Hanukkah concluded a few days ago and we are approaching Christmas again, and for another year we will got over a list of goodies for many people, series, racetracks and other entities in motorsports. It has been a difficult year for almost all of us, and we need a holiday season to sit-back and relax.
There are plenty of people who could use a nice gift this year. This year, we are looking out for others. We are looking to make everyone's life a little bit better. Ok, maybe not everyone, some people are getting things they might not say they want but actually need.
Let's get started!
To Jimmie Johnson: A second off his lap time in an IndyCar. He is going to need it.
To Oliver Askew: Team owners that actually care about him and listen.
To Scott Dixon: A guarantee there will not be a caution in the final ten laps of the Indianapolis 500.
To Alexander Rossi: Fewer mechanical issues.
To Will Power: Fewer mechanical issues than Rossi.
To Simon Pagenaud: Better qualifying pace.
To Josef Newgarden: Five years of job security. Too often Power and Pagenaud are hinted as being out the door because they only won two races and finished in the top five of the championship. Newgarden deserves safety into his mid-30s.
To Scott McLaughlin: A year worth the move.
To Graham Rahal: The results that correspond to the speed.
To Takuma Sato: More time at home.
To Spencer Pigot: People remembering he exists.
To Álex Palou: Three years with Chip Ganassi Racing.
To Marcus Ericsson: A pogo stick.
To Tony Kanaan: An Indianapolis 500 ride until he is 50 years old.
To Ryan Hunter-Reay: One final contract to end his career.
To James Hinchcliffe: More time as a driver and less time as a commentator.
To Marco Andretti: One season to silence the doubters. And more sports car racing. An entry into the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans.
To Colton Herta: A trip to Le Mans.
To Sébastien Bourdais: The best season for an A.J. Foyt Racing driver in twenty years.
To Felix Rosenqvist: A longer leash than James Hinchcliffe and Oliver Askew got.
To Patricio O'Ward: A 30-second glimpse into the future just to keep him on good terms with Arrow McLaren SP.
To Jack Harvey: Race results that are equal to his qualifying results.
To Hélio Castroneves: No embarrassing moments where he accidentally walks into a Team Penske hauler or pit box or drives through a Team Penske pit stall.
To Conor Daly: Three positions off his average finish on road/street courses.
To Max Chilton: At least one top ten finish, maybe even two.
To Rinus VeeKay: Three clean days at Texas Motor Speedway.
To Ed Carpenter: Less contact as an innocent bystander.
To J.R. Hildebrand: Jumping to the front of the line of future television commentators. He is the smartest man for the job.
To Dale Coyne Racing: A speedy and successful driver search.
To DragonSpeed: A second shot at IndyCar down the line.
To Carlin: The ability to run two cars full-time.
To Juncos Racing: At least an Indianapolis 500 one-off.
To Zach Veach: A soft-landing in sports cars.
To Sage Karam: A full season in Indy Lights to revive his career.
To Stefan Wilson: An Indianapolis 500 entry for at least two consecutive years.
To IndyCar: A third manufacture that wants to be there.
To Indy Lights: At least 16 full-time cars and a return of the Freedom 100.
To Kyle Kirkwood: A year back on his career for losing 2020.
To Alex Peroni: Keeping all four wheels on the ground in his rookie Indy Lights season.
To Fontana: One final 500-mile IndyCar race.
To Long Beach: A highly successful event in 2021 that ensures its long-term future.
To Barber Motorsports Park: A successful IndyCar return in 2021 and, as always, a MotoGP round.
To Circuit of the Americas: Financial solvency.
To Iowa Speedway: An IndyCar race and a NASCAR Cup race. The fact Iowa is reduced to only having an ARCA race in 2021 is a crime.
To Chicagoland Speedway and Kentucky Speedway: An event to keep the doors open. Look, they might be 1.5-mile ovals, but they are home racetracks to someone, and I wish after the shakeups of the 1990s and 2000s NASCAR would have realized no track should be effectively closed.
To Lewis Hamilton: Respect of a seven-time World Drivers' Champion.
To Sergio Pérez: More than a year with Red Bull.
To Max Verstappen: The Dutch Grand Prix happening in 2021.
To Nico Hülkenberg: Another crack in a full-time Formula One ride.
To George Russell: Another chance in a Mercedes.
To Mercedes: Better pit stop execution when under the gun.
To Fernando Alonso: Fewer headaches than his last stint in Formula One.
To Pierre Gasly: An eventual second shot at Red Bull Racing.
To Yuki Tsunoda: A Formula One career beyond Honda's involvement.
To Sebastian Vettel: Aston Martin's pace being close to Racing Point's pace
To Carlos Sainz, Jr.: Extra testing time in the Ferrari.
To Charles Leclerc: The thing he wants more than anything else in 2021... a PlayStation 5.
To Ferrari: Loads of pit stop practice.
To Kimi Räikkönen: Accepting retirement is not a bad choice.
To Valtteri Bottas: Peace and tranquility.
To Esteban Ocon: A do-over for 2020.
To Romain Grosjean: Neosporin.
To Mick Schumacher: A Haas car worth his time.
To Haas F1: A second driver with human decency.
To Callum Ilott: Maybe that second Haas seat, if not, some high-level sports car racing.
To Pietro Fittipaldi: A full season in a series somewhere.
To Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris: A shot in the third McLaren IndyCar on a Formula One off weekend. Perhaps one can get Nashville and the other can take the second IMS road course race with the NASCAR weekend.
