Formula 1 has reached its halfway mark and typically that would mean a summer break in which silly season would explode into life.
Such is the reshaped nature of 2020 that there is no summer break, major moves occurred before the first round, while three drivers entered the opening race knowing they would be leaving their current teams.
Of the remaining front-running vacancies Lewis Hamilton is widely expected to put pen to paper on a new contract at Mercedes while Alexander Albon’s maiden podium was a timely accomplishment for a driver under pressure at Red Bull.
Red Bull’s junior-turned-sister outfit AlphaTauri has yet to finalise its line-up but Pierre Gasly will not be going anywhere while the identity of his team-mate is highly likely to remain in-house. Red Bull and Honda protégé Yuki Tsunoda, who will drive in the Abu Dhabi test, needs an eminently-possible fourth in Formula 2 to capture the required Super Licence points for a 2021 debut. If another Formula 2 season is required, either through necessity or through Red Bull’s own choice, then incumbent Dany Kvyat – a veteran of over 100 races and three podiums – can stay on.
It leaves the main focus on Alfa Romeo and Haas as Formula 1 enters its restructured second half of the season.
Neither team has a confirmed line-up, neither appears to be in an exceptional rush, and both have several drivers from which to choose.
Alfa Romeo has fielded Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi since 2019 but will it continue with thar pairing?
Team boss Frederic Vasseur intimated at Mugello that the squad, which is close to renewing its alliance with Ferrari, would sit down this month and assess its situation.
Vasseur suggested that continuing with Raikkonen would depend on the Finn’s willingness to remain into 2021, by which time he will be Formula 1’s most experienced driver.
Raikkonen, who turns 41 next month, has repeatedly insisted he is in no hurry and has yet to decide if he wants to commit to another season.
As a World Champion with almost 100 podiums to his name he still has to determine whether he has the fire to merely scrap for points for one more year – but that is not his number one priority.
Alfa Romeo’s location in Switzerland, where Raikkonen calls home, is convenient for a man who does not want to miss his young children growing up.
“The bigger picture is much more important for me,” he said last month. “Family comes first. The kids are getting bigger. This year I have been able to be home more, so it’s great.”
It is not necessarily a dead cert that the thumbs up from Raikkonen will result in the green light from Alfa Romeo.
Vasseur is an admirer of the currently sidelined Nico Hulkenberg, who was briefly a candidate for Giovinazzi’s 2020 seat, while Sergio Perez – whose Formula 1 journey began with Sauber in 2011 – is also a free agent after losing his Racing Point seat to Sebastian Vettel.
Ferrari holds sway over Alfa Romeo’s second seat, currently occupied by Giovinazzi, and previously by Charles Leclerc in 2018.
Giovinazzi’s progress in his second full campaign has been dented by the C39’s overall lack of pace but his performances, allied with Ferrari’s wealth of youngsters in Formula 2, do not augur well for his 2021 prospects. There is no room at the top team while the next generation are snapping at his heels.
Mick Schumacher currently leads the standings – and tested for Alfa Romeo in 2019 – while he is being chased by Callum Ilott and fourth-placed Robert Shwartzman.
Schumacher’s leap to the top of the Formula 2 standings at Mugello was well-timed, coming a week after his maiden Feature Race win at Monza, and commercially he is the most attractive of Ferrari’s juniors.
His history shows he takes a year to get accustomed to a new category so if he is to step up then his suitor must be prepared to accept 2021 as a low-key season.
Ilott has been the quickest of Ferrari’s trio in one-lap pace while rookie Shwartzman has had bigger peaks and troughs and has solid financial support in the form of SMP Racing and other parties.
Haas has only changed drivers once in its Formula 1 history, when Kevin Magnussen replaced Esteban Gutierrez for 2017, joining stalwart Romain Grosjean.
Haas weighed up Hulkenberg for 2020 but could not reach an agreement, which was in conjunction with a desire to retain Grosjean for his technical nous, after his ultimately correct insistence to shelve the updates that dragged the VF-19 down the order.
But a year on the team has been as receptive as it has ever been to a potential change, with boss Guenther Steiner commenting that up to 10 drivers are on its shortlist.
That likely includes its current pairing, Hulkenberg and Perez, who has outlined his desire to remain in Formula 1 with a long-term project.
Such a stance mirrors the viewpoint held by Steiner, who is keen for any restructured pairing to race in 2021 and 2022, when overhauled regulations are introduced.
Haas has been aligned with Ferrari since it joined Formula 1 but while Leclerc (2016) and Giovinazzi (2017) both had run-outs in test and practice sessions the relationship has not yet extended to a race seat. Haas also officially has Pietro Fittipaldi and Louis Deletraz on its books as reserve drivers.
Steiner has not yet ruled out anything regarding Haas’ line-up and has indicated that there is no rush to confirm its 2021 drivers, with neither Grosjean nor Magnussen having begun talks as of Mugello.
“Do we want the experienced drivers, do we want young drivers, do we want a mix, everything is on the table,” said Steiner at Mugello. “And the table gets fuller and fuller by the day at the moment which is a good thing because then you have a choice, and choices are always good.”
Narrowing down those choices is the task for both Alfa Romeo and Haas in the coming weeks.
