Sebastian Vettel was able to translate his dominant display in qualifying into a comfortable victory at the first round of the 2011 Formula One season at Melbourne. Lewis Hamilton was the closest thing to competition for the German, but in reality nobody ever looked like troubling the reigning champion in his romp to the chequered flag. Once again Red Bull have left all their competitors scratching their heads as to how they might be able to close the gap to the sport's new dominant force.
Indeed, Vettel stuck his Red Bull on pole position by a whole seven-tenths of a second from Hamilton's McLaren without even using KERS, although the other Red Bull pilot, Mark Webber, may have made use of the system to prevent the Brit from lining up alongside Vettel. As it was, he qualified third, ahead of Jenson Button in the second McLaren, Fernando Alonso's strangely off-the-pace Ferrari and an impressive Vitaly Petrov for Renault.
As the lights went out, Vettel, Hamilton and Webber all made clean getaways to remain in that formation after the first corner, but Button did less well – he was passed by Petrov and the fast-starting Ferrari of Felipe Massa from eighth on the grid. Button's poor start forced Alonso to the outside of the track where he fell to ninth, but the two-time champion quickly disposed of Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes to get back into seventh position.
He soon caught up with Button, who seemed to be much quicker than Massa ahead. Alas, Frome's finest simply couldn't find a way past, despite making use of the DRS (Drag Reduction System, previously referred to in this blog simply as 'moveable rear wings') at every opportunity. After many laps of frustration, he finally drew alongside the Brazilian on the exit of turn 10, but couldn't quite edge ahead. As the pair reached the fast switchback of turns 11 and 12, Massa held his line and Button elected to cut the corner rather than drop back behind the scarlet car.
Button was now ahead unlawfully, convention dictating that the McLaren driver should have to drop back behind Massa to avoid a penalty. However, Alonso passed Massa just after Button did so, meaning the Brit would now have to surrender position to both Ferraris to avoid a penalty. He chose not to, and incurred the wrath of the stewards, slapped with a drive-through penalty for his misdemeanour. As Button dropped down the pack, at the front the order remained Vettel from Hamilton, Webber and Petrov prior to the first pit-stops.
Webber was first of the leading quartet to come in on lap 12, followed by his teammate three laps later. Hamilton briefly led for two more laps before he entered the pits for a switch of rubber, along with Petrov. The order of the top four remained unchanged, with Alonso and Massa running in fifth and sixth after their stops. Having not stopped by this stage, Sauber debutant Sergio Perez was in seventh, ahead of a tightly bunched pack consisting of Rosberg, Kobayashi, Rubens Barrichello and Sebastien Buemi. Button, after his penalty and tyre stop was in a lowly twelfth place.
Barrichello made a risky but successful lunge at turn 3 to deprive Kobayashi of ninth place on Lap 22, but two laps later he attempted a repeat on Rosberg at the exact same place. On this occasion however, he clattered into the side of the silver machine, putting the German out of the race to end a miserable afternoon for the Mercedes team – Rosberg's teammate Michael Schumacher had been struck by an over-exuberant Jaime Alguersauri on the first lap, resulting in a puncture for the rear-right tyre of the seven-time champion's car which left him a lap down, ultimately retiring on lap 22.
All of that action made Button's life somewhat easier: having passed Buemi, he was finally able to give us the first (and what would transpire to be the only) DRS-assisted overtake of the race at Kobayashi's expense on lap 25. Now up to seventh after Perez's stop, the Brit set about chasing the Ferrari duo ahead. Alonso came in for his second stop of the afternoon on lap 28, one lap after Webber, with whom the Spaniard had caught up in the battle for fourth position by equipping soft tyres rather than the harder compound like his Australian adversary.
Alonso, much like Button in his battle with Massa, used the DRS repeatedly in an attempt to pass Webber, but again to no avail. It wouldn't be until they both made their third and final stops that Alonso would finally snatch fourth – Webber pitted a lap earlier than his rival, but crucially made a costly error by running onto the grass at turn 3 on his out lap. That was more than enough for the Ferrari number one to emerge ahead when he made his stop. Alonso then proceeded to rapidly close the gap to Petrov in a late bid for the final podium place, but ran out of laps before he was able to get himself in a position to pass the Russian.
Meanwhile, Vettel simply cruised home to his eleventh career win after his second stop, his job made all the easier by a loose undertray for Hamilton. Still, for all the trouble McLaren had in testing, it was an excellent result for the team who were understandably relieved with Hamilton's second place. Petrov kept his head in a remarkable effort for his maiden podium finish, although one couldn't help but wonder what the Renault may have been capable of in the absent Robert Kubica's hands. Alonso and Webber came home fourth and fifth respectively from Button who executed a fine pass on Massa on lap 48 to take sixth.
One lap later, Massa made his third stop which dropped him to tenth place behind both Saubers and Buemi, although the Brazilian was able to make a late pass at turn 1 to deprive the Swiss driver of ninth position. Still, he could do nothing about eighth-placed Kobayashi, and seventh-placed Perez who had quietly sneaked up the order having incredibly only made one tyre stop. Alas, the Mexican's richly deserved first points, along with those of Kobayashi, were stripped after the stewards discovered that the uppermost rear wing elements of both of the Saubers were found to be in breach of the regulations.
That put Massa back up to seventh, with Buemi eighth, followed by the Force India pairing of Adrian Sutil and British newcomer Paul Di Resta who scored one point on a solid if unspectacular debut race. Alguersauri could do no better than eleventh after his early tangle with Schumacher, but he did finish ahead of Nick Heidfeld who had an extremely disappointing run to twelfth which was made all the worse by his Renault teammate Petrov finishing on the podium. Italian veteran Jarno Trulli for Lotus and Belgian novice Jerome D'Ambrosio were the only new-team cars to finish after mechanical retirements for their respective teammates Heikki Kovalainen and Timo Glock.
The Australian Grand Prix, as well as having underlined the superiority of the Red Bull (at least in the hands of Vettel), has called into question the value of the elements brought in for this season in order to spice up the action – for all the hype of supposedly rapidly-wearing Pirelli tyres, DRS and the return of KERS, the race was hardly any more exciting than most of last year's action. The tyres held out better than expected, with the leading trio making only two stops, DRS was only directly responsible for one overtaking move all afternoon, and Red Bull proved that KERS is an unnecessary fad by winning without using it.
We'll have to wait and see if they play any bigger part at the next race at Malaysia in two weeks time, and also to see whether McLaren, Ferrari, or any other team for that matter can have any kind of answer to the mightiness of the Red Bull-Vettel package – the last time anybody really did have was Alonso at Singapore six months ago. Vettel's rivals certainly won't be able to wait that long if they are to prevent him from taking an easy second title.
27 March 2011
26 March 2011
Australian Grand Prix 2011 – Qualifying Report
Sebastian Vettel utterly crushed the opposition in Melbourne to take an emphatic first pole position of the season, but despite the continuation of Red Bull superiority, it wasn't his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber who joined him on the front row. Instead, Lewis Hamilton made it plain that the recent simplification of the McLaren's exhaust system is enough to propel them back into the mix at the front, the Brit doing enough to prevent a Red Bull lockout of the front row by qualifying second.
Q1
Setting the early pace was Renault's Vitaly Petrov, who posted a lap time of 1'29.4, before improving to a 1'27.3. His time at the top of the leaderboard was relatively short-lived however, as Vettel bested the Russian's effort by seven tenths of a second. Webber's first effort left him just a twentieth of a second behind his teammate, but the reigning champion proceeded to take over a second off of his previous best to post a 1'25.5. Incredibly, Hamilton was able to go two tenths better in his McLaren, but Vettel found a further tenth to relegate Hamilton back to second position. Petrov made use of the soft compound tyres to come third in the session, just three tenths short of Vettel's time, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso just another two tenths back in fourth. Unsurprisingly, all six new team cars failed to progress beyond Q1, with the Hispania cars, having done no pre-season testing and hardly any practice laps, both failing to make the 107% cut. However, the big shock was that the experienced Nick Heidfeld fell at the first hurdle for Renault, putting him in for a long afternoon tomorrow and a considerable distance behind his teammate.
