F1's Welcome Return of Ferrari vs McLaren

There is no doubt that 2021 will go down as one of the best seasons for a championship fight in the modern era of F1, if not ever. Max Verstappen's year-long duel with Lewis Hamilton, and indeed, their respective employers of Red Bull and Mercedes, have not relented at any point. And still, if you look past the front row, there has been a fascinating battle arguably worthy of similar coverage thanks to the significance of the teams involved. Two of the sport's titans have locked horns in a scrap that harkens back to their glory days. I, of course, am talking about Ferrari and McLaren and the race to claim third place in the constructors' championship.

It may not be like the late 2000s, with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen taking on Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton for F1's top trophy. Yet, it has just as much importance for these two teams. Both look to accelerate their redemption arc after downturns in their fortunes. With McLaren, they fell behind to be the laughingstock of the grid for far too long after the failure of their Honda partnership. For Ferrari, their slip-up may only be relatively short, after a humbling 2020 year that saw them reach only P6 in the table.

Yet, irrespective of the length of time away from the top, a 2021 third place in the constructors' standings will be a psychological (and financial) boost. It signals that they are the heirs to a race victory should Mercedes or Red Bull struggle. McLaren demonstrated that with Daniel Ricciardo's triumph at Monza, of all places. Hell, it could've been two victories for the Woking team if the rain held off at Sochi one race later when Lando Norris looked set to take his first-ever P1 finish.

Even though the Scuderia haven't mustered a race win in 2021, they do look like they are going to be the ones who will emerge victorious in this sub-battle after F1's latest and final triple-header this year. The pendulum swing over the Mexico-Brazil-Qatar events between McLaren and Ferrari will hurt the British outfit hard. They looked set to be the ones to retain the metaphorical bronze medal they clinched last year. I'll say I'm surprised that the 39.5 point deficit they now sit behind Ferrari is as sizeable as it is, considering they led their Italian counterparts just three races ago. However, when I stop to think about it, it's not too hard to believe.

Ahead of the season, I would've argued that Ferrari and McLaren each had hired a pair of equal drivers. I am certain Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are capable of a drivers' world championship apiece. In the right machinery, like, say, the all-conquering Mercedes W11 of 2020, the two would fight tooth and nail as we saw Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg do in 2016. Equally, back in January, the idea that Norris and Ricciardo could do the same wouldn't be preposterous, neither. Ricciardo, the race-winning, late-braking, overtaking king, could teach young Norris a thing or two to help fulfill his potential. And it's there we find McLaren's 2021 problem.

Despite his podium in Austria last year, some people still have harbored doubts about Lando's ability. 2021 will have convinced them otherwise with his three third-place finishes, one P2, and that oh-so-nearly-win in Russia. The young Brit sat third in the championship standings for much of this season, while Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas in much faster machinery faltered behind. But he has fought McLaren's corner almost by himself for much of the year and could be running out of steam. He now sits only one point ahead of Leclerc, 7.5 points ahead of Sainz, and could face a lowly P7 finish despite those early-season heroics.