If you’ve been following the headlines in the sport over the last few weeks, you won’t be wrong to assume that Formula1 is keen to catapult itself into the future without having entirely embraced its present. Just as teams, drivers, and even fans are coming to terms with the new (and quite silent) V6 turbo engines, the teams and the ‘F1 Strategy Group’ are already discussing revolutionary technical changes to be implemented as early as 2017. These would include 1,000bhp engines and wider tyres, among others – all of which aren’t necessarily ‘revolutionary.’ Much of this to reclaim the sport’s waning glory.
Formula 1’s oldest and most iconic team, Ferrari, revealed their ‘Future of F1’ concept car to showcase how they believe the regulations in the sport should evolve. To me, the car seems to be a sexy hybrid of a Formula 1 machine and a sports car – but it would herald yet another drastic change to the regulations. If Formula 1 is keen to ‘evolve’ as a sport, brand, and a business, it needs to undertake a fan-based marketing survey before finalising the next set of expensive regulations. Yes, I know, I’m asking for a little too much…
Given an opportunity, I would like to sit down with the people running the show and discuss some of the issues that dog the sport today. The desperate desire to ‘appear’ eco-friendly, and a race to out-do its own self on the technological front has led to the current problem where fans are unable to embrace the sport as deeply as they once did. I really wish the teams and the FOM issued an article titled 32 ways to understand and follow Formula One on ScoopWhoop or BuzzFeed for newer audiences rather than the 32 tokens offered to the teams for engine development through 2015. Yes, that’s the marketer in me talking – but I’m willing to bet that the post will go viral.
But March is the opening month for the 2015 season, and I won’t let this column be yet another rant on the state of the sport. Despite all the challenges ahead, there’s a lot to look forward to this season. Here’s what I am betting on.
I expect 2015 to be a season with intra, rather than inter, team battles. And while this isn’t an ideal scenario, I do believe that we’ll have some new (as well as some old), but very interesting battles to follow all season long.
A Hamilton versus Rosberg battle is almost certain. Once again, I expect the Mercedes duo to fight amongst themselves for the championship without much of an external challenge. And I believe that their personal relationship will deteriorate even further this year – but all for the benefit of the sport, the fans, and ultimately the drivers themselves. The closest to battling the Mercedes drivers should be the Williams cars driven by Bottas and Massa. If Williams are bold and lucky (in that order), they could snatch a victory or two in 2015. And I would be delighted if one of those wins could be at the hands of Massa. Resurrection!
If you’re a Red Bull Racing fan, you should be a tad worried. Renault seems to be the worst amongst the engine suppliers this season, and though the manufacturer aims to make progress before the opening round in Melbourne, the gains that can be made by the former World Championship winning team from Milton Keynes is largely dependent on their engine supplier. I’m not sure if they’ll be able to compete with Mercedes, or the other Mercedes powered teams consistently, but I am excited to see who comes out on top in the Ricciardo versus Kvyat battle.
Ferrari showed good form in the pre-season tests. However, I don’t expect the Italian team to be competing for wins regularly as they look to build their rejigged team this season. They made changes too late in 2014 to have a significant impact in 2015. At the same time, it doesn’t get much more exciting than watching a Vettel vs. Raikkonen battle. Ferrari have publicly gone overboard to claim similarities between Vettel and Schumacher, and if he does manage a turnaround (a la Schumacher) it’ll write a brand new chapter in the history of the Prancing Horse.
Lastly, the McLaren-Honda and Alonso relationship will be under the scanner as the Japanese manufacturer learns and grows in their first season back in the sport after many years. If the going gets tough, will the Spaniard be his impatient self, or will he dig deeper than ever before and try and lead the team forward? The happiness quotient will be directly proportional to the speed that they can showcase, and I expect the pre-season calm shown by the team to fade away sooner rather than later. Of course, the 2009 World Champion, Jenson Button, will play a huge role as well. I expect Button to challenge Alonso as much as he did Hamilton while they were teammates. I get the feeling that McLaren’s punt on Button over Magnussen will pay off in this season of learning. And, strangely enough, despite being the most ‘complete’ driver on the grid, the 2015 season could go a long way in deciding Alonso’s future in the sport. Will he win another F1 World Championship?
The mid-field teams are reeling from the increase in costs, but I do hope that they are able to mix it up at the front – as they’ve done so successfully in the recent past. After all, we’ve had Sauber, Lotus and Sahara Force India punch well above their weight and take the fight to the top teams consistently in the last many seasons. If financial woes don’t play spoilsport, I hope to see them be competitive rather than just making up the numbers.
Lastly, I am keen to know what the ‘technical disruptor’ this season will be. In recent years, we’ve seen the FRIC, f-duct, double diffuser, and the like, disrupt proceedings each season. And while the implementation of the rules is quite cheeky in this sport, it’s also one of the reasons why I love Formula 1. There are always loopholes in the regulations, the question is – can you outsmart the others before they outsmart you?
Over to Melbourne…
Read Kunal’s views at his F1 blog.
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