Eliminated – Nick Heidfeld (Renault), Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus), Jarno Trulli (Lotus), Timo Glock (Virgin), Jerome D'Ambrosio (Virgin)
Did Not Qualify – Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania), Narain Karthikeyan (Hispania)
Q2
Firstly, Rubens Barrichello consigned himself to 17th place on the grid when he beached himself in the gravel at turn three, just before Sebastien Buemi for Toro Rosso set the ball rolling with a 1'26.0. The first of the 'big guns' to go out was Hamilton, who went half a second better than the Swiss driver. His fellow McLaren driver Jenson Button, however, opted to use the soft tyres from the off to post a 1'24.9, six tenths faster than Hamilton. Once again though, it was Vettel who was looking worryingly quick, raising the bar by another nine tenths to put in a time that nobody would be able to match for the remainder of the session. Not even Webber in identical machinery could come close, as he could only manage a 1'24.6, a tenth slower than Hamilton who, after his own effort on the soft tyres, once more finished the session second only to Vettel. Further back, Adrian Sutil did a neat pirouette in his Force India as he came onto the start/finish straight, lucky to avoid walloping the barriers. The German could only muster 16th place, one behind his new British teammate Paul Di Resta who'll begin his debut race in a respectable 14th. On the other hand, seven-time champion Michael Schumacher would've been hoping for better than just 11th after such a promising final pre-season test.
Eliminated – Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Jaime Alguersauri (Toro Rosso), Sergio Perez (Sauber), Paul Di Resta (Force India), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Rubens Barrichello (Williams)
Q3
With all ten Q3 runners making use of the soft tyres, it was Hamilton who set the initial benchmark at a 1'24.5. Button couldn't top this, finishing his first effort three tenths adrift, but Vettel certainly could, slashing Hamilton's time by no less than an entire second. Webber once again had no answer, only bettering Hamilton's time by two tenths, and Alonso appeared decidedly off the pace, 1.4 seconds adrift of Vettel. Neither of the Red Bulls could improve their times on their second attempts, but Hamilton found an extra three tenths to knock home favourite Webber off the front row. Button lined up in fourth ahead of Alonso, with Petrov doing a great job to join the former champion on the third row. Nico Rosberg, the only Mercedes pilot in Q3, could only do enough for seventh, just ahead of Felipe Massa who span his Ferrari at the first corner no sooner than he had exited the pit lane for his first run. Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi will line up in ninth beside Buemi who rounds out the top 10.
Top 10 – Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Mark Webber (Red Bull), Jenson Button (McLaren), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Vitaly Petrov (Renault), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso)
My Prediction
All of my predictions over the course of the season will be based on the assumption that it is a dry race (unless qualifying is wet) and will not include unforeseen events such as accidents and breakdowns. As such, my prediction for the first race result of the season runs as follows:
1. Vettel, 2. Webber, 3. Hamilton, 4. Alonso, 5. Button, 6. Rosberg, 7. Massa, 8. Kobayashi, 9. Petrov, 10. Schumacher
Hamilton's aggressive approach could allow Webber to sneak past having conserved his tyres better, whilst Ferrari's traditional kindness on its tyres should see Alonso at least leapfrog Button. That's just my opinion though – if you disagree, why not write a comment in the form below?
Check back tomorrow for a full run-down of the events of the Australian Grand Prix – it's going to be one heck of a race. Hope to see you then!
Q1
Setting the early pace was Renault's Vitaly Petrov, who posted a lap time of 1'29.4, before improving to a 1'27.3. His time at the top of the leaderboard was relatively short-lived however, as Vettel bested the Russian's effort by seven tenths of a second. Webber's first effort left him just a twentieth of a second behind his teammate, but the reigning champion proceeded to take over a second off of his previous best to post a 1'25.5. Incredibly, Hamilton was able to go two tenths better in his McLaren, but Vettel found a further tenth to relegate Hamilton back to second position. Petrov made use of the soft compound tyres to come third in the session, just three tenths short of Vettel's time, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso just another two tenths back in fourth. Unsurprisingly, all six new team cars failed to progress beyond Q1, with the Hispania cars, having done no pre-season testing and hardly any practice laps, both failing to make the 107% cut. However, the big shock was that the experienced Nick Heidfeld fell at the first hurdle for Renault, putting him in for a long afternoon tomorrow and a considerable distance behind his teammate.
Eliminated – Nick Heidfeld (Renault), Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus), Jarno Trulli (Lotus), Timo Glock (Virgin), Jerome D'Ambrosio (Virgin)
Did Not Qualify – Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania), Narain Karthikeyan (Hispania)
Q2
Firstly, Rubens Barrichello consigned himself to 17th place on the grid when he beached himself in the gravel at turn three, just before Sebastien Buemi for Toro Rosso set the ball rolling with a 1'26.0. The first of the 'big guns' to go out was Hamilton, who went half a second better than the Swiss driver. His fellow McLaren driver Jenson Button, however, opted to use the soft tyres from the off to post a 1'24.9, six tenths faster than Hamilton. Once again though, it was Vettel who was looking worryingly quick, raising the bar by another nine tenths to put in a time that nobody would be able to match for the remainder of the session. Not even Webber in identical machinery could come close, as he could only manage a 1'24.6, a tenth slower than Hamilton who, after his own effort on the soft tyres, once more finished the session second only to Vettel. Further back, Adrian Sutil did a neat pirouette in his Force India as he came onto the start/finish straight, lucky to avoid walloping the barriers. The German could only muster 16th place, one behind his new British teammate Paul Di Resta who'll begin his debut race in a respectable 14th. On the other hand, seven-time champion Michael Schumacher would've been hoping for better than just 11th after such a promising final pre-season test.
Eliminated – Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Jaime Alguersauri (Toro Rosso), Sergio Perez (Sauber), Paul Di Resta (Force India), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Rubens Barrichello (Williams)
Q3
With all ten Q3 runners making use of the soft tyres, it was Hamilton who set the initial benchmark at a 1'24.5. Button couldn't top this, finishing his first effort three tenths adrift, but Vettel certainly could, slashing Hamilton's time by no less than an entire second. Webber once again had no answer, only bettering Hamilton's time by two tenths, and Alonso appeared decidedly off the pace, 1.4 seconds adrift of Vettel. Neither of the Red Bulls could improve their times on their second attempts, but Hamilton found an extra three tenths to knock home favourite Webber off the front row. Button lined up in fourth ahead of Alonso, with Petrov doing a great job to join the former champion on the third row. Nico Rosberg, the only Mercedes pilot in Q3, could only do enough for seventh, just ahead of Felipe Massa who span his Ferrari at the first corner no sooner than he had exited the pit lane for his first run. Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi will line up in ninth beside Buemi who rounds out the top 10.
Top 10 – Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Mark Webber (Red Bull), Jenson Button (McLaren), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Vitaly Petrov (Renault), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso)
My Prediction
All of my predictions over the course of the season will be based on the assumption that it is a dry race (unless qualifying is wet) and will not include unforeseen events such as accidents and breakdowns. As such, my prediction for the first race result of the season runs as follows:
1. Vettel, 2. Webber, 3. Hamilton, 4. Alonso, 5. Button, 6. Rosberg, 7. Massa, 8. Kobayashi, 9. Petrov, 10. Schumacher
Hamilton's aggressive approach could allow Webber to sneak past having conserved his tyres better, whilst Ferrari's traditional kindness on its tyres should see Alonso at least leapfrog Button. That's just my opinion though – if you disagree, why not write a comment in the form below?
Check back tomorrow for a full run-down of the events of the Australian Grand Prix – it's going to be one heck of a race. Hope to see you then!
