Howdy, y’all! So, in part 1 of this series of articles, we looked at tech and rules and, in part 2, we addressed the first 7 teams (alphabetically) from Ferrari to Red Bull. In this article, I’ll be taking you through the final 5 teams hoping to make the starting grid.
First off, let’s look at Renault F1 Team. I can’t begin to preview this team without mentioning Robert Kubica and his horrific crash earlier in the year. I have no doubt that F1 fans the world over, regardless of their allegiance, wish this highly talented driver a full and speedy recovery. Kubica really started to come into his own towards the end of the last season and, God willing, he’ll be back soon, behind the wheel of an F1 machine, where he belongs. Team Principal, Eric Boullier has teamed Vitaly Petrov with Nick Hiedfeld, who has a history with BMW Sauber-Ferrari, replacing Pedro de la Rosa in the last five races of the last season. It should also be noted her that, Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, and driver for HRT-Cosworth last season, is now listed as Renault’s fourth driver.
Now, onto Sauber F1 Team (BMW Sauber-Ferrari). Last season’s Kamui Kobayashi will be joined by Sergio Perez of Mexico, who will be making his F1 debut this season. Following Kubica leaving the team, the past 2 seasons have been tough for Sauber, with initial difficulties in adapting to rule changes in 2009 and the replacement of long term technical chief in 2010. Maybe the new pairing and fresh blood we see for this new season will make all the difference.
So far, so good. Let’s now say hello to Torro Rosso (STR-Ferrari): last season saw Torro Rosso operating as a ‘true constructor’ for the first time and, although points for both the constructor and their drivers, Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, were often far and few between, the team finished 9th, ahead of only the new teams, with a score of 13 points and the drivers at 16th and 19th respectively with single figure scores. The team have made no changes to their main drivers. This team can surely only get better, but I’m reluctant to think that they’ll set the track alight for a few seasons to come.
Marussia Virgin Racing (Virgin-Cosworth) were another new team last season and the third to finish with no points on either board. Timo Glock remains with Virgin this season, but Lucas di Grassi has been replaced by Jerome d’Ambrosio who has a history in GP2 and F1 tested with Virgin last season. Di Grassi leaves this season with no drive. This is quite a disappointment because, although he was often quite unable to pull it out of the bag when it was needed he gave the impression that, with the right nurturing, he could be a far better driver.
Last but not least we have AT&T Williams (Williams-Cosworth). These chaps finished 6th in the constructors’ standings last season with Barrichello and Hulkenberg in the driving seats. This season, Reubens Barrichello remains, but Nico Hulkenberg – who is now with Force India as a test and reserve driver (see above) – has been replaced by Pastor Maldonado, 2010 GP2 champion and former test driver for Williams and HRT.
So, there you have it. A quick run down of all 12 teams competing this season. That only leave one last aspect of the sport – the race calendar. When I return for the fourth and final thrilling installment of this series, I’ll be talking tracks.
Yet another good article! Your knowledge of the lower orders is impressive. Let’s hope they contribute to the excitement – the more genuine competition we see, the better. I’ll continue to watch for these articles. And of course, for the rather delayed start of the season …
Kinda disappointed in this ‘teams’ section. Sort of informative, but I don’t feel like I know the teams thoroughly, as I was hoping. I think more detail was needed like their weaknesses strengths maybe and how they are likely to do