The new Formula 1 season begins next week Down Under.The hard work and long hours that the teams and their mechanics have been putting in during the winter testing for the new car will be up for all to see in an extremely competitive display.
The weapons for higher speeds are being hoarded, teams are pushing for new technology and fine tuning the aerodynamics. Some cars will be the light of the field, while some may find all their hard work go up in smoke or exhaust plumes, if you may.
This season is a potential blockbuster for a surfeit of immediately visible facts. There are 5 former world champions challenging the current champion Sebestian Vettel for the title which is an unprecedented situation. There is much enthusiasm about Kimi Räikkönen’s return to the sport magnified by the impressive showing of his Lotus-Renault team in testing.
Apart from that the teams are closer bunched together than ever before. The mid–level cars can potentially take a step forward and challenge for podium on their good days. Pirelli must be complimented for making the tyres and making strategy important again and they are expected to keep up the good work this year.
Counting from 2007, we have had 3 seasons out of 5 decided in the last laps of the final race – in favour of Kimi Räikkönen in 2007, Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and Sebastian Vettel in 2010. That 2012 would be such a season that would be on my wish list. More drivers winning races, more drivers getting up the podiums, middle level teams and rookies fighting tooth and nail for the share of spoils. If the whole grid is closer together, it makes for substantial overtaking on track .With that, mix in some tyre and fuel strategy and lap after lap of adrenaline pumping action is guaranteed. This year, the cars with their platypus nosed design might not be the most aesthetically designed machines. The reason being the change of rule for the height of the front nose and several teams insistence on continuing with their 2011 chassis. McLaren’s design doesn’t feature the platypus nose and it looks better than others. Whether it is a faster and better car than the rest of the pack would be fascinating to see.
And so for the upcoming season, the wishlist includes :
- Closer qualifying, even closer split second racing.
- Jean-Eric Vergne, Paul di Resta and Brunno Senna score podium finishes.
- Felipe Massa winning a race. Can we please have the fighting spirit of the Felipe of 2007-08 back?
- Michael Schumacher, Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen being regular challengers for the podium.
- All top 8 drivers win atleast a race each. That is both drivers from RedBull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. If not, then 8-9 distinct winners of Grand Prixs through out the course of a evenly contested season.
- Wet races in
- The RedBull is not the best car and the most innovative design feature lies in some other car; maybe Torro Rosso or Lotus Renault.
- The championship is decided in the last race in
Formula one 2012 Race Schedule
Australian Grand Prix / March 18, Melbourne – Albert Park
Malaysian Grand Prix / March 25,
Chinese Grand Prix / April 15,
Spanish Grand Prix / May 13,
Canadian Grand Prix / June 10, Montreal- Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
European Grand Prix / June 24,
British Grand Prix / July 8, Silverstone – Silverstone Circuit
German Grand Prix / July 22, Hockenheim- Hockenheimring
Hungarian Grand Prix / July 29, Budapest- Hungaroring
Belgian Grand Prix / Sep 2, Spa – Spa Francorchamps
Italian Grand Prix / Sep 9,
Japanese Grand Prix / Oct 7, Suzuka, Suzuka Circuit
Korean Grand Prix / Oct 14, Yeongam, Korean International Circuit
Indian Grand Prix / Oct 28, Greater Noida, Buddh International Circuit
Brazilian Grand Prix / Nov 25, São Paolo, Interlagos
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