20 March 2011
A Trip Down Memory Lane
One week before this year's first Formula One race of 2011, join me to reminisce about the fascinating seasons of thirty, twenty and ten years ago – three very different seasons, all won by great drivers of their respective eras.
Thirty Years Ago – 1981
1980 had seen a new team and a new driver crowned in Formula One – Australia's Alan Jones driving for Williams, which had scored almost double the Constructors points of its nearest competitor. With an unchanged driving strength of Jones and his formidable Argentinean teammate Carlos Reutemann, the question emerged as to whom, if anyone, would be able to stop the Williams steamroller in 1981. The man who had come closest to doing so the year before had been Brazilian Nelson Piquet in only his second full season of Formula One, so the expectation was he and his Brabham team may be the ones to get the job done.
After a third of the way through the season, the man in charge was Reutemann. He had been on the podium at all of the first five races, including two visits to the top step at Rio and Zolder. He had fifteen points in hand over Piquet, who also had two wins to his name at Buenos Aires and Imola; his non-scores at both of the races won by Reutemann accounting for his points deficit. Meanwhile, Jones had taken the flag at the season-opener at Long Beach, but Imola marked the start of a slump that served to remove him from championship contention.
Zolder was also the first of four retirements in five races for Piquet, but the Brazilian got himself back on track at Hockenheim with a win in changeable conditions. Further podiums at the following two rounds at Osterreichring and Zandvoort saw Piquet draw level with Reutemann, who had taken just eleven points since his win at Zolder. The Argentinean managed to score a podium at Monza, but a particularly lacklustre drive at the final round at Las Vegas allowed Piquet to clinch the title by a meagre one point.
It was Jones who took the victory at the final round, but for the Australian it was too little, too late – it was his first win since the very start of the season, and the outgoing champion had failed to score on no less than seven occasions in the meantime. His win allowed him to pip Ligier's Jacques Laffite to third place in the final standings, though two late-season wins for the Frenchman saw him start Las Vegas with a slim hope of becoming France's first ever Formula One champion. Alain Prost racked up as many wins as Piquet for the Renault team but his appalling finishing record meant he was never a real factor in the championship, winding up fifth in the points behind Laffite.
Ulsterman John Watson took sixth place, and was victorious at the British Grand Prix which marked McLaren's first win under the control of Ron Dennis whose Project Four organisation effectively took over the beleaguered British team at the start of the year. Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve was the only other race winner of the season with back-to-back successes at Monaco and Jarama, but like Prost he retired from over half of the races, managing only seventh in the championship. Elio de Angelis for Lotus came eighth in the points ahead of Rene Arnoux, who took only one podium for Renault in an underwhelming year, and Piquet's Mexican teammate Hector Rebaque.
Even though the fight for the 1981 crown was ultimately between Piquet and Reutemann, the top five drivers were covered by a mere seven points. This intense level of competition led to no fewer than eleven drivers recording wins during 1982 – Formula One was on the brink of one of its most exciting periods.
Twenty Years Ago – 1991
After the explosive Alain Prost vs. Ayrton Senna battle of 1990 that saw the latter take his second title in the most controversial way imaginable, more of the same was expected in 1991. However, this prospect failed to materialise as the 1991-spec Ferrari Prost was charged with driving proved to be far less competitive than its predecessor. Instead, Senna and McLaren were faced with a new rival in Britain's Nigel Mansell. After two ultimately fruitless seasons with Ferrari, Il Leone negotiated a return to the Williams team for which he so nearly had clinched the championship both in 1986 and 1987.
It was Senna who drew first blood on the streets of Phoenix, a success he supplemented with close-fought wins at Interlagos and Imola. In the meantime, Mansell had retired from all three races, but finally got himself on the scoreboard at Monaco with a well-earned second. Nonetheless, he never looked like challenging the dominant Senna who took his fourth win in as many races. The Brazilian's perfect streak may have been interrupted by Mansell at Montreal, but the Brit gifted the win to Benetton's Nelson Piquet after he accidentally stalled the engine in a premature celebration of victory on the final lap of the race.
Mansell later bounced back to win three races in succession, including in front of his adoring home fans at Silverstone – he now appeared to be carrying decisive momentum which lasted until Estoril, where disaster struck. Whilst pitting from the lead, one of his mechanics failed to properly secure his new right-rear wheel, leading to it parting ways with the rest of the car shortly after he pulled away from the pit-box. Mansell was disqualified after his crew rushed to the car to fit the errant wheel, and his hopes were finally dashed early in the penultimate race at Suzuka where he spun into retirement.
This gifted the title to Senna, whose consistency proved key – Mansell's challenge was severely hampered by having six non-scores compared to Senna's two. Mansell's teammate Riccardo Patrese finished third after his most competitive ever season, including two wins at Mexico City and Estoril. Senna's teammate Gerhard Berger also scored a win at Suzuka en route to a solid fourth in the standings. Failing to win a race for the first time since his debut in 1980, however, was fifth-placed Alain Prost, who did little to endear himself to the tifosi after embarrassingly spinning off the circuit into retirement during the parade lap at Imola, and was later spectacularly fired by the Italian team after deriding his car a 'truck'.
Jean Alesi's debut at the Prancing Horse was also decidedly low-key, only scoring one more podium than he managed in 1990 with Tyrrell. The French-Sicilian wound up seventh in the points table, one place behind retiring three-time champion Nelson Piquet for Benetton, whose final win of his career came courtesy of Mansell's Canadian blunder. The Brazilian was followed home in Canada by young Italian Stefano Modena of Tyrrell, which allowed him to scoop eighth in the championship ahead of the experienced Andrea de Cesaris, driving for the brand-new Jordan team, and Piquet's teammate and countryman Roberto Moreno. Moreno however found himself usurped at Benetton by one Michael Schumacher after the German's magnificent performance for Jordan in his debut race at Spa.
While Senna took the 1991 title by a comfortable margin, the superiority of the Williams package meant it would be them, and not McLaren, who would dominate Formula One for much of the remainder of the decade.
Ten Years Ago – 2001
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, having just taking his third crown in 2000, began the 2001 season as the hot favourite to become the sport's third four-time champion. 1998 and 1999 champion Mika Hakkinen was expected to be the German's closest opposition at the wheel of his McLaren-Mercedes, but instead he endured an excruciating start to the season. After losing two near-certain victories at Melbourne and Catalunya to mechanical breakdowns, he had tallied a miserable four points after five races and the championship already appeared out of reach.
Meanwhile, Schumacher had racked up three race wins by the same stage and had built up an eight-point cushion over Hakkinen's teammate, David Coulthard, who was enjoying his best-ever start to a season. He triumphed both at Interlagos and at the A1 Ring, but Monaco proved a disaster for the Scot after he stalled on the grid from pole, allowing Schumacher to take his fourth victory. After two more wins at Nurburgring and Magny-Cours, Schumacher had moved thirty-one points clear of Coulthard, the championship looking ominously secure. Indeed, the title was eventually sealed by the German with four rounds to spare at the Hungaroring, before he proceeded to break Alain Prost's all-time win record at the following race at Spa.
Conversely, '01 was something of a disappointment for Ferrari number two Rubens Barrichello, being outpaced by his Ferrari teammate just about everywhere and more importantly failing to overhaul Coulthard for the runner-up spot in the championship despite having the superior car. But the year was even more frustrating for Hakkinen, who ended up a lowly fifth in the championship thanks to victories at Silverstone and Indianapolis which helped to erase memories of an otherwise dismal year. The affable Finn decided mid-way through the season that he would take a sabbatical for '02, but unfortunately for the sport he never returned.
Whilst it was a relatively poor season for McLaren, it was very much the opposite for Williams. In the second year of its new alliance with BMW, the dominant team of the nineties appeared to be well on the road to recovery – Ralf Schumacher took his first ever win at Imola, before adding the winner's trophies from Montreal and Hockenheim to his collection en route to fourth in the championship. CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya settled into the world of Formula One with apparent ease at the wheel of the other Williams, taking sixth place in the championship along with his first win at Monza after retiring from the lead on two previous occasions.
