The season so far...

OK so this is my first blog and seeing as I didn’t catch the European Grand Prix live and it wasn’t exactly the most eventful race of what has been an incredible season I figured I’d just start with some observations I’ve made on the F1 season so far… It’s long…you’ve been warned…

Vettel’s dominance…

Lots of people have been asking just how good Seb really is. This may sound strange given that he has commanded the last seven of eight races, despite ‘only’ winning six of them but it’s for exactly this reason that he’s being questioned. He’s led from the front, made his way through traffic but he’s barely had to ‘race’ anyone. Personally, I wonder whether his dominance is beginning to be underrated. Undoubtedly Red Bull is the superior car – streaks ahead of the competition right now – but Vettel is a supreme talent, breaking records, however obscure, left, right and centre. He’s the youngest ever World Champion and is set to become the youngest ever double World Champion by the looks of things but he has something that a lot of drivers, however talented, appear to lack and that is what really sets him apart. Seb is extremely intelligent and seems to understand his car and tyres better than anyone else right now. Of course this is helped by his superior car, but let’s not forget the KERS issues Red Bull have been suffering from throughout the season – he’s always been able to find that little bit extra when it has really mattered. He’s supremely confident and nothing appears to faze the young driver…issues in practice have shown that he is perfectly capable of picking himself up, dusting himself off and showing everyone just how on top of his game he is. He’s cheeky and he’s self-assured, he looks after his tyres and controls his races – he rarely gets hot under the collar, though Canada did show that there are chinks in the young German’s armour. Then there’s Mark Webber…if it really is just the car and Seb’s not all he’s cracked up to be then how has Mark Webber failed to capitalise on the exact same situation? Sure Mark’s not taken to the Pirelli’s as well as Seb, but more importantly, he’s not comfortable in the team…no matter what he or the team says, he feels second rate and it still really shows. So yes, Seb is dominating for a combination of reasons, but that team is built around him and I can only see him going from strength to strength while Ferrari, McLaren and even his teammate play catch up…

The trouble with Lewis…

I’ve always had something of a problem with Lewis Hamilton’s attitude and recently his behaviour on and off track has been called into question. There is no doubt that Lewis is world-class and a deserved World Champion but there is also no doubt that Lewis is extremely privileged to have had the start to his career that he has had… Entering into a potentially Championship-winning team was a huge break for him and, since the rise of Lewis Hamilton, Formula One has become remarkably more popular in Britain than it had been since the years of Damon Hill. However, having things all his own way has not had an entirely advantageous effect on Lewis. As Martin Brundle recently said ‘the problem with Lewis is it’s always somebody else’s fault’… He seems far too quick to praise the team when they’re doing well and slam them when they’re not. Has he forgotten how far behind McLaren were in pre-season testing? The team has done exceptionally well to develop the car as quickly as they have this year and yes, they need to keep doing so, they need to keep upgrading but the team radio footage, not to mention Lewis’s little outburst in Monaco is sure to do nothing but hinder the team’s morale at a time when it really needs a boost. In contrast to Sebastian, Lewis seems unable to condition his tyres for long stints… and that is exactly what he needs to do if he’s going to challenge Red Bull for the rest of the season. Good race pace is all very well but it’s nothing when your tyres are shot to bits after four or five laps. There’s no question that McLaren were simply not quick enough this weekend but to finish 46 seconds behind the Red Bulls surely was not representative of their potential… This season seems to be most about getting to grips with the Pirellis and despite blatant requests from the team for Lewis to slow down he maintained he couldn’t go any slower, yet told them he couldn’t go any quicker just a short time later. As simple as it sounds, when you smash out fastest laps on the first few laps of a new set of tyres, you’re going to struggle for pace later on… Lewis is an out and out racer and it’s not in his nature to go ‘slowly’ when he could go quickly, but not thinking ahead really hurt him at a race where he really needed a good result. All of these guys are desperate to win, but in recent races Lewis has been erratic and has demonstrated a terrible exercise in PR to say the least. He was lucky to go unpunished for his outburst which was undoubtedly a sign of his deep frustration but I can’t help but feel that tensions between Lewis and McLaren need to be resolved before they can move on. Silverstone will provide an ideal opportunity to overcome recent problems and provide British fans with something to celebrate, though post-race interviews from Jenson and Lewis suggested this will be a tough challenge!

A quick word on Jenson…

While Lewis has attracted a lot of attention of late, mostly for the wrong reasons, Jenson has quietly been getting the job done… KERS problems in the last race meant that he had to settle for a disappointing sixth but he’s been treating his tyres better than Lewis recently and has proven that consistency is the key as he finds himself joint second in the Championship after a sensational drive in Canada. I wouldn’t underestimate Jenson…while Lewis is evidently desperate to win a second title, Jenson has said he’s just so thrilled to have one under the belt – of course he wants more, but it seems by taking the pressure off himself he’s thriving, while Lewis has been pushing himself – and his car – too hard recently.

As for Ferrari…

Pre-season testing suggested that Ferrari would be in a position to challenge Red Bull from the outset but inaccurate results and projections saw Ferrari at a loss at the start of the year – struggling massively for pace and unsure as to why. Ferrari – probably more than any other team in F1 history – has an extremely loyal but also expectant fanbase. The famous tifosi expect Ferrari podiums, victories and championships but recent form has seen the fans celebrating even a handful of points as Fernando Alonso solemnly admits that he’s now fighting for second in the Championship. Despite the glory that is associated with Ferrari we must remember that this has often been the Ferrari way… Michael Schumacher enjoyed great times at Ferrari but it wasn’t always the case…Ferrari are quick to lose form but they find themselves back at the top soon enough. Recent re-shuffles at the top have shown that Ferrari are doing all they can  to improve the car, bringing updates earlier than planned in an effort to understand the performance gap. It must also be acknowledged that the team has been too defensive at times in terms of strategy so far this year. Barcelona was a prime example of this – despite a stunning start by Alonso who has otherwise been lacklustre in his starts this year, wasting a set of option tyres in qualifying meant that he would settle for a disappointing fifth place. Monaco and Valencia – and even Montreal – were encouraging race weekends for Ferrari as they edged ever closer to Red Bull on race pace. Felipe Massa has also upped his game in recent races after a questionable start to the season and may only have lost out to Lewis in Valencia as a result of Ferrari’s pit-stop strategy which meant Felipe was pitted after Fernando despite wanting to pit earlier. One thing is for sure – Fernando and Felipe make a great partnership at Ferrari and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them challenge for victories in the next few races, even if the Championship has already been conceded this season…The fact that the Championship has already been conceded may also mean that the team soon shifts focus to next year's car. 

A few other things…

The Mercedes partnership is an interesting one for me. I’ve always thought Rosberg was a great talent and he’s really done well this year, outperforming Michael time after time, but every so often we see a glimpse of Michael’s brilliance with Canada being the best example of this so far this season. I can’t help but feel that these glimpses aren’t enough for Michael who became so accustomed to winning before his initial retirement. Vitaly Petrov and Paul di Resta have also really impressed my this year, particularly with Paul coming from DTM into Formula One and not having raced at some of the tracks on the calendar – I’d say they’re both worth keeping an eye on for the future. I can also see Team Lotus making some inroads as the season progresses. With experienced drivers and having already made up some time this year, I can see Jarno or Heikki pouncing on the chance to score some points at a high attrition race in the near future...