Over the Curbs Awards – 2012

Last season was an one sided affair but 2012 was very special as not only the title once again went down to the wire but also Vettel become the youngest 3 time Champion and has become the 3^rd driver after Fangio & Schumacher to win 3 straight titles. Also this year we had 8 different drivers winning the race while 6 constructors won the races with them. 2 other constructors even led the races and had realistic chance of winning.

As always many drivers do leave F1 for a variety of reasons but Schumacher has retired for good. The  legendary German driver may not have had the most successful comeback but he did have fun and finally did the podium at Valencia. Maybe he trusted Brawn too much or maybe he is not that good but again everyone does agree that for 3 years the car was never as good as the front running cars and this year there was atleast 6 cars which were better than the Mercedes.

Kimi made a very good comeback to F1 as he finished 3^rd in the driver’s championship and helped Lotus achieve 4^th in the constructors battle. If only he had a better teammate Lotus could have even finished runner-up in the constructor’s battle. Kimi has done well and another good season will only see the likes of Red Bull & McLaren courting him once again.

US made a return to F1 and the grand prix at Austin was a big success. Good to see F1 back in the US and all now is needed is a good American driver to race but one can only hope for a miracle to see Danica Patrick in F1 but alas it may never happen.

Among the teams, McLaren despite having one of the best cars of the season was the biggest disappointment that the team just could not challenge for the drivers title for a variety of reasons while Hamilton has made a high profile move to Mercedes and despite he having a chance to earn more, not sure if this is a right career more as Mercedes has failed to produce a good car. The outfit apart from one season as BAR and one season as Brawn has a history of producing bad cars only.

Red Bull apart from the Asian leg never really had the fastest car on the grid but Vettel showed great maturity and proved that he is truly one of the best ever as the way the won the title in a not so fast car is remarkable. Alonso can whine all he want and has proved that he is a very bad loser but Ferrari in reality never had such a bad car and in the end it was good to see Massa being faster than Alonso and team orders has to be ensured that Alonso stays ahead.

The mid-field pack was very tight but despite having a very good car Sauber & Williams could have done better had they had better drivers while Force India needs some investment if it needs to move out of this pack. Realistically these 3 teams can and should target Mercedes while Lotus can also be overhauled but again all depends on their budgets. McLaren can be target as now without Hamilton, Button is the new leader and despite being one of the most consistent drivers on the grid but with Perez as a teammate, there will be too much pressure on him and the team to challenge RBR & Ferrari.

Toro Rosso had a very lacklustre season as the teams was not fast as the mid-field pack but was well ahead of the 3 teams which joined in 2010. Caterham is lucky to finish ahead of Maurussuia as the team despite all the talk is still on par with Caterham while HRT will leave F1 after this season as they just do not have any money left.

Over the Club Awards for 2012 Season:

 Driver of the Season – Sebastian Vettel & Fernando Alonso

 Team of the Season – Red Bull Racing

 The Next Big Thing – Nico Hulkenberg

 Most Improved Driver – Sebastian Vettel

 Most Improved Team – Sauber & Williams

 Race of the Season – European Grand Prix

 Best Grand Prix – United States Grand Prix

 Worst Grand Prix – Chinese Grand Prix

 Rookie of the season – Jean-Éric Vergn

 Most disappointing driver of the Season – Kamui Kobayashi

 Most disappointing team of the Season – Mercedes

 Lucky to be in F1 (for the season) - Narain Karthikeyan

 Veteran of the Season – Kimi Räikkönen

 Comeback of the Season – Kimi Räikkönen

 Most entertaining driver of the season – Sebastian Vettel

 Most boring driver of the season – Nico Rosberg

 JV of the Season – Fernando Alonso

 (For the driver who talks utter nonsense like how JV used to do it in his racing days)

 Whiner of the season - Fernando Alonso

 Most missed Driver – Nick Heidfeld

 Least missed Driver - Rubens Barrichello

Sayonara Kobayashi?

Kamui Kobayashi had a blazing start to his F1 career during 2009 Brazilian GP and he not only finished in his debut race but also went wheel-to-wheel with the eventual 2009 title winner Jenson Button and managed to hold him of for a long enough time. In his next race in the inaugural Abu Dhabi GP, Kobayashi scored his maiden F1 points by finishing 6^th in the race.

Though Kobayashi did not have a stellar F3 or a GP2 series, he took the F1 world by storm after his first 2 races but unfortunately for him Toyota withdrew from the Championship and for a short time, his career was more or less over but Sauber took a punt and placed him in his car for the 2010 season. 2010 was a bad year for Sauber as BMW had pulled out from the F1 program and the team till the last minute did not have an entry. Nevertheless Kobayashi in his first full F1 season outpaced and outclassed his vastly experienced teammate de la Rosa.

There were talks of bigger things for Kobayashi but as of now, he is not even sure of a race seat for the 2013 season. There was a time in F1 when drivers like Kobayashi could easily walk into any mid-field team but nowadays all drivers for these teams has to have some level of budgets. Kobayashi is easily one of the best drivers from Japan and still due to the severity of the economic situation, almost all Japanese companies have pulled out of F1 and now he has no backers at all.

For the last 2 races his teammate Perez has proved that he is more than capable and this season Perez with 3 podiums is on his way to McLaren for 2013 while Kobayashi is not sure of his future. Kobayashi is a very good driver but as seen from the last race he is capable of making some basic mistakes as well. Maybe if he is backed by a big organization those mistakes can be forgotten but he has no funding so whatever he does on the track is taken into account.

Sauber benefitted a lot from the Perez plan as not only Perez was pretty good as a driver but also bright in big money for the team. Now that he has left Carlos Slim is still backing Sauber for 2013 and the team maybe force to promote Esteban Gutiérrez their reserve driver to the race seat. The same Esteban Gutiérrez was not promoted when Perez was injure during the 2011 Canadian GP and instead de la Rosa drove the car.

Gutiérrez comes with decent racing credentials as he is the first ever GP3 Champion and despite spending 2 seasons with the ART team which is one of the best teams in GP2, his best result has been 3^rd place during the 2012 season. He did manage to win 3 races during the year but James Calado his rookie teammate was not too far off and he did manage to outperform Gutiérrez several times during the year. Gutiérrez is clearly not ready for F1 and he needs one more season in GP2 or even Formula Renault World Series. We have seen the effects of hot-headed rookies creating chaos in F1 and we just do not need one more person.

There was a time when even the legendary Schumacher was associated with the Sauber seat but now ever since he has announced his retirement from the sport, Force India driver Nico Hülkenberg is the favourite to land a drive. Hulk has always shown that he has enough credentials as his pre-F1 career was pretty phenomenal with him being the Champion in A1GP, F3 Euro Series and GP2. Even his debut season in the Williams was not bad by any standards as by the end of the season he managed to get pole and also match his vastly experienced teammate Barrichello for pace.

This season Hulk despite being out of F1 for a year has managed to be on pace with di Resta and for the last few races have actually outperformed the Scot another highly rated youngster. Hulk will bring in more consistency to the team and if Sauber can maintain the current season level of performance, then 2013 will also be a good season for the team. But having 2 new drivers for the team may not be too productive after all especially if the rookie is still not ready for F1. Williams this year despite having a very good car has failed to score big points as they have 2 inconsistent pay drivers.

Sauber has traditionally given youngsters a chance and despite the economic situation the team may never go with 2 pay drivers. Kobayashi scored a podium at his home race in Japan this season but that may not be enough to get him a drive as so far throughout the year, Perez in only his 2^nd season has outperformed him and now he will be off to McLaren.

There are others too who are gunning for Kobayashi’s seat and these includes Jaime Alguersuari, Sébastien Buemi & Heikki Kovalainen. All are in the same category as Kobayashi as drivers and they could also additionally bring in some budgets for the team. If only Honda or Toyota was present in F1 today, Kobayashi could have been the big star but unfortunately they are not there and for Kobayashi if Sauber fails to give him a contract for 2013 then his F1 career is more or less over.

It is Sayonara for Kobayashi as the other mid-field teams like Williams & Force India needs someone who can bring in the money as well while it makes no sense for his to go to a backmarker. Tough times ahead for Kobayashi and we all can just hope that this will not be the last season we see of this driver.

Into the Unknown!

It is official as we now head towards uncharted territory! For the first time in the history of the sport 7 different drivers have won the first 7 races of the season. Apart from 7 different drivers, 5 different constructors have also won the races while the likes of Lotus and Sauber have hit the podium multiple times now.

Usually F1 has never witnessed this level of chaos since early 80’s and usually when the European part of the season begins, the pecking order is clear but this season despite after 7 races no one really know who actually has the pace. At the beginning of the season McLaren and Lotus were the 2 teams with pace but McLaren despite winning 2 races, the car has not really evolved much after the first race and the team has made some costly errors and now the team is trailing Red Bull in the Championship. Red Bull had a difficult start to the season but despite that they are leading the constructors table with both Vettel and Webber in the top 4 of the drivers’ championship with only a few points adrift of the current leader Hamilton who got the lead only after winning the last race.  

