2011 F1 SEASON PREVIEW
Well I'd been originally planning to write this article two weeks ago, however F1 then had it's worst ever start to a season. As in the season hasn't even started yet. However the sport is still standing and now it's time from an F1 fans perspective to try and put the last few weeks behind us and get ready for the show that will be happening. Starting now in Australia we are set for 19 races on five continents. Last time around, the highest finishing Brit was Lewis Hamilton(4th). The last Brit to finish in the world championship top three was Jenson Button in '09 and he went on to claim the title. Both of those guys are ready to roll for another year, both could become the first British multiple world champion since Jackie Stewart(second title 1971, third in '73) more on them later. Let's see how they and their competition are looking.
We start with Red Bull where Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber are paired up for the third year in a row. Vettel, well he's the reigning world champion but his team were possibly a little generous with him last season. Webber, well he's a quality driver in his own right but you have to wonder, has his window of opportunity for a championship gone. Ultimately it comes down to, will the team treat their drivers equally? One thing is for certain, Vettel will go all guns blazing to retain his title. What will Webber be able to do in response? I'll be surprised if the Aussie doesn't end the season without picking up any more race wins but the fact is, I'm also surprised he's still at Red Bull given the events of last year. I can't see him in the title race.
So, now we have Lewis and Jenson, my guys at McLaren paired up for the second year in a row. Well this time last year people were saying that they wouldn't get on...well the haters are looking like idiots now. One thing is also certain though, given equal machinary and treatment, Lewis did prove himself better than Jenson so I'd say he's the more likely of the two to be going for the title. However Jenson also proved once and for all last year that he is no mug. I'll be surprised if he doesn't pick up a win or two, assuming that the team have come up with a car worthy of both drivers' skills! However as a fan of both drivers, I have to admit that Lewis is likely to still have the edge...unless the new tyre regulations cause him trouble!
Next we have Ferrari, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa paired up for the second year in a row. Massa, like Webber is a guy who I'm surprised hasn't switched teams - despite the Brazilian's longer history with the team and the fact that he came within an inch of winning the title in '08..."Fernando is faster than you?" well he certainly has the team wrapped round his finger. Which means that realistically only one of the Ferrari drivers is going to get a shot at the 2011 title and it'll be the scummiest individual on the grid. Yet Alonso is credit where credit's due a top quality driver and did come within an inch of picking up the title last year and surely will be in the title mixer this time around. Maybe Massa will get a win...if the team let him.
At Mercedes we have Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Well with all due respect to Ross Brawn, bringing Schumacher out of retirement proved to be a bit of a disaster. The former god of F1 wasn't even able to make it on to the podium for crying out loud! In the meantime, his teammate who's usually meant to just bow down to him...really showed him up. Yet Schumacher is going to be hanging around a bit longer it seems - boasting that he's ready to compete for the title. Me? I might start believing it if he ever gets near his old form but Schumacher fans shouldn't bet the bank account on it. Maybe a win each for both drivers - we'll see.
As for Renault, well...before Bahrain self-destructed the biggest story in F1 was Robert Kubica suffering a serious crash while rallying and well...what 'wasn't' undamaged? His hand still isn't functioning fully so there was no way he was going to start the season. As someone who's always respected him, that was gutting. Vitaly Petrov in the meantime, will stick around for a second season. Teaming up with him will be Nick Heidfeld, snapped up effectively from Sauber after he served as an injury replacement there for the back end of last season. The loss of Kubica though will surely flat-tyre Renault's season and I can see them picking up podiums at best.
Next up, Williams. Well Rubens Barrichello is sticking around for the second season in a row the the jaw of every halfway-sane F1 fan should have been on the floor after they decided to boot the best rookie of 2010, Nico Hulkenburg! What else could the German have done to retain his seat? Well, Force India have snapped him up as a reserve driver, a role that doesn't do him justice. In the meantime Frank's crew has snapped up Pastor Maldonado(first Venuzualan F1 driver since Johnny Cecotto in 1984)from GP2...come on Frank...I really didn't think you'd be cheap enough to snap up a guy for his oil money. Maybe Barrichello might get a win but I wouldn't put too much money on it.
