Number 309: The 2021 Season Preview Issue

It’s time to go racing for the Formula 1 World Championship and NTT IndyCar Series, and the latest issue of RACER has you covered on getting up to speed on both.

F1 has already provided a glimpse of what could be in store for 2021, with a Bahrain Grand Prix opener that set the stage for a mighty battle between its two leading drivers and teams.

A decade ago, we didn’t get to see an intergenerational duel between the sport’s then-standout talents, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. When Lewis exploded on the F1 scene with McLaren in 2007, seven-time champion Schumacher was beginning a three-year sabbatical after leaving Ferrari. And when Michael returned with Mercedes in 2010, neither driver was in a genuinely title-contending seat. The opportunity to witness the battle our sport had craved was lost.

Fast forward to the present, and 36-year-old Hamilton remains at the height of his powers. Like Schumacher, he’s a seven-time world champion, and 2021 was supposed to be a nailed-on chance for him to stand alone on eight, courtesy of the continuing dominance of F1’s turbo-hybrid era by his Mercedes team.

Instead, Red Bull Racing and its next-gen standout, 23-year-old Max Verstappen, are shaping up to deliver us the battle of the generations we missed out on with Lewis and Michael, and Bahrain provided an exciting taster.

RACER’s F1 season preview sets up that Hamilton-Verstappen head to head, goes deep on what’s set to be an intense battle for midfield superiority, checks in on the return of Fernando Alonso, and looks at the pressures and expectations on F1’s second-gen Schumacher, Haas rookie Mick.   

Speaking of mighty battles, the NTT IndyCar Series is poised to deliver an even more competitive season in 2021. Ask the top guys how many drivers they feel will be in the thick of the title battle and it averages out in the double-digit range.

Scott Dixon is the reigning champ, and he could make history by matching A.J. Foyt’s seven titles this time around. We talk to the formidable Kiwi and the driver who ran him closest last year, Josef Newgarden. Plus, we check in with James Hinchcliffe, back in a full-time seat as one of Andretti Autosport’s “Fab Four,” and Felix Rosenqvist, who’s aiming for a breakout season with Arrow McLaren SP.

Add in a story on Canada-based Pfaff Motorsports’ Twelve Hours of Sebring GTD success, despite the challenges brought about by COVID-19, a sit-down with MotoGP rising star Franco Morbidelli, and a dive into World of Outlaws sprint-car racing with Sheldon Haudenschild, and we think you’ll enjoy spending some quality time with RACER No. 309.