Some weeks ago I discovered the country nation in motocross and I really enjoyed the mechanics and the drama of it. So I thought, will a competition similar to this be good in F1?
Written by Thomas Bergamo, Edited by Janvi Unni
So, let’s start from the two most important things: the car and the lineup. The car used would be the same for everyone: same engine, same chassis. The only thing that can be personalized is the car setup. So the manufacturer would be the same for every team. Another important thing are the lineups. Drivers can have enough super-license points (50 at the moment) for racing in a Formula1 car. Drivers’ choice ought to be very important, because a single driver can decide the winning of this title.
How many teams can enter in this competition? While I was reading the F1 rules book, my eye fell upon an interesting rule: the maximum drivers allowed in the grid is 26. So that means that we will have a maximum of thirteen teams.
If there are more than thirteen teams, how can the FIA decide which team enters and which does not? In this case there would be semifinals and then, at the distance of months, the final.
Which circuit will be chosen for hosting it and with which criteria? The circuit that will host the nations will be drawn before the starting of the season. Firstly, all the circuits that haven’t passed the A1 FIA graduation test are excluded. Secondly, the street circuits won’t host it, for not creating too much economic damage to the city. Third main criteria: before the draw, the representatives of the various circuits must show their desire to host it. If they are drawn, they can’t refuse. They can abort it only for major causes.
The week-end structure will be almost the same as a normal week-end: Free Practices on Friday, Qualifyings and Race 1 on Saturday (45 minutes race) and Race 2 (normal race). Qualifying will determine the grid order of Race 2. Race 1 order, instead, will be composed of inverted TOP 10 qualifiers results.
The team who gets the pole will earn four points. Race 1 points system will be the same as a Formula 2 sprint race (top 8 will take points). Race 2, instead, will give the same points as a normal race. At the end, the team who will have more points will win.
Country National points won’t count in the Formula 1 championship, because it’s a separate event.
Last but most importantly, I’ll tell you the 2021 line-ups:
Team England: Lewis Hamilton – George Russell.
Team Netherlands: Max Verstappen – Nyck De Vries.
Team Germany: Sebastian Vettel – Mick Schumacher.
Team México: Sergio Pérez – Patricio O’Ward.
Team Italy: Antonio Giovinazzi – Antonio Fuoco.
Team Spain: Carlos Sainz – Fernando Alonso.
Team Finland: Kimi Räikkönen – Valtteri Bottas.
Team Belgium: Stoffel Vandoorne – Lando Norris (he has Belgian citizenship).
Team FIA (because Russia has been Disqualified from WADA): Danil Kvyat – Robert Shwartzman.
Team France: Pierre Gasly – Jean-Eric Vergne.
Team Australia: Daniel Ricciardo – Oscar Piastri
Team Canada: Lance Stroll – Nicholas Latifi.
Team Japan: Yuki Tsunoda – Kamui Kobayashi.
Team Brazil: Lucas Di Grassi – Felipe Drugovich (if he can reach top 5. If not the reserve driver would be Pietro Fittipaldi).
Photo Credit: https://www.tim-holmes.com/
