With only a matter of days to go until the F1 season kicks off in Melbourne, Australia, it is time to look ahead at what the season holds. The winter months have seen a number of changes:
• A host of new or returning drivers to the field.
• Old heads such as Rubens Barrichello and Jarno Trulli departing the grid.
• Change in team names (very confusing).
• A new race in Austin, Texas.
• The emergence of the ugly stepped nose, front wing.
Twenty exciting races lie ahead of us, possibly only nineteen depending on the events in Bahrain. Hopefully a much closer season will be in store, with numerous drivers fighting it out for the title. It’s time to have a look at the teams and drivers.
Red Bull
Undoubtedly Red Bull remain the team to beat, as Sebastian Vettel aims to win a third consecutive drivers title. Mark Webber will be looking to improve on his troubled 2011 season, and bounce back with a vengeance. Once more it seems that with Adrian Newey at the helm, Red Bull have designed another super car, which will be competing at the very front of the grid. Testing has generally been very solid, and you have to suspect that come qualifying in Australia, there’s going to be at least one Red Bull on the front row. Placing a bet on Vettel for the title would be a safe, and slightly boring, choice.
McLaren
Amongst all the complaints of the ugly stepped nose car, McLaren have created a true beauty. To go with that the car seems quick, and there appears to be renewed optimism that McLaren can launch a competitive challenge to Red Bull this season. Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh commented: “Aided by a strong team and two hungry racing drivers, we should be expecting to win races and if we can win enough we can win the championship.” The quality of the two Englishmen behind the wheel, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton is without doubt, and after a turbulent 2011, Hamilton will be looking to answer his critics, and what better way than by claiming the title. It’s definitely possible.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso is evidently one of the most talented drivers on the grid, and of all time. However last year he was let down by a poor Ferrari car, and this year the same problem seems apparent. Ferrari opted for a bold, daring design to close the gap on the top two teams, but testing suggests that the plan has backfired. Instead Ferrari seem to be struggling for pace, and don’t properly understand their car. The team admits that mistakes have been made, and the first few races could be challenging, it’s a matter of whether they can close the gap, and if so how long that will take. Both drivers have been prohibited from speaking to the media, and for Felipe Massa, this is a crucial season as he looks to hold onto his seat for next year. If he is to, then a strong performance this year is required, but the current car may struggle to deliver that.
Mercedes
The Silver Arrows have retained the German duo of seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, and teammate Nico Rosberg, who still is searching for his maiden win. This year’s car appears to be decent, and there’s real optimism around Mercedes that they might surprise some people in Melbourne, and really push Red Bull and Mclaren. Ross Brawn is renowned for his fantastic design work, and despite not setting the world alight at testing, the general consensus in the paddock is that Mercedes are one to look out for. Their target for the season will be podiums and an elusive win, whilst aiming to close the gap to the top three teams, or even surpass them.
Lotus
It’s been all change at the Enstone based factory, with the most notable change being in name, with Renault now known as Lotus. The driver line up has been transformed as well, with “Ice Man”, Kimi Raikkonen returning to Formula 1, to be partnered by French GP2 Champion, Romain Grosjean, who returns for a second stint with the team, after the troubles of his half season in 2009. Despite having to pull out of the second test at Barcelona, the new Lotus has generally fared well, topping the time sheets on three of the four days of the final test. Nevertheless testing is hard to judge, and it’s unlikely that in Australia, they’ll be at the front. However the car is undoubtedly a step forward and it’ll be interesting to see how it fares over the course of the season, as the team’s performance dropped off massively in the second half of 2011.
Force India
Scot Paul Di Resta remains at Force India for a second season, and is joined by German Nico Hulkenberg, who replaces the unfortunate Adrian Sutil. On paper this looks an exciting line up, with plenty of potential for the future and raw talent in abundance. The car has also performed well in testing, and gone are the days when Force India just made up the numbers. Instead they are a solid midfield team, who will be pushing to try and wrestle the fifth spot of Lotus. Many have predicted them to start the season strongly, and they’ll be looking to feature in the points in Australia. The second half of last season was very successful, and the team will be aiming to continue that strong run of form and pull away from their other midfield competitors.
