Red Bull To Make 2009 F1 Championship Interesting?
The Chinese Grand Prix saw another exercise in wet racing. It also raised the issue of whether Red Bull will make the 2009 season interesting or not.
Sebastian Vettel once again nailed down the simple fact that he is an extremely talented young driver. His mastery of the wet conditions was simply something to behold and confirmed what we saw in Monza in 2008. When the cars are competitive, Vettel is going to dominate.
The question is whether Red Bull will mount a real challenge to Brawn GP in 2009? The answer appears to depend entirely on what Adrian Newey does with the rear design of the car. Most fans wonder why the F1 teams aren’t just slapping on new diffusers now that the appeal has been denied. The reason is most of the “non-diffuser” cars need to have their backends entirely redesigned. Red Bull is once such car, so it is up in the air as to how the car will perform with a new diffuser. Until then, it is the equal of Brawn in the rain, but not in the dry.
Diffuse This!
McLaren Mercedes and Renault used jerry rigged diffusers during the Chinese Grand Prix. McLaren was touting big improvements, but the car still looks pathetic to me. When McLaren is touting finishes just in the points as a good thing, McLaren fans should cringe. Renault looked a bit better although it should be noted Alonso was running so light that a true gauge of the pace of the car is impossible.
Down and Out
The Ferrari debacle continues. The car is apparently not water tight! Massa stalled for no apparent reason and Raikkonen reported the engine cutting in an out. What is clear at Ferrari is there is no longer any debate that Felipe Massa has grown into the number 1 role. Ferrari may be going down in flames, but Massa has been a leader and class act. His driving has really begun to match it. His pass of Raikkonen and drive up to third before the car stopped running was definitely a class act.
Driver of the Race
Vettel was dominant, but Mark Webber deserves the award. He has had a disappointing career, but mostly because he ends up in cars that are simply bad. This is no longer the case and he appears to realize it. His destruction of Jenson Button was a classic case of one driver just refusing to lose. Well done to Mark Webber.
Worst Driver of the Race
Lewis Hamilton was touted as a great rain driver. Well, he is but not on this day. This was a race where a driver with a bad car could score serious points. Hamilton threw it away with multiple spins. How bad was his day? He finished behind Heikki Kovalainen, perhaps the worst driver to ever be on a major team. Congrads to Heikki for completing his first lap of the season…in the third race!
The Season
The theme of the 2009 season? “And the meek shall inherit the Earth”. The former Honda team leads the standings followed by privateer Red Bull and Toyota. It’s the end of the world as we know it…
Lemmy