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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Analysis for Australia 2012


This does not mean dominance, but just who performed where on the grid.
Brief, team by team.


McLaren        
Qualified 1 & 2          
Result: Jenson Button: 1 & Lewis Hamilton: 3


The team had looked confident coming into the first Grand Prix and it was perfect and they appear to have the best car on the grid. A 1:2 qualifying, thought didnt match the race, although the safety car may have put paid to Hamilton’s chances. Button was amazing and happy, though Hamilton looked grumpy about being third, so performance between the two will decide who will be the No.1 driver.
Red Bull         
Qualified 5 & 6         
Result: Sebastian Vettel: 2 & Mark Webber: 4
No domination like last year, though Vettel looked quite happy in the following interviews and the car was better in racing conditions and certainly close enough to the McLaren. Webber, the home boy could have finished higher, but the safety car made it a little too predictable towards the end.


Ferrari            
Qualified 12 & 16      
Result: Fernando Alonso: 5 & Felipe Massa: DNF
ALONSO. Ferrari are so lucky to have this guy in the car. The car is horrible and doesnt seem to move at all.  No matter how the car is, Alonso just gets the best out of it. Massa looks to have started where he started off last year, and if he carries on like this, we can see a driver change at Ferrari before the end of the season.  Need a certain re vamp if they are to have any chance.



Sauber          
Qualified 13 & 17      
Result: Kamui Kobiyashi: 6 & Sergio Perez: 8
They certainly look like contenders in the mid field and both Kamui and Sergio look good for a good season.  


Lotus              
Qualified 3 & 18        
Result: Kimi Raikkonen: 7 & Romain Grosjean: DNF
They have the speed, they have a reliable machine and they have Kimi and Romain who look certain to amongst the big names and probably beat them too.  Kimi had a strong race, and Romain did start strong and if they build on this performance they could be in the top 4 this season.

Toro Rosso
Qualified 10 & 11      
Result: Daniel Ricciardo: 9 & Jean-Eric Vergne11
Th car has shown some initial pace and this could be a very interesting year for the team by the look of it.  Both the drivers have soon some consistency and did have an incident free race.
Force India    
Qualified 9 & 15       
Result: Paul di Resta: 10 & Nico Hulkenberg: DNF
Should be a very disappointed team leaving Australia, though Paul did manage to get into the points. They have some work to do and by the looks of it, they have a strong team with good drivers so they should only get better from here. 


Mercedes        
Qualified 4 & 7         
Result: Nico Rosberg: 12 & Micheal Schumacher: DNF
Expected to lead the pack in Australia, with strong pre season testing and a good qualifying stint, but let down during the race. With one DNF and the other clearly struggling, things did not go as per plan, but can be expected to bounce back. 

Williams        
Qualified 8 & 14        
Result: Pastor Maldanado: 13 & Bruno Senna: 16
Though classified, both the cars failed to finish the race. It could have been a great weekend, if not for Pastor's over ambitious drive to move up. The car though is a great improvement from last season with speed and top finishes will be a regular for this team.  

Marussia        
Qualified 21 & 22      
Result Timo Glock: 14 & Charles Pic: 15
Glock finished the race, and Charles completed about 53 laps, which should bring them joy, but they are expected to remain amongst the back markers again. 
Caterham      
Qualified 19 & 20      
Result: Heikki Kovalainen DNF & Vitaly Petrov DNF
Not a great weekend for the team, and even with the KERS system are still expected to be at the back.
HRT        
Qualified 23 & 24      
Result: Narain Karthikeyan DNS & Pedro de la Rosa DNS
No Pre Season tests, not within the 107% qualifying time meant that the car was not going to race. They did do some laps in the new car, but this could become a regular activity if they do not get the car up to speed with the grid.

So Looks like its going to be Redbull vs Mclaren at the top, peppered with Lotus who look the surprising package and if Ferrari get their heads together and give a better car to Alonso, they can get close up to the top.  Mercedes seem close and Williams are back to the midfield and this only means a very very close grid and all this means an amazing season of 2012. 

Friday, March 16, 2012

F1 2012 Driver Line Up: A different take


The 2012 Driver Line up in a funny take:

“The Kid who names his Car" Sebastian Vettel and No.2 Driver Mark Webber for Red Bull Racing

"I couldn’t be in a better place" Jenson Button and “Moved to Monaco to stop partying” Lewis Hamilton for McLaren

"I give Up" Fernando Alonso and Felipe "Baby" Felipe Massa line up for Ferrari

7 Time World Champ and probably his last season in his second stint Michael Schumacher and "The Reason why more woman watch F1" Nico Rosberg for Mercedes

The "Iceman" and "I was taking a shit" Kimi Räikkönen lines up with "Racing alongside a World Champ with boost my performance too” Romain Grosjean in Lotus

Thanking their favourite gods and a "No flying Kingfisher clause" are Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg for Force India

"KAMIKAZE” Kamui Kobayashi and "I escaped a horror crash in Monaco with concussion and thigh sprain" Sergio Perez for Sauber

"Not sure how we got a driving seat" are Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric Vergne for Toro Rosso

"Friend of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez" Pastor Maldonado and "Ayrton Senna's Nephew" Bruno Senna for Williams

"Retaining" his seat is Heikki Kovalainen and the "only Russian F1 Driver" Vitaly Petrov for Caterham

"He is always around" Pedro de la Rosa and "The fastest Indian" Narain Karthikeyan for HRT

"I scored a World Championship point in my first Formula One race" Timo Glock and "Rookie" Charles Pic for Marussia

Let’s hope, they give us more reasons to smile this year. 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Preview: Australia: 16 March to 18 March 2012: No Leader

For the first time in many years, we start a new season with no clear front runner with mixed pre season training times. The return of Kimi has spiced the grid up, and if times set by Lotus during the  practice session are any indication, then we can look at a 5 way team fight at the top - Red Bull, Mclaren, Merceedes, Ferrari and Lotus. But the first hurdle for the Aussie GP will be the wet weather.


All the teams are looking at the 2 DRS Zone enabled, 58 lap Albert Park to know who has the better car, and Pirelli havent made it any easy. Apparently, this year, the tires are even softer and will need smoother driving style from the drivers.The four tire colors for 2012 are red (super soft), yellow (soft), white (medium) and silver (hard). 

6 World Champions on track and that only adds to the excitement. The front runners will be the Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mclaren duos, but do not rule out Kimi Raikkonen and his Dark Horse, the Lotus, while Schumi and the rejuvenated Merceedes could pose a problem for the grid. 

The midfield looks very positive and look to move into regular TOP 10 positions, as Sahara Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso and Williams have all enjoyed good pre season tests. Caterham, HRT and Marussia, hopefully will look to do better than 2011, though they didnt have any decent pre-season sessions.

The most noticeable feature of the 2012 cars, though, remains the ugly 'platypus' step nose on all but the McLaren and Marussia. The noses will long forgotten if the season is close and competitive. 

The weather though might create challenges of its own, as rain is expected over the entire weekend. 

Well, so many World champions, the quality of the field and pre testing not giving anything away, it is going to be a really exciting season and could be one of the best and tightest seasons in a long time.

 starting at 11:30am IST.