To Nicholas Latifi: Getting noticed for all the right reasons.
To Alexander Albon: A race seat that he can enjoy in 2021.
To Williams F1: A handful of points to get started.
To Portimão: A full-time Formula One and MotoGP race.
To Yas Marina: A billion-dollar do-over because there is no way it could screw up on that track layout a second time.
To: Bahrain: The chutzpah to make the perimeter circuit the permanent circuit of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
To Heineken: Two other Formula One retirees for its commercial than the Rosbergs. We will take anybody, sans Jacques Villeneueve. And any other song other than "Cat's in the Cradle."
To the world of GT Racing: A formula that is widely accepted that can be the premier GT Class at Le Mans.
To global sports car community: No major date conflicts.
To the Dubai 24 Hours: Dry weather.
To DTM: At least 16 capable GT3 entires for a sprint championship.
To Jenson Button: A diverse calendar that includes starts in DTM, multiple GT3 competitions and an IndyCar.
To IMSA: A points system where the points actually matter and make sense.
To Corvette: BMW committing to a full IMSA season with two cars in GTLM, a Scuderia Corsa Ferrari, a privateer Aston Martin and a privateer Porsche running full-time.
To Audi and Porsche: Speedy and effortless development of LMDh entries.
To René Rast: A key role in the development of the Audi LMDh entry.
To Kevin Magnussen: Avoiding getting on Chip Ganassi's nerve.
To Nick Tandy: A NASCAR race. He is now driving for Corvette; someone should be able to make this happen.
To Jordan Taylor: Same as Nick Tandy. Seriously? Why didn't this happen in 2020?
To Felipe Nasr: A handful of IndyCar starts.
To Pipo Derani: A handful of IndyCar starts.
To João Barbosa: A full-time DPi ride.
To Paul Miller Racing: IMSA officials understanding that no means no when it comes to the team's number.
To United Autosports: I am not sure what else you can give the team that has won everything it enters. How about steak dinners for the entire team?
To the Asian Le Mans Series: More exciting races at Yas Marina than Formula One.
To the Bathurst 12 Hour: A successful return in 2022 with many guest drivers from around the world.
To the Red Bull Ring: No red flags for any of its MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 or MotoE races.
To Marc Márquez: A clean bill of health.
To the other three Honda MotoGP riders: Results that are at least in the ballpark with Marc Márquez.
To Joan Mir: A season that proves 2020 was not a fluke.
To Fabio Quartararo A better balanced Yamaha.
To Maverick Viñales: A better balanced Yamaha as well.
To Valentino Rossi: A 200th podium finish.
To Andrea Dovizioso: One more shot on a capable bike.
To Aprilia: A more competitive bike.
To Garrett Gerloff, Joe Roberts and Cameron Beaubier: American interest in American riders abroad.
To Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López: A Le Mans victory.
To Gustavo Menezes: A competitive Hypercar opportunity.
To Juan Pablo Montoya: A shot at the overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
To NASCAR fans: Not getting moody over the number of road course races.
To Kevin Harvick: Dry days and properly inflated tires.
To Kyle Busch: Less frustration and a healthy relationship with Ben Beshore.
To Martin Truex, Jr.: His pit crew not mixing up his tires.
To Denny Hamlin: A guarantee Junior Johnson will remain the driver with the most Cup victories without a championship.
To Chase Briscoe: A rookie season that does his team owner proud.
To Ryan Blaney: Better results at Darlington, Richmond and Bristol.
To Alex Bowman: No one comparing his results in the #48 Chevrolet to Jimmie Johnson.
To Bubba Wallace and 23XI Racing: A respectable inaugural season.
To Erik Jones: A top-20 championship finish.
To Austin Cindric: More head and leg room.
To James Davison: A Cup car worth his time and an Indianapolis 500 entry too.
To Ryan Briscoe: A full-time sports car ride and maybe another crack at IndyCar. Briscoe can drive pretty much anything.
To the World Rally Championship: At least 12 rounds and an exciting championship that goes to the wire.
To Sébastien Ogier: A fond farewell.
To Elfyn Evans: Keeping it on the road when it matters most.
To Robert Kubica: A second (or third... or possibly fourth) shot at rallying.
To the Race of Champions: Actually running an event. It going to be two years. I know we are in a pandemic and the landscape of motorsports has changed a lot over the last 20 years and it makes it tougher for such an event to take place, but it is still possible.
To Formula E: Accepting that events can be successful at permanent racetracks and not dropping tens of millions of dollars on one-day street races.
To António Félix da Costa: An IndyCar start with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
To Nick Cassidy: A painless switch to racing in a more European-based championship.
To Naoki Yamamoto: More international exposure.
To Ryō Hirakawa: An extra gallon of fuel and stopping for tires on the right lap.
To Super GT: The ability to safely contest its flyaway races at Buriram and Sepang.
To Supercars: A return to Adelaide.
To the Australian S5000 Championship: A full season that grabs the world's attention.
To Alex Zanardi: A full recovery.
To the entire motorsports world: The appropriate amount of iRacing being broadcasted. Not too much, but not too little, the adequate amount.
More importantly, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. I want to wish everyone good health and that everyone can stay safe this winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the southern half of the world. We all want 2021 to be better. We want to return to a semblance of normalcy, and we want to be able to go to races and travel and see friends and families.
Here's to Christmas, the holidays and the New Year. May everyone have a lovely time with whatever friends and family you can see.
