The 2008 Formula 1 season is going to kick off this weekend in Australia.
Here is the lowdown on all the cars, drivers and their chances. OF course, everything I say here can change. Formula 1 is such a sport that a team which one the 2006 drivers World Championship couldnt make it through second qualifying in 2007 !! Of course, here I am talking abt Renault.
1). Ferrari
Drivers:
Kimi Raikonnen (15 wins and 1 World championship title)
Felipe Massa (5 wins)
Car: F2008
They are the team to beat this season. They won both the constructors and the drivers World Championship at the end of last year in one of the most thrilling contests ever in F1 history. Of course, critics say that they won the World Constructors Championship by default after McLaren were stripped of all their points because of the spying scandal and were leading Ferrari at that time. But given the points and the results at the end of the year, Ferrari would have still won.
They have the most to lose this season. Jean Todt too has moved on. Hardly anyone remains from the Michael Schumacher era at Ferrari. Any hope the tifosi had of Ross Brawn making a comeback was dashed with the Englishman joining struggling Japanese team Honda F1.
Kimi Raikonnen finally won his first WDC title last year. Felipe Massa was competing with him for most of the season but a series of unfortunate driver errors and mechanical failures put paid to his hopes. He then played the role of a good teammate and helped his teammate win the championship. He would not like to do that again this year. He will be looking to win the championship himself.
The drivers look good. There is a good amount of friendly rivalry between them.
2). BMW Sauber
Drivers:
Nick Heidfeld
Robert Kubica
Car: F1.08
This is another team which made a huuge improvment from 2006. BMW was an absolute revelation in 2007 consistently finishing behind only Ferrari and McLaren. They ended up second in the constructors championships thanks to McLaren's disqualification. But even then, this second place is very very well deserved.
Heidfeld and Kubica are two very good drivers and while Nick is way more experienced than his younger Polish teammate, Kubica has shown that he has something special. He had a really horrific crash at the Canadian GP and missed the US GP as a result of that and when he returned to the cockpit, drove brilliantly to finish 4th in the French Grand Prix.
This will be the team to watch this season (along with Renault). It will be interesting to see if they can actually give the frontrunners like Ferrari and McLaren a run for their money.
3). ING Renault
Drivers:
Fernando Alonso(19 wins and 2 Drivers World Championships)
Nelson Piquet Jr
Car: R28
Fernando Alonso has a long hard season ahead of him. Assuming everything goes well within the Renault team (read as, Piquet doesnt start finishing ahead of Alonso), the Renault R28 can be expected to make decent progress throughout the year.
Nelson Piquet Jr is the son of Nelson Piquet, who is a triple world champion. The young Brazilian driver will have a lot to prove. He seems to be up to the task going by his testing times through the winter and also, in his testing role last year at Renault.
4). Williams
Drivers:
Nico Rosberg
Kazuki Nakajima
Car: FW30
The Williams team have been down for a long time, but last year saw their resurgence. With the presence of young Nico Rosberg (son of 1982 F1 Champion Keke Rosberg), the team seems to have found their way again. Nico Rosberg was one of the most wanted drivers in the silly season with just abt every team wanting him. Frank Williams managed to keep him in Williams and everyone is expecting them to do very well this season. They should be expected to at least close the gap to Renault and BMW.
Kazuki Nakajima is another young Japanese driver to join the F1 grid. He raced in the 2007 season finale at Brazil finishing 20th. The surprising part of that drive was that he set the fifth fastest time of all the drivers eclipsing his much more experienced teammate Rosberg.
Williams is a very old team and has won more world championships than all other teams (including McLaren) except Ferrari. It was sad to see them flounder so far back on the grid. It will make it very interesting to see them back at the top.
5). Red Bull Racing
Drivers:
David Coulthard(13 wins)
Mark Webber
Car: RB4
Red Bull Racing is another team which has shown a lot of promise last year. Webber looked to be on course for a fantastic second place or even a win in the very very wet Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji last year until Vettel ended his race. Often called the "Unluckiest man in Modern F1", Webber has the second highest number of starts without a win on the current grid. He always startswell until something happens. Either his car gives way or someone rams him !!
David Coulthard is currently the oldest and most experienced man on the grid right now and while he has long given up hopes of a drivers title, he still has some fire in him to drive fast and do his best. He got RBR's first podium at Monaco in 2006 and has shown time and again that he can get some good results with the car.