Red Bull due to some consistent driving and innovative strategy are looking good despite not have the best car in the grid. Another team which had a poor start was Ferrari. Ferrari’s start was so poor that it was widely expected that the team will not even get regular podium finishes but due to a mix of luck and some brilliant driving by Alonso, Ferrari still has an outside chance for the constructor’s championship if Massa pulls up his act while Alonso is one of the favorites for the driver’s championship. Right now on the grid, Alonso is the best driver and if the likes of Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton were driving the Lotus or even the likes of Williams or Sauber, they could have won almost every race.

Lotus despite having a very fast car and though the results are good for the team and it just seems like a win is just around the corner need to be more consistent. Both the drivers and the team need to show more consistency if it needs to challenge for the titles. Another team which has had a very mixed result has been Mercedes. Despite having a pretty strong car and Rosberg winning his first race, the team is yet to show the level of consistency which can make it genuine contenders for the title. Schumacher has been plagued by bad luck that had he not had it he may have well even been leading the title race now.

It is always good to see a strong Williams’s team and despite having 2 pay drivers, the team has done reasonably well. They managed to break their win draught and now after such a miserable season last year, the team is on its way up. If only had both its drivers done the job, the team would have been comfortably ahead Sauber & Mercedes. Maybe even Ferrari would have been at their sight. The team has shown that it can still produce a good car and hopefully we will see a good fast racer join the team next season as the team can progress well.

Sauber has shown that the results in Malaysia is now fluke and the team does have good pace but then it at times have struggled in a few tracks. Pérez is not that consistent and he is still a few years away from a drive with Ferrari but compared to his teammate Kobayashi, he is doing a far better job. Kobayashi is struggling despite his promising start to his F1 career and he needs to show some good results or else a chance with a top team which already is looking slim maybe lost forever. There was a time when there was call for Ferrari to replace Massa with Kobayashi but not that seems like distance memory.

Force India after having a brilliant season last year is actually having a good season despite where they are placed in the table. They have the most promising line-up on the grid and the resurgence of Williams & Sauber along with the way Lotus and Mercedes have upped the game, things do look bad for the team. The problem for the team is that they have not managed to raise their game to the likes of Williams, Sauber & Lotus while they are very comfortably ahead of Toro Rosso. It does look like Force India will have a lonely battle in the middle as their rivals are ahead of them while FI are just no match for Toro Rosso at the moment.

Among the rest Toro Rosso scored its customary early season points and if we do go by tradition, then we need to wait till the end of the season for them to score again. But in the last few years the team has taken the battle to the midfield teams but this season the midfield bunch has gone up leaving STR at times time battle with Caterham. Not that Caterham has caught up with STR but they are nearly there and STR needs to up its game a bit.

Marussia and HRT still make up for numbers while Caterham for all their hype on how they plan to score points still look a long way from it. Maybe a race with rain and incident could be the only realistic chance for these teams to score points.

It is still early days but among the drivers Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel looks like the guys who will fight for the Championship while the likes of Webber, Rosberg and even Kimi could be the dangerous floater. Massa looks like he is on a revival while Jenson Button after winning the 1^st race of the season is woefully out of form.

There are still drivers like Schumacher, Kimi, & Massa who have all won races in the past to win races this season as they all have the machinery to do it. While the likes of Grosjean and Pérez scoring their first win is also possible.

It is going to be a very exciting season and the driver who has been very consistent and also at times brave with strategy looks like the guy who will win the championship at the end of the year. 

Australian GP 2012 & Beyond!

The first race of the season got over last week in Melbourne and if we are to take anything from it the pecking order is still not too clear and I guess we will know the true order only by the European Leg of the season. Jenson Button managed to win the race while Hamilton after a good pole performance managed to come only 3 and should be disappointed as his teammate in an identical car has outperformed him during the race once again. Hamilton as a driver is drastically going down while Button ever since his title win with Brawn has improved a lot as a driver and with the right machine could be a very serious threat for the title.

Vettel & Red Bull who many expected to smoke everyone once again will find this season tougher than they though it will be but in the end Vettel coming 2^nd in a car which was slower than McLaren is a good result and I do expect Red Bull to catch up with McLaren very soon. Webber also had a pretty decent result in coming in 4^th but one thing is certain and it may just be the 1^st race of the season but Vettel already looks like a better driver and Webber winning the title is something which looks like will never happen anymore.

Ferrari as expected had a horrible race but Alonso salvaged it for the team by coming in 5^th in a car which truly does not deserve to be in the top 10 itself. Ferrari needs to do something real soon as a driver as good as Alonso just cannot go about driving car which is bad compared to the title contenders. Also it is time Ferrari drops Massa as he is not good and with Massa in the other car the team by the end of the season will struggle to even finish in the top 3 in the constructors table.

Mercedes & Lotus have made lot of improvement and though it is still early days and Mercedes for all their talk in the end failed to score points but the car does have potential and if the team can solve the mechanical issues they can challenge for podiums while Lotus traditionally have always had good starts but it is up to the team to capitalize on this and as far as the Australian GP is concerned despite their bad luck and poor planning during qualifying the team managed to score points and Kimi is rusty but by the team the European leg comes he will be up to speed which means that the big teams has to worry about Lotus as Kimi in a fast car is always a threat.

Sauber looks pretty decent and if they just manage to continue their progress they can take away crucial points from top teams and it is also a very important season for both Kobayashi and Pérez as a few seats will be vacant next year and a very good performance could see them land up with good seats in top teams. Williams is one team which had made a huge improvement from the previous year and at one stage it was looking good for even a 5^th place with Maldonado but then he rather lost it in the last lap and despite him showing good speed there were crucial points which the team cannot lose. Always a decision to go with 2 pay drivers is not a good one and this may hurt the team in the end of the season.

Daniel Ricciardo is his debut Australian GP scored points in his home race while teammate Vergne making his debut for the Toro Rosso team had a decent race and managed to bring him the car in the 11^th place. Force India another team which was supposed to be fast will have their hands full this year as they have set high ambitions of finishing 5^th this season and this will be a tough ask as the likes of Sauber, Williams and even Toro Rosso looks string while Mercedes and Lotus have improved a lot.

Among the 3 new teams Marussia finished the race while Caterham despite the pre-season hype had issues and looks like another season where they will be quicker than Marussia and HRT while they will fail to catch up with the middle pack as the middle pack has just become faster. HRT is an embarrassment at this level and they fail to qualify for the race with the 107% rule being enforced upon. They look like they will yet again fail to qualify in Malaysia and the campaign looks like a long tough one for them.

Still early days but one thing is certain is that Red Bull will not dominate the season as it did last season while Ferrari is in real danger of being in the mid-pack if they do not do much to improve the car. 

F1 2012 Season: Preview, Thoughts & Predictions!

The biggest news going into this season has been the comeback of the 2007 World Champion Kimi with the Lotus Renault team while Williams which is a deep free fall into F1 obscurity has tied up with Renault in a hope to rekindle the magic which resulted in total dominance in the early 90’s. Apart from that there have not been any big name moments between teams.

This is the team line-up for the 2012 season:

Red Bull Renault – Vettel/Webber

McLaren Mercedes – Button/Hamilton

Ferrari – Alonso/Massa

Mercedes AMG – Schumacher/Rosberg

Lotus Renault – Kimi/Grosjean

Force India Mercedes – di Resta/Hulk

Sauber Ferrari – Kobayashi/Perez

Toro Rosso Ferrari – Ricciardo/Vergne

Williams Renault – Maldonado/B Senna

Caterham Renault – Heikki/Petrov

HRT Cosworth – de la Rosa/Narain

Maurussia Cosworth – Glock/Pic

The Lotus issue has been solved now with Renault F1 becoming Lotus while Team Lotus has become Caterham while even Virgin has now become Maurussia. Mercedes have also added AMG to their name.

Among the drivers, the longest servicing F1 driver Rubens Barrichello was given the boot by Williams while fellow veteran Jarno Trulli who was originally supposed to drive this season was replaced at the last minute by Petrov. Sutil was also dropped by Force India while Toro Rosso went for a total clean-up as they replaced both Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari were dropped. Others missing from the grid includes Nick Heidfeld, Vitantonio Liuzzi & Jérôme d'Ambrosio. Atleast d'Ambrosio & Buemi have landed up reserve driver roles.

The pre-season testing is always interesting and though this season it looks very close when you look at the time of various drivers but Red Bull looks like the favorites once again while McLaren could have a car which can challenge for the title. Ferrari seems to have got it wrong and so this could be another year where Ferrari will struggle and this time around they could be lucky to retain the 3^rd place in the constructors table. Mercedes is looking strong and looks good to challenge for regular podium places while if you look at pre-season pace Lotus is looking very dangerous and if they actually have a fast car and with Kimi behind the wheels they can upset some big teams.

