"Cato Batista" 10/05/2012 20:35:25 ID #158
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It’s been a very long 3-week wait, but relief is on the way this weekend in Barcelona for the 5th round of the Championship.
For the first time in 4 years there was in-season testing last week at Mugello, Lotus and Sauber were the fastest but laptimes were not a concern for most teams, they were rather solving aero kit & exhaust issues.
Now we’re ing to the track that dictates all the F1 cars’ fundamental set-up: Montmelo, with a long history of uneventful races. It’s a great track, but this is where every team has developed and fine-tuned their cars in pre-season testing; the remaining 19 circuits they learn during Friday & Saturday’s sessions, this one they know by heart, maximized to the point that it produces processional racing.
The start of the season has been nothing short of sensational. Last time we saw 4 different winners in the opening 4 races was 1983. Now Kimi –with many fans among the CFA ranks- has shown he is in top form and with a potentially winning car. Ferrari is betting the rest of the season on their redesigned car, if it’s not competitive Alonso has no hope against four top teams.
Looking through your 2012 Championship predictions (thanks again Santi for all the bookkeeping), it reflects the unpredictability of the task a of us. Our opinions are divided between 4 drivers to win the 2012 crown: Vettel with almost half our support, double as much as Hamilton (5) and then 3 votes each for Button and Alonso. We are just at odds on who’s going to take the remaining 2 podium steps including (apart from the above four) Raikkonen, Rosberg, and Webber, that’s seven different GP-winning drivers (no Schummi in sight though) Are we in front of arguably the broadest talent gathered in a Formula 1 grid ? I’d like to hear what you think in this respect.
When it comes to the winning the Constructors’ our clear favorite is McLaren with more than double the votes over Red Bull (13/6) and yes, we have a couple of overly optimistic Ferrari followers dreaming of a reversal of fortunes (say no names...) Remember you can do two changes to your entries by the German GP, both for your Drivers and Constructors predictions.
Much to talk as usual, there are not pre-race favourites, let’s wait for the first day of action tomorrow to have a glimpse of who's got the best cars for the Spanish GP. It’s going to be tight!
Cheers
Cato