Sauber
Despite key changes to backroom personnel at Sauber, with the departure of James Key, the 2012 car seems a solid mid runner. Through pre-season testing it has shown glimpses of raw pace, but times are difficult to judge with the varied fuel loads and tyre choices. Sauber have maintained their 2011 driver line up of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez, and both drivers will look to impress, to secure themselves a seat for next year, and boost their chances of landing a drive for one of the top teams. Over the years Sauber have been one of the proverbial mid-field teams, and in all likelihood the same will occur this year. They will be looking to push Lotus and Force India, whilst battling with the likes of Torro Rosso, and the aim for Australia will be to sneak into the points.
Torro Rosso
The Red Bull sister team have dumped their 2011 pairing of Jaime Alguesuari, who is now a BBC pundit, and Sebastian Buemi, the new Red Bull reserve driver. Instead they have been replaced by a new duo of drivers from the Red Bull youth programme, in the shape of Daniel Riccardio and Jean-Eric Vergne. Both are relatively inexperienced, and many pundits believe that they are battling it out to land the seat alongside Vettel at Red Bull in the future. Again in all likelihood Torro Rosso will be a midfield team, looking to scrape some points, and it’ll be fascinating to watch the battle between the two young drivers over the course of the season.
Williams
2011 was a year to forget for Williams, who endured an absolute nightmare season. This time the car seems slightly better, but its hard to tell from the limited testing we’ve had. Williams will be aiming to haul themselves back into the midfield battle, and then past the likes of Sauber, Force India and Torro Rosso. Venezuelan Pastor Maldonaldo, is fortunate to be given a second year at the team, mainly due to the money he brings in, and has been joined by Bruno Senna. The name Senna returning to Williams being one of the stories of the winter break. However both drivers have failed to impress in the past and a potentially weak driver line up, might hinder the resurgence of the team. A lot will depend on the car, which surely must be better than last year.
Caterham
To add to the confusion, the team previously known as Lotus, have changed their name to Caterham. They have retained their green and yellow livery however, and Finn Heikki Kovellainen remains for a third season at the team. He is joined by Russian Vitaly Petrov, who recently replaced F1 stalwart Jarno Trulli, bringing a large sum of money with him. The car seems to have improved once more, and there is renewed optimism that the team can close the gap and compete with the mid-field runners. The target for the season will be a first point for the team, and that would be a success, which can realistically be achieved by a team demonstrating definite improvement.
Marussia
Another team which has changed their name, this time from Virgin Racing. The team has had a turbulent pre season, failing to make any of the three pre season tests, with its new car, so Australia will largely be a step out into the unknown. Timo Glock continues at Marussia, and is joined by French Rookie Charles Pic. A tough season at the back of the grid though looms for the two drivers, who in all likelihood will have only Hispania for company. If by some miracle the team do score a point, they’ll be delighted, but I can’t see it happening.
Hispania
The Spanish based team have also failed to run their new car at any of the pre season testing sessions, and have a tricky task ahead of them for the season. Managing to get inside the 107% rule will be the main target, and they’ll hope they’ve designed a reliable, and semi-competitive car. They claim that the 2012 car is a step forward, but in reality that isn’t saying much. Even the drivers line up is dull with 41 year old Pedro De La Rosa, partnering 35 tear old Nurain Kartikheyan, in the oldest line up in the field. Most of the season will be spent trundling around at the back, if the car doesn’t break down, hopefully some improvement can be made, but competing with the major teams is in all likelihood out of the question.
So there you have it, a look at all of the teams. It’s hard to gauge from pre season testing the outcome of the season, but clearly some teams are in a better shape than others. We’ll know much more after this weekend in Australia.
Vision Predictions – Drivers’ Championship
1st: Sebastian Vettel
2nd: Lewis Hamilton
3rd: Jenson Button
Constructors’ Championship
1st: McLaren
2nd: Red Bull
3rd: Mercedes