Will the words ‘Red Wash’ be spoken this year given the Ferraris performance in Bahrain?
The Ferraris put on a good show in Bahrain, they we’re surprised to see Sebastien Vettel take pole and I suspect that they may have had a little more to give had they thought he could put the Red Bull there. In the race they were reeling in the Red Bull before he had his problem and it seems that they were so much faster once released, it may have been a matter of time until they passed anyway, given that no one else seemed close could we have seen the first race of another so called ‘Red Wash’ season?
I think from the second that Ferrari chose to give up on the 2009 car there has been the distinct possibility that 2010 would be a Ferrari year, they have poured more time and effort into the 2010 car than anyone else on the grid and given their technical capability that was always good to be a fast car. Couple that with Fernando Alonso arriving at the team and it seems wins are on the cards – and they proved that in Bahrain. There could be several reasons why Ferrari won’t have it all their own way this season though.
One of those reasons is Sebastien Vettel, he’s already proven that he can pull out all the stops to upset the Ferrari game plan and he showed last year that he’s more than capable of winning. The Red Bull is quick, there are doubts about it’s tyre usage but it’s fast and that will be enough to mount a challenge to the Ferraris.
The second reason is the capability of the engineering department at McLaren, last year they turned a dog of a car into a race winner and this year they’ve started with a car that is on the pace. With two world champions driving for them they are well placed to upset the Ferrari game too. The McLaren will win races this year but will it take more than Ferrari? That’s not so clear cut.
The third reason is the Mercedes team. They may not have the pace of the others yet but they will always be there and that means that if a Ferrari has a problem it can’t expect to recover to third or fourth – it will be seventh or eighth. That will mean that though reliability is key it’s not just that – you have to qualify well and stay out front too.
So will the words ‘Red Wash’ be uttered in the paddock at Abu Dhabi this year? It seems unlikely that Ferrari will be able to be that dominant but it seems probable that at least one of the titles will be on it’s way to Maranello at the end of the season.
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