CONTENTED! That’s one word that describes me this weekend. The 2011 season’s first qualifying session is now finally over and we somewhat know the pecking order for the next few races. By my understanding, the form that teams show in Australia will reflect at the other fly-away races in Malaysia and China.Teams usually bring car updates in Barcelona and that’s where we shall see a change in form for most teams.
Qualifying in Melbourne can be described as ‘shock and awe’. Barring Red Bull, every other team’s pre-season form didn’t reflect on track. Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing scorched the track to clinch the season’s first pole position and were distantly followed by Lewis Hamilton in his Mclaren. Vettel’s team-mate, Webber will start third tomorrow, followed by Hamilton’s team-mate and 2009 World Champion, Jenson Button.
So where were the Ferraris and the Mercedes cars? Before we get there, here’s a bit of an analysis from pre-season testing. Ferrari were expected to challenge the might of the Red Bulls in Australia and Mercedes were expected to be in the top 3. Result in Australia: Ferrari’s best car (Fernando Alonso) will only start 5th and Nico Rosberg, who out-qualified Michael Schumacher, will start 7th. Felipe Massa will start as low as 8th and Schumacher from 11th.
While I won’t go on to write a qualifying report, I am attempting to lay down a form factor of the top teams and of course the Indians in Formula1.
Red Bull Racing was expected to be quick and they are. The only question in Australia is – How did Vettel manage to beat Webber by 8 tenths of a lap in the same car? Red Bull’s dominance was apparent and for the team managing their drivers and their temperaments will be the key this season. Last year, their inexperience in handling a team leading the World Championship was exposed. I expect them to walk away with the race honours tomorrow.
Mclaren had a disastrous pre-season. It is upon Formula1 teams to experiment radical designs to go quicker, but Mclaren went a step too far and the effect of that was a terribly slow car. Mclaren designed a radical exhaust system that expected the car to make use of the exhaust gases and generate more downforce. The design backfired and the Mclaren’s suffered from lack of pace. Of the leading teams, Mclaren clocked the least of testing miles pre-season.
The F1 Paddock including Lewis Hamilton believed that the team from Woking would struggle come Australia, but a switch back to the conventional exhaust system meant that Mclaren found themselves back in the top 3. In Australia, the Mclarens seemed to be the only team challenging the Red Bulls. There isn’t much to choose between the World Champion team-mates, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. But the driver who is better at tyre management is expected to reign in 2011. (Lewis is known to be harsh with his tyres whereas Button is known to be smoother!)
Ferrari, the Italian marquee team had a great pre-season program. They achieved their testing objectives, clocked maximum testing miles amongst all teams and ended most days at the top of the time sheets. They didn’t face many issues with their KERS and ARW systems and hence were expected to rule the tracks in Australia. However, the team underwent a reality check at Albert Park where they were unable to generate heat and hence grip in the new Pirelli tyres. While the Ferraris start outside the top 5 tomorrow, the team has the ability to bounce back mid-season. (Much like Alonso’s late charge to the F1 crown last year!)
Mercedes GP is a team under tremendous pressure from not only their fans and German media but also the board of directors and investors. While the pressure on the team can be questioned (It is only their 2nd F1 season for Christ’s sake!) their lack of pace is apparent. The team houses one of the most successful combinations in Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher but has been unable to develop a car that can challenge the Red Bulls, Mclarens and Ferraris for race wins. The team management has acknowledged that their car is 1 second off the pace at the front and I think they have the wherewithal to claw back the time and challenge for podiums when F1 heads back to Europe. The team might not be able to unlock true potential of the Merc GP car till Barcelona.
Leaving the mid-grid aside, the form of the Indian representation in Formula1 wasn’t at its best. Karun Chandhok, who was awarded a reserve role with Team Lotus Racing only managed to drive 4 corners in Friday’s Free Practice 1 before crashing into the barriers. Karun accepted blame for the crash which was due to his lack of experience on the Pirelli tyres.
Narain Karthikeyan, who is making his comeback this season, faced an embarrassing situation with his Hispania Racing Team. The team was unable to put together his car for the free practice sessions on Friday and barely managed a few runs on Saturday. In qualifying, the Narain’s HRT was outside the 107% laptime set by Sebastian Vettel and hence will be disallowed from participating in the race tomorrow. Narain’s biggest challenge in HRT would be to get his car to the finish and more so ahead of his team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi. The big question is – do HRT have the funds to compete the entire 2011 season?
India’s best hope in Formula1 this year again will be the Force India Formula1 Team. While the team didn’t have the best qualifying result in Australia (both drivers outside the top 10), they do have a good plan to build and develop their car through the 2011 season. I met with the drivers last weekend and while they acknowledged that their car was slower than they would like, they also revealed that their development plans for 2011 were ambitious and that the car would go faster through the season. Car development was the team’s Achilles heel in the 2010 season and that seems to be addressed for 2011. Force India fans might be disappointed in the first few races of this season, but keep faith in the updates that will be made available to the team going forward.
