The Finishing Straight - Turkey (by HappyDude88)

MELBOURNE was fairly tame, Malaysia gave us a lively indication of the season ahead China was simply sensational.  The return to Europe last weekend gave us another classic event to lookback on, but a familiar feel of events is beginning to develop at the front of the field.

SMILING: Vettel continued his 2011 domination in Turkey

     Once again, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing completely dominated the entire weekend, and this time, scored maximum points.  Vettel was in a class of one in Istanbul and frankly, no one looked close to him all weekend.  He even had the luxury to make an extra pitstop against the rest of the field and could have won the race by half a minute.  Considering he lost the majority of running on Friday by stuffing his Red Bull heavily into the barriers during wet first practice, it was still staggering to see him destroy the opposition, considering he had at least two hours less track time than anyone else.  Vettel’s dominance is starting to gain a feel of the Michael Schumacher cruise campaigns of 2002 and 2004.  The new smiling assassin of Formula One can be beaten, as proven in China, but it will have to take a massive effort to do so.  You can already start to engrave Vettel’s name on this year’s championship, because I can’t see anyone beating him on a regular basis, unless it is himself of course.

     In Turkey, it was Fernando Alonso and Ferrari who were the closest challengers.  For the fourth successive race, Alonso qualified in fifth position and raced hard on Sunday afternoon, giving Mark Webber a load of food for thought.  Alonso’s first podium of the season will provide a lot of relief to the Scuderia, who have had a disappointing start to 2011 so far.  If they can unlock more potential from the car, then they could match Red Bull on occasional circuits, but it will have to take something special to overhaul the Austrian team from Milton Keynes.  Alonso wins my ‘Driver of the Day’ in Turkey, as he got the maximum out of his equipment and then some more.  It was a determined effort from the Spaniard and one that will rejuvenate his hunger for success.

     The DRS system and the Pirelli tyres dictated the pace of the Turkish Grand Prix.  Four stops were the way to go for most drivers, and even Jenson Button, one of the best drivers in preserving his tyres, was a sitting duck with no grip in the closing stages from his fading rubber.  After the event, even Pirelli admitted that they were disappointed that four pitstops were the prime strategy in Istanbul.  This shows that the Italian manufacturer is still striding for perfection.  It is however giving us some breathtaking racing.  So far, it is very difficult to follow the races in 2011, because strategies and tyre wear are becoming very difficult to forecast.  The unpredictable element behind runaway leader Vettel means that this season is turning into a classic.  The DRS system excelled again in Istanbul, although the FIA probably made the activation point far too early, hence we saw a lot of easy overtaking and not enough skill from the driver.  We probably saw a bit too much of this on Sunday, and it will be interesting to see if Barcelona – normally a track which is almost a no-overtaking zone, provides similar racing.  If so, expect some sweeping changes, because the critics will start claiming ‘Overtaking in F1 is simply way too easy.’

     The improved pace of Mercedes GP has thrown a spanner in the works at the front of the field.  They impressed massively in practice and qualifying, and hinted of a car that is getting closer to the frontrunners.  Unfortunately, they damaged their Pirelli tyres massively in the slightly hotter conditions of Sunday.  It meant that Nico Rosberg had very little weapons in his defence, especially against the likes of Alonso, Webber and Button.  Fifth place was a good result, and Rosberg seemed very happy with this, despite a third place starting position.  I think Mercedes will be disappointed with the overall result.  A podium was on the cards, even if beating Vettel and probably Webber, was almost impossible.  At least one driver from the German team is taking the fight to the frontrunners.  Mercedes don’t want to continue underachieving.

      Speaking of underachieving, Michael Schumacher!  Schumacher looked strong in the early stages of the weekend, but blew his qualifying lap with a mistake at turn one, and then drove like a amateur on raceday.  His attempt to keep Vitaly Petrov back on lap two was a grave misjudgement from a great champion.  The corner had been lost to the aggressive Russian, yet Schumacher still doesn’t know when to give it up.  If he had, Petrov would have had the place, but Michael would still have been in contention for a high points scoring result.  He didn’t and the contact broke his front wing, and wrecked his afternoon.  Seeing him being barged out of the way by the likes of Adrian Sutil, Kamur Kobayashi and former team-mate Rubens Barrichello was a very sorry sight.  After finishing 12^th, Schumacher even admitted he felt ‘no joy’ at the moment.  When the fun stops, the racing must stop too.  Alain Prost walked away at the top of his game, and to a degree, so did Nelson Piquet.  Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Kimi Raikkonen didn’t and their reputations suffered as a consequence.  The comeback by Michael was brave, but it hasn’t worked out.  I think it is best for the seven-time world champion to walkaway and as soon as he can.  At 42, the glory days of his career are just a distant dream.  No-one can take away Schumacher’s achievements and of course, those controversial moments.  He will always be known as one of the greats of all-time in Grand Prix history, but he is never going to return to those days, and that’s a fact.  When the joy stops coming, the motivation goes and so, there’s little hope of getting that back. 