6). Panasonic Toyota
Drivers:
Jarno Trulli
Timo Glock
Car: TF108
One of the biggest budgets in F1 funds this team, but it has not shown any results to justify such a large budget. I would say that time is running out for the F1 team. They have to start showing some concrete results soon. Ralf Schumacher has been replaced by young driver Timo Glock and the new look team is very optimistic of the new season. On paper at least, they have the ideal combination of an experienced driver in Jarno Trulli guiding a youngster, Timo Glock. Their best season was in 2005 where they landed up on the podium 5 times. they finished 4th that season but slid back to the midfield for the next two years.
Can they do anything spectacular this year ? We'll have to wait and watch.
7). Scuderia Toro Rosso
Drivers:
Sebastien Bourdais
Sebastian Vettel
Car: STR 3
Another car which has a lot of promise. Vettel was one of the finds of last year. It would have been a wonderful year if not for him crashing into Webber at Fuji. Vettel himself missed a chance to be on the podium. He has great potential. He scored a point on debut at the US GP 2007 (when he stepped in for Kubica).
Bourdais is a Champ Car champion and has a lot of hope riding on him
STR 3 would like to get out of the lower part of the midfield and fight with the teams like Williams.
8). Honda F1
Drivers:
Rubens Barrichello (9 wins)
Jenson Button (1 win)
Car: RA 108
The team which lost the most during 2007. They went from being winners and regular podium finishers in 2006 to the absolute back of the field in 2007. A kind of drop which has rarely been seen in F1. They have hired super brain Ross Brawn(who was responsible for Michael Schumacher's 7 world championships) to help them get out from the bottom of the grid. The testing times do not seem very encouraging though.
Jenson Button is an overhyped driver who has been in F1 for ages and has managed just a single win. That too, at the wet Hungarian Grand Prix in 2006.
Rubens Barrichello is an experienced driver having driven from 2000-2005 alongside Michael Schumacher at Ferrari and helping him in some of his victories. He has just not been able to adjust to the Honda F1 cars and has struggled a lot.
9). Super Aguri
Drivers:
Takuma Sato
Anthony Davidson
Car: SA 108
This team showed a lot of potential last year when Sato overtook reigning world champion Alonso driving a McLaren ON the track in a proper racing maneuver. Anthony Davidson is also a very good driver and showed his brilliance in patches last year. Their development was hampered because the Honda factory team didnt support them enough afraid of the B team beating the factory team.
If they get enough funds and support this year, we can expect some surprises !!
10). Force India F1
Drivers:
Adrian Sutil
Giancarlo Fisichella(3 wins)
Car: VJM01
Earlier known as Jordan, then Midland, then Spyker, this team actually looks decent this year. They have no shortage of funds this year and the team looks stable. The atmosphere within the team is also good as Vijay Mallya, the new owner has claimed that he wants to be like Eddie Jordan who wanted the team to have fun while working. Eddie Jordan visited the team for the first time this year and claimed that he was very happy with the way the team is right now.
Adrian Sutil is a spectacular driver even though his penchant for crashing didnt really make him popular within the team, he didnt have any choice as to get the best out of the Spyker F1 car, he had to push beyond his limits. He did get noticed duriong the 2007 season. He finished fastest in wet practice at Monaco. He also once drove away with the fuelling rig still attached to his car which led to his retirement just at the end of the pit lane.
Fisichella is back to the team where he got his first F1 win (under a new name though). He won the Brazilian GP in bizarre fashion when it was red flagged in 2003, while he was driving for Jordan. He could be the ideal counterfoil to Adrian Sutil.
11). Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Drivers:
Lewis Hamilton (4 wins)
Heikki Kovalainen (0 wins)
Car: MP4-23
There is nothing I can say abt them which most people wont know already. McLaren will be a title contender this year. Even though pit lane gossip says that they are a little behind Ferrari, Ferrari cannot afford to lose sight of their objective for even a single race.
Lewis Hamilton is a prodigy and a genius. He has broken a plethora of records in his very first year in F1 and he came very very close to becoming the first rookie world champion. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him. He is still young and has a long future ahead of him and he is determined to win this season.
He has a very good teammate in Heikki Kovalainen. The young Finn impressed last year driving the really bad Renault car.
Conclusion:
The race will be between Ferrari and McLaren. Renault and BMW will fight for the next 2 places but they could spring a surprise and take the fight to the top two teams. Williams are looking very good at the top of the midfield but they will be aiming to compete strongly with Renault and BMW. At the lower midfield, Force India, Super Aguri and STR have some potential to shake up Toyota, Honda and RBR from their slumber. Honda is one team which might zoom up the grid as quickly as it plummetted.
All in all, a very very interesting season ahead. The more drivers competing for the win, the better for us drivers.
