The 2013 Australian Grand Prix – Preview

So finally, after three rounds of winter testing and a lot of sandbagging by top teams, the 2013 Formula One season kicks off in Melbourne this weekend after a winter hiatus.  Come March 15th, F1 aficionados will head over to Albert Park in Melbourne where they will be enthralled by a sensory overload of watching beautiful, aerodynamically sculpted cars and listening to the high pitched wails of their V8 engines revving to a blistering 18000 RPM and blitzing around on practice runs!  And finally, on Saturday, we will get the first true indications of those teams that have done an excellent job over the winter and those who have not. Based on our observations from winter testing, we might have a fair idea of how teams have fared thus far, but a clearer picture will emerge only this weekend as teams begin to show their true colors.

Mercedes – A step forward:

One thing I am fairly certain of this year is the step forward by Mercedes. But then, the team was so far behind at the end of last year, that they could only go forward from thereon in, being nearly a second off the pace in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

It was encouraging to see Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg topping the timesheets on the final two days of the third test in Barcelona.They seem to have gotten on top of the tyre issues that had plagued them last year and they were fairly consistent in their longer runs. The only thing that had been a problem for Mercedes was their irregular tyre wear and if they have made a step forward there, they might be a team to watch out for this year.

Ferrari, Lotus – Still right up there:

Ferrari have been very consistent through all three tests. I really hope they are better off than last year when Alonso was second off the pace in Melbourne; fast forward to the end of 2012 and he was a championship contender till the last race – all credit to his indomitable driving. But if Ferrari have done a good job with this year’s car, Alonso and Massa should be able to get the most out of it from the beginning of the season. With Massa having finally fallen into the the groove towards the end of last season and with Alonso in the prime of his life, all Ferrari need to do is deliver a good car and their drivers will take care of the rest.

Lotus had a very good car last year and this year has been an evolution of sorts. And with no changes in rules this year, the Lotus is expected to be a really good car this year as well. The only surprise will be if the others have caught up and overtaken them in terms of outright development but that is not expected to be the case. The Iceman is in his second year with Lotus will yearn to do better and we all know that he “knows what he is doing”!

Red Bull and McLaren – Shadowboxing and the fight to watch this season:

I feel the main battle this year could be between these two teams. Of all the teams, McLaren have been the one who have made radical changes to their already phenomenally quick 2012 challenger. And with these changes come a lot of unpredictability. McLaren will no doubt learn quickly and they are one of the fastest teams in terms of development so they will definitely be the team to watch. With Jenson Button leading the team, and with Sergio Perez have a similar driving style to Button’s it would be no surprise if the MP4-28 runs away with both championships this season. They claim they have trouble understanding the car… but they may not be the case.

Another team which loves to shadowbox is Red Bull which almost always rarely shows it’s hand during testing. The Red Bull looked ominously quick during testing and only Ferrari or McLaren can truly challenge Adrian Newey’s latest model. Their car is an evolution of last year’s title winning RB8 and was very consistent in long runs with good tyre degradation. Red Bull were actually trying a lot of development changes during the test which leads us to believe that they are fairly confident with their car and experimenting to get an even faster setup.

Predictions?

I have harbored high hopes for Mercedes the past two years and have been mostly let down. They showed promise at the start and gradually faded out during the course of the season. Having said that, they seem really committed this year and Hamilton’s entry seems to have galvanized the team into action.

McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari are the teams to watch this season. McLaren more so than the rest because of their car’s propensity for speed. However, I am not discounting both Alonso and Vettel who are currently in the best of form. I do not expect any surprises from Sauber, Force India or the rest of the midfield. It’s going to be a pretty exciting, close season for the top runners and an absolute treat to watch. Roll on March 15th!