PROBLEMS: Dodgy pitstops stalled McLaren's progress

     For McLaren, the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix can only be described as a very average weekend.  Different strategies for their drivers didn’t work out, and with two shocking pitstops, the dreams of a podium finish vanished for both Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.  Nevertheless, the pair gave the crowd some wild moments in the early exchanges, as they battled royally for position, just as had in the closing stages of the 2010 event.  Button had a resigned look on his face all weekend, and that disappointed me.  He seemed to be down in the dumps for most of the event, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.  Hamilton had a smile all throughout, despite the struggles that faced, especially against a recharged Alonso/Ferrari attack.  Despite the 24 second pitstop Lewis endured during the race, he finished close to 50 seconds behind Vettel at the chequered flag, which is a sobering statistic in any form of terminology.  Fourth and sixth was a good save, but McLaren still have work to do, if they want to go toe-to-toe with Red Bull.

     A quick mention for one of the under-rated performers of the season so far and that is Sebastian Buemi.  Like in Australia, the Toro Rosso driver finished in the points, in ninth place and has worked very hard on his natural abilities.  Buemi had a poor 2010, especially after a solid rookie season in 2009.  If we believe the speculation, Sebastian and Jaime Alguesuari are battling for one drive at Toro Rosso, especially with the highly talented Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings on testing duty.  Currently, it is no contest, as Alguesuari is being left in the dust by Buemi’s improvements over the winter.  Although the two Renault drivers overhauled the Swiss star in the late laps, Buemi was the only driver who seemed to make a three-stop strategy work in Turkey, so he deserves great credit for going down this route.  Plus, he started only 16^th, so it was a mighty effort under the radar.

     To conclude this edition of ‘The Finishing Straight,’ I want to share my views with a couple of topics that are creating debate within the F1 paddock.  Firstly, Bernie Ecclestone will make a decision very soon on the future of the Bahrain Grand Prix.  With the unrest in the country having settled down, which forced the postponement of the event, initially scheduled for March 13, the organisers of the Sakhir event were in Turkey, attempting to plead their case to Ecclestone.  Bernie told the BBC on Sunday that he wants the race to take place, but there is no place for it on the calendar, unless we have the ridiculous prospect of three races in three consecutive weekends.  Bahrain probably does have an F1 future, but I can’t see them holding a race in 2011, I just can’t.  Lastly, there has been growing speculation about the plans Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp company have in taking over Formula One.  Ecclestone doesn’t want it to happen, and although Murdoch will try what he can to gain power on the sport; what would be the benefits?  The teams might get more money, but the chances are, ticket prices will go up and F1 will move into pay-per-view television.  We tried this in 2002 and it didn’t work.  Why would it work a decade on then?  Although I can see some possible negotiations starting soon, I don’t think Murdoch has enough backing to turn his move from a serious bid, into a certain venture.

I’ll be back for more of ‘The Finishing Straight’ in Barcelona.  Can anyone stop the Smiling Assassin of Grand Prix racing, Sebastian Vettel?  On the evidence of Turkey, it will have to take something special.

The Finishing Straight - China (by HappyDude88)

SHANGHAI 2011 will go down among the all-time F1 classics.  Alongside Monza 1969 and 1971, Monte Carlo 1982, Silverstone 1987, Spa 1998 and Suzuka 2005 – this race will utterly breathless from start to finish.  This was the day when the 2011 Formula 1 One World Championship totally came alive.

     This was the day when Red Bull Racing realised that if they don’t get their KERS issues sorted soon, they will lose both championships.  The only flaw in the Adrian Newey design is the tightly-packaged chassis, which means that KERS doesn’t have the room required to operate properly.  At least, they now have three weeks to sort it out.  My views on KERS are crystal clear – an expensive waste of time!  However, when it doesn’t work, it is costing nearly 0.5seconds a lap, so it is an essential tool to have.  Once again, both devices failed on Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber during the race and it was a KERS issue in morning practice on Saturday that started Webber’s qualifying mess too.  Red Bull can’t let the matter head into the European season undeveloped, especially with McLaren hot on their tails.

