This was meant to be a post on the 2020 Formula One season, this was meant to be a post on what we could expect in Melbourne, it was meant to be a post on who to watch out for this season and what we could expect but after this early mornings decision by authorities to cancel this weekend's opening Grand Prix in Abert Park, Melbourne, this post is now one of great sadness but also the reality the world is facing right now.
Yesterday a member of the Mclaren F1 team tested positive for the COVID-19 virus which this was was labelled a global pandemic due to the fast spreading nature of it. The virus takes up to 14 days to show up in tests so there could be many walking around and spreading it without even knowing. The virus which has claimed thousands of lives world over has forced a number of public events and sporting events to either cancel or carry on without any crowds. The virus attacks the respiratory system and with Formula One being such a high intensity sport with drivers losing so much liquids and weight during the race, one can only imagine what effect it could have on them. So the best option was taken to cancel.
This news does cast doubt on the next scheduled race on the calendar which takes place in Bahrain on the 22nd of March. Bahrain officials already notified the FIA that they plan to have no spectators present for the race a heavy knock but following similar decisions made by the Italian football league, this could be one way of still having sporting events carry on without the risk of contamination. The drivers all issued messages independently via their social media channels, stating their disappointment but also highlighting that it was a necessary decision to make. Until the World Health Organisation finds some sort of way to contain this virus, we can expect a lot more scenes like this throughout 2020.
This was suppose to be a happy post, seeing that the Formula One season kicks off this weekend in Melbourne but we start the blog on a somber note. A legend of the sport, and FIA Race Director for the past 22 years, Charlie Whiting sadly passed on this week. He joined the Federation in 1988 and has been integral in not only the success of the sport but also in keeping the needs of the drivers his number one priority during his time. Every single driver, past and present have been giving their heart felt thoughts about Charlie since his passing and this can only show the character of the man he was. We as the fans and public won't really know much about the behind the scenes when it comes to driver briefings, and race management but Charlie ensured that this remained smooth sailing for everyone. He will be missed by one and all in the F1 world.
Back to the racing, Winter testing normally gives us an indication on which teams to look out for in the season to come and there were no surprises with Ferrari and Mercedes on top of the time charts again, with Red Bull now powered by a Honda engine, not too far behind. Overall it was Ferrari that were the fastest in Spain but if we learnt anything from Winter testing, is to not take these results for granted as come race weekend, given the conditions and strategies, a lot can change. With FP1 and FP2 just being completed at Melbourne, its Merc who showing good pace down under with Ferrari playing catch up. It will be interesting to see what happens during qualifying tomorrow.
They've been many changes in teams this season with some drivers swapping teams, swapping seats but for the current constructors champions it all remains pretty much the same for them. World Champion Lewis still heads up the driver line-up with Valteri Bottas being the number 2. It was interesting as to how last season started with Toto giving both drivers free reign to compete with each other but obviously to keep the team in mind when doing so but ultimately it was Lewis who forced his way up the points tally which meant Valteri had to bow down for the rest of the season and allow his team mate to compete and win the Championship in the end. So not sure if the team will adopt the same approach again this season or if the 4 times world champions will have a say in how things go down on race day.
Ferrari, the darling of the sport really need to get some silverware as it's been a good few years without any and I'm sure the powers at be in Maranello have set targets for the team. There has been change at Ferrari, coming from the top with Mattia Binotto taking over the position from Maurizo Arrivabene, interesting move from the Italians and a strategic one at that. There is a change in driver as well with Kimi Raikkonen departing for their sister team. Alfa Romeo Sauber and see's their driver Charles Leclerc come across to partner Sebastian Vettel. Vettel showed good promise at the beginning of last season as he mounted a substantial challenge to Lewis but after some costly errors by him and the team midway through the season saw his challenge disappear. He seems pretty confident about the car this year around and also gave it a name "Lena", with newbie Leclerc along side him, it will be one to watch how their relationship develops over the season.
Red Bull are still that one team everyone knows not to forget about, Christian Horner still has his work cut out for him this season with a new driver pairing of Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, lets hope he wont have to deal with as much of the friction there was when Daniel Ricciardo was there. It was no secret that Max and Dan didn't see eye to eye, especially on the race track, none so evident that the race in Baku when the pair collided on the straight. Max still remains RBR's number one drive but he has to prove his worth this year round, some costly errors made him still look immature last season and with now reliability a thing of the past with the new engine suppliers, we hope he will be making things extra exciting on the top of the grid.