The mid-field once again looks tight but early signs show that Force India looks more likely the team which can break away from this pack while Toro Rosso could also surprise a lot of people. Sauber looks ok but nothing special from the team and they will actually do well to finish 7^th like last season while Williams will just feel good beating these teams are gone are the days where you had Williams challenging for the title. Caterham will do anything just to score a point while HRT & Maurussia just make up for the numbers. Atleast Maurussia is trying hard; HRT is nothing but a joke.

My Predictions for 2012:

2012 World Drive’s World Champion: Sebastian Vettel

2012 World Constructor Championship: Red Bull Racing

Disappointment of the Season: Ferrari

Sure to get Fired: Massa

Sure to change Teams: Lewis Hamilton

Sure to Quit the Sport: Mark Webber

Surprise Package of the Year: Lotus/Force India

Rookie of the Year: Jean-Éric Vergne

The New Era of Pay Drivers!

Pay Drivers have always been on the grid in F1 and will always remain in the sport! It is just next to impossible to avoid pay drivers in F1. In a sense both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso both had to pay for their first slots but then it was by their sponsors, which is similar to few drivers in the grid and it does not always mean that they are bad. There are 2 types of pay drivers – one who are good but needs some financial backing to get into the sport and others well little said about them is better. Also there are talented drivers who have vanished from the sport because of lack of funds while some mediocre ones continue to appear on the grid.

Ever since the strict tobacco bans came about one sport which has been deeply affected is F1. There was a time when Marlboro was sponsoring both Ferrari & McLaren and nearly every single car on the grid has some cigarette brand on them. Smoking cigarette is injurious to health but just because we see Marlboro on Ferrari does not mean that we are going to go out rushing and buying packs. If Alonso smokes a Marlboro and then drives it may influence people but then having stickers on car does not influence at all. It has been more than a decade since the ban kicked on and people still smoke. Everyone millions of new people join the smoking brigade.

With the global economy in a very bad state there was a time when the top companies had the budget of a third world country but gone are those days and barring a few teams a majority of them lack cash and would not mind more money coming in. Cost cutting and other FIA introduced policies may work but then this is F1 the pinnacle of motorsport so I personally feel like the best of technology should be showcased. I do agree testing 365 days a year is a bit too much but next to zero testing is also not good. FIA for its bit got in 3 news teams recently and among them only Caterham have been decent while Maurussia is there just to get track time while HRT well is a big joke! I would rather see only 10 teams than have 14 teams with teams like HRT on the grid.

In the current grid there are as many as 7 who are in some way of the other classified as pay drivers but then a few can hold on their spot on but still in way their pay driver status helps them get a spot easily over their rivals. Paul di Resta is good enough for a top team but his Force India ride is easier with the Mercedes backing he receives while Sergio Pérez is good enough to be part of the Ferrari Driver Academy but still his Carlos Slim backed sponsorship makes it easier for Sauber to hire him. Williams a team with such a rich heritage is now forced to have 2 pay drivers. Both Bruno Senna^[ and Pastor Maldonado’s credentials are debatable but without their money there is no way that they will be driving for Williams. Also Williams Nico Hülkenberg after a very impressive rookie season for Maldonado’s oil money.

Then there are guys like Narain Karthikeyan who have no business to be in F1 but is still there because of sponsorship money! Here is a driver who is in his mid-30’s in a team which is yet to have a car ready and all this is not at all good for the sport. He maybe a decent driver but without the money there is no chance that he would have made it to F1. Karun is a much better driver who is also younger and it would have been wise for Tata to spend money on him rather than NK. Maurussia has a habit of picking a pay driver for each season and the latest one is Charles Pic. He is young decent driver and could go on for bigger things but currently he is on the grid because he has the sponsors with him.

Romain Grosjean is a very interesting case as he was part of the Renault driver program and though he made his debut for Renault in a controversial way there are people who still feel that he deserves a fair chance in F1 but then he is in Lotus because he is managed by Gravity and also he is still Renault backed so it made sense for Lotus to give him his chance. Petrov the former Lotus driver may still upstage Trulli for the Caterham drive while Sutil though is not a pay driver he does brings with him some sponsorship which will always be helpful. In fact Webber was part of the package when Red Bull got Renault engines but no way can you call a guy like Webber a pay driver.

Pay drivers are not good for the sport but then it is better to have talented pay drivers like Perez & even di Resta rather than have someone like NK still having a go at F1 at the expense of a younger driver. 

Early Days!

It is still early days and the first test is never a benchmark for the season but we can assume a few things as always with this test. In an historic season which will see 6 World Champions on the track with the comeback of Kimi Räikkönen, the season on paper looks to be the most exciting season. 2007, 2008 and 2010 were the most exciting season in recent times while the dominance of Red Bull and Vettel was too much during the course of last season that even Mark Webber in a similar car to Vettel could just not match his pace.

This season the likes of Ferrari and McLaren have said that they will be challenging RBR right from the start while Mercedes & Lotus wants to challenge the big 3. So far based on the times, we can say that right now Red Bull once again has the car which everyone has to beat but then the difference between theirs and their challengers could not be determined and it is still early days. McLaren over the last few seasons despite not having the best of starts eventually catch up with speed towards the end of the season. This is good news for the team with regard to the development pace but then too many times the lead is just too much that the team realistically just cannot catch with the Championship team.

Ferrari is having a sense of Déjà vu of the early 90s’s as they once again do not have the pace to beat the best team but then they are better than the rest. Ferrari has promised something different for this season but unless they do something drastic in the next few weeks they will not be race winners during the 1^st half of the season. The F2012 has problems and they need to be solved quickly. Lotus may not be able to do a Brawn but they do have a car which can consistently fight for podium finishes. Which is actually good news for the team where last season they were nearly caught by the Force India.

Mercedes may have topped the timing but it was with a 2011 car and the team needs to show that it has in it to fight the top 3 teams. This could be Schumacher’s last season and though a win may be very tough a few podium finishes could be good while Rosberg needs to show that he is actually a driver capable of a World Championship as given how he is in his career it could either go the Button way or the Heidfeld way!

Force India aspires to come 5^th in the Championship and they certainly have the most existed driving pairing in recent times so if the car is good then they can challenge the likes of Lotus and Mercedes. But then the team does needs funds and given the current size they are punching well above their weight. They have new sponsors in Sahara who do have bucket loads of cash while with UB in a mess don’t expect too much from VJM this season.

Among the others STR looks most likely to finish ahead of Sauber who are short of funds while Williams now are quickly going down the original Team Lotus route. The team missed an opportunity to sign Kimi and even though they have Renault engines now, Williams are right at the bottom and they need to be careful as the likes of Caterham will be looking to beat them. Maurussia will have a car but HRT is one team which should not be allowed on the grid. The team’s flawed principle on how it views F1 is not a good thing for the sport. Would rather see David Richards and his Prodrive team or even ART GP instead of this team.

Over the Curbs Awards – 2011

After a stunning 2010 season where till the final race of the season you were not sure who will win the F1 Driver’s Championship but 2011 turned out to be a year where Vettel not only became the youngest double World Champion but also broke Mansell’s long standing record of the most number of poles in a season. Red Bull proved that they are no one-hit wonder and that they are here to stay. Red Bull was so dominant that Vettel and RBR won the titles even before the season was over. McLaren and Ferrari were able to challenge the team only at few races while the mid-field battle between Force India, Sauber and STR was pretty exciting.

Schumacher nearly hot the podium in Canada but though he still struggles in qualifying, overall the German Legend has improved his race pace and given a good car can challenge for wins once again though there were silly errors from him throughout the season. Also the whole Lotus saga comes to an end with Lotus Renault GP will now become Lotus while Team Lotus will become Caterham.

Robert Kubica was severely injured before the season started and he is not ready to drive a F1 car. We all hope during the course of the 2012 season, he can atleast drive a car in tests and show that he still has it in him. Also there were talks of Kimi racing for Williams and Lotus Renault for 2012 but given the state of global economy and Kimi’s inflated salary, don’t think a Kimi comeback is on cards.

Among the 3 new tears none really made a huge progress but Team Lotus did manage to challenge some mid-field team during a few races and they should make the jump from this pack to challenge the likes of Sauber and STR. Williams are on a deep slide and they had their worst ever F1 season. If they continue going this way they may end up like the original Team Lotus and may eventually go into liquidation. For 2012 they have big plans and they have signed up with Renault for engines. They had the same Renault engines during their successful period 1989 to 1997. Realistically, we can’t expect the team to win races but they should be challenging the likes of Sauber and STR.

Also there was the first ever Indian GP and it managed to go on without a hitch while Force India has sold a 42% stake to the Sahara group and with Sahara coming onboard, the only way for Force India is to go up and after a stunning last 2 seasons, the team should challenge the likes of Lotus Renault for the coming season.