     Shanghai’s long backstraight is the second longest on the F1 calendar, and this meant that the DRS system came into its own.  The FIA’s decision to not allow the wing to be activated until halfway down the straight on Saturday morning seemed like a rather questionable move.  However, they got it spot on.  Unfortunately, the amount of overtaking seemed quite DRS based, unlike in Malaysia.  It is tough to criticise one of the greatest innovations of recent years in the sport.  However, the FIA still need to work on how to make the racing even better.  Either two opportunities a lap or for the defending driver to be given the chance to use the device have to be thought about between now and Istanbul. 

     Thank you Pirelli was David Coulthard’s final few words in his BBC commentary and he was spot on with those.  Bridgestone did give an impeccable service to F1 for fifteen years.  However, they never came up with a dynamic tyre and Canada aside last year, it made race strategy fairly non-existent.  Now, Pirelli have produced the perfect balance of a tyre that when it loses grip, that’s it – it’s game over, rather than the tyre coming back to life.  They also have produced a tyre which does have the ability to do more than ten laps at least, or even more – as in Sergio Perez’s case in Melbourne.  I predict a very sweet relationship between Pirelli and the teams for some time to come.

WRONG PIT: An embarrassing error from Jenson Button!

     Jenson Button’s elementary mistake of stopping in the wrong pit box was a blunder of the highest magnitude.  It is bad enough to see a rookie driver doing that, but this was a former world champion, completely caught out in a moment of crisis!  Button got what he deserved, as Vettel jumped him at the first round of pitstops.  The Red Bull mechanics should have been crafty and quickly removed a wheel from Button’s car, whilst they had the chance!  Unfortunately for Jenson, he struggled to hide his embarrassment afterwards.  It is one of those moments that will appear on blooper DVD’s at Christmas and the ‘What Happened Next’ round on A Question of Sport forever!  Having cut a chicane blatantly in Melbourne whilst trying to pass Felipe Massa there, this suggests that Button is feeling the heat more than ever this season.  Desperate and clumsy moves however will not will you championships, and Jenson should know that by now.

     Reliability continues to shock everyone and it is getting to the stage where there is general shock when a mechanical failure occurs.  If it wasn’t for a Toro Rosso mechanic failing to tighten up Jaime Alguesuari’s left-rear wheel at his first pitstop, every single car would have finished the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix.  It is a pretty mighty statistic.  The day of 8/9 cars finishing races seem to be a thing of the past.

SCRAP: Alonso chases old rival, Schumacher

     Felipe Massa is starting to rekindle some of the form that has been missing from his driving ever since that horrific qualifying crash in Hungary 2009.  Sixth place at the finish was a poor reward for the Brazilian, who drove exceptionally well and was right in contention for the victory until the last 12 laps.  For the third successive race, he beat Fernando Alonso off the startline and beat the Ferrari No.1 by 15 seconds, despite his tyres being completely finished for the final stint of the race.  It was a drive that Felipe can be proud of and if Ferrari’s designers get their act together and sort out their aerodynamic flaws, Massa will win races at least this season.  Alonso’s seventh place could be vital come the end of the season.  It may not sound like it now, but if he wins the title by six points – he will think back to this day.  Fernando drove as hard as he ever could and had a memorable dice with old adversary Michael Schumacher for most of the race.  However, he was lacklustre by his high standards and the way the likes of Webber, Button and Nico Rosberg cruised past his defensiveness Ferrari, must have surely made the Spaniard’s heart sink.  Ferrari needs to improve fast, if Fernando is going to stay in the title hunt.

     After their Malaysian nightmare, Mercedes GP pushed themselves right back into contention in China.  Nico Rosberg was a star all weekend; hauling his car upto fourth on the grid for the race and then leading a fair chunk of it.  Ross Brawn’s decision to put both cars on a three stop strategy almost paid off, had it not been for a fuel consumption problem on Rosberg’s car.  Fifth place at the end left Nico absolutely devastated.  He told BBC’s Lee McKenzie afterwards that it was a ‘horrible’ fifth place and looked incredibly disappointed.  No wonder, because this was Rosberg’s best chance to win a race for the first time and although his defence against Lewis Hamilton and Button was fairly feeble in the end, he drove impeccably throughout.  Nevertheless, despite Rosberg’s disappointment, the team can leave Shanghai with heads held high, with their season not completely destroyed yet.