At Force India...well Adrian Sutil is still standing and ready to roll for his fifth season at the team(going back to when they were called Spyker). Antonio Liuzzi is off to Hispania and he's been replaced by...the first British rookie since Lewis in '07! Paul di Resta's from north of the border, Livingston to be precise and was already getting plenty of attention last year as the team's reserve driver! Welcome to F1 Paul! So what can this double act do? Well Vijay Mallaya is looking for podiums this year. Well Sutil is certainly a solid driver and Di Resta's meant to be no mug. Watch this space, this bunch should certainly be grabbing points on a regular basis.
Sauber opened their 2010 season with Pedro de la Rosa driving for them...untill he was replaced in the back end of the season by Nick Heidfeld and has now rejoined McLaren as a reserve driver. Heidfeld subsequently went to Renault. This leaves Kamui Kobayashi remaining for the team for the second season in a row and he had an OK year last time around but not awesome. His new teammate is Sergio Perez(first Mexican F1 driver since Hector Rebaque in 1981) who the team have picked up from GP2. This looks to ne like the ultimate in rough and ready. Can't say I'm expecting too much out of this combo, though anything can happen.
Torro Rosso are actually more stable than the last two teams I've covered with Sebastien Buemi teaming up with Jaime Algusuari for the second season in a row. Stability should bring a degree of solidity, both divers are decent enough to make the team halfway competitive. Their biggest problem is going to be that Red Bull won't be giving them as much support as they've done previously...unless they can really step it up! This bunch do have a Grand Prix win in their history but since '08, well they haven't fallen to the depths of their forerunners Ferrari but they haven't done anything special either. A better bet than Sauber but not much more.
Lotus were the best of 2010's new batch of teams and have paired up Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen for the second season in a row. Well I think the biggest headache the team have had were Group Lotus steaming in to sponser Renault and then claiming that Tony Fernandez's crew couldn't use the Lotus Brand themselves. Last I checked, Fernadez's crew had permission from Colin Chapman's family to use the Lotus name. Renault is Renault, Lotus is Lotus. End of. So what are they going to come up with? Well, two solid drivers, a year's experience and Mike Gascoyne designing the cars. What's stopping this bunch from claiming some points this season?
Next up, Hispania. Where do I start. Well they started 2010 with a combination of Kaun Chandhoek and Bruno Senna. Well first Senna was ditched in favor of Sakon Yamamoto, then Chandhoek was ditched so that Senna could return, then Yamamoto got ditched in favour of Christien Klien, then Klien made way for Yamamoto once more! Now, Chandhoek's gone to Lotus as a reserve driver, Senna's a reserve driver at Renault, Yamamoto's gone to Virgin as a reserve driver and Klien has...decided to try his hand at endurance racing. Hispania's 2011 combo? Narain Karthikeyan(last seen in F1 racing for the old Jordan team in China '05) paired up with Antonio Liuzzi who they snapped up from Force India at the last minute. This bunch are an absolute farce, end of story.
Last up, we have Virgin. Timo Glock has decided to stick around for a second season but Lucas de Grassi has been booted and...at time of writing is still looking for work. He's been replaced by Jerome d'Ambrosio(first Belgian driver in F1 since Phillippe Adams in '94 - I should be able to remember him but I can't) who they promoted from their reserve team. Virgin weren't completely useless last year and should certainly continue to be less of a farce than Hispania this year. The question is, can this combo score points? Depends what they've cooked up, given decent machinary, Glock can take care of business. We'll see what happens.
Well, anything can happen in Formula 1 and it usualy does but I'm reckoning the world championship will be fought between Vettel, Lewis and Alonso this year.
Showtime.
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