My single biggest complaint about Formula 1 in recent seasons was that it was a one-sided, utterly predictable fixture. Even while Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton jostled it out on track (and increasingly off track too, as the years wore on), fans tuning in every race weekend knew that there would be a Mercedes on the top of the podium. The only question was: Which one?
The 2017 F1 season is a welcome breath of fresh air. Everything is up in the air – and if you’re someone who has been predicting race results, you’ll know what I mean when I say that the outcomes have been fairly fickle. In two races, we have had two different race winners who were, crucially, from different teams. In fact, we’ve also had three different teams on the podium already – Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing.
The era of Mercedes having absolute dominance is over. Ferrari, who have struggled through the past several seasons, have finally cranked up the pace. Tellingly so, the World Constructors’ Championship points are nail-bitingly close, with Mercedes leading Ferrari by only one point. In the Drivers’ Championship, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are tied on equal points – something that’s never happened in the recent history of Formula 1.
Red Bull Racing, last year’s challenger team, may not be as quick as Ferrari or Mercedes, but remain in the fray as cars to watch, with Max Verstappen currently third in the drivers’ rankings. To revisit the last time that we had drivers from multiple constructors battling it out for top honours, we have to go back to 2012 when Vettel, then with Red Bull Racing, pipped Fernando Alonso of Ferrari by three points.
A question of pace
On raw pace, it is fair to say that Mercedes and the Ferrari have shown themselves to be fairly even. If at all, Ferrari slightly have the edge over producing pace consistently over the race distance. Sebastian Vettel also believes that the Ferrari has the best pace in changing weather conditions. Whether this is true or just the good old PR talk from Ferrari, time will tell. Red Bull Racing are much off the pace for now (30 seconds in Australia, 45 seconds in China) but surely they’ll ensure that they get more pace out of their Renault engine by the time the Formula 1 circus moves to Europe.
As we know, winning races is no longer about pure pace. Unlike last season, where the Mercedes cars just waltzed off the line and became a speck in the distance (unless their infamous clutch issues struck), the Ferrari and Mercedes cars are very close this year. This means that other factors become more critical in scripting race wins – pitstop strategy, qualifying, tyre utilisation and the drivers themselves. Let’s understand the role of each element in setting up this fantastic multi-constructor war.
Strategy and overtaking
Given the nature of the circuits where it’s become rather hard to overtake on track (unless you go by the name of Max Verstappen), races will be won and lost in the pits. We saw that when Mercedes mistimed Hamilton’s pitstop in Australia, bringing him out behind Verstappen and eventually costing him the race. In China, the gods of strategy let Ferrari down as Vettel pitted under the Virtual Safety Car, and hence lost time in the Safety Car period that immediately followed. Ferrari have made some bad strategic calls last season, and their fans can only hope they do better this year.
Red Bull Racing often make some plucky, unexpected strategic calls and we’ve seen them pay off. In fact, promoting Verstappen mid-way last season was one such call. In a season where they may not be the quickest, working extra hard on strategy will be their best move. In a similar vein, while qualifying last season was largely about glory, it’s now about gaining valuable track positions so you don’t get bottled up behind a slower car.
Pirelli’s highly durable tyre compounds allow teams and drivers to choose between multiple strategies to ensure optimum pace throughout the race. Let’s see which team will cook it well and which one will burn it
The drivers factor
Mercedes have Hamilton and Ferrari have Vettel – multiple world champions and gifted drivers who are the best of this motorsport era. At the same time, Mercedes also have Valtteri Bottas, while Ferrari also have Kimi Raikkonen – and that’s where the concerns lie.
Bottas, who unexpectedly landed up at Mercedes his season, evoked a mixed response in his first two races with the Silver Arrows. In Australia, although he claimed his maiden podium for Mercedes, he was consistently off the pace compared with Hamilton. As for China, he already endured a weekend to forget with a spin. Even as the pressure on him looms large, Bottas will have to up his game in the races to come as Mercedes count on him to bring home the podiums and big results, and more importantly, beat the Ferraris and Red Bulls.
Kimi Raikkonen, one of the most loved drivers on the grid, seems to be struggling with form yet again. He has openly declared his intention of racing for Ferrari in 2018, but in the present state of affairs, his desire seems rather optimistic. Raikkonen is a world champion and he’s given us some spectacular races in the past – but the Raikkonen of today seems dull, un-dynamic and full of complaints. His radio messages are more exciting than his driving – for god’s sake, Kimi, you are an F1 racer and not a radio jockey! It’s likely that the battle of the Finns – Bottas vs Raikkonen – is what will eventually define the Mercedes vs Ferrari battle, especially if Hamilton and Vettel stay as close as they currently are through the season.
What they lack in speed, they make up in talent. Red Bull Racing have the best driver line-up on the grid. Max Verstappen, Formula 1’s prodigy, has shown himself capable of making the most of the smallest half chance. His overtaking skills are unmatched, and his performance in China led Christian Horner to call him among the best wet weather drivers of all time – heavy praise for a teenager. Daniel Ricciardo, often overshadowed by Max’s heroics, is no less a driver and has shown that he’s capable of keeping his head down even under extreme pressure. The fact is, Red Bull Racing have a pair of drivers who are both equally capable of winning races and scoring podiums – a fact that will help them notch up valuable points in the Constructor’s battle.
Engineering
A Formula 1 season is no less than an arms race between the competing teams. Ferrari have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to play catch-up this season. Red Bull Racing have enough reserves from their energy drinks sponsor, should they need it. That Red Bull Racing have less expensive drivers probably allows the team to invest more money on their car. As for Mercedes, will they have excessive money to blow, too, to defend their titles?
All three teams are equipped with some of the best talents on the grid – Adrian Newey (Red Bull Racing), James Allison (recently moved from Ferrari to Mercedes) and Mattia Binotto (Ferrari), who will be leading their teams and working overtime to ensure that they deliver the fastest car for their drivers for every race. It is largely estimated that teams end up going two-tenths quicker at every race venue through the season, proving how important in-season car development is.
The 2017 era, one that focuses on aerodynamics too, was primed as one where Adrian Newey would bring glory back to Red Bull Racing. However, Red Bull Racing are the clear No 3 team after the first two races of the season, but there is enough belief within the drivers and the paddock that they’ll soon join the warring Ferrari and Mercedes in the races to come. Will Red Bull Racing be able to ditch the customer vs manufacturer team theory and claim top honours?