As for me, I am part of the tifosi. Ferrari all the way
Here is the lowdown on all the cars, drivers and their chances. OF course, everything I say here can change. Formula 1 is such a sport that a team which one the 2006 drivers World Championship couldnt make it through second qualifying in 2007 !! Of course, here I am talking abt Renault.
1). Ferrari
Drivers:
Kimi Raikonnen (15 wins and 1 World championship title)
Felipe Massa (5 wins)
Car: F2008
They are the team to beat this season. They won both the constructors and the drivers World Championship at the end of last year in one of the most thrilling contests ever in F1 history. Of course, critics say that they won the World Constructors Championship by default after McLaren were stripped of all their points because of the spying scandal and were leading Ferrari at that time. But given the points and the results at the end of the year, Ferrari would have still won.
They have the most to lose this season. Jean Todt too has moved on. Hardly anyone remains from the Michael Schumacher era at Ferrari. Any hope the tifosi had of Ross Brawn making a comeback was dashed with the Englishman joining struggling Japanese team Honda F1.
Kimi Raikonnen finally won his first WDC title last year. Felipe Massa was competing with him for most of the season but a series of unfortunate driver errors and mechanical failures put paid to his hopes. He then played the role of a good teammate and helped his teammate win the championship. He would not like to do that again this year. He will be looking to win the championship himself.
The drivers look good. There is a good amount of friendly rivalry between them.
2). BMW Sauber
Drivers:
Nick Heidfeld
Robert Kubica
Car: F1.08
This is another team which made a huuge improvment from 2006. BMW was an absolute revelation in 2007 consistently finishing behind only Ferrari and McLaren. They ended up second in the constructors championships thanks to McLaren's disqualification. But even then, this second place is very very well deserved.
Heidfeld and Kubica are two very good drivers and while Nick is way more experienced than his younger Polish teammate, Kubica has shown that he has something special. He had a really horrific crash at the Canadian GP and missed the US GP as a result of that and when he returned to the cockpit, drove brilliantly to finish 4th in the French Grand Prix.
This will be the team to watch this season (along with Renault). It will be interesting to see if they can actually give the frontrunners like Ferrari and McLaren a run for their money.
3). ING Renault
Drivers:
Fernando Alonso(19 wins and 2 Drivers World Championships)
Nelson Piquet Jr
Car: R28
Fernando Alonso has a long hard season ahead of him. Assuming everything goes well within the Renault team (read as, Piquet doesnt start finishing ahead of Alonso), the Renault R28 can be expected to make decent progress throughout the year.
Nelson Piquet Jr is the son of Nelson Piquet, who is a triple world champion. The young Brazilian driver will have a lot to prove. He seems to be up to the task going by his testing times through the winter and also, in his testing role last year at Renault.
4). Williams
Drivers:
Nico Rosberg
Kazuki Nakajima
Car: FW30
The Williams team have been down for a long time, but last year saw their resurgence. With the presence of young Nico Rosberg (son of 1982 F1 Champion Keke Rosberg), the team seems to have found their way again. Nico Rosberg was one of the most wanted drivers in the silly season with just abt every team wanting him. Frank Williams managed to keep him in Williams and everyone is expecting them to do very well this season. They should be expected to at least close the gap to Renault and BMW.
Kazuki Nakajima is another young Japanese driver to join the F1 grid. He raced in the 2007 season finale at Brazil finishing 20th. The surprising part of that drive was that he set the fifth fastest time of all the drivers eclipsing his much more experienced teammate Rosberg.
Williams is a very old team and has won more world championships than all other teams (including McLaren) except Ferrari. It was sad to see them flounder so far back on the grid. It will make it very interesting to see them back at the top.
5). Red Bull Racing
Drivers:
David Coulthard(13 wins)
Mark Webber
Car: RB4
Red Bull Racing is another team which has shown a lot of promise last year. Webber looked to be on course for a fantastic second place or even a win in the very very wet Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji last year until Vettel ended his race. Often called the "Unluckiest man in Modern F1", Webber has the second highest number of starts without a win on the current grid. He always startswell until something happens. Either his car gives way or someone rams him !!
David Coulthard is currently the oldest and most experienced man on the grid right now and while he has long given up hopes of a drivers title, he still has some fire in him to drive fast and do his best. He got RBR's first podium at Monaco in 2006 and has shown time and again that he can get some good results with the car.
