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Formula 1
HOBBS: Red Bull Rebound
The Red Bulls undeniably overpower everyone else in every respect...
Mark Webber (Left) and teammate Sebastian Vettel (Right) currently have the fastest cars on the F1 grid. (Photo: Getty Images)
It’s all Red Bull’s fault.
To usher in the Formula One season, we witnessed a record seven different winners in seven different Grands Prix. We attributed the unpredictability of those races and the championship standings to the humanity of Red Bull, which had been stripped of its foremost advantages over the field when FIA in the offseason banned exhaust blown diffusers, and in July instituted an engine mapping systems rule change.
Now that Sebastian Vettel has won the last four consecutive races and led every lap in three, we can ascribe the newfound predictability of F1 to Red Bull, as well. Vettel was 39 points behind Fernando Alonso before he reeled off the first of those four wins, and he now enjoys a 13-point advantage over the Ferrari driver. Who will win this weekend in Abu Dhabi? Likely Red Bull. However, look beyond the first or second-place finishers, and the landscape is every bit as unpredictable as when the top step of the podium changed hands on a weekly basis a few months ago.
Red Bull appeared mortal at the season’s onset, but the team obviously has discovered something since that plays greatly to its advantage. While I don’t know what it is, I’ll venture a guess it's playing perilously close to the rule book’s edge. Red Bull has found that old magic, and until either FIA or the competition figures out what it is, I don’t expect RBR's dominance to end anytime soon. Red Bull is quite clever, and whether its secret weapon is legal or not, it’s damn effective.
The Red Bull cars are simply dominant. Vettel’s Red Bull teammate, Mark Webber, likely would have made it a one-two finish for the team last week in India had he not struggled with his KERS system and been overtaken by Alonso. Alonso’s runner-up effort at India, however, stands as an extraordinary piece of driving and a textbook example of the brilliance of the Red Bulls. Our on-board cameras showed Vettel sitting still in his car during the race, while Alonso flailed away in his like a one-armed paper hanger. The Red Bulls undeniably overpower everyone else in every respect.
Alonso has exploited his car as best he can and extracted every point and position possible from it. However, with three races remaining, he will need a DNF from Vettel to win the championship. The drivers behind them, though, won’t require such dramatic circumstances to leapfrog each other. That knock-down, drag-out competition so prevalent earlier in the season is still present – it’s just not atop the leaderboard. Nico Hulkenberg has come on strong and is in the mix. Felipe Massa has bounced back, and Kimi Raikkonen still is lurking, as is Alonso.
At India, Jenson Button ran his tires off and faded, but finally started to come back on new tires. Lewis Hamilton qualified third and was a bit slow in the first segment, but when his crew changed the steering wheel (in an amazingly fast pit stop) because of his downshift troubles, the car roared back to life.
Tight battles indeed remain for every position except first, and that trend likely will continue in the three remaining races. Vettel loves Abu Dhabi and always runs well in Brazil. A punctured tire at Abu Dhabi last year handed him a DNF and a last-place finish, which may be the competition’s lone hope of besting him again this time around. Austin is an unknown at the moment, but when Mario Andretti lapped the track at its opening, the facility certainly appeared to be Red Bull’s type of track.
I’m afraid this won’t be the year for Ferrari or McLaren or anyone not named Red Bull. Webber is the only driver who might be able to slide into second or third in the championship. Lewis Hamilton is all but out of the title conversation. Alonso, however, still could beat Vettel if the Red Bull driver would do him the small but unlikely favor of posting a DNF.
I’ll do everyone chasing Red Bull a favor and offer a singular piece of advice for the upcoming offseason: Read the rulebook closely and take full advantage of it.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
To usher in the Formula One season, we witnessed a record seven different winners in seven different Grands Prix. We attributed the unpredictability of those races and the championship standings to the humanity of Red Bull, which had been stripped of its foremost advantages over the field when FIA in the offseason banned exhaust blown diffusers, and in July instituted an engine mapping systems rule change.
Now that Sebastian Vettel has won the last four consecutive races and led every lap in three, we can ascribe the newfound predictability of F1 to Red Bull, as well. Vettel was 39 points behind Fernando Alonso before he reeled off the first of those four wins, and he now enjoys a 13-point advantage over the Ferrari driver. Who will win this weekend in Abu Dhabi? Likely Red Bull. However, look beyond the first or second-place finishers, and the landscape is every bit as unpredictable as when the top step of the podium changed hands on a weekly basis a few months ago.
Red Bull appeared mortal at the season’s onset, but the team obviously has discovered something since that plays greatly to its advantage. While I don’t know what it is, I’ll venture a guess it's playing perilously close to the rule book’s edge. Red Bull has found that old magic, and until either FIA or the competition figures out what it is, I don’t expect RBR's dominance to end anytime soon. Red Bull is quite clever, and whether its secret weapon is legal or not, it’s damn effective.
The Red Bull cars are simply dominant. Vettel’s Red Bull teammate, Mark Webber, likely would have made it a one-two finish for the team last week in India had he not struggled with his KERS system and been overtaken by Alonso. Alonso’s runner-up effort at India, however, stands as an extraordinary piece of driving and a textbook example of the brilliance of the Red Bulls. Our on-board cameras showed Vettel sitting still in his car during the race, while Alonso flailed away in his like a one-armed paper hanger. The Red Bulls undeniably overpower everyone else in every respect.
Alonso has exploited his car as best he can and extracted every point and position possible from it. However, with three races remaining, he will need a DNF from Vettel to win the championship. The drivers behind them, though, won’t require such dramatic circumstances to leapfrog each other. That knock-down, drag-out competition so prevalent earlier in the season is still present – it’s just not atop the leaderboard. Nico Hulkenberg has come on strong and is in the mix. Felipe Massa has bounced back, and Kimi Raikkonen still is lurking, as is Alonso.
At India, Jenson Button ran his tires off and faded, but finally started to come back on new tires. Lewis Hamilton qualified third and was a bit slow in the first segment, but when his crew changed the steering wheel (in an amazingly fast pit stop) because of his downshift troubles, the car roared back to life.
Tight battles indeed remain for every position except first, and that trend likely will continue in the three remaining races. Vettel loves Abu Dhabi and always runs well in Brazil. A punctured tire at Abu Dhabi last year handed him a DNF and a last-place finish, which may be the competition’s lone hope of besting him again this time around. Austin is an unknown at the moment, but when Mario Andretti lapped the track at its opening, the facility certainly appeared to be Red Bull’s type of track.
I’m afraid this won’t be the year for Ferrari or McLaren or anyone not named Red Bull. Webber is the only driver who might be able to slide into second or third in the championship. Lewis Hamilton is all but out of the title conversation. Alonso, however, still could beat Vettel if the Red Bull driver would do him the small but unlikely favor of posting a DNF.
I’ll do everyone chasing Red Bull a favor and offer a singular piece of advice for the upcoming offseason: Read the rulebook closely and take full advantage of it.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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