Three men ended up tied for seventh in the points. One of those men was '97 champion Jacques Villeneuve, who despite making two trips to the podium, found himself rather downtrodden with the lack of progress made by his BAR team in '01 after a promising year in '00. Another was Jordan's Jarno Trulli, who rather humbled his more experienced teammate Heinz Harald Frentzen by outscoring the German two to one. The third, rebounding after a disastrous debut season with Prost, was Nick Heidfeld who shone after a move to Sauber which yielded his first podium finish. His rookie teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, came tenth in the points which was arguably even more impressive when one bears in mind his only prior to experience to Formula One came from Formula Renault.
It was Ferrari and Michael Schumacher that dominated in 2001, setting the tone for an even more comprehensive annihilation of the field in 2002. Formula One was now well and truly experiencing a 'Schumacher era'.
Theoretically, 2011 should be even better than any of the three seasons I've just described. Five champions in the form of Vettel, Button, Hamilton, Alonso and Schumacher will be taking to the grid, along with the likes of Webber, Massa, Rosberg and Heidfeld who all have the capacity to spring a surprise. Factor in the new, quick-to-wear Pirelli tyres, the return of KERS and moveable rear wings, there should be no shortage of overtaking either. Bring it on.
Be sure to check back Saturday morning for a quick report on the qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix, along with my predictions on what will happen in the race. Don't miss it!
Thirty Years Ago – 1981
1980 had seen a new team and a new driver crowned in Formula One – Australia's Alan Jones driving for Williams, which had scored almost double the Constructors points of its nearest competitor. With an unchanged driving strength of Jones and his formidable Argentinean teammate Carlos Reutemann, the question emerged as to whom, if anyone, would be able to stop the Williams steamroller in 1981. The man who had come closest to doing so the year before had been Brazilian Nelson Piquet in only his second full season of Formula One, so the expectation was he and his Brabham team may be the ones to get the job done.
After a third of the way through the season, the man in charge was Reutemann. He had been on the podium at all of the first five races, including two visits to the top step at Rio and Zolder. He had fifteen points in hand over Piquet, who also had two wins to his name at Buenos Aires and Imola; his non-scores at both of the races won by Reutemann accounting for his points deficit. Meanwhile, Jones had taken the flag at the season-opener at Long Beach, but Imola marked the start of a slump that served to remove him from championship contention.
Zolder was also the first of four retirements in five races for Piquet, but the Brazilian got himself back on track at Hockenheim with a win in changeable conditions. Further podiums at the following two rounds at Osterreichring and Zandvoort saw Piquet draw level with Reutemann, who had taken just eleven points since his win at Zolder. The Argentinean managed to score a podium at Monza, but a particularly lacklustre drive at the final round at Las Vegas allowed Piquet to clinch the title by a meagre one point.
It was Jones who took the victory at the final round, but for the Australian it was too little, too late – it was his first win since the very start of the season, and the outgoing champion had failed to score on no less than seven occasions in the meantime. His win allowed him to pip Ligier's Jacques Laffite to third place in the final standings, though two late-season wins for the Frenchman saw him start Las Vegas with a slim hope of becoming France's first ever Formula One champion. Alain Prost racked up as many wins as Piquet for the Renault team but his appalling finishing record meant he was never a real factor in the championship, winding up fifth in the points behind Laffite.
Ulsterman John Watson took sixth place, and was victorious at the British Grand Prix which marked McLaren's first win under the control of Ron Dennis whose Project Four organisation effectively took over the beleaguered British team at the start of the year. Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve was the only other race winner of the season with back-to-back successes at Monaco and Jarama, but like Prost he retired from over half of the races, managing only seventh in the championship. Elio de Angelis for Lotus came eighth in the points ahead of Rene Arnoux, who took only one podium for Renault in an underwhelming year, and Piquet's Mexican teammate Hector Rebaque.
Even though the fight for the 1981 crown was ultimately between Piquet and Reutemann, the top five drivers were covered by a mere seven points. This intense level of competition led to no fewer than eleven drivers recording wins during 1982 – Formula One was on the brink of one of its most exciting periods.
Twenty Years Ago – 1991
After the explosive Alain Prost vs. Ayrton Senna battle of 1990 that saw the latter take his second title in the most controversial way imaginable, more of the same was expected in 1991. However, this prospect failed to materialise as the 1991-spec Ferrari Prost was charged with driving proved to be far less competitive than its predecessor. Instead, Senna and McLaren were faced with a new rival in Britain's Nigel Mansell. After two ultimately fruitless seasons with Ferrari, Il Leone negotiated a return to the Williams team for which he so nearly had clinched the championship both in 1986 and 1987.
It was Senna who drew first blood on the streets of Phoenix, a success he supplemented with close-fought wins at Interlagos and Imola. In the meantime, Mansell had retired from all three races, but finally got himself on the scoreboard at Monaco with a well-earned second. Nonetheless, he never looked like challenging the dominant Senna who took his fourth win in as many races. The Brazilian's perfect streak may have been interrupted by Mansell at Montreal, but the Brit gifted the win to Benetton's Nelson Piquet after he accidentally stalled the engine in a premature celebration of victory on the final lap of the race.
Mansell later bounced back to win three races in succession, including in front of his adoring home fans at Silverstone – he now appeared to be carrying decisive momentum which lasted until Estoril, where disaster struck. Whilst pitting from the lead, one of his mechanics failed to properly secure his new right-rear wheel, leading to it parting ways with the rest of the car shortly after he pulled away from the pit-box. Mansell was disqualified after his crew rushed to the car to fit the errant wheel, and his hopes were finally dashed early in the penultimate race at Suzuka where he spun into retirement.
This gifted the title to Senna, whose consistency proved key – Mansell's challenge was severely hampered by having six non-scores compared to Senna's two. Mansell's teammate Riccardo Patrese finished third after his most competitive ever season, including two wins at Mexico City and Estoril. Senna's teammate Gerhard Berger also scored a win at Suzuka en route to a solid fourth in the standings. Failing to win a race for the first time since his debut in 1980, however, was fifth-placed Alain Prost, who did little to endear himself to the tifosi after embarrassingly spinning off the circuit into retirement during the parade lap at Imola, and was later spectacularly fired by the Italian team after deriding his car a 'truck'.
Jean Alesi's debut at the Prancing Horse was also decidedly low-key, only scoring one more podium than he managed in 1990 with Tyrrell. The French-Sicilian wound up seventh in the points table, one place behind retiring three-time champion Nelson Piquet for Benetton, whose final win of his career came courtesy of Mansell's Canadian blunder. The Brazilian was followed home in Canada by young Italian Stefano Modena of Tyrrell, which allowed him to scoop eighth in the championship ahead of the experienced Andrea de Cesaris, driving for the brand-new Jordan team, and Piquet's teammate and countryman Roberto Moreno. Moreno however found himself usurped at Benetton by one Michael Schumacher after the German's magnificent performance for Jordan in his debut race at Spa.
While Senna took the 1991 title by a comfortable margin, the superiority of the Williams package meant it would be them, and not McLaren, who would dominate Formula One for much of the remainder of the decade.
Ten Years Ago – 2001
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, having just taking his third crown in 2000, began the 2001 season as the hot favourite to become the sport's third four-time champion. 1998 and 1999 champion Mika Hakkinen was expected to be the German's closest opposition at the wheel of his McLaren-Mercedes, but instead he endured an excruciating start to the season. After losing two near-certain victories at Melbourne and Catalunya to mechanical breakdowns, he had tallied a miserable four points after five races and the championship already appeared out of reach.