Over the Club Awards for 2011 Season:

Driver of the Season – Sebastian Vettel

Team of the Season – Red Bull Racing

The Next Big Thing – Paul di Resta

Most Improved Driver – Jenson Button

Most Improved Team – Force India

Race of the Season – Canadian Grand Prix

Best Grand Prix – Singapore Grand Prix

Worst Grand Prix – Chinese Grand Prix

Rookie of the season – Paul di Resta

Most disappointing driver of the Season – Lewis Hamilton

Most disappointing team of the Season – Williams

Lucky to be in F1 (for the season) - Jarno Trulli

Veteran of the Season – Michael Schumacher

Comeback of the Season – Adrian Sutil

Most entertaining driver of the season – Michael Schumacher

Most boring driver of the season – Vitaly Petrov

JV of the Season – Lewis Hamilton
(For the driver who talks utter nonsense like how JV used to do it in his racing days)

Whiner of the season - Rubens Barrichello

Most missed Driver – Robert Kubica

Least missed Driver - Pedro de la Rosa

The Crazy and no-so Crazy Driver Market!

The F1 driver market will always be an interesting read as at times you can hear some audacious stories floating around. For 2012, there is an unusual calm and more or less all the big 4 teams have announced their drivers. I don’t expect any change in Red Bull (Vettel & Webber), McLaren (Button & Hamilton), Ferrari (Alonso & Massa) and Mercedes (Schumacher & Rosberg) and also Sauber has announced that it will continue with Sergio Perez & Kamui Kobayashi while Team Lotus has re-signed both Heikki Kovalainen & Jarno Trulli, there is still some speculation on Trulli’s role if he is going to be a race driver or will he take up a David Coulthard type of role.

Williams, Lotus Renault, Force India, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Marussia Virgin Racing and HRT still has available seats and there are plenty of drivers in the market. The biggest news which is going around is that former World Champion Kimi is having talks with Williams. One may wonder why a driver of the caliber of Kimi would have talks with Williams but it actually makes sense for everyone involved if this actually happens. Williams have gone from one of the most dominant team of the 90’s to a mid-field team which this season has gone even worse. They are just ahead of the 3 new teams of F1. Force India and Sauber are well ahead and even the possibility of catching up Toro Rosso is remote. Williams have announced a partnership with Renault but Red Bull is the premier works team of Renault while Williams is more or less a customer team only. The benefit for Williams by signing Kimi is that they have a former Champion racing for them and this could easily attract new sponsors for the team. Also the serious intent that the team is looking at breaking away from the mid-field will be shown by this move. Williams took a lot of flank by replacing Hulkenberg  with Pastor Maldonado but then atleast the team’s financial situation is stable and Maldonado is doing a pretty decent job and comes with a decent driver pedigree as having won the GP2 Championship. For Kimi, Williams is the sort of team where he would have less pressure as no one expects him to win races with the team and a few good drives would once again entice the likes of Red Bull and McLaren. If Kimi had gone to Red Bull and had Vettel smoked him out like he is doing it to Vettel, Kimi’s future in the sport will have a downward spiral. So Kimi and Williams is the best combination for both the parties involved.

Force India is now almost challenging Renault for the 5^th place and has a realistic chance of taking it but then with Sahara taking over a major stake in the team and also Sahara is keen on an Indian driving for the team, things are not too clear for the team. But then Paul di Resta seems to have a contract for 2012 while there are reports saying that Nico Hulkenberg has already signed for 2012. This line-up seems to be the most logical for the team and if the car is as good as this year, this line-up can pose a challenge for even 4^th place for the 2012 season. F1 is business and nationalistic ideals do not go well with it and Force India may actually will not a sign an Indian driver to race while Sutil is bound to get the axe despite being in the team since the beginning. Sutil has had enough chances and also the brawl in China has not done him any favors. He has some personal sponsors and he is looking at the Williams seat as well but then his days in F1 is more or less over if Force India does drops him.

Lotus Renault is the most complicated team on the grid as despite being called a Renault the team has nothing to do with the car company and all it does is run Renault engines. The team could have had a stellar year this season but Kubica’s accident has ruined everything and his replacement Nick Heidfeld has failed drastically and has even been dropped by the team. It is a bit harsh on Heidfeld as more or less his F1 career is over with this move. Kubica is still recovering and there are rumors floating around that he may become the reserve driver for Ferrari in 2012 and take up the race seat during the 2013 season once Massa’s contract is done. This seems to be a good option for Kubica as given how murky the Renault teams has become. Renault still had a decent car and could attract some good drivers but does the team actually has the money to pay a good driver is a good question. Vitaly Petrov & Bruno Senna are currently racing while Petrov is well backed, Senna if he could pull off some good performance during the last few races, could be a good for the team as the Senna name can attract sponsors. Romain Grosjean is more mature and a better driver than we last saw him and his French connections could earn him a seat but then it call comes to money when Lotus Renault will decide on its drivers.

Toro Rosso has four drivers for 2012 with the incumbents Jaime Alguersuari & Sebastien Buemi more or less evenly matched but with new Spanish sponsors coming in, Alguersuari may have an edge while Daniel Ricciardo & Jean-Eric Vergne will also come into the mix. Ricciardo has done decently well with HRT while Vergne is rated highly but still is untested in F1. STR may just drop both Alguersuari & Buemi and bring in the other guys.

For the minnows, Timo Glock will race for 2012 while Jerome d’Ambrosio may get the boot. The likes of Charles Pic & Giedo Van der Garde will come into the mix while even Petrov can come in if Lotus Renault decides to give him the ax. For HRT, the biggest thing once again will be getting their car ready and anyone with enough money will be driving for team but Vitantonio Liuzzi may yet be retained.

Rubens Barrichello’s long F1 career is coming to an end and it looks certain that Williams have not renewed his contract while Lotus Renault could be his realistic shot at driving a good car while HRT may sign him if he brings in the money.

2012 looks sober but 2013 will be very interesting with the likes of Hamilton, Massa, Webber, Schumacher and Rosberg all without contracts meaning that big 4 teams has seats available. But Mercedes is sure to sign on Rosberg unless McLaren dumps Hamilton while Schumacher will retire at the end of next season but then a few race wins may even keep him going longer for a bit. Massa needs a miracle to continue with Ferrari while only a World Championship could get Red Bull retain Webber. Hamilton’s best chance of another title is with McLaren but then stranger things has happened in F1 and a former World Champion did sign for BAR and his F1 career plunged into the depths and it never took off again. Kimi’s return will be a big  plus for the 2013 silly season as a solid year with Williams could add him in the mix and F1 is just getting interesting.  

Enough is Enough!

Michael Schumacher is one of the greatest formula 1 drivers of all time and he is the best if you go only by statistics. AT 42 Schumacher still has it in him to go head-to head with drivers who were in their diapers when he started racing!

The constant criticism he gets from former drivers and the British media is uncalled for and it is just plain sour grapes. One his arch rivals Jacques Villeneuve who is often known for his brash and crazy comments actually made a good point about Schumacher’s’ comeback. F1 is not about the driver alone and though till the early 80’s it was 50/50 now it is more on the technical side and the car that it is become 80/20 in favor of the car. Yes a Karun Chandhok given a Red Bull may not win a race but a Rosberg with a Red Bull will be a title contender.

During this Belgian GP Schumacher would be celebrating his 20^th anniversary of his F1 debut which happened at Spa. This was also the venue which saw his 1^st race win and been host to a bunch of memorable Schumacher drives. Even during the Canadian GP we were shown that he has not lost much and was actually in line for a podium finish but eventually the faster McLaren of Button and Red Bull of Webber overtook him and he finished a much celebrated 4^th place.

For the British media anyone not from the isles winning races means the car is good while if their own guy wins then it is all about the driver. Vettel, the reigning Champion and also according to many the heir to Schumacher’s throne is considered an inferior driver to Hamilton according to the British press. Vettel has shown that he is a more consistent driver and by far a better team player than Hamilton will ever be. F1 is not about one race but it is about performing the whole season. This is something which Schumacher throughout his F1 career has shown.

From the time he made his debut for Jordan, he has shown that he is a special talent and with an unfancied Benetton managed to win 2 driver’s championships. This was the time when Williams seems invincible and everyone wanted to drive for the team. Also the Frenchman and multiple-time World Champion Alain Prost ran away from Ferrari after a poor season but not Schumacher. Given his German connections he could have easily gone to McLaren but he stuck around with Ferrari and ensured that Ferrari which at that point was lagging behind the likes of Williams, Benetton and McLaren became the best team in F1 history!

His time with Ferrari was one the greatest moments in F1 which resulted in 5 consecutive world championships and barring 2 years of his time with Ferrari, he was challenging for the title every other time. He is one of the greatest drivers ever but he is not a superman who can take a dog of a car and win races in it. Seriously who has managed to do it? None has in reality. Senna did manage to drag a Toleman to a Monaco during very wet conditions while Vettel went one up by actually winning at Monza during a wet race driving for the Toro Rosso team which in its previous incarnation as Minardi was always a back-marker team.

You have to remember that the Brawn GP car in which Button won was actually one of the most expensive F1 cars ever which had close to 2 years in development time. While the likes of McLaren & Ferrari were fighting for titles and Red Bull just coming up the ladder, Brawn thanks to a very generous funding by Honda managed to build a car which during the 1^st half of the season was close to invincible. You can always argue that Rubens Barrichello did not win a single race during that phase but again the driver does make a difference. Best example is if Chandhok is in a Red Bull. Do you thing he can win the title?

