Robert Kubica - The Best Reserve Driver in the world?

Robert Kubica had been in strong contention for the main driver's seat at Williams for the majority of 2017.

Having tested Renault's cars from the 2013 season through to the 2016 campaign, Kubica proved that he still had the potential to get the most out of the cars despite his disability.

Kubica severely damaged his right arm in a rallying accident, leading to a large chunk of his arm having to be amputated. Throughout his recovery, he was told that he would never be able to drive a single-seater car again, however, Kubica defied the barrage of negativity and pushed through to once again silence those around him.

Coming into the 2017 Formula One season, Felipe Massa (who had already come out of retirement once), made it clear that at the conclusion of the 2017 campaign, he would be stepping away from the sport for good. This left Williams Martini Racing scratching their heads as to who would be appropriate to fill the soon to be vacated seat, partnering youngster Lance Stroll for 2018.

Three names became prominent in the media as the speculation grew... These were: Robert Kubica (once of BMW Sauber Petronas and Renault), Paul Di Resta (best known in F1 for racing for Sahara Force India); and Russian Formula 2 competitor Sergey Sirotkin. The obvious choice amongst fans was Kubica, due to his previous race win in what ultimately, was not an overwhelmingly convicing BMW powered Sauber at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

Di Resta was viewed as the second best British driver behind the now 4 time World Champion Lewis Hamilton. He had showed much promise in again, a very disappointing Force India and therefore was a natural candidate for the British team.

Sergey Sirotkin has been one of the fiercest competitors in F2 over the last few years... Despite this, Sirotkin never won the Championship title thus making him the rank outsider for the highly coveted seat.

The seat was eventually claimed by the Russian, who Williams believe from a business standpoint, was the best choice going forward. While the partnership does boast youth, with Stroll being 19 and Sirotkin at 22. The Stroll family is also extremely wealthy, while Sirotkin is backed heavily by Russia, enabling millions of dollars to be invested in the team from both drivers overall.

This decision however, has led to much criticism from die-hard F1 fans who say that Williams have sold out for the money, turning their back on raw talent. The talent of both drivers is not be disputed by anybody other than team principals in context however given the pedigree of Kubica compared to the other driver's who were in contention, one can understand the outburst from disappointed supporters.

It remains to be seen whether Williams have taken the best option in Sirotkin but what remains prevalent is Kubica as their test/reserve driver, the ability he has and the possibility of progressing after this season should another vacancy become available...

2017 Rolex Australian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel stunned the world of Formula 1 by executing a fantastic strategy to guide Ferrari to their first win in 2 years, coincidentally, that win 2 years ago was also by Vettel.

The 4 time World Champion showed fantastic pace as the SF70H really began to flex it's muscles after the Italian stable had tried their best to sandbag the true ability of the car throughout pre-season testing and qualifying.

Pre-race favourite Lewis Hamilton executed what Mercedes believed to be the undercut on Ferrari, only to be stuck behind RedBull Racing driver, Max Verstappen. The young prospect may have been struggling for pace on ever degrading tyres, but the skill proved too much until Verstappen pitted as Hamilton try as he may, could not find a way past.

Ferrari and Vettel capitalised on this issue as on Lap 23, Vettel re-emerged from the pit-lane ahead of Hamilton. This proved pivotal as Ferrari had executed the overcut, a strategy that saw the boys in red react to Hamilton being held up and got Vettel in and out, into clean air behind teammate Kimi Raikkonen who was still due a pitstop.

Vettel maintained a steady gap back to Lewis, with it peaking at 22 seconds at one juncture during the race.

In one ironic twist, back in 2013, all fans were pleading for someone other than Vettel to win races. However, with the evolution of the hybrid era and the dominance of the Silver Arrows, many fans are now hoping that Vettel does win regularly to truly re-assert competition and unpredictability into the sport.

F1 descends on Shanghai, China next and as we look forward to race day on April 9th, will we see Scuderia Ferrari bewilder Mercedes with their pace, or will Mercedes concoct the correct formula to vanquish their rivals?

Or will we see a twist of fate in the form of RedBull? Can Max Verstappen or Daniel Ricciardo re-write the script?