Meanwhile, Schumacher had racked up three race wins by the same stage and had built up an eight-point cushion over Hakkinen's teammate, David Coulthard, who was enjoying his best-ever start to a season. He triumphed both at Interlagos and at the A1 Ring, but Monaco proved a disaster for the Scot after he stalled on the grid from pole, allowing Schumacher to take his fourth victory. After two more wins at Nurburgring and Magny-Cours, Schumacher had moved thirty-one points clear of Coulthard, the championship looking ominously secure. Indeed, the title was eventually sealed by the German with four rounds to spare at the Hungaroring, before he proceeded to break Alain Prost's all-time win record at the following race at Spa.
Conversely, '01 was something of a disappointment for Ferrari number two Rubens Barrichello, being outpaced by his Ferrari teammate just about everywhere and more importantly failing to overhaul Coulthard for the runner-up spot in the championship despite having the superior car. But the year was even more frustrating for Hakkinen, who ended up a lowly fifth in the championship thanks to victories at Silverstone and Indianapolis which helped to erase memories of an otherwise dismal year. The affable Finn decided mid-way through the season that he would take a sabbatical for '02, but unfortunately for the sport he never returned.
Whilst it was a relatively poor season for McLaren, it was very much the opposite for Williams. In the second year of its new alliance with BMW, the dominant team of the nineties appeared to be well on the road to recovery – Ralf Schumacher took his first ever win at Imola, before adding the winner's trophies from Montreal and Hockenheim to his collection en route to fourth in the championship. CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya settled into the world of Formula One with apparent ease at the wheel of the other Williams, taking sixth place in the championship along with his first win at Monza after retiring from the lead on two previous occasions.
Three men ended up tied for seventh in the points. One of those men was '97 champion Jacques Villeneuve, who despite making two trips to the podium, found himself rather downtrodden with the lack of progress made by his BAR team in '01 after a promising year in '00. Another was Jordan's Jarno Trulli, who rather humbled his more experienced teammate Heinz Harald Frentzen by outscoring the German two to one. The third, rebounding after a disastrous debut season with Prost, was Nick Heidfeld who shone after a move to Sauber which yielded his first podium finish. His rookie teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, came tenth in the points which was arguably even more impressive when one bears in mind his only prior to experience to Formula One came from Formula Renault.
It was Ferrari and Michael Schumacher that dominated in 2001, setting the tone for an even more comprehensive annihilation of the field in 2002. Formula One was now well and truly experiencing a 'Schumacher era'.
Theoretically, 2011 should be even better than any of the three seasons I've just described. Five champions in the form of Vettel, Button, Hamilton, Alonso and Schumacher will be taking to the grid, along with the likes of Webber, Massa, Rosberg and Heidfeld who all have the capacity to spring a surprise. Factor in the new, quick-to-wear Pirelli tyres, the return of KERS and moveable rear wings, there should be no shortage of overtaking either. Bring it on.
Be sure to check back Saturday morning for a quick report on the qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix, along with my predictions on what will happen in the race. Don't miss it!
13 March 2011
2011 Season Preview
Firstly, I'd like to welcome you all back to my blog for what promises to be another captivating Formula One season. Check back regularly for qualifying reports, race reports, previews, historical articles and random ramblings about the world of our most cherished sport.
There may have been few driver changes for the new season, but even so there is as much intrigue as ever, particularly after last year's titanic five-way tussle for glory. Can Vettel do it again? Can Alonso bounce back? Is the new McLaren too radical? Will the new Renault be as quick as testing suggests? Will Schumacher be able to prove he still has it? All of these questions and more will be answered as the season unfurls.
All nineteen venues from 2010 were meant to return for this year, although the Bahrain Grand Prix has been cancelled due to force majeure. It is unclear at this stage whether or not Bahrain will be given another date later in the year, but even if it doesn't we still have the prospect of nineteen fascinating Grand Prix to look forward to. We have a new addition to the calendar in the form of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, which will slot between Korea and Abu Dhabi as part of the end-of-season flyaway block. Also, the Brazilian Grand Prix, the scene of memorable championship wins for Alonso, Hamilton and Button, has usurped Abu Dhabi to take its place as the season finale once again.
Several technical changes have been made in an effort to spice up the racing. First of all, the new tyre supplier, Pirelli, has produced tyres that wear at a far quicker rate than the outgoing Bridgestone variety. This means that the processional one-stoppers of last year will be a thing of the past, and tyre strategy and management will become a far bigger deciding factor in races than last year. KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) is making a comeback after one year's absence too. Though optional, none of the top teams will want to be without the device which gives every driver an extra 80bhp available for several seconds per lap – perfect for overtaking as Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen demonstrated in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix when he sauntered past Giancarlo Fisichella's faster Force India after holding down the KERS button.
The 'F-duct' device which performed a similar role in 2010 (although with unlimited usage) is banned for 2011. In its place comes an adjustable rear wing which will allow drivers following another car closely to reduce their rear wing angle to help them get past. It will only be useable in a particular 600m zone at the end of the longest straight, which will be clearly marked on the track. The concept has been negatively received so far by fans and teams who are worried overtaking may become artificial and contrived. As such, the FIA is open to dropping or adjusting the system after a few races if it continues to prove unpopular or ineffective. Double diffusers, pioneered primarily by Brawn GP in 2009, are also banned for 2011 in an attempt to reduce downforce.
So, bearing all that in mind, here is a run-down of all the drivers and teams for 2011 along with my predictions for what the drivers and constructors points tables will look like in eight months time.
Red Bull Racing
Drivers – Sebastian Vettel (D), Mark Webber (AU)
Reserve Driver – Daniel Ricciardo (AU)
As last year's near-perennial pacesetters, the Anglo-Austrian team will begin 2011 as the popular favourite to deliver both crowns. In testing, the Adrian Newey-designed Red Bull RB7 has been consistently fast and with an unchanged driving strength from last year, there appears to be little reason to doubt Red Bull's title credentials. Sebastian Vettel's confidence will be sky-high coming off the back of his maiden success, and a second consecutive title is certainly within reach. As for his teammate, Mark Webber, 2011 is probably last chance saloon: he turns 35 this year, making him the fourth-eldest driver on the grid behind Schumacher, Barrichello and Trulli. Nevertheless, he claims to be as fired up as ever, and it will be intriguing to see whether the Aussie can have a genuine crack at his younger teammate in what looks to be this season's fastest mount once again.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Drivers – Lewis Hamilton (GB), Jenson Button (GB)
Reserve Driver – Pedro De La Rosa (E)
The history of McLaren, whilst largely glittering, is strangely potted with the odd year where the team just simply underperforms. Think back to 2009, where the Woking-based outfit found itself languishing 6th in the constructors table, almost 100 points behind Brawn, by the mid-stage of the season. Granted, several update packages allowed the team to salvage third in the standings come Abu Dhabi, but the damage had been done. Whilst this year probably won't be as severe as two years ago, reliability and more importantly, speed issues have dogged the team's radically-designed MP4-26 all through testing, and their pace seems to be a far cry from their rivals at Red Bull and Ferrari. Bearing that in mind, the title prospects for both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button appear fairly grim. Don't exclude either of the duo from the possibility of race wins later in the season, though, if the team can overcome their early teething troubles.
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Drivers – Fernando Alonso (E), Felipe Massa (BR)
Reserve Driver – Giancarlo Fisichella (I)
After some legal wrangling with Ford, Ferrari have finally re-christened their contender for the 2011 season the 'F150˚ Italia' from the original name of the 'F150', which should ensure nobody thinks Ferrari was planning to campaign a pick-up truck in this year's championship. As for their testing pace though, the famed Italian squad have every reason to smile, with their car seeming to be more than a match for the Red Bull over longer race distances. Fernando Alonso will be more determined than ever to add a third crown to his name after last year's disappointment, and the car should enable him to take the fight once again to the Red Bulls. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa will be eager to prove a point that he isn't just a sidekick to his more illustrious teammate. Yet the Brazilian has scarcely looked the same driver who came within a whisker of winning the 2008 crown as of late, and with several big names being linked to the second Ferrari seat, Massa has to seize the opportunity to prove himself rapidly or else risk being brushed aside at Maranello for 2012.
Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
Drivers – Michael Schumacher (D), Nico Rosberg (D)
Reserve Driver – TBA
If 2010 was something of a disappointment for the German car giant, then 2011 may not be much better. The car at first was hopelessly off the pace during testing, although significant revisions to the MGP W02 have given a more promising performance at the final pre-season test at Barcelona. That will give Michael Schumacher some hope of an improvement to his so-far underwhelming comeback, and he can take comfort in the fact this year's car will have been designed with his unique driving style in mind, a luxury he didn't have in 2010. Theoretically, that should help him come to terms with his teammate and countryman Nico Rosberg, who very much had the measure of the 7-time champ last season. Still, race wins are probably going to remain out of reach for at least another year for both drivers, but we could well witness Schumacher rack up podium finish number 155 at some stage during the course of the season.
Lotus Renault GP
Drivers – Nick Heidfeld (D), Vitaly Petrov (RU)
Reserve Driver – Bruno Senna (BR)
The good news for Renault is that their new R31, in testing at least, appears to be as fast as it is good-looking in the JPS-inspired black-and-gold livery that has come courtesy of a tie-up with Lotus Cars (not to be confused with Team Lotus, but more on that later). The bad news however, is that they will have to make do for at least a considerable portion of the season without arguably its greatest asset: Robert Kubica. The Pole's horrific accident in an Andorran rally and the subsequent injuries he sustained has rendered him sadly unable to compete for the time being. But, luckily for the Enstone-based team, they've secured the best available replacement in Nick Heidfeld. His vast experience and ability to develop a car will prove invaluable, and what's more the undeniably talented German has been handed a chance to re-vitalise his stalled career. If the testing form carries over into the first few rounds, Renault could well find themselves ahead of McLaren to be third in the pecking order, at least to begin with, and Heidfeld may have his best ever opportunity to finally chalk his first Grand Prix victory. Petrov's goal should be to establish himself as a regular points-scorer, with a possible view to snatching a podium if the right circumstances arise.
AT&T Williams
Drivers – Rubens Barrichello (BR), Pastor Maldonado (YV)
Reserve Driver – Valtteri Bottas (SF)
In many respects, Williams is a modern-day Tyrrell. The glory days of the 1990s must feel like a long time ago now (even if this year's livery does bear something of a resemblance to their iconic Rothmans livery of that era) and Frank Williams' squad has just come off the back of its sixth consecutive barren season. Although testing has been promising, the progress made by some of their rivals could make 2011 another trying year for Williams. The ultra-experienced Rubens Barrichello remains the team leader for a second season, but his 2010 partner Nico Hulkenberg has been forced to step aside for reigning GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado, who brings with him hefty sums of Venezuelan oil money. But make no mistake – Maldonado is certainly not a pay-driver in the mould of Sakon Yamamoto, for example. You don't win the GP2 championship by accident, so it would be little surprise to see the newcomer do as good a job as Hulkenberg did in 2010, or perhaps even better.
Force India F1 Team
Drivers – Adrian Sutil (D), Paul Di Resta (GB)
Reserve Driver – Nico Hulkenberg (D)
The last two seasons have both represented solid progress for the team that used to be a regular fixture at the very rear of the grid. Now a respectable and fully-fledged F1 team, Vijay Mallya will certainly be eyeing further progress up the field. But, compared to its rivals, Force India doesn't appear to have made up so much ground. This will come as disheartening news to Adrian Sutil, who is embarking on his fifth straight season with the team. Arguably the team isn't doing enough to allow him to realise his potential, and one wonders how long he'll want to stay if the team's progress begins to stagnate. As for Paul Di Resta, the British newcomer who is fresh from winning the DTM (German Touring Car Championship) for Mercedes will likely be vying for unofficial 'Rookie of the Year' honours with Maldonado and Perez. Only time will tell if he'll be able to emulate his fellow Brits Hamilton and Button to become world champion one day.
Sauber F1 Team
Drivers – Kamui Kobayashi (J), Sergio Perez (MEX)
Reserve Driver – Esteban Gutierrez (MEX)
Peter Sauber has a knack for spotting young talent, having plucked Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and most recently Kamui Kobayashi from relative obscurity to drive his eponymous cars. Sergio Perez will not only become the latest rookie to be given a berth by the Swiss, but also the first Mexican F1 driver since Hector Rebaque drove for Brabham in 1981. In a similar vein to Maldonado, don't let the myriad of new sponsors Perez is bringing to Sauber fool you – he finished runner-up in the GP2 championship last season, and so could well upset his more established teammate, Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese hotshot is heading into only his second full season at this level, charged with leading the team and the development of the C30. It will be interesting to see whether Peter Sauber's decision to eschew experience in favour of youth pays off as the season unwinds.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Drivers – Sebastien Buemi (CH), Jaime Alguersauri (E)
Reserve Driver – Daniel Ricciardo (AU)
If testing is anything to go by, Toro Rosso could be in for its strongest season since 2008, where Vettel nabbed an unlikely victory in adverse weather conditions at Monza. The STR6 has looked consistently impressive throughout testing, which no doubt means both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersauri will be hoping for their strongest seasons yet. Both men were fairly evenly matched during last season, and so both will be eager to quickly assert themselves over the other, not least because of rumours that a certain Daniel Ricciardo could be replacing one of them mid-season. After all, Toro Rosso has something of a history of replacing drivers before the season is out, with Scott Speed moving aside for Vettel in late 2007, and Alguersauri joining the Faenza-based team at Sebastien Bourdais' expense mid-way through 2009. That spectre will hopefully spur both men on to up their games for the new season, possibly towards becoming genuine future prospects.
Team Lotus
Drivers – Heikki Kovalainen (SF), Jarno Trulli (I)
Reserve Driver – Karun Chandhok (IND)
'Team Lotus', or '1Malaysia Racing' as I prefer to call it, found itself rather embroiled over the off-season with Lotus Cars (who are sponsoring Renault this year) as to who indeed has the right to name themselves after Colin Chapman's legendary team. Until the dispute is finally resolved, we are stuck with two teams known as 'Lotus-Renault' thanks to an engine-supply deal between Tony Fernandes' team and the famous French manufacturer. The team would appear to have made some considerable progress for the new season, but even with the experienced line-up of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, I can't quite picture the team shading any of the more-established runners to reach 9th place in the constructors just yet. What I can picture, however, is the team amassing its first points and consolidating its superiority over their rivals at Hispania and Virgin Racing.
Hispania F1 Team
Drivers – Vitantonio Liuzzi (I), Narain Karthikeyan (IND)
Reserve Driver – TBA
It would be fair to say that the only way in 2011 is up for this fledging Spanish team who were last year's perennial backmarkers. In spite of the continued absence of a major sponsor and a virtually non-existant testing programme, Hispania have two aces up their sleeve. The first is the experienced Geoff Willis, who has helped designed the new F111 which looks to be a step forward in comparison to the hopelessly outpaced Dallara design of 2010. The second is Vitantonio Liuzzi, who has been unceremoniously dumped by Force India in favour of Paul Di Resta. This marks the first time during Hispania's extremely brief history that a driver will be able to bring experience to the team which will prove vital in moving the outfit up the grid. The Italian is joined by Narain Karthikeyan, returning after just one season with Jordan in 2005, who should become the first Indian to participate in his home Grand Prix later this year, provided his Tata money hasn't dried up by then.
Marussia Virgin Racing
Drivers – Timo Glock (D), Jerome D'Ambrosio (B)
Reserve Driver – Sakon Yamamoto (J)
With its small budget, continued abstinence from wind-tunnel testing in favour of CFD and rather anonymous form in testing, there seems to be little to suggest a major leap up the grid for Virgin Racing. Experienced German Timo Glock finds himself in the unfortunate position of having his considerable skill wasted by uncompetitive machinery. Owing to his impressive Friday practice performances last year, Jerome D'Ambrosio replaces Lucas Di Grassi as Glock's teammate for the new season. He becomes Belgium's first full-time F1 driver since Thierry Boutsen, though his GP2 results don't particularly allude to any world-beating potential. Along with Hispania, any chance of scoring points for Virgin Racing would seem improbable.