The very team in its previous avatars as BAR & Honda F1 has proved real dog of cars. Except for 2004 and to an extend 2006, the team has never produced cars capable of even challenging for podiums at regular intervals. Now how can you expect Schumacher to actually come take this dog of the car and challenge the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren? He can’t and the car is just not capable enough. Also Schumacher is not 28 anymore and he is 42 and he has been out of F1 for 3 years. Yes he is not the same Schumacher anymore but then Rosberg is a very good driver and given a good car he can challenge for wins and maybe even a title. He is similar to Jenson Button who is very consistent and can win a title if everything goes in his way.

It not like Trulli is beating Schumacher and the difference between Rosberg and Schumacher this season is actually not much. Schumacher given the right car will be challenging for wins but then even Vettel with this Mercedes would find it difficult to challenge for podiums leave alone a win. The car could be the best of the rest but it is lagging behind the top 3 teams. So unless Mercedes produces a car where one driver is winning while the other is yet to win you can question Schumacher. Something similar is happening in Red Bull but then since Webber is Australian who is a darling of the British media they still manage to spin the conspiracy theory that RBR gives Vettel a superior car compared to Webber!

Guys like Lauda and Jordan can keep quiet as they have had their time and it is sour grapes that Schumacher has done something which they have never managed to it. Also the British press despite their constant criticism of Schumacher he is actually not that as bad as they portray. Well the last 30 years has produced 4 British Champions and Schumacher alone has more titles put together than these 4 combined. Britain despite being home to F1 has not consistently produced good drivers. Germans since the arrival of Schumacher has had more drivers than the Brits. Among the 2 drivers on the grid, Button can win if there is rain and chaos or he has a car which is 2 second faster than any other car while Hamilton is getting worse as a driver since his F1 debut.

Schumacher is Schumacher and this comeback does not take away anything and if you look purely at statistics like a few commentators have done then Rosberg in his 6^th season is yet to win a race while Schumacher in the 6^th season has already won 2 World Championships! So statistics alone would count for nothing! Give the man a good car and he will show he is still the Man! 

Webbergate: Version 2

The whole “team order saga” once again erupted but then this time around Webber whining is just getting plain boring. Mark Webber is just lucky to drive for Red Bull. If Webber was so good, he would have gone to Renault during the 2007 season but the only reason he got his Red Bull drive was because of Renault supplying engines to Red Bull and his manager Flavio Briatore ensured that the deal happened.

Webber is way over-rated and on his day he can be a good driver but then he is not a “special” driver who can go on and win titles. He can be a good #2 or he can be a good driver for a mid-field team but then expecting Webber to win and challenge for titles is something which just is not possible. Last year people say it was Webber’s best chance but then he was just not consistent enough and that showed that by the end of the season it was Alonso who was Vettel’s biggest threat not Webber.

This season in 8 races before the British Grand Prix, Vettel has won 6 races and managed to finish 2^nd in the other 2 races. McLaren drivers Hamilton and Button both won races but Webber was just chasing Vettel throughout the season and was not even close to him. Even at the British Grand Prix despite on being pole Webber never did challenge him till the last 2 laps and that too it happened because of a horrible pit-stop by the Red Bull crew on Vettel while Webber actually got the better pit strategy.

Webber’s indiscipline this time is unacceptable and Red Bull should just not re-sign him for the next season. If they feel the younger drivers whom they have under contract is not good enough they can just sign Kamui Kobayashi who has proved that he is a highly capable driver and given a fast car he can be more than a capable teammate for Vettel. Or else they can just look at Massa who after the last 2 years in Ferrari is looking lost and he seems to have lost that spark that made him a challenger to the Championship during the 2008 season.

Red Bull does not need Webber while Webber needs them more than anything else. Webber does not have too many good options and the only seat which could be possible is Ferrari but that depends on Massa. Massa had a contract for 2012 but in F1 contracts means nothing so that is a possibility but then Alonso has molded the team around him Webber will have to be a #2 driver. He can go to Renault but with the whole Group Lotus fiasco, Renault may provide a good car but they just cannot provide a race winning car.

Williams and Force India are two options while Williams with a deal with Renault may look like they are keen on revival but given his age Webber would not want to spend his last few years nurturing the team while Force India will always be a team which performs well on a few track rather than a team which challenges for podiums.

Webber should have kept quiet and Red Bull should just sign Kobayashi as he is one for the future and has a good marketing potential too. Webber can just call it day or finish his career with Renault as he has just shot himself with his latest outburst. 

2012: The Silly Driver Market

The driver market has been very stable for the last few things and the last big move occurred when Alonso left Renault to join Ferrari while that was always expected but there have not been any big shocking moves which caused most teams to change drivers. Looking at the line-up of the top teams for the current season, everyone has a good line-up and maybe expect for McLaren, 2012 could be very different for the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and even Renault.

Two drivers who could really make a difference and plunge 2012 into a silly season are Mark Webber and Felipe Massa. Webber has a deal only till end of the year while Massa despite on paper has a deal till 2012 nothing is guaranteed as everyone knew what happened to Kimi Räikkönen.

Red Bull owns Toro Rosso for the development of drivers in their program and Vettel’s success vindicates continuing the program but then with Daniel Ricciardo all set for a Toro Rosso seat in 2012, both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari will be hoping to step-up and become Vettel’s teammate for 2012. But then it all depends on Webber and his chemistry with the team. No team likes a driver who is way too outspoken and keeps criticising & whining to the press about the team and Red Bull given how strong they are can actually any driver to partner Vettel.

Things in Ferrari are a different story and some speculate that had it not been for Massa’s serious accident, it would have been Kimi and Alonso rather than Massa continuing in the team. Massa had one great season where he nearly won the championship but then apart from that season Massa has lacked the consistency which is needed for a top driver. Last season Alonso owned Massa and looking at how things have shaped up this season things may not be that different. Massa’s failure last season was one of the main reasons why Ferrari could not even challenge for the constructors title while McLaren due to good point scoring drives by Button and Hamilton were very much in the hunt.

For Red Bull things are not that complicated as given how strong their car is any good driver would want to drive for them. Webber if he still has that hunger could be retained but I doubt if that could happen. Among the 3 young drivers Daniel Ricciardo is the most talented one but he is yet to drive in F1 while the current STR drivers Buemi and Alguersuari are both good but lacks consistent which Vettel showed when he was in Toro Rosso. If Massa is booted out of Ferrari he could come into the picture as he is a proven performer and with a fast car he can always have a good race. But one name which could surprise everyone was Nico Rosberg. Rosberg has always showed that he had the talent when he was in Williams and moving to Mercedes he did manage to beat Schumacher but then if he does manage to beat him once again this season Rosberg will be able to prove that he belong with the race winners.

One name which keeps popping up whenever Red Bull comes up is former champion Kimi Räikkönen, who is sponsored by Red Bull and is not that serious about either rallying or NASCAR as his deals are all on per race basis. A Kimi return would do F1 a world of good and it would be good to see Kimi and Vettel go up against the likes of Hamilton, Button, Schumacher and Alonso. But then Kimi has been out of F1 for 2 years and things have changed now but not that drastically that he could still be fast and challenge for races. Kimi would be a marketing coup for the team and he is also close to current world champion Vettel which means that the driver harmony in the team will be very good.

Massa and Webber could just swap seats but then Ferrari would actually benefit a lot from Webber as he is off proven quantity and since he does not have too many years left in him, he could fill in the seat till Vettel is available or till the likes of Sergio Pérez and Jules Bianchi are ready for F1. Another name which could be associated with Ferrari will be Nico Hülkenberg. The man is managed by Wili Weber, the same guy who brought Schumacher to Ferrari and the Hulk showed last season that how good he was in a bad Williams’s car and this season in Friday practices he has shown good pace with Force India.

Mercedes could end up losing both its drivers but then though Rosberg to Ferrari rumours are afloat, he is currently in the best position to pick teams as if he has a good 2011, he can actually choose between Ferrari and Red Bull while his teammate Schumacher has said that he will continue to drive till 2012, but then if Rosberg dominates him once again like he did in 2010 and Paul di Resta if he continues in the way he has started the season, he could retire to make way for the younger driver. Another possibility for the Mercedes seat will be Hülkenberg but then his nationality would play a major factor in getting him the seat.

Renault will be waiting for Kubica as this season they do have a car which can challenge for the title and no offence to Nick Heidfeld, who is very good but then he did not have a whole season for 2010 and the car was built around Kubica. Heidfeld could still do well but then losing the early momentum means that the team would be forced to fight for the 3rd place in the championship rather than look at race wins and the title itself. Vitaly Petrov has been impressive so far and if he continues to do the same he could hold on to the seat for quiet sometime. A very good season for Heidfeld means that he could possibly get a seat with likes of Williams and Force India for 2012.

