Prancing Horse makes giant leaps

THE most eagerly anticipated Formula 1 season in living memory is upon us as no less than five teams are considered to have the pace to enable them to win races with nine teams all lapping in pre-season within one second of each other.

All of the five – Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus and Mercedes – have topped the time sheets at one point or another throughout pre-season testing, although single-lap times, particularly before the first race, rarely provide a true indicator of full race pace and consistency.

F1 would not be the sport it is without some level of controversy or intrigue, although by its own standards the past winter has been relatively muted.

Pirelli’s tyres have again been centre of attention with 2013 seeing the introduction of even softer compounds.  While initially criticised for its inability to last a full race (which it was never intended to do), its sometimes rapid degradation has led to more pit-stops, fast-changing race strategies and, therefore, far closer races, leading, in turn, to the return of millions of fans.

The softer tyres Pirelli have produced (as requested) should lead to even greater wear and more pit stops. However, the lower levels of tyre performance  experienced in testing due to the cold European winter has resulted in some complaints, with 2012 Championship winner, Sebastien Vettel, amongst the most vocal.

Over the winter there have been minimal technical changes, although engine manufacturer, Renault, fell foul of the FIA with a new ‘mapping’ system that enhanced the use of exhausts over aerodynamically sensitive bodywork to increase downforce.  The teams they supply, Lotus and Red Bull, were quick to downplay the significance.

Williams and Caterham were also forced to withdraw additional new bodywork on the instruction of the FIA. The panels were determined to have contravened article 5.8.4, although both teams claim that this is unclear and open to interpretation. The rule states that exhaust gases should not be redirected, although the reality is that all teams do this to some extent.

Another intriguing aspect of last winter has been the changing personnel. Being such a technically advanced and competitive arena, F1 has always been subject to changing driver line-ups and poaching of staff. Add to this the challenging economic times and pay-drives are on the increase – or, at least, more out in the open.

Brazilian Luiz Razia must have set a record for the fastest tenure of a race seat, effectively lasting only two days at Marussia after his sponsors failed to meet the contractual terms that secured his seat in the first place. He was quickly replaced by Jules Bianchi, leading to suggestions that this would be linked to the supply of Ferrari engines to the team in 2014.  This has subsequently been denied.

Further up the field, driver Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes was well publicised, but the Bahrain partly-owned outfit could not have been expecting to see technical director, Paddy Lowe, also move in the same direction.

Ironically, it is Mercedes who have received the plaudits for topping the table on the final two days, firstly with new-signing Hamilton setting a scorching pace, only for team-mate Nico Rosberg to go faster still on the final day, this time closely followed by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

However, in 2012 Mercedes became notorious for its ability to get heat into its tyres – great for single lap times and initial pace although detrimental to longer race pace, particularly in warmer countries – if the same applies in 2013 then the Spanish testing times will count for nothing in the season-opener in Australia on Friday. 

Yet the Mercedes has looked consistent in all conditions, particularly on its longer race runs, which suggests that it may have leapt ahead of some rivals.

While Rosberg topped the timesheets, many consider Hamilton’s time when adjusted for conditions, fuel load and settings, to have been faster. 

In their earlier careers Hamilton consistently beat Rosberg and it would be a major surprise if this was not repeated, despite Hamilton’s first outing in the Mercedes ending in a tyre-wall in Jerez! 

Many eyes will also be focused on Hamilton as he starts with Mercedes, the first time in his life that he has raced for a team other than McLaren. Based on the performance of the two teams last year, many questioned his decision to switch. 

With new regulations to be introduced in 2014 others thought it would be a wise move, with 2013 being an opportunity to slowly integrate himself into the team. However, the lap times produced in testing have brought expectations forward and Hamilton will hope for a return to his 2008 best when he first (and last) won the championship!

The Ferrari has been intriguingly inconsistent, yet their new F138 is said to be ‘200 times better than its predecessor’. One worry is that they have not had the opportunity to test their race trim, suggesting at being marginally under-prepared.  However, Alonso’s final-day test (even without the enhancements), finishing second behind Rosberg, indicates the Scuderia have a far more competitive car.

Alonso missed out by only three points despite having a sluggish start to the season, winning plaudits for his ability to consistently win points even with a ‘slow’ car. It is his driving ability that could tip the balance over the course of a season.

McLaren has been similarly inconsistent with their lap times as they struggle to understand their new car.

The main issue appears to be under-steer and tyre degradation. If this is genuinely the case then McLaren have greater scope to enhance their car throughout the season and could become stronger the longer the season develops, suggesting their chances could depend on how quickly they can be consistently competitive.

Lotus is not a name that is often linked to consistency, particularly with having Romain Grosjean in the line-up. They have struggled to keep the car on the track in pre-season and may suffer initially from this lack of preparation. However, they always have the potential to pull a rabbit from the hat, such as in Bahrain last year.

Red Bull is the great enigma – have we seen the 2012 version where the times reflect their performance, or a return to their cloak and dagger approach of 2011 when they were largely anonymous in testing yet ran away with the title.

Popular opinion suggests that Red Bull have been running in testing with a heavy fuel load – with every 10kg resulting in an additional 0.3-0.4 seconds per lap this can drastically alter the results. There have been times when the Red Bull has appeared to have far more downforce than other competitors, none more so than with a drying track in Barcelona, Mark Webber lapped 1.6 seconds faster than all others.

Of the remaining teams, the stunning C32 Sauber impressed initially in Jerez before fading (bluffing?) in Catalonia, while Williams appeared to run with heavy fuel throughout. Force India have welcomed back Adrian Sutil, which will spice up the rivalry with Hamilton after the latter failed to appear in the German’s defence when facing an assault charge a year ago.
Marussia, despite their driver’s musical race seats, may have leapt ahead of Caterham who are a team in transition having changed location as well as drivers.  For me, it is Torro Rosso that should be the best of the rest.

FORMULA ONE drivers will be racing their cars on new styles of tyres at the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, designed to ensure plenty of speed in qualifying coupled with the durability needed for the race in high temperatures.

For the start of the 2013 Formula One World Championship season, Pirelli has nominated its slick P Zero compounds for the first four races in Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain.
In Australia, the P Zero White medium and P Zero Red supersoft tyres will be nominated.

The choice of the P Zero Orange hard and P Zero White medium for Malaysia – the two hardest tyres in the range – will cater for the high temperatures and abrasive surface that is a well-known characteristic of the Far Eastern track.

The P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tyres are nominated for China.

Like Australia, Bahrain has a brand new nomination this year compared to last year: P Zero Orange hard and P Zero Yellow soft.