As Steve McQueen asserts in the classic racing film Le Mans, “Life is racing, everything else is just waiting”. Well, the waiting is about to stop, as the 2012 Formula 1 season kicks off this weekend in Albert Park. While I wouldn’t go quite as far as “The King of Cool”, it will be nice to be able to indulge my passion for Formula 1 away from my winter pastimes of playing F1 2011 on the Xbox and staring wistfully for hours on end at a signed postcard of Romain Grosjean (don’t ask…).
So, what has 2012 got in store? Well, it’s shaping up rather nicely indeed with many observers expecting a close championship, in part due to rule changes which have made most of the cars on the grid resemble a large-billed bird of some description. Blown diffusers have also been banned, meaning less downforce on the cars and potentially more exciting racing. And with the return of Kimi Raikkonen, there are six Formula 1 World Champions on the grid. Sadly, the twin gimmicks of KERS and DRS remain, but at least they guarantee some overtaking (although of the rather straightforward ‘blast-past-on-the-straight’ kind).
Of course for British viewers, one of the stories of the year is the split in coverage between the BBC and Sky. I have spent many words on this subject in the past, and do not intend to do so again here (well, not too much). Judging by Sky’s season preview (repeated on Pick TV for those of us, like me, who don’t have Sky) the BBC viewers won’t be missing much, bar Martin Brundle and ten live races of course. But suffice to say that the casual viewer and ultimately the sport is the loser.
Nevertheless, whether you are seeing the whole season live or not, it promises to be a cracker, and is certainly one of the most eagerly anticipated of recent years. Although it’s hard to see past Red Bull and McLaren when assessing potential champions, the quality and depth of the midfield runners should allow for a surprise or two. Mr McQueen would no doubt have been delighted at the prospect…
Red Bull Racing
When Red Bull bought Jaguar in late 2004, no-one imagined the team enjoying the kind of success of recent seasons, particular given the level of domination that Ferrari had at that time. Now it’s Red Bull’s turn to dominate, and despite the cyclical nature of the sport nobody would bet against another triumph this year. Frighteningly, Sebastian Vettel was only 17 when the Jaguar takeover happened – now he’s a double World Champion and on a potential hat trick, something only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher have ever managed. Mark Webber has the dubious pleasure of lining up alongside the mercurial German again, with the Australian considered very much the number two driver in the team. He looked like it as well for most of 2011, and has to improve this year (while not treading on Vettel’s toes too much…) if he wants to hold off Toro Rosso’s young guns and retain his seat beyond the end of the season. Adrian Newey seems to have designed another effective car, and it features an intriguing slot in the front nose which the designer attributes to ‘driver cooling’ – its real purpose remains a mystery. The fact that the usual accusations of foul play are being banded about suggests that other teams still see Red Bull as the biggest threat, and the only chink in their armour could be reliability, as the car suffered numerous stoppages in recent testing at Barcelona. McLaren may look stronger than last year, but Red Bull remain the clear favourites to ‘three-peat’.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
In the battle for the aesthetic world championship McLaren are already winners, with their car exhibiting the same smooth curves as last year’s challenger and avoiding the wart-like lump in the front nose that most other teams have adopted. Initial worries that they had therefore missed a trick seem to have frittered away, and the car has shown good form in pre-season testing. With technical continuity, including the powerful Mercedes engine, McLaren look in good shape, and the team’s biggest problem could be on the driving front. That sounds like a bizarre assertion given that McLaren are the only team on the grid to have two former World Champions driving for them, but I have some lingering concerns about Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton despite their undoubted talents. Button was superb for most of 2011, but there are still question marks around his one-lap pace compared to his team mate. And while Hamilton undeniably has the speed, he was woefully inconsistent last year and was involved in numerous incidents. He claims to have sorted his head out in the off-season, but only time will tell. Nonetheless the two British drivers certainly form an amiable and effective pairing, and the team could well claim the constructor’s crown if the car is up to it. The question is, can Button beat Vettel on pace enough times over the course of a season to mount a serious championship challenge, and can Hamilton hold it together often enough on days where things aren’t going his way to pick up the 3rd, 4th and 5th places which can make the difference between becoming champion and not?
Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari promised revolution rather than evolution for 2012, and their new car is certainly aggressively designed. Sadly it also looks like it’s made out of Lego, especially with the ridiculous stepped nose which somehow looks more severe on the red machine that on any of its competitors. But so far, the opposition aren’t exactly bricking it (sorry) as the F2012 has not shone in pre-season testing. One lap pace seems okay, but the car is reportedly difficult to drive over a longer distance. This is hardly likely to inspire confidence in the much-maligned Felipe Massa, who really needs a strong season in order to justify being retained by the Italian giants, especially with no shortage of decent drivers on the sidelines at present. A hopefully-recovering Robert Kubica has been linked with his seat, and the likes of Adrian Sutil, Sergio Perez or Jules Bianchi would likely be more than happy as Fernando Alonso’s number two. Alonso himself has no such concerns over redundancy after an exemplary performance in 2011, but will be worried at the prospect of another year unable to compete at the very front – not what he would have expected when he first joined Ferrari. The Spaniard remains arguably the most complete driver in the field, but is in danger of losing the best years of his career unless the team are able to get on terms with Red Bull and McLaren. Here’s hoping the red cars can make it a six-way (or at least five-way…) battle for the driver’s title.
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
The former Brawn team haven’t managed a win since becoming Mercedes at the end of 2009, and they will be desperate to change that this year. Half the grid’s designers seem to work for Ross Brawn’s squad these days, so it’s hardly surprising that the new car seems an improvement over the 2011 machine despite worries of a ‘too many cooks’ scenario unfolding. The relatively late launch of their new car seems like an astute move, as drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were immediately on the pace in Barcelona. Seven-time champion Schumacher needs no introduction, but what he does need is an improvement in qualifying form which was often woeful last season. Whether he is still able to coax a really quick lap out of his 43 year old brain will be interesting to see. Still only 26, Rosberg has no such issues, but despite generally having the edge on his team mate last season he did struggle to match Schumacher for race pace on occasion. He will also be as keen as the team to end their victory drought, given that his tally currently stands at 108 Grand Prix not won. But can Mercedes make it a ‘big four’ teams at the front of F1? Well the signs are good, and they will certainly be confident of at least getting the better of the Ferraris in the early running given the Italian squad’s problems. Sneaking a win or two may be beyond them, but getting on the podium (which the team didn’t manage in the whole of 2011) looks more than achievable.
Lotus F1 Team
Lotus (nee Renault) enter 2012 full of confidence despite a poor end to 2011 and a significant setback in testing where the car was unable to run for four days in Barcelona due to a mysterious chassis fault. Having disposed of Nick Heidfeld, Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov in the last year, the team field two F1 returnees. Of these, Kimi Raikkonen is by far the most illustrious. The 2007 Formula 1 World Champion has agreed to come back after two years rallying (with limited success), and insists that he is fully motivated despite accusations of disinterest in the past. Kimi’s stone-faced demeanour when facing the media is as legendary as his pace, and pre-season testing indicates that both are still intact. Romain Grosjean drives the second Lotus after impressing in a couple of Friday outings at the end of last season. The reigning GP2 champion will want to put any lingering memories of his disastrous stint with the same team in 2009 to bed, and stands a good chance of doing so. He will also benefit from Raikkonen’s experience, assuming he can succeed where many others have failed by getting more than a couple of words out of the Finn. All the ingredients are in place for a successful year – an impressive-looking new car, former World Champion driver and the current World Championship-winning engine. It’s a reflection of the strength of the opposition, however, that repeating the podiums of early 2011 would constitute a major achievement.