Drivers' Championship Predictions
1. Alonso, 2. Vettel, 3. Webber, 4. Hamilton, 5. Massa, 6. Button, 7. Heidfeld, 8. Rosberg, 9. Schumacher, 10. Barrichello, 11. Petrov, 12. Buemi, 13. Maldonado, 14. Alguersauri, 15. Kobayashi, 16. Sutil, 17. Di Resta, 18. Perez, 19. Kovalainen, 20. Trulli, 21. Glock, 22. Liuzzi, 23. D'Ambrosio, 24. Karthikeyan
Constructors' Championship Predictions
1. Red Bull-Renault, 2. Ferrari, 3. McLaren-Mercedes, 4. Renault, 5. Mercedes, 6. Williams-Cosworth, 7. STR-Ferrari, 8. Sauber-Ferrari, 9. Force India-Mercedes, 10. Lotus-Renault, 11. Virgin-Cosworth, 12. HRT-Cosworth
Those are my predictions, but what about yours? Don't hesitate to leave a comment in the form below. Thanks very much for reading, and be sure to check back next Sunday for a look back at the exciting seasons of 10, 20 and 30 years ago.
There may have been few driver changes for the new season, but even so there is as much intrigue as ever, particularly after last year's titanic five-way tussle for glory. Can Vettel do it again? Can Alonso bounce back? Is the new McLaren too radical? Will the new Renault be as quick as testing suggests? Will Schumacher be able to prove he still has it? All of these questions and more will be answered as the season unfurls.
All nineteen venues from 2010 were meant to return for this year, although the Bahrain Grand Prix has been cancelled due to force majeure. It is unclear at this stage whether or not Bahrain will be given another date later in the year, but even if it doesn't we still have the prospect of nineteen fascinating Grand Prix to look forward to. We have a new addition to the calendar in the form of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, which will slot between Korea and Abu Dhabi as part of the end-of-season flyaway block. Also, the Brazilian Grand Prix, the scene of memorable championship wins for Alonso, Hamilton and Button, has usurped Abu Dhabi to take its place as the season finale once again.
Several technical changes have been made in an effort to spice up the racing. First of all, the new tyre supplier, Pirelli, has produced tyres that wear at a far quicker rate than the outgoing Bridgestone variety. This means that the processional one-stoppers of last year will be a thing of the past, and tyre strategy and management will become a far bigger deciding factor in races than last year. KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) is making a comeback after one year's absence too. Though optional, none of the top teams will want to be without the device which gives every driver an extra 80bhp available for several seconds per lap – perfect for overtaking as Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen demonstrated in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix when he sauntered past Giancarlo Fisichella's faster Force India after holding down the KERS button.
The 'F-duct' device which performed a similar role in 2010 (although with unlimited usage) is banned for 2011. In its place comes an adjustable rear wing which will allow drivers following another car closely to reduce their rear wing angle to help them get past. It will only be useable in a particular 600m zone at the end of the longest straight, which will be clearly marked on the track. The concept has been negatively received so far by fans and teams who are worried overtaking may become artificial and contrived. As such, the FIA is open to dropping or adjusting the system after a few races if it continues to prove unpopular or ineffective. Double diffusers, pioneered primarily by Brawn GP in 2009, are also banned for 2011 in an attempt to reduce downforce.
So, bearing all that in mind, here is a run-down of all the drivers and teams for 2011 along with my predictions for what the drivers and constructors points tables will look like in eight months time.
Red Bull Racing
Drivers – Sebastian Vettel (D), Mark Webber (AU)
Reserve Driver – Daniel Ricciardo (AU)
As last year's near-perennial pacesetters, the Anglo-Austrian team will begin 2011 as the popular favourite to deliver both crowns. In testing, the Adrian Newey-designed Red Bull RB7 has been consistently fast and with an unchanged driving strength from last year, there appears to be little reason to doubt Red Bull's title credentials. Sebastian Vettel's confidence will be sky-high coming off the back of his maiden success, and a second consecutive title is certainly within reach. As for his teammate, Mark Webber, 2011 is probably last chance saloon: he turns 35 this year, making him the fourth-eldest driver on the grid behind Schumacher, Barrichello and Trulli. Nevertheless, he claims to be as fired up as ever, and it will be intriguing to see whether the Aussie can have a genuine crack at his younger teammate in what looks to be this season's fastest mount once again.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Drivers – Lewis Hamilton (GB), Jenson Button (GB)
Reserve Driver – Pedro De La Rosa (E)
The history of McLaren, whilst largely glittering, is strangely potted with the odd year where the team just simply underperforms. Think back to 2009, where the Woking-based outfit found itself languishing 6th in the constructors table, almost 100 points behind Brawn, by the mid-stage of the season. Granted, several update packages allowed the team to salvage third in the standings come Abu Dhabi, but the damage had been done. Whilst this year probably won't be as severe as two years ago, reliability and more importantly, speed issues have dogged the team's radically-designed MP4-26 all through testing, and their pace seems to be a far cry from their rivals at Red Bull and Ferrari. Bearing that in mind, the title prospects for both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button appear fairly grim. Don't exclude either of the duo from the possibility of race wins later in the season, though, if the team can overcome their early teething troubles.
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Drivers – Fernando Alonso (E), Felipe Massa (BR)
Reserve Driver – Giancarlo Fisichella (I)
After some legal wrangling with Ford, Ferrari have finally re-christened their contender for the 2011 season the 'F150˚ Italia' from the original name of the 'F150', which should ensure nobody thinks Ferrari was planning to campaign a pick-up truck in this year's championship. As for their testing pace though, the famed Italian squad have every reason to smile, with their car seeming to be more than a match for the Red Bull over longer race distances. Fernando Alonso will be more determined than ever to add a third crown to his name after last year's disappointment, and the car should enable him to take the fight once again to the Red Bulls. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa will be eager to prove a point that he isn't just a sidekick to his more illustrious teammate. Yet the Brazilian has scarcely looked the same driver who came within a whisker of winning the 2008 crown as of late, and with several big names being linked to the second Ferrari seat, Massa has to seize the opportunity to prove himself rapidly or else risk being brushed aside at Maranello for 2012.
Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
Drivers – Michael Schumacher (D), Nico Rosberg (D)
Reserve Driver – TBA
If 2010 was something of a disappointment for the German car giant, then 2011 may not be much better. The car at first was hopelessly off the pace during testing, although significant revisions to the MGP W02 have given a more promising performance at the final pre-season test at Barcelona. That will give Michael Schumacher some hope of an improvement to his so-far underwhelming comeback, and he can take comfort in the fact this year's car will have been designed with his unique driving style in mind, a luxury he didn't have in 2010. Theoretically, that should help him come to terms with his teammate and countryman Nico Rosberg, who very much had the measure of the 7-time champ last season. Still, race wins are probably going to remain out of reach for at least another year for both drivers, but we could well witness Schumacher rack up podium finish number 155 at some stage during the course of the season.
Lotus Renault GP
Drivers – Nick Heidfeld (D), Vitaly Petrov (RU)
Reserve Driver – Bruno Senna (BR)
The good news for Renault is that their new R31, in testing at least, appears to be as fast as it is good-looking in the JPS-inspired black-and-gold livery that has come courtesy of a tie-up with Lotus Cars (not to be confused with Team Lotus, but more on that later). The bad news however, is that they will have to make do for at least a considerable portion of the season without arguably its greatest asset: Robert Kubica. The Pole's horrific accident in an Andorran rally and the subsequent injuries he sustained has rendered him sadly unable to compete for the time being. But, luckily for the Enstone-based team, they've secured the best available replacement in Nick Heidfeld. His vast experience and ability to develop a car will prove invaluable, and what's more the undeniably talented German has been handed a chance to re-vitalise his stalled career. If the testing form carries over into the first few rounds, Renault could well find themselves ahead of McLaren to be third in the pecking order, at least to begin with, and Heidfeld may have his best ever opportunity to finally chalk his first Grand Prix victory. Petrov's goal should be to establish himself as a regular points-scorer, with a possible view to snatching a podium if the right circumstances arise.
