The season’s first race in Melbrourne two Sundays had the F1 gladiators pick up from where they left off from 2000. Expect the battles to be fierce and furious as new combatants enter the ring along with the old warriors. The main contenders of last year still have the upper hand, as they retain the best machinery and the talent and experience to earn maximum points. So its still a toss up between Hakkinen and Schumacher, McLaren and Ferrari. Coulthard and Barrichello are unfortunately overshadowed by their teammates; for them to have any chance they must mount their challenge early in the season.
Expect the midfield battle to be much closer this year. Williams-BMW surprised many by finishing 3rd last year. Juan Pablo Montoya joins the F1 circus as a driver for the first time. He’s been a test driver for Frank Williams 3 years ago, but this is his first race season. He’s been fast so far and will surely give Ralf Schumacher a run for his money. Jordan had a disappointing 2000 season but is rejuvenated with factory Honda engines. The Hondas were reliable last year. This year they should be powerful as well. Heinz-Harald Frentzen should return to the podium. His accusations on Ferrari traction control won’t do him much good though; he’ll have to prove his mettle on the race track. The other Honda-powered team, BAR, were quick to the pick up the points when other cars retired. This may be the year when they can go for the win even if the Ferraris and McLarens are still around–at least on some circuits like Hungary. Lightning starter Jacques Villenueve and McLaren’s “Driver No. 3” last year Olivier Panis, should make midfield battles interesting.
After the steady climb of the Stewart team, the renamed Jaguar could hardly have had a worse year 2000. New team manager and ex-CART racer Bobby Rahal promises to shape up the team, but drivers Eddie Irvine and Luciano Burti still have a long climb ahead of them. The languishing team of four-time World Champion Alain Prost is expected to do better this year with 2000-spec Ferrari engines, but the first race of the season had them finishing ninth in Australia. Oldest driver in the lineup (how quickly things change!) Jean Alesi and Giancarlo Mazzacane hope to pilot the blue missiles to at least several points this year. The other Ferrari-engined team (rebadged Petronas), swiss Sauber, has started off spectacularly, with both drivers ending up in the points. Nick Heidfeld has redeemed himself after a pointless season with Prost. 20-year old Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who only has 24 races of any kind (!) to his credit, drove to a seventh-place finish in Melbourne, and was promoted to sixth after Panis was penalized 25 seconds for passing under a yellow flag. Seems that age and inexperience are no longer obstacles to a promising F1 career.
Meanwhile, former top-grid contender Benetton is in for another rough season, despite having a new Renault engine and potential top guns Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella. Arrows and Minardi round up the rest of the grid, and we just hope they can score at least one or two points during the season.
Changes to this year’s car are not very visible, but they’ve been extensive nevertheless. If you look closely at the rear wing, it now only has three movable elements compared to last year’s nine. This means less possible adjustment for the teams and less downforce on the rear. The front wing is also narrower, thus making the cars more prone to understeer. There are now two wires tethering the wheels to the chassis; unfortunately, this wasn’t able to save the life of the marshall killed by the BAR’s flying wheel assembly. Thankfully, the addition of a fifth groove was nixed.
The big news on the technical front this year is the reemergence of World Championship-winning tire company Michelin. They’ve been away from F1 for more than ten years now, so getting on the same level and even surpassing Bridgestone will take a while. Williams is the highest-scoring team last year who opted to go Michelin rubber this year. Other teams taking the gambleare Jaguar, Prost and Benetton. Michelin’s wet tires have done very well in preseason testing, so expect Bibendum to sprint when the rain pours.
The FIA’s effort to slow the cars down have failed miserably; fastest lap time at Melbourne was 4 seconds faster than last year’s, at 216.37 km/h. There’s already talk of reducing engine displacement to 2.5 liters from today’s 3.0 V10s. That would mean a shift to high-revving V6 engines, and some engine makers who have the budget, like Mercedes-Benz, say they won’t mind if the FIA mandates the reduction.
This year though the regulations are in place, and the racing will be faster and more furious than ever. So stand back, hear the engines roar, and let the games begin!
By Jason Ang | Photos By Respective Sources
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