Sahara Force India F1 Team
For the first time since Eddie Jordan sold up, the Silverstone-based squad were genuine contenders for points in almost every race in 2011, in part due to the efforts of long-time driver Adrian Sutil. With the German departed (even before his recent conviction for assault) it’s down to two near-rookies to carry the team forward in 2012. Paul di Resta had an outstanding first year at the top level of motorsport, but now has the pressure on his shoulders of leading car development as well as the weight of expectation from the British media (I noted with interest his description as the “Rookie of the Year” on the Sky Sports F1 Season Preview show in the same way they described Vettel as World Champion – I never realised this was an official title!). Nico Hulkenberg fills the second seat, having shown flashes of promise in his 2010 debut with Williams including a fabulous pole in Brazil. But the youngster was frustratingly inconsistent and will need to match di Resta from the get-go to inspire confidence in those around him. The new Force India machine looks competitive in a tightly-packed midfield, but with Lotus and Mercedes also having improved it will be very difficult for the team to better last year’s sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship (though they may well match it). In particular, having the least experienced driver line-up on the grid may hinder car development, and I can’t help feel that dropping Sutil may be a decision that Vijay Mallya lives to regret come season’s end.
Sauber F1 Team
Sauber’s history and form in Formula 1, and seemingly their whole outlook, is summed up by their black and while colour scheme. Never likely to set the world on fire, the team blends in to the paddock more than any other and consistently puts in solid performances with occasional flashes of brilliance. Very professional, very dependable, and very, er, Swiss. Things are unlikely to be any different this season, in part because nothing significant at the team has changed. While designer James Key recently departed, his work on the 2012 car was seemingly complete, and on the driver front there is no revolution either. This is at least an area which guarantees some thrills, with Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi and Mexico’s Sergio Perez both keen to enhance their reputations as exciting, fast drivers. Perez in particular needs to prove that last year’s promise was not a false dawn, especially with a 2013 Ferrari drive potentially in the offing. For his part, Kobayashi was one of the stars early in 2011 before tailing off in the second half of the season, and will be keen to remind the paddock of his overtaking ability and racecraft while also improving his qualifying form against Perez. The car has looked decent in testing, despite a particularly ungainly front end even by this year’s standards. However, team personnel will be hoping to cast another perennial Sauber trait to one side - their inability to develop a car during the season. With Key gone, this may well become even more of an issue than normal.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Toro Rosso begin the year with two drivers who have just 11 Grand Prix starts between them, having harshly fired both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari in the off-season. Given their role as an ‘early learning centre’ for the Red Bull team it makes sense for the squad to take on two youngsters, but it may harm their form coming into a year where they actually look to have produced a decent car. The Ferrari-engined STR7 is an attractive chassis and has showed well in testing. Daniel Ricciardo is the veteran of the team after driving part of 2011 with HRT, where he was generally reckoned to have done a good job. He needs to impress again this season though – as the more experienced driver he will be expected to lead the team, and interestingly team boss Giorgio Ascanelli felt the Australian drove within himself in Friday outings with Toro Rosso last year. Jean-Eric Vergne is one of three Frenchmen in F1 this year, after several seasons without any, and is highly rated within Red Bull circles. The carrot for both men is the prospect of a seat in the main Red Bull team should Mark Webber move on (or be forcibly moved on) in the next couple of years. Balanced against that is the very real possibility that, should they not perform outstandingly, the same fate as befell Buemi and Alguersuari awaits them. It will be a fascinating intra-team battle and in many ways which driver comes out on top is far more significant than where Toro Rosso eventually end up in the standings.
Williams F1 Team
2011 was a true annus horribilis for the once-great Williams team, and changes in the off-season were inevitable. In fact, wholesale alterations were made midway through last year with Sam Michael leaving and disgraced former McLaren designer Mike Coughlan joining the team, and the significance of these changes will be measured by the pace of the team’s 2012 design. A supply of Renault engines has also been secured, meaning the iconic Williams-Renault name returns to the sport for the first time since 1997. The all-South American driver line-up features another iconic name, with Bruno Senna joining Pastor Maldonado to form a well-heeled but somewhat uninspiring partnership. Senna showed some promise during his partial season at Renault last year, and needs to build on that by regularly outperforming Maldonado. For his part, the Venezuelan certainly improved during 2011 and proved himself worthy of a place in F1 by seasons end, although whether he (or indeed Senna) would be at the team without their significant financial backing is the elephant in the room. Nevertheless, internal competition between the two may drive Williams forward, as both are similarly inexperienced and will be keen to beat each other; one hopes this rivalry won’t manifest itself in the form of numerous accidents and offs. Given the inexperienced men behind the wheel it will be difficult to assess Williams’ performance as a team this year, but improving on last season’s ninth place finish in the constructor’s championship would constitute some progress at least.
