A new season of a new era begins this weekend in Australia. For the first time, no more girls will be on the starting grid at F1 races. It's grid kids. Despite that, I think we are in for an exciting season with quite a few teams making noticeable improvements on the performance front with some big rule changes. For instance there are now only 3 power units for the season instead of 4, forcing teams that were focusing just on power and performance to look a little more closely at making the power unit as reliable as possible. The data from winter testing shows that most of the cars are in the same neighborhood in respect to performance. While these figures have shown to be misleading in the past, we will soon find out this weekend in Melbourne who really could have the quickest car on the track this season.
Mercedes has been the top-dog for the past 4 seasons. With one of the new rule changes allowing only three power units for the season, the approach to designing the power units have been shaken up considerably. Mercedes has seemingly come up with a very suitable answer judging from test data. The unit provides both the power that Mercedes has been accustomed to over the past few years, and the reliability required for the new regulations. The chassis also appears to be tight and stable as well. Both Bottas and Hamilton have nothing but praise for the cars this year, so a 5th consecutive championship is entirely likely for both Mercedes and Hamilton. Hamilton has already demonstrated that this car can certainly run a pace that is not easily met. Is it the driver or is it the car? Either way, my prediction is for Hamilton to take his 5th Drivers Championship with Mercedes winning the Constructors Championship as well. All Mercedes again this season, though it won't be quite as easy as the last few.
Ferrari has picked up the pace once again for this season, and with the change in the wheelbase regulations it was quite the overhaul for the chassis. While most of the media was paying attention to Red Bull and Mercedes data and times from just one set of tires, Ferrari was testing all the tires and gathering as much data as possible. Ferrari is thinking ahead and more importantly about winning first. When Ferrari outran everyone with hypersofts, the media brushed it off. Ferrari have got themselves quite an excellent package on this seasons car, something they can contend with. They obviously have the driving talents. Pundits are putting Vettel in contention for the Driver's Championship this year, and rightfully so. Hopefully Ferrari and Vettel can replicate the reliability of which they became so prominent for and make this season even more exciting with arguably the most innovative car on the grid this season. Hamilton v Vettel for who gets to 5 Drivers Championships first. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ferrari 3rd on the Constructors Championship, with Vettel finishing 2nd or 3rd in the Driver's Championship.
McLaren claims to have solved it's reliability issues with the new power units introduced after they ditched the Honda power units. Many believe it's really make or break for them this year to finish within the top 5 in the constructors championship as they no longer have Honda to place the blame on. I couldn't agree more with them, it will force the big name brand to step up to the plate if they want to keep their premier status of being able to perform like the rest of the best. If they manage to stay relevant and compete this year, it would speak volumes about their engineering from both a performance and a reliability standpoint. If the improvements turn out to be real and reliable, McLaren could find themselves 5th in the Constructor's Championship. None of their drivers will be in the race for the Driver's Championship this year, but they make a habit of finishing in the top 10.
Speaking of Honda... The Toro Rosso car, with their new partners in Honda, had quite a good outing on test day. 93 laps without any problems. One of their drivers boasts of the driveability of the engine, and the positivity of that in all aspects. This is very exciting for other motorsport fans as there will be more cars on the tracks with the increased reliability of these new cars from the smaller teams, which should make for more excitement in the races. It could lead to further Vettel radio outbursts if nothing else, which I think we can all agree always has a rather great entertainment value. Nonetheless, the team should have a good year, respectively, if the new power units are as powerful as they claim.
Last but not least, what could be the great overthrowers of the established Mercedes rule, Red Bull. How about the excellence that this team produces year in and year out. Ever since the 4 consecutive seasons with Vettel where they were untouchable, they have always been hanging around. Throughout all the changes, they have consistently been great. This season looks to be no exception. The test results are top quality. The data says they can run with Mercedes and Ferrari, no problem. Verstappen is turning out to be one of the best of the young 2018 ensemble of drivers. Could this be the year that Verstappen wins his own Driver's Championship? Plausible by the looks of it. If the data holds up in real race conditions, Verstappen could win it all this season. That being said, I'm putting Verstappen at 2nd or 3rd for the season, with Red Bull at 2nd in the Constructor's Championship. Lewis Hamilton is more than a handful in a car he doesn't like, beating him with a car he likes is even more difficult. Maybe next year for the young star, but they don't have these races for no reason!
The Australian Grand Prix is one of my favorite events in the F1 calendar. Being one of the few exciting and testing tracks from a drivers standpoint left in the competition, there can be some big crashes and some exciting passes. The Melbourne track is smooth and flat but has 2 DRS zones one on the straight from turn 16 to turn 1 and the other from after turn 2 to turn 3. Brace yourselves for some high speed action running through the main straight and into turn 3, we'll be in for some great racing if you can get a stream from any camera covering those turns. Can't miss the Clark Chicane either. There are no better spots to watch if you are just watching individual turns throughout the race than those 3 areas.
Vettel and Hamilton should have no problem securing a podium position. The last podium finish is a toss up between Bottas, Verstappen and Raikkonen. With the Toro Rosso improvements, Carlos Sainz Jr. could have a nice top 10 finish to start off the season. Daniel Riccardo could easily finish in the top 10, possibly top 5. It will be quite the event, hopefully not too many wrecks to slow things down and a whole lot of high speed racing.
Practice 1 is on Thursday the 22nd at 9:00 PM EST. Practice 2 is on Friday the 23rd at 1:00 AM EST. Practice 3 is on the same Friday at 11:00 PM EST. Qualifying starts on Saturday the 24th at 2:00AM EST. Race time starts at 1:00AM EST on Sunday the 25th, so prepare for an exciting late night on Sunday the 25th for the season debut. If you're a nut like me you'll be up every night watching all the pre-race preparations. We'll see how the cars hold up in this race and throughout the season, there's always some exciting turns in F1.
How do you all feel about this upcoming Formula 1 season? Will it finally be a close season, or will Mercedes pull away quick again? Will the changes help create more competition this season? Will Vettel be able to keep his cool behind the wheel? Let me know what you think, drop a comment.
Thanks for pitting for your F1 here,
RedCar