BACKWARDS: Williams have dropped down the order alarmingly

     Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Williams.  Their car did at least bring two finishes for its drivers and Pastor Maldonado got some critical race mileage underneath his belt.  However, 13^th and 18^th place results are absolutely shocking, for a team that has fallen from grace spectacularly.  It could be a slim picking season and with Team Lotus beating Maldonado fair and square, in the shape of Heikki Kovalainen, Williams are in big danger of becoming the first team to become victim to Mike Gascoyne and Tony Fernandes ambitious and ever-improving team.  Even Gascoyne himself admitted that it was ‘unfortunately Williams’ that his team is targeting to overhaul.  It is a sad and sorry decline for a world championship winning team and I can’t imagine how Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head must be feeling; seeing their great team tumble into also-rans at the back of the field.  Also, a special mention for Jerome D’Ambrosio – who beat Timo Glock at Virgin Racing convincingly in both qualifying and race trim.  Whether it was Glock’s twin brother that showed up in Shanghai, it was a notable achievement for the rookie Belgian, considering the lack of equipment available to the Virgin Racing cars.

BOUNCING: Lewis Hamilton recovered in China, in stunning fashion

     The final part of this latest edition of the ‘Finishing Straight’ will focus on two drivers, who were the stars of the weekend.  Lewis Hamilton bounced back from his Malaysian disappointment in breathtaking fashion.  His shrewd gamble to sacrifice a front row position in qualifying and save a fresh set of option tyres for Sunday was a masterstroke.  As was the way he stayed composed in the cockpit, as the McLaren mechanics ran amok in the moments leading up to the start, desperately making emergency repairs to a flooded engine, thanks to an overfill of fuel in his car.  Hamilton channelled any frustration he may have had into driving fast and pulling off some bold manoeuvres on track.  His pass on Button in turn one won him the race and Jenson does deserve credit for spotting Hamilton at the last minute, otherwise an aeroplane crash would have occurred between the two McLaren drivers.  In the end, his race-winning move on Vettel was fairly straightforward, thanks to Sebastian’s lack of grip from his Pirelli tyres.  However, the tactics that Lewis used, to use KERS in a place where Vettel would be surprised of a possible attack, was genius.  This is the Lewis Hamilton we love and I hope we see more of it, not the moody figure we saw after the race in Kuala Lumpur.  Finally, there has to be a special mention for Mark Webber – who is my ‘driver of the day,’ only just edging out Hamilton.  15 laps in and his race was going absolutely nowhere, having been passed easily by Perez and Rubens Barrichello.  Webber was struggling in 17^th but after Ciaran Pilbeam’s blunder on Saturday by not switching the Aussie on the softer, faster tyre in qualifying, he turned it around himself on Sunday.  True, Webber had three sets of the option tyres available to him after his Q1 shock exit, but he used them to perfection and the team’s decision to start Mark on the prime, less faster tyre at the start reaped rewards.  Webber’s charge through the field was akin to Michael Schumacher’s at Imola in 2005.  That day, Schumacher was only beaten by a stoutly defensive drive from Alonso.  Here, I’m convinced Webber would have won if the race went on four laps longer.  His pace was amazing and it surely will give him the lift in confidence he badly needed after a troubled start to the season.

     What a race and what a start to the season.  For once, I’m glad we have a three week break before Istanbul, because Sunday’s events in Shanghai have taken a long time to digest.  It was a special Grand Prix and one that will never be forgotten by the avid F1 fanatics.  

2011 Australian Grand Prix - Vettel cruises to opening victory

WORLD champion Sebastian Vettel crushed the opposition this morning, to win the season opening Australian Grand Prix at a canter.

CRUSHING: Sebastian Vettel has sent out a warning sign

     The 23-year old produced a lights-to-flag victory, earning his third consecutive victory in the delayed start to the 2011 F1 season.  His Red Bull Racing car was amazing, and he was rarely threatened during the entire weekend.  Vettel won from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton by just over ten seconds, in a race that was not a classic, but was certainly interesting for the fans with the new regulations coming into force.

     The promised degradation of the new Pirelli tyres came into force, as drivers had to make between two and three pitstops for tyres that lasted no more than 15 laps.  KERS returned, but fairly unsuccessfully.  The revelation that Christian Horner made afterwards; Red Bull didn’t use KERS this weekend both questions its future and the confidence that the Milton Keynes based team has.  The DRS system (moveable rear wing control) made an unspectacular debut, with only Jenson Button making full use of the device in the race.  However, with some fine-tuning from the FIA, this could turn into a successful innovation.