Among the others, veteran Rubens Barrichello could stretch his career further but that is not going to benefit anyone while Sutil if he continues to get outpaced like this then his dream of a top car could just vanish as Mercedes would be looking at the likes of di Resta and the Hulk while Renault wants a consistent driver which Sutil may not be. Timo Glock will rue that he did not take the gamble and sign with Renault as his chance of getting a drive for a top team is getting very slim. Maybe he and Sutil can look at Team Lotus for a drive as Trulli is not getting any younger. One driver who I wish gets a good drive is Kamui Kobayashi as he is a true racer and Red Bull will do no harm in giving him a chance for 2012. If he fails to land a drive in the next few seasons he could fast become these generations Heidfeld, a good talent but never had a race winning car.

Long way to go for the 2012 season but the traditionally the driver’s market slowly picks up momentum at the start of the European season and this year it could be no different.

2011 Malaysian GP Review: Flawless Vettel dominates dominates Sepang

Sebastian Vettel won his 2nd race of the race with an ease that for most part of the season he was on his own. Even better this victory was that his championship rivals from last season Hamilton and Alonso could only finish 6th and 7th. Though it was a good race for Vettel, his teammate Webber had a mixed race but eventually managed to finish 4th fighting it out hard for that place. Not a dream start to the season for Webber but he will take it. Red Bull looks strong and if they could solve their KERS issue they can run away with the championship this season.

Jenson Button finished 2nd and though he never looked like challenging Vettel this was a good result for the British driver as the season is 19 races long and this finish is good for him in-terms of his standing in his team itself and also with regard to the driver’s championship. Button did similarly last season and was in contention for the title till the penultimate race of the season. Also he seems more suited to the Pirelli tires than his teammate Hamilton.

Ferrari came into this weekend not expecting to challenge Red Bulls for a win but there were ready to challenge for podium places and Alonso during various stages of the race was set for that but due to various races it never materialized and he could only finish 6th while teammate Massa improved to finish 5th. Not a great finish but finishing ahead of Alonso and a much improved show by him should restore some faith him in by the team.

Renault had Vitaly Petrov on podium during the last time and this time they had Nick Heidfeld who had a stunning race to finish 3rd. Renault’s decision to replace Kubica with Heidfeld has been vindicated and Heidfeld was the driver of the race and was actually 2nd during the early stages of the race after an amazing start. Petrov also had a good race till he crashed out but he has shown that he can race and if he continues his progress, then Renault can mix with the likes of McLaren and Ferrari.

Sauber once again showed that they have a very good car and though both Kobayashi and Pérez were disqualified in Melbourne for technical infringements but here in Sepang, Kobayashi once again drove a very exciting race and he fought hard with everyone and finished 8th. It is only a matter of time till one of the big teams will sign this Japanese driver. Perez did not have a great race but he has the potential and as the season progresses he should do well.

Mercedes after a horrible Australian GP looked set for an improvement at Sepang but they did open their account for this season with Michael Schumacher coming in 9th. Schumacher did show some of his old magic and if only he had the car he could be mixing with the guys at the top of the grid. Teammate Rosberg had a poor race and whatever reputation he gained during the last season will be gone quickly if he drives a few more races like he did today. Mercedes needs to up its game or else it will find itself battling the likes of Sauber and Force India rather than Renault, Ferrari and McLaren.

After seeing the way Paul di Resta drove today, we all should be wondering what was he doing in DTM for so long but he atleast managed to get a break this season and yet again finished 10th and got into point scoring position for Force India. Though the team’s car is lacking in pace compared to Sauber and even Toro Rosso, di Resta drove brilliantly and he is on course to become the rookie of the year if he continues to drive the same way. Teammate Sutil also had a good race and he managed to finish 11th importantly ahead of Rosberg and the Toro Rosso drivers.

Williams is having a catastrophic season and the way Rubens Barrichello, the most experienced driver on the grid is driving, they would wonder if they made a huge mistake in letting go Nico Hülkenberg. Williams ever since BMW left them have been on a downhill and the team also has made some mistakes when it came to drivers and engine suppliers and yet again this season instead of signing up with Renault they went with Cosworth. Pastor Maldonado despite brining in the money in the 2 races he has raced has shown that he does not belong on the grid.

Toro Rosso had a poor race as they do have a car which can challenge Sauber and which is better than Force India but both their drivers failed to score points. This resembles last season as the team had a decent start and they just tapered off during the middle part of the season. It is a very important season for both Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari if their F1 careers have to continue.

Among the others who make up the numbers on the grid, Team Lotus despite their promising show during the testing has not really progressed beyond the tail-end of the grid while Virgin and HRT racing is just one bike joke. The teams are neither competitive nor doing something to improve it. Virgin despite backed by Sir Richard Branson should quit F1 as the CFD alone concept is not working and Branson should learn how to run an F1 team from other billionaires out there which is throw some money on the team. HRT’s shoestring budget set-up looks like it will not last the whole season. The team has decent drivers but the car is not even good enough to race in GP2. FIA should step in and throw the team out.

The next race will be in China next week and none of the teams will have time for any updates and given how RBR and Vettel have dominated so far, things should not change too much in China. Maybe a clever mix of strategy and some gutsy driving could have the likes of Hamilton and maybe even Heidfeld challenging Vettel.

2011 Australian GP Review: Vettel dominates while rest watches

Sebastian Vettel, the reigning world champion had no problems winning the 2011 Australian GP a race which he dominated from pole and he won without even a challenge. Vettel and Red Bull once again looked dominant and if the likes of McLaren and Ferrari have any decent shot at the title, then they drastically need to cut the distance or else Red Bull will have the titles by mid-season.

Lewis Hamilton despite nursing home his McLaren should be a very happy man with his 2nd place finish and just 2 weeks back McLaren was lagging behind not only RBR but also the likes of Ferrari, Sauber, Renault and even Toro Rosso but the team has done extremely well to change things and now look set to challenge RBR as the season progresses. One thing the team has to be careful about is Hamilton’s over aggressive driving style may have issues with the new Pirelli tires.

Vitaly Petrov has his best result in his F1 career by finishing in 3rd. It was not only his 1st podium finish but it was the return of the Lotus name on to the podium after more than 2 decades. Though for all technical and legal purpose the car is officially still called as Renault, the Lotus Cars sponsored Renault team which was expected to be the surprise package of this season did not disappoint at all with Petrov having a very solid race. He is definitely my driver of the race. Teammate Heidfeld had a horrible debut for Renault and he will hope that he can get back his groove during the Malaysian GP or else if he continues in his current form, he maybe replaces very soon.

Ferrari which was expected to challenge Red Bull Racing would be disappointed but it was not a very poor start. Alonso was scrappy through the race and ever since been pushed out of the 1st corner of the race, he just could not fight it out for a podium finish. The car looks ok and with more updates it can challenge RBR. Teammate Massa had a very mixed race and if he continues in that same vein he may yet again be relegated to being Alonso’s #2. He definitely needs to up his game for the next race while Button the man with whom Massa fought most part during the race was a bit unlucky. The tires should suit his driving style and with some clever strategy he could do better than Hamilton but if he needs to pose challenge for the title he needs to be more aggressive.

Sauber was the team of the race till both their cars were disqualified due to technical violations. Though the team has appealed, Sauber has started the season well and at current form looks better than fellow mid-field teams like Williams, Force India and Toro Rosso. Sergio Perez had an amazing debut and showed that Peter Sauber does have a knack for finding talent while teammate Kamui Kobayashi yet again showed his worth by battling it out with everyone. Kobayashi has all the ingredients to become Japan’s 1st F1 champion provided he gets a very good drive.

Toro Rosso which looked strong during the pre-season testing had a solid car and will be looking at beating fellow mid-field teams like Sauber, Williams and Force India. Sébastien Buemi, the once highly touted rookie is under pressure to perform and he did well to finish 8th while teammate Jaime Alguersuari needs to up his game a bit as the highly promising rookie Daniel Ricciardo is waiting for a drive and he will put immense pressure on the incumbent drivers.

Force India despite not having a car which can score points were lucky to score points due to Sauber’s disqualification as Sutil and di Resta were classified 9th and 10th. Sutil was very consistent through the race while rookie teammate di Resta was very impressive. He did not get overawed during the race and showed that he does deserve his place on the grid. A good season in which if he could be Sutil could result even in a Mercedes drive in the future. But the team has to work hard if they have to catch up Sauber and STR.

Mercedes had a race to forget with both cars retiring. Schumacher got tangled in the 1st corner with Alguersuari and he just did not recover from it. The car was damaged and Schumacher had a forgettable race. Teammate Rosberg was a having a decent race till Barrichello decided to punt him which resulted him having issues and he had to retire. Barrichello despite being the most experienced driver on the grid once again proved that why he never won a world championship at Ferrari and Brawn GP. While teammate Pastor Maldonado another rookie making his debut retired after having transmission issues. Williams should have taken a cue from Sauber and should have partnered Nico Hülkenberg with Maldonado as Barrichello just do not bring in much to the table while Maldonado is needed for bring in the money for the team. They need to up their game or else they may even have Team Lotus catching up with them.

