Tauri surely had its moments during the season. Both Aston Martin and Alpine, however, were bitter disappointments this season.

Both teams were a step behind the midfield. Alpine, thoroughly helped by the drivers that they had, was able to secure fifth in the championship. For the team that dreamt of a title in five years when it joined F1, however, this was a humbling experience. Aston Martin, on its part, lost its way because of the changes in regulations and could never fight back.

There were flashes in the pan for both teams, but overall, they should be severely disappointed with the effort they put together.

#5 Yuki Tsunoda

For a young Japanese rookie who made his F1 debut with Alpha Tauri, Yuki Tsunoda had a fantastic first race and an even better last race of the season, but in between, the other 20 races were just below par.

Tsunoda, a driver whose debut was termed one of the best rookies ever by Ross Brawn and Helmut Marko, had an apparently disappointing season. Possessing a record of 21-1 in qualifying in their first season are poor returns for any driver. Such was the case with Tsunoda, a driver that surely had potential but had not been able to put it to use in F1. Hopefully, the last F1 race in Abu Dhabi was more of the norm than an exception for the young driver.