AT&T Williams
Drivers – Rubens Barrichello (BR), Pastor Maldonado (YV)
Reserve Driver – Valtteri Bottas (SF)
In many respects, Williams is a modern-day Tyrrell. The glory days of the 1990s must feel like a long time ago now (even if this year's livery does bear something of a resemblance to their iconic Rothmans livery of that era) and Frank Williams' squad has just come off the back of its sixth consecutive barren season. Although testing has been promising, the progress made by some of their rivals could make 2011 another trying year for Williams. The ultra-experienced Rubens Barrichello remains the team leader for a second season, but his 2010 partner Nico Hulkenberg has been forced to step aside for reigning GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado, who brings with him hefty sums of Venezuelan oil money. But make no mistake – Maldonado is certainly not a pay-driver in the mould of Sakon Yamamoto, for example. You don't win the GP2 championship by accident, so it would be little surprise to see the newcomer do as good a job as Hulkenberg did in 2010, or perhaps even better.
Force India F1 Team
Drivers – Adrian Sutil (D), Paul Di Resta (GB)
Reserve Driver – Nico Hulkenberg (D)
The last two seasons have both represented solid progress for the team that used to be a regular fixture at the very rear of the grid. Now a respectable and fully-fledged F1 team, Vijay Mallya will certainly be eyeing further progress up the field. But, compared to its rivals, Force India doesn't appear to have made up so much ground. This will come as disheartening news to Adrian Sutil, who is embarking on his fifth straight season with the team. Arguably the team isn't doing enough to allow him to realise his potential, and one wonders how long he'll want to stay if the team's progress begins to stagnate. As for Paul Di Resta, the British newcomer who is fresh from winning the DTM (German Touring Car Championship) for Mercedes will likely be vying for unofficial 'Rookie of the Year' honours with Maldonado and Perez. Only time will tell if he'll be able to emulate his fellow Brits Hamilton and Button to become world champion one day.
Sauber F1 Team
Drivers – Kamui Kobayashi (J), Sergio Perez (MEX)
Reserve Driver – Esteban Gutierrez (MEX)
Peter Sauber has a knack for spotting young talent, having plucked Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and most recently Kamui Kobayashi from relative obscurity to drive his eponymous cars. Sergio Perez will not only become the latest rookie to be given a berth by the Swiss, but also the first Mexican F1 driver since Hector Rebaque drove for Brabham in 1981. In a similar vein to Maldonado, don't let the myriad of new sponsors Perez is bringing to Sauber fool you – he finished runner-up in the GP2 championship last season, and so could well upset his more established teammate, Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese hotshot is heading into only his second full season at this level, charged with leading the team and the development of the C30. It will be interesting to see whether Peter Sauber's decision to eschew experience in favour of youth pays off as the season unwinds.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Drivers – Sebastien Buemi (CH), Jaime Alguersauri (E)
Reserve Driver – Daniel Ricciardo (AU)
If testing is anything to go by, Toro Rosso could be in for its strongest season since 2008, where Vettel nabbed an unlikely victory in adverse weather conditions at Monza. The STR6 has looked consistently impressive throughout testing, which no doubt means both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersauri will be hoping for their strongest seasons yet. Both men were fairly evenly matched during last season, and so both will be eager to quickly assert themselves over the other, not least because of rumours that a certain Daniel Ricciardo could be replacing one of them mid-season. After all, Toro Rosso has something of a history of replacing drivers before the season is out, with Scott Speed moving aside for Vettel in late 2007, and Alguersauri joining the Faenza-based team at Sebastien Bourdais' expense mid-way through 2009. That spectre will hopefully spur both men on to up their games for the new season, possibly towards becoming genuine future prospects.
Team Lotus
Drivers – Heikki Kovalainen (SF), Jarno Trulli (I)
Reserve Driver – Karun Chandhok (IND)
'Team Lotus', or '1Malaysia Racing' as I prefer to call it, found itself rather embroiled over the off-season with Lotus Cars (who are sponsoring Renault this year) as to who indeed has the right to name themselves after Colin Chapman's legendary team. Until the dispute is finally resolved, we are stuck with two teams known as 'Lotus-Renault' thanks to an engine-supply deal between Tony Fernandes' team and the famous French manufacturer. The team would appear to have made some considerable progress for the new season, but even with the experienced line-up of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, I can't quite picture the team shading any of the more-established runners to reach 9th place in the constructors just yet. What I can picture, however, is the team amassing its first points and consolidating its superiority over their rivals at Hispania and Virgin Racing.
Hispania F1 Team
Drivers – Vitantonio Liuzzi (I), Narain Karthikeyan (IND)
Reserve Driver – TBA
It would be fair to say that the only way in 2011 is up for this fledging Spanish team who were last year's perennial backmarkers. In spite of the continued absence of a major sponsor and a virtually non-existant testing programme, Hispania have two aces up their sleeve. The first is the experienced Geoff Willis, who has helped designed the new F111 which looks to be a step forward in comparison to the hopelessly outpaced Dallara design of 2010. The second is Vitantonio Liuzzi, who has been unceremoniously dumped by Force India in favour of Paul Di Resta. This marks the first time during Hispania's extremely brief history that a driver will be able to bring experience to the team which will prove vital in moving the outfit up the grid. The Italian is joined by Narain Karthikeyan, returning after just one season with Jordan in 2005, who should become the first Indian to participate in his home Grand Prix later this year, provided his Tata money hasn't dried up by then.
Marussia Virgin Racing
Drivers – Timo Glock (D), Jerome D'Ambrosio (B)
Reserve Driver – Sakon Yamamoto (J)
With its small budget, continued abstinence from wind-tunnel testing in favour of CFD and rather anonymous form in testing, there seems to be little to suggest a major leap up the grid for Virgin Racing. Experienced German Timo Glock finds himself in the unfortunate position of having his considerable skill wasted by uncompetitive machinery. Owing to his impressive Friday practice performances last year, Jerome D'Ambrosio replaces Lucas Di Grassi as Glock's teammate for the new season. He becomes Belgium's first full-time F1 driver since Thierry Boutsen, though his GP2 results don't particularly allude to any world-beating potential. Along with Hispania, any chance of scoring points for Virgin Racing would seem improbable.
Drivers' Championship Predictions
1. Alonso, 2. Vettel, 3. Webber, 4. Hamilton, 5. Massa, 6. Button, 7. Heidfeld, 8. Rosberg, 9. Schumacher, 10. Barrichello, 11. Petrov, 12. Buemi, 13. Maldonado, 14. Alguersauri, 15. Kobayashi, 16. Sutil, 17. Di Resta, 18. Perez, 19. Kovalainen, 20. Trulli, 21. Glock, 22. Liuzzi, 23. D'Ambrosio, 24. Karthikeyan
Constructors' Championship Predictions
1. Red Bull-Renault, 2. Ferrari, 3. McLaren-Mercedes, 4. Renault, 5. Mercedes, 6. Williams-Cosworth, 7. STR-Ferrari, 8. Sauber-Ferrari, 9. Force India-Mercedes, 10. Lotus-Renault, 11. Virgin-Cosworth, 12. HRT-Cosworth
Those are my predictions, but what about yours? Don't hesitate to leave a comment in the form below. Thanks very much for reading, and be sure to check back next Sunday for a look back at the exciting seasons of 10, 20 and 30 years ago.
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