Team Lotus despite early promise once again looked the best of the 3 teams which made its debut last season but not as good as the other teams. The team had reliability issues during the pre-season testing and once again in Melbourne Heikki Kovalainen had to retire due to water leak while Jarno Trulli managed to finish 13th. The team has pace and if they could managed to solve their reliability issues they can catch up with Force India which looks the weakest among the mid-field teams.

There was not to expect much from the entirely CFD designed Virgin cars but Jérôme d'Ambrosio finished 14th and was the last person classified while Timo Glock was too far behind to have been classified. The team is still half a second behind Team Lotus and they have lot of work to be done before they can catch up with the Lotus team. HRT landed up in Australia with a car which was yet to hit the road and as expected the team failed to even qualify for the race with the 107% rule implied. Having teams like HRT is making F1 looking like a joke.

With no chance of having a Bahrain GP this year, there will be 19 races and Vettel if he manages to continue his current form, he should easily retain his title while McLaren and Ferrari need to up their game or else Renault may just surprise and even beat them. It is a good start to the season and it can only get better.

2011 Season Preview: All things Possible!

2010 turned out to be the most exciting season ever and till the last race, 4 drivers were in contention for the Driver’s Championship but Sebastian Vettel not also won his 1st title but also became the youngest ever champion. Though it was a very tough season were Vettel was trailing his teammate Webber and Ferrari’s Alonso for most part of the season but in the end his toughness and determination led to him conquer the F1 world with his maiden title. Vettel also became the 2nd German to win the title while compatriot Schumacher who made a stunning comeback had one his worst ever season.

Even before the season started, there was a very serious accident to Robert Kubica who will be out for more than a year after his rallying escapades ended in disaster. It not only put him out but also has created a problem for his team Renault who has since replaced him with his former BMW teammate Nick Heidfeld who has had a rebirth of sort after failing to land a seat for 2011. The 1st race of the season will be the Australian GP this was because of the unrest in Bahrain which led to the cancellation of the Bahrain GP. We still do not know if we are going to have the Bahrain GP otherwise we will have only 19 races for the season with the Indian GP making its debut.

All teams which raced during the 2010 season will be starting this year too but there have been some minor name changes while the driver market did see some major moments from the mid-field teams. The highly talented rookie Nico Hülkenberg was dropped by the Williams team but he has managed to join Force India as it’s reserve driver while the racing career of veteran Pedro de la Rosa seems to have ended after Sauber dropped him mid-way last season and replaced him with Heidfeld but they have signed up talented Mexican Sergio Pérez who was also the GP2 runner-up. GP2 winner Pastor Maldonado was signed by Williams and though they do claim that he is not a pay driver, but Maldonado is heavily backed by the Venezuelan government.

2011 will also see the return of former Jordan driver Narain Karthikeyan who will join HRT while his fellow countryman Karun Chandhok failed to secure a seat for the coming season. Other drivers who exited after last season includes Christian Klien, Sakon Yamamoto, Bruno Senna and Lucas di Grassi. This season will also see the debut of the highly rated reigning DTM champion Paul di Resta who actually was Vettel’s teammate during the 2006 Formula Three Euroseries season and actually managed to win the title by winning Vettel.

As always there was the technical changes which comes in with the new season but 2 of the biggest change from last year was that KERS makes a comeback while Pirelli returns to F1 after 20 years and with the exit of Bridgestone, Pirelli would be the new sole tire supplier.

There are the predictions on how each team would perform:

Red Bull – The reigning world champions, RBR impressed everyone last season by winning both the championships but unlike their rivals they backed both the drivers and in the end despite the catastrophic Turkish GP, it turned out to be a good plan for the team with Vettel winning. Despite having the best car on the grid the team did not race to its potential and at one stage Ferrari had a chance to upstage them but for a glaring strategic error, they could have stolen the title. This season so far RBR seems to have the best car and with Vettel winning the title he will go into 2011 stronger while Webber would once again try to win the title in what could be his last season in the sport.

Ferrari – The Alonso led Ferrari nearly won the driver’s championship but Massa’s form last season prevented them from challenging for the Constructor’s championship. Though the team seem to have a solid car for the coming season, they need more from Massa if they are going for both the championships. This season is highly crucial for Massa as if he fails once again he may be out of a seat for 2012 or could just become another designated #2 driver for the team. Alonso showed great maturity last season and if he continues to show that he will be a very serious treat for Vettel’s championship.

McLaren- Having 2 world champions as teammates never do work but for McLaren they somehow managed to pull it off. Hamilton was in contention till the last race but he may a lot of errors which resulted him failing to win the championship while Button who everyone expected to be outclassed by Hamilton proved that he was a worthy champion and despite not fighting out for retaining his championship he did manage to gain respect from everyone. 2011 will be a tough year for the team as if we are to go by testing, McLaren just do not have a good enough car which will fight for the championship.

Mercedes – The fabled silver arrow team was revived last season after Mercedes purchased the Brawn GP team and even convinced Schumacher to make a comeback but it was a season they would want to forget. Schumacher failed to even get on to the podiums while his younger teammate got some credibility by outclassing the veteran consistently through the year. This was the same team which did produce some real bad cars during its previous incarnation as Honda so do not expect a miracle for this season but a few more podium places can be expected from this outfit.

Renault – The team was in the news for all the wrong reasons and despite being called Renault the team has nothing to do with the carmaker apart from some technical partnership and engine supply. The Lotus Cars sponsored Renault out did seem to have a car which can challenge for the title but Kubica’s accident has through the team into disorder but in Nick Heidfeld they do have more than a capable replacement and this could be the season Heidfeld could straighten the record. They may well emerge as the 3rd best team provided Vitaly Petrov drives every race like the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP.

Williams – They have entered the stock market and they claim they do have enough funding but dropping Nico Hülkenberg for Pastor Maldonado showed that all is not well for the team. Despite winning the GP2 title Maldonado would not have got the Williams seat without funding and also the 2010 GP season was not the best and it was Maldonado’s 4th season in the series. Rubens Barrichello will be with the team and this could be his last hurrah as the Brazilian if he fails to impress may just have to quit the sport after spending 2 decades in it.

Force India – The team which was the surprise package of last season till the end atleast have 2 very good drivers in Sutil and Di Resta while their reserve Hülkenberg could one day be a future world champion. The team lost some key technical personals and there are talks of financial problems but if they do manage to get their act together they have a chance to do better than last year. Make or break season for Sutil while if Di Resta do manage to impress bigger things can happen for the Scottish driver for 2012.

Sauber – The team has the mercurial Kamui Kobayashi who with a decent car will be the most entertaining driver on the grid. Kobayashi has proved that he can go wheel to wheel with anyone on the grid and he will not get intimated by any names. If they have a good enough cars he could consistently get to the podium. While his teammate Sergio Pérez may be a bit too early for the sport but he is backed by Carlos Slim the richest man in the world and his money would help the team in beating rivals like Williams and Force India.

Toro Rosso – The sister team Red Bull won the championships while STR after having a decent start just managed to finish ahead of all the new teams only. So far this season after testing STR may have the surprise package and even if they do manage to finish ahead of Williams, Sauber and Force India, it would be a great achievement for the team. In Buemi and Alguersuari they have one of the youngest driver line-up in the grid and with highly rated Australian Daniel Ricciardo as reserve both the drivers are under immense pressure to perform.

Team Lotus – The team which along with Renault was in the news for all the wrong reasons have made some huge progress during the off season with a new engine deal with Renault and also a technical partnership with Red Bull Technologies the team would be hunting for its 1st points and also will try to challenge the likes of STR and Force India. They have retained Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen which has showed that the team wants continuity and they could by the end of the season could challenge some of the mid-field teams.

Hispanic Racing – The only team during the 2010 season which failed to manage a single update from the start of the season had as many as 4 drivers racing for them and at one stage anyone with cash was offered the seat. The 2011 car will not be any better but they have signed a technical partnership with Williams and in Liuzzi the have a very decent driver. Narain Karthikeyan will bring in the money for the team and he completing races would be huge for the team.

Marussia Virgin Racing – The only team which does not do testing by using wind tunnels but rather use CFD alone well last season they were just about challenging fellow newcomers HRT and this season to the team would be stuck behind the pack. Timo Glock by being part of this team would have sealed his F1 future while Jérôme d'Ambrosio will join him to just make up for numbers.

2011 Constructor Championship Predictions:
1. Red Bull Renault
2. Ferrari
3. Renault
4. Mercedes
5. McLaren Mercedes
6. Sauber Ferrari
7. Toro Rosso Ferrari
8. Williams Cosworth
9. Force India Mercedes
10. Team Lotus Renault

2011 Driver’s Championship Predictions:
1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Mark Webber
4. Felipe Massa
5. Nick Heidfeld
6. Michael Schumacher
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Nico Rosberg
9. Kamui Kobayashi
10. Jenson Button

Who will have the Force for 2011?