Caterham F1 Team
The team formally known as Lotus approach 2012 with optimism after an excellent end to last season, having (just about) clawed their way up to the back of the midfield pack, at least on certain circuits. Caterham were the first outfit to reveal their 2012 design and testing has generally gone well, with the car seeming at least as fast relative to the opposition as at the end of last year and setting times comparable to the likes of Williams and Sauber (albeit with the usual “testing is impossible to judge” note of caution attached). The team will benefit from the continued presence of Heikki Kovalainen, who remains despite some late-2011 speculation linking him with (the ‘new’) Lotus. Jarno Trulli, despite completing a day of testing in the car in Jerez and having a contract for 2012, has been dropped at the eleventh hour in favour of Vitaly Petrov. Frankly, taking on Petrov was by far the more lucrative option due to the Russian’s native backers, even if the team are still paying Trulli’s wages for the season (which they may well be). Petrov has shown flashes of promise in his two years in the sport, and should keep Kovalainen on his toes. The aim will be to beat one of the established teams over the course of the season, and to do that the team will have to score a decent number of points. The fact that they have so far failed to pick up even one shows just how hard a nut F1 is to crack and how hard, therefore, their task remains.
HRT F1 Team
The Spanish squad enter the 2012 season with more pre-season testing under their belt than at any point in their history, after the F112 managed a whole ten (very leisurely) laps during a filming day in Barcelona. The fact they just missed the final day of the last pre-season test pretty much sums the team up – they are a disorganised but hard-trying bunch, and deserve credit for persevering in Formula 1 in the face of adversity. At least they seem to have a long-term plan to progress, branding themselves as a kind of Spanish national team. Unfortunately, this is a bit like the opposite situation that Italian drivers face – just as they will never be able to compete with Ferrari for support, so HRT will forever remain in the shadow of Fernando Alonso. And to illustrate the point, witness just how many Italian drivers are left in F1. The new HRT, while at least seeming to be a mostly-new design, is worryingly bereft of sponsorship logos and the re-signing of Narain Karthikeyan (despite the Indian being dropped last year in favour of Red Bull money and Daniel Ricciardo) smacks of desperation. Lead driver Pedro de la Rosa is highly rated as a test driver, but whether HRT have the required resources and funds to actually develop their car is another matter. Getting the new car up to speed after such limited testing and with mostly new personnel (after Colin Kolles left the team and took his German mechanics with him) will be the first of many challenges this year.
Marussia F1 Team
The former Virgin team are renamed Marussia for this season, after Richard Branson decided he’d much rather own a bank than sponsor and part-own a Formula 1 team. Ownership has therefore transferred to the eponymous (and embryonic) Russian sports car manufacturer. The history of small sports car companies in Formula 1 is not an illustrious one: Venturi scored one whole point in a tie up with Larousse in 1992, while more recently Spyker managed the same tally in 2007 after taking over the former Midland and Jordan (now Force India) team. The prospect of Marussia managing to match this achievement and score a point themselves seems just as distant as in the Virgin days, especially as they haven’t actually managed to test their car properly before the start of the season. This has been a source of much frustration to the talented Timo Glock, who remains the team’s greatest asset despite occasionally complaining about his lot. But the person who really suffers from the lack of running is rookie Charles Pic. Given the fate of Glock’s other team mates after only one season (Lucas di Grassi and Jerome d’Ambrosio were both shown the door), one hopes that the team give the young Frenchman time to find his feet. With an attractive but basic looking design and the Cosworth engine that no-one else wants, it’s unlikely that the team will make much progress this year, although a technical tie-up with McLaren does give some hope for the future of the team and could be enough to see them finish the year ahead of the similarly unprepared HRT outfit.
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