Testing times in F1

Three tests down and the last about to start before the 2011 season kicks off two weeks late in Melbourne after the cancellation postponement of the Bahrain GP.
2011 looks to be a stellar season in F1 – did I just use the word ’stellar’? – with Red Bull continuing their position as the team to beat and Ferrari showing good form. McLaren will have a fast car too, they always do and they have a well earned reputation for improving their car throughout the season.
The tyres are likely to play a key role this year too with the Pirellis not lasting as long during testing as last years Bridgestones. It will be an interesting year as during the tyre war a few years back it took teams nearly a whole season to effectively make the switch from one supplier, now all the teams are doing it together but will that [...]

No Bahrain? Australia to start? What will Ferrari and Nico Rosberg do?

With the political unrest currently in the Middle East spreading into Bahrain over the past week the world of F1 seems set to end up making some sort of political statement. They have a scheduled test and then the first GP of the year both set to happen in the next month in a country that is beginning to show the same dissatisfaction as other Middle Eastern countries and bar Iran they have succumbed to the pressure and had to do something.
F1 will want to keep it’s hands clean in the political sphere to avoid harming and future deals with either the current or any future power holders in the country but without a swift end to the protests it can’t justify aligning itself with any faction that would be the case were the GP to be held. I suspect that the situation will have calmed down for the race [...]

With three races down – is the new points system working if Felipe Massa is leading?

With three races completed, Bahrain, Australia and Malaysia there have been three winners so far, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Sebastien Vettel but it’s Felipe Massa who leads the Championship. It may be by only 2 points but it seems strange that a points system that was designed to give winning races more emphasis is being led by a driver who hasn’t won yet.
The table itself is very close with 9pts covering the first 7 drivers:

1. Felipe Massa
Ferrari
39

2. Fernando Alonso
Ferrari
37

3. Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull Racing
37

4. Jenson Button
McLaren
35

5. Nico Rosberg
Mercedes GP
35

6. Lewis Hamilton
McLaren
31

7. Robert Kubica
Renault
30

Though I doubt this will hold all season it does mean that you can hold onto the people who are winning even if you don’t manage it yourself. I’m sure that Felipe Massa will be wanting to win and justify that position at the top but with all the different people who seem to be in with [...]

Williams, Force India and Sauber

Before the season started the general opinion was that Williams, Force India and Sauber would be contesting those places that the big teams didn’t occupy. With four major teams and ten scoring places that leaves two slot and so it has played out with Vitantonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello scoring points at both the opening races.
The drivers that have scored the points may raise a few eye brows as Adrian Sutil seems to be the driver that most consider number one at Force India and there was the expectation from some that Nico Hulkenberg would show up Rubens Barrichello this year. It seems that F1 experience may count for something when you’re running on the margin of the points and have to take advantage of what’s on offer.
Sauber are still lacking any points and given their pace in the pre-season testing this seems to be somewhat of a shock, it [...]