Steve Slater on Formula One: All change for 2014

Last weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix provided the best possible curtain-closer to the 2013 Formula One world championship season. A lack of practice running on slick tires, followed by a rain-dampened track in the race led to plenty of passing maneuvers as the asphalt conditions continually evolved.

Predictably perhaps, Sebastian Vettel dominated irrespective of the weather. However, in addition to the new technical regulations for 2014, there are other signs that the 2014 season could see some changes in the Formula One pecking order.

There is certainly no guarantee that Red Bull will be able to maintain their domination. The key factor in 2014 will be whether Renault’s new 1.6-litre V-6 turbo engine which will power the new Red Bull and Lotus, will be a match in power and reliability for the units being developed by Mercedes and Ferrari.

Over at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg are hoping the new V6 era will offer them a chance to leap ahead of Red Bull and Ferrari. Mercedes will see a fundamental shift in management for 2014 with the departure of team principal Ross Brawn, but they have the potential advantage of stability in their driver line-up, while their rivals each have the unknown quantity of a new or returning driver taking their place in the team.

In the case of Kimi Raikkonen’s return to Ferrari, that should be relatively
straightforward. Things get harder though at Red Bull, as Vettel will need to depend on technical feedback in the critical pre-season tests from the relatively inexperienced Daniel Ricciardo.

McLaren has an even bigger challenge as Jenson Button will be supported by a complete F1 rookie in the form of Danish driver Kevin Magnussen. Meanwhile at Lotus no-one even knows who Romain Grosjean’s team-mate will be!

In recent months it was assumed that Nico Hulkenberg would join the team. However the talented German does not bring additional sponsor revenues, which are now being offered by drivers such as Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez and Adrian Sutil.

This is creating a knock-on effect on teams such as Sauber and Force India who also have still to confirm their 2014 line-ups. Meanwhile, back at the head of the order, with Raikkonen and Alonso in their driving line-up, Ferrari may be in the strongest position to stop the Red Bull roll.

They effectively abandoned development of their 2013 car just ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, to fully focus their efforts on 2014. They have also recruited high-profile additions to their design team, including technical director James Allison who was previously responsible for the design of this year’s Lotus.

That this year’s Ferrari has continued to score podium finishes is regarded by many as a tribute to Fernando Alonso’s racing skills. Although a distant second in this year’s title race, he is perceived by many fellow drivers to be more than a match for Vettel if the equipment allows.

Even Lewis Hamilton, who famously feuded with Alonso at McLaren in 2007, endorsed the Spaniard. “I think that in that Red Bull, Alonso would win even more easily than Vettel does” said the Mercedes driver.

In Brazil last Sunday, Vettel scored his record ninth win in succession and also matched Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a season, set back in 2004. However Sebastian should hope that another historical precedent set that year by Schumacher and Ferrari won’t be repeated by Red Bull.

After dominating in 2004, the following season saw Ferrari go from hero to zero as the balance of power switched to Renault and a new world champion, Fernando Alonso. Schumacher won only a single race in 2005, the ill-starred United States Grand Prix.

That was when the withdrawal of all the Michelin-shod cars on safety grounds left only the six cars on running on Bridgestone tyres. They were headed by the Ferraris of Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, who sheepishly took the chequered flag.

One thing is for sure. In the ever-capricious sport of Formula One, when even the drivers on the starting grid are hard to predict for the first race of 2014, one shouldn’t bet on more Red Bull domination just yet!