FINALLY.
F1 is back on our screens this weekend and it could not have come soon enough. Many questions F1 Fans have been asking for months will finally be answered this weekend, and we are thus frothing at the mouth with excitement.
Here’s a quick rundown as to what we’re most excited to find out this weekend:
- Leclerc: How will he fare at Ferrari?
Coming into 2019 we have Charles Leclerc partnering Vettel in what looks like the car to beat (if testing is anything to go by). The Monegasque driver has been turning heads in the paddock for years – especially last year in the Sauber, in which he had many strong weekends. Fans are understandably hyped to see what the young prodigy can accomplish in the Ferrari – especially against his new 4x WDC teammate.
- Red Bull and Honda’s new partnership
There is no doubt that Honda’s return to F1 since 2015 has been somewhat disappointing. Plagued with reliability as well as power delivery issues, Honda were eventually dumped by McLaren for Renault just as it looked as if they were starting to make real progress with their 1.6l V6.
After a “year off” for Honda with Toro Rosso, Honda will be expected to produce a race-winning power unit for their new “main team”. Many fans will be concerned about the Red Bull’s reliability, as last year with Renault was tarnished with retirements and car failures. If the Renault engine failed that much in the Red Bull, surely the Honda is going to face similar, if not worse problems?
- How far behind are Willliams?
Williams pitched up several days late to the first test in Barcelona – dramatically reducing the amount of mileage they potentially could have covered in order to get to know their new car better. On the days Williams did run, they looked slow too. Like, 2 seconds off the pace kind of slow.
To make matters worse, their new car’s front suspension as well as mirrors were declared illegal by the FIA, which at this stage is disastrous for the team. It is possible that as a result, the entire car would require a rethink because of new suspension needing to be introduced onto the chassis. This shouldn’t be the end of the world, but after Technical Director Paddy Lowe was axed from the team last week, the team will be finding themselves “Outback” in Australia…
- Are Mercedes really “behind”?
After bringing massive updates on their car to the second week of testing in Barcelona last month, Mercedes look to have been forced to show their hand concerning how their Melbourne-spec car would look and perform.
Current world champion Lewis Hamilton was adamant during testing that Ferrari have the edge over the champions from Brackley, even suggesting that Ferrari were as far as half a second ahead on raw pace. The 5-time World Champion has used this tactic many times before during the V6 era, however. Of course, we will have to wait for Qualifying on Saturday in order to get an idea as to whether or not Lewis has been telling the truth!