Other notable changes, as mentioned before see's Kimi join Alfa Romeo Sauber. It's always great to have the charismatic Fin in F1, his charm is one the reasons we like to see him on the podium and many like to see him at the drivers gala dinner at the year end so lets hope he scores some decent points this year. Another happy note see's the return of Robert Kubica to the Williams seat, after his leg break it was hard to see Robert's return to the sport happen but he proved everyone wrong and hopefully can fly the flag high for Williams Racing again. With the first race in Australia, we can't forget about the ever smiling Daniel Ricciardo, after a difficult year at Red Bull, he was pretty open after he signed a deal with Renault about his time at his former team, he said he felt no love for him there and hopefully the French will show him a lot of it. Winning his home race will be a stretch but lets hope we see him in the top 6 at least.
With some new rules being thrown into the mix as well as changes to the cars, this years Formula One season is bound to be another nail biter, even more so than last year. The FIA have now decided to award points to the person who does the fastest lap on race day, so you'll be seeing many gunning to achieve that. This is a tricky one with most teams choosing to look after their engines towards the end of the race but this being optimal time to get those fast laps in, it will be interesting to see who is willing to take the risk for that extra point. I can't wait to see who crosses that checkered flag on Sunday but if the past few races are anything to go by, don't be surprised to see that red car going through first.
The 2018 season of Formula 1 officially got under way this morning at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia. After what felt like an eternity, the break has finally ended and we can get back to some excited racing, well we hope it's exciting. Then again, it won't be hard to beat the new F1 logo and theme song, not sure what the hell they were thinking when they approved that! Anyway, enough of the bitching, lets see what we can predict for this years race calendar. From initial testing in Spain, it was clear that Mercedes-Benz are the team to beat again this year, with both Silver Arrows showing good speeds, even with that stupid halo on the car. While Ferrari were expected to close the gap on their arch rivals, it seems that Red Bull Racing who have the backing of Aston Martin now have come up as new challengers to the Germans.
From this mornings FP1, it was evident that RBR's are taking the challenge to Merc with both drivers just falling behind the Mercs and the Ferrari's rounding up the top 6. In FP2 however, Max Verstappen showed some great speed to pip Bottas into second fastest around the track, so from the onset, Red Bull look to be back and firing on all cylinders. A big question still hangs over their reliability over the entire race duration, as last year saw a few races which ended with just one or none of the cars making home. With it being on home soil, Daniel Ricciardo will also want to push his car and his team mate this weekend to score some good points at his home race.
Ferrari have been rather quiet about many things ever since testing began in Feb, their speeds haven't been the greatest and there are many already writing the Italians off in terms of their chances of competing against Mercedes let alone winning the championship. Last year saw them get off to a flyer with Vettel winning in Australia and going on to lead the drivers championship up and until the mid-season break after which all went sour for the team in red. While both Sebastian and Kimi aren't showing fantastic times in testing and practice, over a race distance, things might be a little different, so the Tifosi hope. With Red Bull Racing upping the anti, Ferrari definitely have their work cut out for them as they now have 4 cars to fight off on the grid, one things for sure, they definitely have the talent behind the wheel to keep them in the reckoning.
Mercedes-Benz F1, the poster boys of the past few years of Formula One, it seems like their golden boy Lewis Hamilton can do no wrong but we've seen brief flashes of his frustration last season when things don't go his way. His biggest competitor this season might come in the form of his Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas. Both having the same car, same engine, could this be the year that Bottas doesn't play second fiddle and take the challenge to Hamilton? We've seen it a few season ago when Nico Rosberg did so, it didn't bode well with the Englishman as he even cited favouritism in the camp, to give the German the edge over him. Whatever the case, if Bottas does in deed go full tilt, we hope we don't see a case where both cars take each other out as we did in previous seasons with Lewis and Nico. No doubt though, Mercedes-Benz are the team to beat again this year, it will be interesting to see how the season pans out though.
Wrapping up the rest of the teams, there are some that could cause disruptions to the top 3, Force India, Williams, Torro Rosso and Sauber Alfa Romeo come to mind. These teams are not only there to make up the grid but could prove to be vital in determining race results, they might have some surprises up their sleeves as well. One which team that many hope have a few surprises is Mclaren, the bright orange, Renault powered car that will be fizzing around the track this year, piloted by fan favourite, Fernando Alonso and second driver Stoffel van Doorn has been showing some pace so far, with the cars finishing in the top 10 at the end of FP2. So who knows, maybe this year might see them scoring some decent points.
Regardless of which team and driver you support, I'm sure we are all just glad that Forumula One is finally back, nothing can be read into the first few races because as last year went to prove, leading the championship for half the year doesn't mean anything if you can't follow it up in the second half. Pressure is on for me to pick a race winner for this weekend, seeing that I nailed it against all odds last year. With rain expected for the weekend, that could throw a massive spanner in the works, if it were dry I would have gone for Bottas to pip his partner, but in the wet, we can't really be sure who will be strong so I'm going for my exact pick from last year, Vettel to bring the car home in first place on Sunday.
