If they do win on Sunday (Christian Horner mischievously predicted Mercedes
could win by two laps), maybe they’ll finally admit everything is looking
rosy.
There’s a great atmosphere here in #Melbourne.. a lot of buzz about the season ahead. Who’s ready?! #UnleashTheBeast pic.twitter.com/Pjr3QrmdOh
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 12, 2014
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2. Rain
Predictions for the number of finishers at the opening race of the 2014 season
are not good. Some think as few a half of the field will make it to the
chequered flag on Sunday. If it rains, therefore, as some forecasts have
said, then it’s worth asking: will anyone manage to finish?
Apart from a damp morning in the first test in Jerez, helped by a slightly
comical truck dumping water onto the track, the teams have not had any
chance to run these new cars and engines in the wet.
The drivers have already waxed lyrical about how much extra torque the new V6
turbos have, and how they are having to be much more gentle with their right
foot on the exit of corners, but what will that be like in the rain?
Some drivers will definitely struggle if it does (I’m thinking of Felipe
Massa, after the 2008 British Grand Prix when he rarely seemed to be facing
the right direction)
)
If it does rain, it would be a big opportunity for Jenson
Button to repeat what he managed in Melbourne in 2010, given his
innate feel for grip in changeable conditions.
It would be his first win since the death of his father John, which
he spoke about movingly this week. Everyone in the sport would be
delighted for him if he was able to win it.
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3. Are Williams the real deal?
It was obvious from pre-season testing that Mercedes have built the best
engine, or should I say, power unit, given all the electrical gismos which
come with it. The consensus is they are both more powerful and more
efficient than Ferrari and Renault.
But the one surprise is that the team who only switched to take their engines
from Brixworth rather than Viry-Chatillon (Renault’s base) for this year,
seem to be one of the biggest contenders in Melbourne.
Williams
have been like a dormant volcano for the last few years, and apart from
Pastor Maldonado’s win in Barcelona in 2012, they have had very little to
shout about. Not that they are shouting about anything now (they are
desperately trying to keep a lid on growing expectations), but at least they
have reason to smile again.
Felipe Massa looks like a new man, having been released from his No 2 status
at Ferrari,
and some of his and Valtteri Bottas’s long runs in testing were even more
impressive than Mercedes.
Everyone in the paddock has been quietly impressed by the work Claire Williams
– deputy team principal and daughter of Frank Williams – has done to mend
what seemed like a disorganised outfit. The winter was punctuated by a
number of good hires on the engineering side under the direction of Pat
Symonds; a proven winner in F1.
)
In the opening events, before the development race gathers pace, and the
budgets of the biggest teams start to tell, Williams have their best chance
of podiums and race wins. It will become clearer this weekend if that is a
realistic aim.
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4. 22 hybrid engines on the grid
Formula One’s new sound for 2014 has been the subject of much discussion. Many
of the drivers complain that something of the old excitement has
disappeared, and for many the V6 turbos are just a bit too quiet (although
the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, did claim this week that the new
engines are only marginally quieter than the old, ear-shattering V8s).
How loud are F1’s new engines? (Source: FIA)
The real judge of the sound will come as the crescendo builds towards lights
out on the grid on Sunday.
Play
our Name That Engine interactive quiz
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5. Bizarrely, practice
Practice isn’t always the most fascinating or the most revealing viewing. You
sometimes wonder what the rationale in it being broadcast on Sky and the BBC
is, given how it’s not exactly riveting.
But this Friday’s two practice sessions in Melbourne should be some of the
most interesting and informative for years.
First of all, some teams will be using it as an extension of testing,
desperately trying to catch up on lost ground. But secondly,we might
actually get an idea of who is quick, who isn’t, and who is actually looking
like they might finish the race.
All the Renault teams will be searching for reliability – Lotus and Toro Rosso
look as if Melbourne has come months too early for them – while Ferrari,
McLaren, Williams and the rest will have more of an opportunity to work on
performance.