     Vettel had cruised to pole position on Saturday, and made an unbelievable getaway, whilst Hamilton did well to resist the attentions of Mark Webber on the rundown to turn one.  Although Hamilton kept Vettel in sight throughout the first stint, the ultimate pace of the Red Bull meant Sebastian was rarely troubled.  Damage to the undertray on Hamilton’s car left him fighting a losing battle against Vettel.  Nevertheless, Hamilton’s second place finish will feel like a victory to McLaren, considering where they were in winter testing.  Button made a poor start and then received a drive-through penalty for cutting the Turn 12 chicane when making a failed overtaking pass on the slow Felipe Massa.  Jenson ultimately finished sixth in the final reckoning.    

     Webber struggled all weekend on home soil and was absolutely nowhere in comparison to Vettel.  He struggled to make his tyres work and a technical problem just after crossing the finishing line compounded to his pretty dire weekend.  He finished fifth, finally equalling his best result at Albert Park, set in 2002 with Minardi.  Ferrari had an unspectacular weekend, with Massa finishing a lonely and below average ninth, after another lacklustre performance.  Having started fifth, Fernando Alonso was squeezed out in turn one and dropped back to tenth by the end of the opening lap.  Ultimately, the Spaniard did well to recover to fourth, on a weekend where he was fighting his car all throughout.  Massa’s morale will be crushed further, as he finished nearly a full minute behind Alonso, despite leading his team-mate in the first ten laps.

SPRAY: Vitaly Petrov enjoys the feel of cold champagne!

All this allowed Russian Vitaly Petrov through to make his maiden appearance on the Grand Prix rostrum.  Petrov capitalised on a brilliant qualifying performance and passed Button and Alonso at the start.  He benefited from a better strategy against Webber to earn a richly deserved podium.  This was a much-needed result for the Lotus Renault team, still recovering slowly from Robert Kubica’s terrible rally accident in February.  Kubica’s long-time replacement Nick Heidfeld finished an embarrassing 14^th.

     Rookie Sergio Perez produced a sensational debut; winding up seventh at the end, ahead of his Sauber team-mate Kamur Kobayashi.  Perez also somehow made it to the finish having just made one pitstop.  Easily, it was the best debut from a rookie driver since Hamilton burst onto the scene here in Melbourne back in 2007.  Sadly, it turned into a nightmare, when both Sauber’s were excluded for a rear wing technical infringement.  Technical director James Key has confirmed an investigation into the issue, and a possible appeal.  The revised results mean that Scot Paul di Resta scores a maiden championship point.  He finished tenth, just behind his experienced Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil.  Sebastian Buemi finished in eighth place for Scuderia Toro Rosso.  However, it was a bad day for both Williams and Mercedes GP.  Neither of their cars finished the race; with Michael Schumacher retiring in the garage after his suspension was bent by Jaime Alguesuari on the first lap.  Nico Rosberg parked his Mercedes, after his radiators were damaged in a desperate overtaking attempt by Rubens Barrichello.  Barrichello earnt a drive-through for his indiscretion and like Pastor Maldonado retired his Williams with technical problems.

     It wasn’t quite the dramatic start that many hoped for, but there is enough encouragement and optimism for the season ahead.  However, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing have laid down an ominous marker to the rest of the competition.  He will head to Malaysia in a fortnight’s time full of confidence and looking almost unbeatable. 

F1 2011 preview (Part 1)

THE new Formula One season begins this weekend, two weeks later than initially planned.  The Australian Grand Prix takes over the mantelpiece of the F1 opener, after Bahrain’s cancellation, following the current unrest in the Middle East.  With another big shake-up in the rules, another new race in India to look forward to and a rather stable driver market this time around, 2011 can beat the drama of 2010.  Can Sebastian Vettel defend his title?  Will Fernando Alonso bounce back from last year’s Abu Dhabi heartbreak?  How will Renault fare without Robert Kubica?  Is Michael Schumacher going to prove his critics wrong?  Have McLaren been sandbagging in testing?  All the talking stops this weekend in Albert Park, so here’s the inside guide.  

Red Bull Racing Renault

1              Sebastian Vettel (GER)

2              Mark Webber (AUS)

Red Bull starts as defending double champions and on pre-season testing evidence look like the class of the field again in 2011.  Adrian Newey and his technicians at Milton Keynes have come up with another highly impressive contender, which looks quicker than last year’s RB6 and far more reliable to its predecessor.  Sebastian Vettel stole the title last season, with some irresistible driving at the end of the last campaign.  If the young German cuts out the silly errors, then Schumacher’s records could be beaten after all.  Mark Webber came so close, yet so far last season and the Aussie knows that he needs to beat Vettel this season, especially as he is out of contract at the end of the season.  Webber rattled Vettel at times last season, but lacked the cutting edge when required.  He has some points to prove this time around.

