18th March seems to be rather far butthe heat of the Formula One GP Season 2007 has been scorchingly burning through my veins. Leading competitors unveiled their racing cars recently, vying for the title of the ultimate speed monster in the ultimate motorsport competition in the globe. Australian GP will be the first venue for us to witness which team would stand out for the rest ... at least for the earlier portion of the season.But then again ... why 2007 is so special? Personally, it would be the dawn of a new Formula One era. As most of Formula One fans know, Michael Schumacher [Schumy] whom for me is the best Formula One driver which throned the sport for the last decade [yes i know, some might prefer Senna] has retired from active racing thus paving the way for new blood to battle it out to be the next ultimate maestro of Formula One GP.
Who would it be ?
Kimi on the Prancing Pony be fast enough for the Fin to give a serious shot at the throne tis year ? Will the defection of Alonso to McLaren gives him another title this year?
Button whom long has been a promising driver would break out and mount a serious challenge ?
or Old Guard Fishicella with R27 will roar his way to the throne ?
Then what about battle of machines?
Can R27 of Renault, the master of straight line last year blew away its competitors again ?
Or Ferarri will be able to provide the best overall package to upstage the dominance of Renault this year?
What about MP14-22 of McLaren, is this a car which provides the stability that McLaren always yearn for for the past years , and without Adrian Newey ?
Red Bull Racing ? With Adrian Newey as the designer of the car ... would it be a masterpiece ?
Toyota again announced that this will be their season ? Samurai threat or mere Japanese fiction ?
Whom will we miss ?
Michael Schumacher ? Not so much though. For me, he has scripted a new chapter of Formula One with his rewriting of the record books. But that chapter has been closed and a new chapter will be written. The author ? We will find out by October ...
Battle of tyres ... Michelin vs Bridgestone. This epic battle has added the dynamis to the sport. Michelin does stood out to give Bridgestone a run for their money. In fact, I personally rate Michelin way higher than their Japanese nemesis. However, with F1 ruling that only ONE tyre supplier shall provide the "black gold of motorsport" for the upcoming season, Michelin has no choice but to pull out from the sport.
Andy Murray ? Even though he left commentaring for about a year now, I still miss him in many more of aspects. Legendary of equivalence in commentaring as to Schumy in the race track, Andy Murray will be greatly missed.
Whom do i put my money on?
I have my trust on Kimi to lead the crimson wave. For me, he is the successor of 2 champions of the last generation. Succesor to Finnish hero Mika Hakinen and Ferarri Michael Schumacher. Have the drive and hunger to deliver. I believe with Ferarri ultimate racing package, Kimi will drive all the way home with his first World Championship in his career. However one thing remains uncertain is the way Kimi drives. He is the kind of driver whom will push the car to the limit. Banging on the accelerator all the time and it would take an ultra-stable car package to cope with Kimi's aggresiveness. Ask McLaren about it ... Why not Alonso ? After all, he is the double reigning World Champion. Well, I personally thinks that the main reason Alonso won last year's championship is due to the heavy support he got from the ultra-speedious R26 package he had which brings me to the next topic F1: Man or Machine ? . He was a relative unknown before the might roar of R25 and R26 helped to propel him as the youngest F1 ace of all time. However, he shall not be underestimated as I see him battling it out neck to neck with Kimi this season around.
So may the best man wins !
F1: Man or Machine Had a few arguments with my friends on this topic. I personally thinks that the ratio factor that ascertains the drivers success in F1 is approx 75% car/package and 25% human. Whilst some of my friends would be very dissapointingly disagree with me, my reasoning has always been that no matter how good the driver is ... an inferior package would not guarantee success. On the other hand, a mediocore driver with superb package will give them something to cheer about.
Example ? Loads of it .... ask Rubins Barrichello [Rubins was 2 times runnerup] , David Coulthard, Jensen Button, Jacques Villenueve [former World Champion] ... they were from a pack of elite challengers to fringe drivers that forms the backline of the grid.
However we cannot discount the drivers ability in the frame as well. Drivers like Takumi Sato does not deserve his place in F1. Luckily Alex Yoong from Bolehland realized about it and quitted [or fired ?] the sport earlier enough before being recognise as the clown of F1 like Sato. I do not think that my statement here will convince most of you to agree with me but I stood by my opinion as I am entitled to.
Before I sign off, have a look at the upcoming line up for the season:
ING Renault F1
Engine: Renault Tyre: Bridegstone Country: France/UK
Driver Line-up - Giancarlo Fisichella(Italy) - Heikki Kovalainen (Finland)
Scuderia Ferrari Malboro
Engine: Ferrari Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Italy
Driver Line-up - Felipe Massa(Brazil) - Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Engine: Mercedes Tyre: Bridgestone Country: UK
Driver Line-up - Fernando Alonso (Spain) - Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
Honda F1
Engine: Honda Tyre: Bridgestone Country: UK/Japan
Driver Line-up - Jenson Button(UK) - Rubens Barrichello
BMW Sauber F1
Engine: BMW Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Germany/Switzerland
Driver Line-up - Nick Heidfeld(Germany) - Robert Kubica (Poland)
Panasonic Toyota Racing
Engine: Toyota Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Japan
Race Driver Line-up - Jarno Trulli(Italy) - Ralf Schumacher(Germany)
Red Bull Racing
Engine: Renault Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Austria/UK
Driver Line-up - David Coulthard(UK) - Mark Webber(Australia)
Williams F1
Engine: Toyota Tyre: Bridgestone Country: UK
Driver Line-up - Nico Rosberg(Germany) - Alex Wurz (Austria)
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Engine: Ferrari Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Austria/Italy/UK
Driver Line-up (both drivers yet to be confirmed)
PossibilitiesVitantonio Liuzzi (Italy)Scott Speed (USA)Neel Jani (Switzerland)
Spyker F1 Racing
Engine: Ferrari Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Holland/UK
Driver Line-up - Christijan Albers (Netherlands) - Adrian Sutil (Germany)
Super Aguri Formula One
Engine: Honda Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Japan/UK
Driver Line-up - Takuma Sato (Japan) - Confirmed - Anthony Davidson (UK)