No matter the result that we see, the general consensus from fans is that the cars are far better than previous years of the hybrid era!

Hybrid Era Debate

Will the naturally aspirated V8's and V10's ever return?

Unfortunately, the answer looks to be a no as FIA President Jean Todt and F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn have both weighed in on the matter, with negative responses, rather suggesting that the current V6 turbo hybrid engines can be developed to a level that we are yet to see.

This is in the hope that the cars will not only be faster than those of years gone by but also far more fuel efficient.

Working closely with aerodynamic engineers for direction of the chassis, the power units will be made to work in even more fluid harmony.

Brawn spoke recently on the matter: "However, we are thinking about the evolution of the hybrid engine."

In the same respect, Todt recently spoke with German News Agency 'SID' saying:

"Everybody's vision is to try to do better Formula One."

"We must think about new opportunities and innovations, and always look forward. But it is unthinkable to leave the hybrid engines -- the V10 and V12 of the past should stay in the past, even if it is unreasonable to spend money each year on new technologies..."

We have seen an evolution of over 3.5 seconds in lap-times since the hybrid era began in 2014. A lap comparison was recently created on YouTube showing the Mercedes AMG Petronas cars from 2014-2016 and then Kimi Raikkonen at testing in 2017, all at the Circuit de Cataluyna.

The progression of the V6 package so far has been fantastic and better than most F1 fans anticipated at it's inception, but how far can they go?

Only time will tell.

McLaren's power unit woes

McLaren began pre-season testing looking to banish the woes of the last 2 years having reignited their love story with Honda. 

The McLaren Honda partnership was meant to usher in a regime similar to that of the Ayrton Senna days where Honda powered McLaren to race victories and World Championships. 

However, over the course of 2017 pre-season testing, the Woking outfit had completed more power unit changes than would be allowed during the normal season.

Due to these changes, the team were running their Honda unit on reduced power as the drivers had been complaining of vibrations. 

The vibrations that they were experiencing was the power unit literally shaking itself to destruction as Alonso and Vandoorne attempted to cover race distances and test the effectiveness of the aero package, as seen when aero rakes where fitted on the MCL32.

Now however, fresh developments have reached the surface as McLaren are alleged to have approached former engine supplier Mercedes Benz, for a possible swap in power units as the patience of the Surrey team has begun to wear thin.
At this time, McLaren through an anonymous team spokesman have released the following statement: "Winter testing was challenging and disappointing..."
"We are working with Honda to address shortcomings and deficiencies. Together with Honda we are considering options, but we will not comment on media speculation."

This tale is gripping as Mercedes at this time have refused to comment on any angle of this breaking story. As McLaren signal that they have a number of options in the frame, it remains to be seen whether they sign with Renault, hoping to find the same success as the glory days of RedBull, arch rivals Ferrari or whether they go back to a more recent supplier that has provided them with engines that have propelled McLaren drivers of the past to Formula One World Titles and single seater stardom.

Season Preview

On Sunday March 26th 2017, we usher in a new Formula 1 season. The anticipation that surrounds the 2017 season is palpable.

The big question on the lips of every fan is, will Mercedes AMG apprehensive dominate the sport like they have done since the inception of the V6 era. Three-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton faces fresh competition from former Williams Martini Racing driver and new team-mate Valtteri Bottas. With a new beginning, Bottas is ready to take the fight to Hamilton as he looks to secure his first race win having entered the sport in 2013.

Bottas recently tweeted of his excitement of getting behind the wheel of the freshly launched 2017 W08 challenger: "Morning! @MercedesAMGF1 car launch and I'm getting the first taste of the #W08 on track today. What a great day ahead :) #VB77 #F1 #cantW08".

This new inter-team rivalry will be captivating and it'll be interesting if the controversy that existed between Hamilton and recently retired F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg, is ignited in a new style with Bottas.

As we look forward now to the first test in Barcelona and the Circuit de Catalunya, fans will all around will be apprehensive to see who'll show signs of pace gained from the cars of last season as the wider tyres and vastly developed aero packages experience track life at a track that is notorious for putting the handling qualities of a car under intense pressure.

Until next time, have a great day.
Theo :)