6). Panasonic Toyota
Drivers:
Jarno Trulli
Timo Glock
Car: TF108
One of the biggest budgets in F1 funds this team, but it has not shown any results to justify such a large budget. I would say that time is running out for the F1 team. They have to start showing some concrete results soon. Ralf Schumacher has been replaced by young driver Timo Glock and the new look team is very optimistic of the new season. On paper at least, they have the ideal combination of an experienced driver in Jarno Trulli guiding a youngster, Timo Glock. Their best season was in 2005 where they landed up on the podium 5 times. they finished 4th that season but slid back to the midfield for the next two years.
Can they do anything spectacular this year ? We'll have to wait and watch.
7). Scuderia Toro Rosso
Drivers:
Sebastien Bourdais
Sebastian Vettel
Car: STR 3
Another car which has a lot of promise. Vettel was one of the finds of last year. It would have been a wonderful year if not for him crashing into Webber at Fuji. Vettel himself missed a chance to be on the podium. He has great potential. He scored a point on debut at the US GP 2007 (when he stepped in for Kubica).
Bourdais is a Champ Car champion and has a lot of hope riding on him
STR 3 would like to get out of the lower part of the midfield and fight with the teams like Williams.
8). Honda F1
Drivers:
Rubens Barrichello (9 wins)
Jenson Button (1 win)
Car: RA 108
The team which lost the most during 2007. They went from being winners and regular podium finishers in 2006 to the absolute back of the field in 2007. A kind of drop which has rarely been seen in F1. They have hired super brain Ross Brawn(who was responsible for Michael Schumacher's 7 world championships) to help them get out from the bottom of the grid. The testing times do not seem very encouraging though.
Jenson Button is an overhyped driver who has been in F1 for ages and has managed just a single win. That too, at the wet Hungarian Grand Prix in 2006.
Rubens Barrichello is an experienced driver having driven from 2000-2005 alongside Michael Schumacher at Ferrari and helping him in some of his victories. He has just not been able to adjust to the Honda F1 cars and has struggled a lot.
9). Super Aguri
Drivers:
Takuma Sato
Anthony Davidson
Car: SA 108
This team showed a lot of potential last year when Sato overtook reigning world champion Alonso driving a McLaren ON the track in a proper racing maneuver. Anthony Davidson is also a very good driver and showed his brilliance in patches last year. Their development was hampered because the Honda factory team didnt support them enough afraid of the B team beating the factory team.
If they get enough funds and support this year, we can expect some surprises !!
10). Force India F1
Drivers:
Adrian Sutil
Giancarlo Fisichella(3 wins)
Car: VJM01
Earlier known as Jordan, then Midland, then Spyker, this team actually looks decent this year. They have no shortage of funds this year and the team looks stable. The atmosphere within the team is also good as Vijay Mallya, the new owner has claimed that he wants to be like Eddie Jordan who wanted the team to have fun while working. Eddie Jordan visited the team for the first time this year and claimed that he was very happy with the way the team is right now.
Adrian Sutil is a spectacular driver even though his penchant for crashing didnt really make him popular within the team, he didnt have any choice as to get the best out of the Spyker F1 car, he had to push beyond his limits. He did get noticed duriong the 2007 season. He finished fastest in wet practice at Monaco. He also once drove away with the fuelling rig still attached to his car which led to his retirement just at the end of the pit lane.
Fisichella is back to the team where he got his first F1 win (under a new name though). He won the Brazilian GP in bizarre fashion when it was red flagged in 2003, while he was driving for Jordan. He could be the ideal counterfoil to Adrian Sutil.
11). Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Drivers:
Lewis Hamilton (4 wins)
Heikki Kovalainen (0 wins)
Car: MP4-23
There is nothing I can say abt them which most people wont know already. McLaren will be a title contender this year. Even though pit lane gossip says that they are a little behind Ferrari, Ferrari cannot afford to lose sight of their objective for even a single race.
Lewis Hamilton is a prodigy and a genius. He has broken a plethora of records in his very first year in F1 and he came very very close to becoming the first rookie world champion. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him. He is still young and has a long future ahead of him and he is determined to win this season.
He has a very good teammate in Heikki Kovalainen. The young Finn impressed last year driving the really bad Renault car.
Conclusion:
The race will be between Ferrari and McLaren. Renault and BMW will fight for the next 2 places but they could spring a surprise and take the fight to the top two teams. Williams are looking very good at the top of the midfield but they will be aiming to compete strongly with Renault and BMW. At the lower midfield, Force India, Super Aguri and STR have some potential to shake up Toyota, Honda and RBR from their slumber. Honda is one team which might zoom up the grid as quickly as it plummetted.
All in all, a very very interesting season ahead. The more drivers competing for the win, the better for us drivers.
As for me, I am part of the tifosi. Ferrari all the way
