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.