As the dust settles on the Bahrain Grand Prix, and the
Formula One spectacle travels to Europe, it is a perfect time to consider
whether changes made regarding driver line up for the 2013 season have proved
fortuitous or frustrating.
Confusion about why Lewis Hamilton would leave an
established successful team such as McLaren for struggling Mercedes created
mass speculation when the move was announced last year. A positive change in his demeanour was
evident immediately as he exuded an air of liberation, freed from the McLaren
confines. He spoke of his new team with
fondness, with his smile revealing his relish for a fresh challenge, however mountainous
that challenge may prove to be. With the
season underway, a welcome surprise of a car that is outperforming the
expectations of the team neatly iced the cake.
A third place finish in Malaysia, followed by pole position and
subsequent third in China spelled out a good start for Lewis and the team. Bahrain
proved more disappointing as a gearbox penalty sent him from fourth to ninth on
the grid, but with an end result of fifth, it could have been worse and considering
the problems McLaren are suffering after developing their car more radically
than the rest of the field, his was a quality move in terms of success on the
track not to mention general disposition.
As soon as the Mercedes deal was announced, McLaren revealed
that Mexican Sergio Perez would fill the hole left by Lewis Hamilton. It seemed a hasty decision and the possible
funding he could bring to the team through his Carlos Slim connection was
widely regarded as the driving force behind the decision. The moment the ink was dry on the contract,
the form shown by Perez to earn his new position plunged, and had until Bahrain , failed
to re emerge. Going to a team like
McLaren launches a young driver into the spotlight and Perez is yet to show he
has the capacity to deal with such a pressurised situation. When asked if he was ready for a McLaren
drive Martin Whitmarsh talked about the Mexican being the same age as Lewis
Hamilton when he made his Formula One debut.
The difference, however, is that Lewis had grown up with the team, developing
his knowledge and understanding of the pressures and how the team work over a
number of years. In his maiden year he was
able to take the fight to his double World Champion team mate Fernando Alonso. Checo’s task has not been made easy due to
the uncompetitive MP4 – 28 but his performances can be measured against those
of his team mate who achieved more with the substandard machinery in the first
three races. A glimpse of a racier Perez shone through at
the Sakhir circuit as he fought hard for position against his team mate amongst
others, but at times it seemed as though his racing was teetering over the
limit, fuelled by pressure to perform.
McLaren will be pleased at a revival in form, but will need to ensure he
reigns in his tactics on the battle field.
A driver widely regarded as more deserving of the seat at
McLaren is Nico Hulkenberg who instead made a somewhat sideways step with his
move to Sauber from Force India . What seemed like a sideways move at the close
of the 2012 season now looks like a backward one considering the increased performance
demonstrated by his old team so far. The
crushing blow dealt by the necessary withdrawal of his new Sauber from the race
in Australia due to a fuel tank problem, was slightly atoned for with an eighth
place in Malaysia, but Hulkenberg was reported as demanding more from the
team. Although perhaps not a true
reflection of positions due to pit stop sequence, he enjoyed a stint leading
the race in China ;
a reminder to all watching of his shining promise. Sauber may not possess the potential that
attracted the promising young German to the Swiss team, but strong performances
in this unfavourable CO32 could make the talent of Nico more luminescent. He will need to overlook the fortunes of his
old team and look ahead to the upgrades promised for Barcelona. Hired to drive alongside Hulkenberg at Sauber
was Mexican Esteban Gutierrez who takes the struggling rookie prize which is
perhaps understandable as he starts with no Formula One experience to his name besides
winter testing.
After leaving their second driver decision until the dusky
hour of winter testing, Force India
laid their hopes in the hands of Adrian Sutil, bringing him back from his year
in the racing wilderness. It looked to
be an inspired decision as he used the season curtain raiser in Australia to
show the world of Formula One what they had been missing. Malaysia was a disastrous weekend for the
team with both Sutil and Paul di Resta’s races terminated due to problems with
their wheelnut system during pitstops. Contact
with Gutierrez in China and Massa in Bahrain has halted the momentum of Sutil’s
return, revealing another positive to arise from his rehiring; the renewed
buoyancy of team mate Paul di Resta. Outqualifying
the German in China, Paul went on to finish in eighth position, then topped
that result by equalling a career best fourth place a week later in
Bahrain. The slight nudge off track
dealt to the Scot by Adrian, showboated the fierce competition between them. As long as the team mate rivalry remains at a
positive simmer, rather than a destructive boil, the reappearance of Sutil
within the team is a positive one.
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| Photo: Formula1.com |
Jules Bianchi’s move from role as reserve driver at Force
India to full race seat at Marussia has been advantageous for both
parties. Developments made on the 2013
Marussia including the introduction of KERS and wind tunnel technologies have
been complimented by the skills of the young Frenchman. Together, they started the season by
achieving their target to outperform Caterham and have shown they have the
capacity and potential to take the battle to the tail end of the lower mid
field.
With the increasing need for drivers carrying currency,
Caterham made the decision to change both their drivers for the 2013 season. The departure of Vitaly Petrov and Heikki
Kovalainen made way for rookie Giedo van der Garde, and Charles Pic, who
switched from Marussia. Completely
changing the driver line up seems to indicate a slightly cracked team in terms
of knowledge of, and comparisons with last year’s car as Kovalainen have now
been drafted in by the team for the first practice sessions in Bahrain and
Spain. The Finn’s experience is being used by the team to support the
development of upgrades as they head to the European leg of the season, and so
far they are reaping the benefits of his wisdom and knowledge with Charles Pic
out qualifying and completing the race ahead of both Marussia’s for the first
time this season.
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| Photo: edp24.co.uk |
The hype surrounding Valtteri Bottas as a replacement for
Bruno Senna for 2013 has been dampened and almost dissipated in the first three
races as the uncompetitive Williams has caused the Finn to appear almost
anonymous. Although not managing to
shine through other events unfolding on the track in the same way Jules Bianchi
has, he outperformed his more experienced team mate in the first three races of
the season.
With a long way still to go until the close of the season,
it may seem early to judge whether changes have been made for the better or
worse, but with the flat out world of Formula One moving so rapidly, little
time is given to make them work.
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