A quarter of the season have gone by, some sort of 'knowledge' have been learned form the new rules governing F1. We have seen knee-jerk reactions to non-issues, we have seen somewhat close racing, we have a team running away from all others, with little hope for the other teams of catching up.
Knee-jerk reaction to non-issue: The noise or lack of noise, in years past we have seen lawsuits filed against race tracks who dared running races. The decrease in sound levels should have been emphasized by the teams, The FIA and all TV stations covering. Instead they all clamored for the good old days when you needed a hearing aid when attending a race. It is a shortsighted reaction to an issue which if could not have been celebrated at least could have been ignored.
New rules: 3 different engine manufacturers, 3 different solutions to a tight design requirement, 3 different resulting engines (I will as a matter of principle shy away from calling them Power Units). During pre-season testing Renault was universally known to have failed miserably, all teams Renault powered could look forward to a season of basically no points, the small teams would not be able to sustain through their choice of Renault over Mercedes and Ferrari Well here we are.....
WCC Standings:
1) Mercedes engined car
2) Renault engined car
2) Ferrari engined car
So the doomsday sayers did not really hit that one the head. Yes the 'small' Renault teams are way way behind Red Bull but that is exactly where those teams have been the past 4 seasons any way.
Close racing: Yes, no and possibly. Mercedes who are running away with the Championships have given us battles for 1st and 2nd, the other teams can only battle for 3rd unless Mercedes and their drivers have issues. As far as I see it, there is little difference from years prior. Sort of close, not quite able to overtake, attempt at undercut through pit-stop which some times work.
Team orders: Still being misplayed by most teams. If two drivers from same team are right next to each other in a race, and the trailing driver is within 1 second the only smart move team wise is to have him switched to be in front of the other driver. It may be he is only 0.1 second faster per lap however a race is always the long game, and towards the end of a race being in front may mean a trailing driver from another team will accurately not be within DRS distance, securing a better finish than if left behind in the beginning of race, eventually finishing 1 or 2 sports lower in final result. In Spaing both Ferrari and Force India should have switched their drivers much much sooner than then did. There is no room for bruised ego's in a sport where a small budget is Usd 100 million.
World Champion: I have a hard time seeing anyone but Lewis Hamilton winning, after Australia he clearly have that little bit extra compared to Nico Rosberg, and were it not for the tremendously stupid double points in the last race, I would be ready to guarantee a second Hamilton WDC.
Enjoyment: I do take enjoyment from all the races, the rules and regulations are what they are, I can do nothing about them and despite me having many good ideas for how to conduct the Formula One championships I have no say in it, the teams the federation and the commercial rights holder do all they can to marginalize the sport (and do a good job at it), but I am hardcore so the least of their worries, this is the 42end season I follow F1, I have no plans of leaving.
Forza Ferrari, Go Nico GO!