McLaren-Mercedes

3              Lewis Hamilton (GBR)

4              Jenson Button (GBR)

They were undoubtedly second best to Red Bull in championship last year and McLaren so badly want to take the constructors title for the first time since 1998.  However, their car just hasn’t been up to scratch in testing and looks way too slow to cope with Red Bull and Ferrari.  Expect Lewis Hamilton to wring the neck out of it, and he has a better chance than at the start of 2009 at least.  Jenson Button had a promising debut season with McLaren, and could be the one to beat in changeable/wet conditions.  However, he fell away from the ultimate pace in the title run-in and how he handles the new Pirelli tyres will be interesting to see.  Race wins are certainly possible, but a championship tilt looks a long way off at the moment.

Ferrari

5              Fernando Alonso (SPA)

6              Felipe Massa (BRA)

Ferrari’s strategy cock-up cost them a driver’s title in Abu Dhabi last season and heads have rolled in the winter.  Chris Dyer, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen’s former race engineer has been demoted to a factory role and the charming boss Stefano Domenicalli is surely on a last chance.  The pressure is intense, not just from Luca di Montzemolo, but also from the Tifosi.  No driver’s title since 2007 is simply not good enough.  The car looks short of one-lap speed in comparison to the Red Bull, but its long-run speed could be its wildcard.  Fernando Alonso has moulded the team around him and is sure to be Vettel’s main threat this season.  Felipe Massa’s morale was destroyed by the team-orders debacle at Hockenheim last season and time is running out for the likeable Brazilian at Ferrari.  If he doesn’t score consistent podiums, expect Alonso to have a new team-mate for 2012.  Massa’s last corner title heartbreak in Brazil 2008 seems like a century ago. . .   

Mercedes GP

7              Michael Schumacher (GER)

8              Nico Rosberg (GER)

After the miracles of Brawn in 2009, the much-hyped takeover of Mercedes GP somewhat fell flat as a pancake in 2010.  The car just didn’t do the job and Michael Schumacher drove much of the season like a pig, resulting in several calls for him to pack it up again.  However, the 41-year-old stays on for 2011 and is bound to be better on the Pirelli tyre.  Nico Rosberg is getting ever closer to that maiden F1 win, but this is his sixth season in the sport and he must deliver that breakthrough this season if he really wants to be considered as serious championship material.  The addition of Bob Bell as technical director is a shrewd move and though testing has delivered mixed results, they look quicker than McLaren at least.  The jury’s still out on where they will be in the chasing pack.

Renault

9              Nick Heidfeld (GER)

10           Vitaly Petrov (RUS)

The heart of Renault’s team was ripped out by Robert Kubica’s horrific rally accident in Italy.  His absence from the team for this season is going to have a major effect, but Nick Heidfeld is the best possible stand-in.  Heidfeld has finished second on eight separate occasions in his career and the car looks good enough for race wins, even though championship material looks some way off.  At worst, Heidfeld will be a consistent point’s scorer.  Vitaly Petrov showed promise in 2010, notably in holding off Alonso in the season finale at Abu Dhabi, but too many daft errors cost Renault a load of points in the season.  Renault have the best resources to break the top four, but the loss of their golden jewel in Kubica could have some major implications, especially in the early races.

Williams-Cosworth

11           Rubens Barrichello (BRA)

12           Pastor Maldonado (VEN)

Juan Pablo Montoya’s win in Brazil 2004 seems like a century ago now, and although Williams have dropped into the midfield, they seem to have produced a very quick car for 2011.  With more sponsorship terminations, the Grove squad has been hit the hardest in the post-2008 recession, but what they do have is winners in Patrick Head and Sir Frank Williams.  With money tight, the late season heroics of Nico Hulkenberg wasn’t enough for him to keep his drive and GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado takes his place.  Maldonado will do well to match Hulkenberg’s impressive point’s tally of last campaign, but he isn’t any slouch.  The incredible Rubens Barrichello enters his 20^th season in the sport and his energy and enthusiasm never seems to dwindle, despite having a midfield car again.  If Williams sort out the KERS issues that have dogged pre-season, they could be the dark horse.