Force India may have just finished ahead of Sauber and Toro Rosso in the 2010 F1 constructors championship but then Sauber just recovered from the whole BMW exit fiasco while Toro Rosso apart from 2008 season where Vettel gave the team it’s only win in F1 so far and managed to place the team 6th in the table have always been perennial backmarkers and is a training gorund for Red Bull’s junior drivers.

If you look at the 2nd half of the season Sauber was actually better than Force India while Williams managed to sneak past and finish ahead of Force India by just a point. In the end Force India managed only a 7th place finish in the table which was boosted by 3 new teams. A major worry for Force India is that a lot of key staff from the team has left it to join other teams like Sauber and Lotus (or whatever it will be called). Force India should address this situation immediately or else the team may be further behind next season and will find the likes of Toro Rosso and even Lotus ahead of it.

The current set of driver’s for the team Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi did not exactly have a stellar season and both were pretty patchy and inconsistent. Sutil had a strong start to the season but towards the end he really struggled while Liuzzi was never really consistent but he was unlucky at times too. Sutil and Liuzzi have been in F1 long enough and with decent cars never really looked like they are going to set the world on fire.

Sutil all along was looking for a better drive and was linked to both Mercedes and Renault but Schumacher has confirmed that he will race next season while with a Russian GP coming in 2014 and Petrov apart from being a well backed Russian drove the race of his career in Abu Dhabi by managing to be ahead of Alonso and Webber, who were fighting for the title but in the end Petrov made Vettel’s job even easier.

Liuzzi has a contract with Force India for the next year but then the team will be better off by buying him out of his contract as he has lost them more money on the track and in the end they lost the 6th place to the Williams team by just a point.

Force India is a proven team with a decent car and currently has the most attractive seats on the grid for any driver. In Paul di Resta they have a young driver who is quick and backed by Mercedes. Since he is backed by Mercedes the team can actually get some discount on the engines and even ask Mercedes to foot his bill. But more importantly di Resta Formula 3 Euroseries in 2006 and the man who he beat to the title is currently the youngest F1 champion in the world.

Only one man has a similar junior racing pedigree similar to Nico Hülkenberg and that is Lewis Hamilton. The only difference was that Hamilton made his debut in a McLaren while the Hulk had his chance with a struggling cash strapped Williams team. Though the Hulk had a slow start to the season, towards the end he was even better than his teammate Rubens Barrichello who happens to be the most experienced driver on the grid. Despite having an inferior car the Hulk managed to get a pole position during the Brazilian Grand Prix and that definitely is not a fluke.

It is a shame to see that a team like Williams with its rich heritage dropping a exciting rookie for a pay driver but then the team has a history of treating drivers poorly and that along with various other decisions have now made the team a midfield team.

Apart from these 2 promising driver’s Force India also have the option of hiring Nick Heidfeld, who apart from being a very solid car developer, has also raced with some esteemed names as teammates and have managed to beat them. The list includes Kimi Räikkönen, Felippe Massa and Robert Kubica . Given the exit of technical staff from the team, Heidfeld will be a very safe bet for the team.

Apart from these driver’s there is always Karun Chandhok and with an Indian GP coming next year, it would be an amazing PR exercise for the team to have an Indian driver but then Vijay Mallya would not want the driver to overshadow the team but Karun did do a decent job with HRT and he would not be any worse than its current set of drivers.

If Vijay Mallya is very serious about Force India, he should have race di Resta, the Hulk or Heidfeld rather go back to Sutil or Luizzi. It would be exciting to see di Resta and Hulk go against the other drivers as both these guys would be driving for places in the top teams for the future.

Over the Curbs Awards – 2010

We all actually though that 2007 was one of the greatest seasons in F1 ever and wondered if anything else could beat it but then come this year 5 drivers were battling for the World Championship. It was one of the best F1 grids in ages and to see the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button fighting for the title was surreal. Even the legendary Michael Schumacher who made a dramatic comeback for newly revived Mercedes GP team after Daimler took over last year’s winners Brawn GP ensured that the grid had 4 World Champions starting the races.

Though Schumacher did not set the world on fire but then he was coming back after 3 years and Mercedes just did not have the car that could challenge for podium places on a regular basis leave alone winning. But his teammate the young German Nico Rosberg proved that he has enough talent in him and with a right car could be a title contender. Also Renault which ended 2009 in a disaster made a good comeback with Robert Kubica putting in some stellar performances and with an equal in teammate Renault could have even challenged the Mercedes GP team.

The season saw 3 rookie teams making its debut and the Malaysian outfit brought back the Lotus name which is now in all sorts of controversy. The season also saw quite a bit of rookie drivers but the most impressive rookies were Kamui Kobayshi and Nico Hulkenberg, though Kobayshi did make his debut last year, this year was his 1st full season in F1 which would make him a rookie. Also F1 saw Russia’s 1st driver in Vitaly Petrov who had a roller coaster of a season but in the end had a great final race in which he actually played a part in Vettel easily winning the title.

Let’s go to the awards and see who has done what:

Driver of the Season – Sebastian Vettel

Team of the Season – Red Bull Racing

The Next Big Thing - Kamui Kobayashi

Most Improved Driver – Mark Webber

Most Improved Team – Renault

Race of the Season – Japanese Grand Prix

Best Grand Prix – Italian Grand Prix

Worst Grand Prix – Brazilian Grand Prix

Rookie of the season – Kamui Kobayshi

Most disappointing driver of the Season – Michael Schumacher/Felipe Massa

Most disappointing team of the Season – Williams

Lucky to be in F1 (for the season) - Sakon Yamamoto

Veteran of the Season – Nick Heidfeld

Comeback of the Season – Robert Kubica

Most entertaining driver of the season – Kamui Kobayshi

Most boring driver of the season - Jenson Button

JV of the Season - Rubens Barrichello
(For the driver who talks utter nonsense like how JV used to do it in his racing days)

Whiner of the season - Rubens Barrichello

Most missed Driver – Kimi Räikkönen

Least missed Driver - Luca Badoer

The crazy driver market that never was

The 2010 driver market was thrown completely out of control after Alonso joined Ferrari, Button quitting Brawn GP and Michael Schumacher making a dramatic comeback joining the revived Mercedes GP team.
This year things were heating up as there were talks of Kimi Raikkonen making a return to the sport he quit at the end of last season, Webber retiring and Kubica joining Ferrari. Till last week, there were speculations regarding seats in various teams like Force India, Sauber, Williams, Toro Rosso and Lotus. But now the only 2 vacant seats of any interest are of that of Williams and Renault. Force India and Toro Rosso have just confirmed their existing line-up while Lotus who apart from signing a technical deal with Red Bull will also get Renault engines to leap frog it toward the mid-pack will also most likely retain its current line-up.

While there is still talk of Schumacher retiring, all signs points to the fact that it is not sure if he will be with Mercedes for 2012 but for the next season he will be with the team alongside Rosberg. Nick Heidfeld will once again be jobless unless he can pull something dramatic out of the last four races of the year with Sauber as the team has retained Kamui Kobayashi and have signed young Mexican Sergio Pérez who apart from having the backing of Telmex has also been signed by Ferrari for its young driver program joining the likes of Jules Bianchi and Mirko Bortolotti.

Though both Renault and Williams are yet to retain their rookies Vitaly Petrov and Nico Hülkenberg, Petrov despite being totally outmatched by Kubica and also not showing the consistency which is expected from him could retain his seat as Russia is a big market for Renault and Petrov has some major backers with him. Williams will lose 4 sponsors at the end of the year and with the current GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado backed by the Venezuelan government, he may replace the Hulk at the Williams for the coming season.

While everyone expected Toro Rosso to confirm the line-up, the decision of Force India’s is highly surprising as Liuzzi has totally underperformed this season compared to his teammate Sutil. Sutil was linked to the Sauber seat but now his best bet on a better seat is Renault which fellow Germans Heidfeld and Glock are also clamoring for along with Petrov. While Williams could have a vacancy, it would not be a great difference for Sutil from his current seat in Force India. Maybe a good 2011 could earn him a seat with Mercedes for 2012.

Paul di Resta is one of the most unlucky drivers as he is such a talented driver that he still struggles to find a F1 seat. Despite being backed by Mercedes, everyone expected him to driver for Force India for the next season but with them retaining their current drivers, di Resta could become a test driver for Mercedes or just leave the sport all together and focus on sports car racing.

Another driver who has done a decent job is Karun Chandhok who already has lost his HRT seat and with Force India not too keen on him, his best bet will be Lotus but that too now sounds very remote and most likely he will miss the inaugural Indian GP.

Renault has the most coveted seat as of now but all things could turn if Webber wins the 2010 F1 World Championship and just decides to retire. Anything can happen in the driver’s market as we have seen in the last few years.

But my money is on Petrov retaining his seat while Maldonado could edge out Hulk from the Williams team, but then F1 is a crazy world and it’s safer to confirm the line-up at the start of 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix.