The Formula 1 circus hits China this weekend, for the fourth round of the 2010 F1 season. So far, we’ve had three winners, but that doesn’t tell the story of the season. Indeed, we have had three different teams win, but again, that is not an accurate reflection of the way things will pan out over the course of the season.
Quite frankly, Sebastien Vettel should have won all three races. He led all three. Had mechanical trouble not afflicted him, he would have likely won them all. In Bahrain, an exhaust problem slowed him down. In Australia, something broke – I’m not sure if they ever agreed exactly what broke. However, in Malaysia all went to plan, and he won. Comfortably. Mark Webber was no match for Vettel.
There is little reason to suggest things will be different in China, where Vettel won last year. He is a driver of incredible speed, and has great maturity for his age. He is much more level-headed than Lewis Hamilton. Psychologically, he has few chinks in his armour. Put together with the fastest car on the grid, he has to be favourite at just about every Grand Prix this season. Ferrari and McLaren are both fast – as is Mercedes – but they aren’t quite fast enough. Kubica and Sutil have been the two fastest drivers outside of the top 4 teams so far this year, followed by Barrichello, so there is an interesting battle brewing between Renault, Force India and Williams. So, here are my top three for China:
- Sebastien Vettel (yes, again);
- Mark Webber;
- Fernando Alonso.
I struggle to see, all things going to plan, that the top three could be any different. Let’s see what happens…