Onto 2013: What to expect and what not to..
Happy New Year! and Happy New season of F1. It's off season now, but not for too long! Its just about another 20 days when Catalunya will roar with the sound of sweet V8's, for the last time, before the official season starts. The drivers of most teams are confirmed, the date of release of cars are confirmed, the F1 2013 calendar is confirmed (19 races), and of course, the FIA has set the new rules.
Seasons 2010 and 2011 have been 2 pages of the book 'Tales of Sebastian Vettel and F1'. Every grand prix there was this one blue car in the front, and on the 55th or 60th lap there was this same car which came back trailing behind it, another 23 cars. 1..2..3.. grands prix, fine. Seeing this repeating itself 11 times in 1 season was jejune and flat. And this was probably why F1 lost many of its viewers.
Then came 2012, it was like going back to the 80's where you get to see what real open four wheel car race is all about. With much advanced technology, of course. The announcement of Kimi Raikkonen's comeback into F1 gathered more eyes. But not as much as what '7 different winners in 7 races' did. And then there it was! a boom in views. And F1 pundits said "This season is the craziest ever", RedBull fans said "This is hurting my head", normal watchers said "WHOAAAA!, i didnt know that was even possible in F1".
Then, we started predicting the 2012 season. As my previous post read, only a fool would be stupid enough to predict the 2013 season. So, here are my so called "predictions" of what to and what NOT to expect in 2013. Hoping this would continue, we'll predict 2013, and try not to fail.
7 different winners in 7 different races again? I don't really think so.We may see another constructor or two chasing the championship, like Mercedes (fueled by Lewis Hamilton) and Lotus , but not not many different winners. Last year, many teams were looking competitive, that too only in the 1st half of the season because of the 'unknown' Pirelli tyres. But in 2013, the teams will know what to expect out of the tyres. So, even if a car like Sauber would be on pole next year, it'll easily be beaten by the Mercedes or the RedBull RB9, because ultimately, the bigger teams have more experience and would've, should have gotten hang of those tyres.
Since the championship got narrowed down to just 2, Alonso and Vettel in 2012, all Vettel supporters chanted the name of Romain Grosjean each grand prix start to collide onto Alonso and Alonso fans did vice versa. But dear fans, Grosjean will be breaking all your hearts next year :) After 1 race ban and a few hundred penalties (just joking), Grosjean has behaved himself in the last few races of 2012, and hopefully will want to continue getting rewarded with smileys every time he doesn't crash and makes a perfect race start.
This one here's a question mark, but what's not? Felipe Massa. After a bad first half of the season, Felipe was back in form for the 2nd half of 2012. 2 podiums and BRILLIANT overtakes! So I expect to see more of Massa on podium in 2013, because one you get in the rhythm, its hard to break from it. And Massa is one guy who can keep the momentum going.
Lewis Hamilton may have shifted to Mercedes for the money, but remember! Mercedes is a winning car. (China 2012). Winner car + Hamilton skill = Success!
What I meant by that equation is, both capabilities combined, is a win win. And as for Sergio Perez, he's got a lot to learn, and he sure can win in a team like McLaren.
Not bad for a number 2 driver! Mark Webber's infamous words reflect right back at him. 2010, 2011, and 2012 - the number 2 driver (Webber) has done decent enough to retain himself in the RedBull team. And a this stage of his career, I dont expect him to ever challenge his German triple world champion teammate. For four years, Vettel and Webber have driven together in our team,Sebastian was runner-up once and champion three times.
"The statistic speaks for itself. There is no reason to
think the balance of power will change." Says
Dr. Helmut Marko (RedBull Racing advisor) himself.
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| 2013 Pirelli 'Orange side walled' tyres |
Then came 2012, it was like going back to the 80's where you get to see what real open four wheel car race is all about. With much advanced technology, of course. The announcement of Kimi Raikkonen's comeback into F1 gathered more eyes. But not as much as what '7 different winners in 7 races' did. And then there it was! a boom in views. And F1 pundits said "This season is the craziest ever", RedBull fans said "This is hurting my head", normal watchers said "WHOAAAA!, i didnt know that was even possible in F1".
Then, we started predicting the 2012 season. As my previous post read, only a fool would be stupid enough to predict the 2013 season. So, here are my so called "predictions" of what to and what NOT to expect in 2013. Hoping this would continue, we'll predict 2013, and try not to fail.
7 different winners in 7 different races again? I don't really think so.We may see another constructor or two chasing the championship, like Mercedes (fueled by Lewis Hamilton) and Lotus , but not not many different winners. Last year, many teams were looking competitive, that too only in the 1st half of the season because of the 'unknown' Pirelli tyres. But in 2013, the teams will know what to expect out of the tyres. So, even if a car like Sauber would be on pole next year, it'll easily be beaten by the Mercedes or the RedBull RB9, because ultimately, the bigger teams have more experience and would've, should have gotten hang of those tyres.
Since the championship got narrowed down to just 2, Alonso and Vettel in 2012, all Vettel supporters chanted the name of Romain Grosjean each grand prix start to collide onto Alonso and Alonso fans did vice versa. But dear fans, Grosjean will be breaking all your hearts next year :) After 1 race ban and a few hundred penalties (just joking), Grosjean has behaved himself in the last few races of 2012, and hopefully will want to continue getting rewarded with smileys every time he doesn't crash and makes a perfect race start.
This one here's a question mark, but what's not? Felipe Massa. After a bad first half of the season, Felipe was back in form for the 2nd half of 2012. 2 podiums and BRILLIANT overtakes! So I expect to see more of Massa on podium in 2013, because one you get in the rhythm, its hard to break from it. And Massa is one guy who can keep the momentum going.
Lewis Hamilton may have shifted to Mercedes for the money, but remember! Mercedes is a winning car. (China 2012). Winner car + Hamilton skill = Success! What I meant by that equation is, both capabilities combined, is a win win. And as for Sergio Perez, he's got a lot to learn, and he sure can win in a team like McLaren.
Not bad for a number 2 driver! Mark Webber's infamous words reflect right back at him. 2010, 2011, and 2012 - the number 2 driver (Webber) has done decent enough to retain himself in the RedBull team. And a this stage of his career, I dont expect him to ever challenge his German triple world champion teammate. For four years, Vettel and Webber have driven together in our team,Sebastian was runner-up once and champion three times.
"The statistic speaks for itself. There is no reason to
think the balance of power will change." Says
Dr. Helmut Marko (RedBull Racing advisor) himself.
Heikki Kovalinen, and Vitaly Petrov couldn't do it,
can Charles Pic get Caterham their first
point? If Pic can show what he's got in a Marussia, why not in a Caterham? He can, but if he will, only time will tell.
What I can make of F1 in 2013, is that it'll be shorter, and slower. Doesn't mean less action!
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