For all the controversy we’ve had in Formula 1 over the past 3 years – Spygate, Crashgate, Liegate, the mass manufacturer pull-out, double diffusers – we’ve actually had some pretty good racing too. 2007 was a fantastic fight between the McLaren drivers and Kimi Raikkonen; 2008 featured a great battle between Hamilton and Massa; 2009 was a season split virtually down the middle, with a storytale start to the season for Brawn, with McLaren and Red Bull pushing them all the way at the end of the season – but ultimately coming up short.
You could be forgiven for thinking that we must, therefore, be due a dull season this year – especially with double diffusers legal until the end of this season (thus affecting overtaking). If you thought that, you’d be wrong.
For a start, we have four teams who will be realistically expecting to mount a serious title challenge this year, all with good driver line-ups.
There’s McLaren, with current world champion Jenson Button – the most precise driver on the grid – and Lewis Hamilton, who was champion in 2008 and has more points than any other driver in the last two seasons; they were also the form team at the end of last year.
There’s Red Bull, who probably had the pick of last year’s cars, and have the mightily quick Vettel, alongside Webber who will race this year without the impediment of metal plates in one leg. When they get their heads down, both can be virtually unstoppable, but also get caught up in drama regularly when in the middle of a pack.
There’s Mercedes – formerly Brawn GP – who have Nico Rosberg, who has never quite fully realised his potential yet. In the other car, they have a mere 7-times world champion whose name must surely BE the definition of “winner” – Michael Schumacher. He may be 41, but he’s in it to win it, and he’s shown he can still do it – beating many F1 drivers in regular karting events since his retirement.
Finally, and most excitingly, there’s Ferrari, with Alonso – a 2-times world champion, and Massa, who was, in my mind at least, comfortably the pick of the drivers in 2008 (from the third race in at least), and who drove the socks out of last year’s Ferrari until he himself was socked in the head and was conked out for the season. Alonso will bring excellent and much needed technical input to Ferrari and never has an off day; Massa is, quite simply, astoundingly quick, and has got more and more consistent every year. There is nothing to suggest he won’t bounce back from last year’s awful accident.
So, who will come out on top? Until testing, we really won’t know much. However, I would hazard this much: the McLaren may well start as the car to beat, with Red Bull and Mercedes very close behind. Hamilton will beat Button. Vettel will beat Webber, and will make less mistakes, giving him a real chance this year – as long as he can learn to overtake better. Schumacher will beat Rosberg, and will, after 3 years out, be hungry to win. He won’t easily be bullied off track in a fight because he’s laid so much on the line to come back. Ferrari will likely start a little behind the others, but with Alonso in their armour, they will start to catch up. Being slower than the others won’t matter too much either – they have the strongest line-up in F1, and there are no two better drivers to extract more speed out of a slightly slower car (Hamilton excepted – possibly).
The key to F1 2010 lies with Schumacher and Ferrari. If they are both strong, we’re in for the most exciting season in living memory. Otherwise, it’ll be Hamilton v. Vettel – and Hamilton will win.
Tags: Formula 1