KARUN CHANDHOK
Will 2020 be Scuderia’s year or would it be another feather in the cap for Lewis?
THE WINTER BREAK IS OVER AND THE teams are all getting geared up for 2020. There are some key questions in our heads as we look to the new season. The first one being – ‘Can Ferrari finally topple Mercedes?’.
In 2017, Sebastian Vettel could have stolen the title from Lewis Hamilton. In 2018, Vettel should have won the title. In 2019, they could have been a lot closer in the points table than they ultimately were but on the whole, it is fair to say that over the last three seasons, the red camp hasn’t fulfilled their potential in the way their rivals in silver have. That’s not my opinion – that’s just fact.
Despite all the rumours and accusations in the paddock, the Ferrari power advantage seemed to remain a mystery to the other engine suppliers. Last season the Mercedes was probably the faster car at 70 per cent of the tracks and the only way a slower car is going to win the title is by executing an error free season with stellar performances and strategic brilliance. The problem for Ferrari is that Lewis makes very few errors, is an excellent qualifier and Mercedes don’t often get it wrong strategically.
The other issue last year was that the Ferrari seemed harder on its tyres than the Mercedes, probably as a result of having a bit less downforce. This meant that even if they could qualify well, they couldn’t necessarily beat the Mercs on Sunday as races like Mexico showed.
Leclerc will be better in his second season at the team. From France onwards he was brilliant last year so expect more of the same. Towards the end of the season Vettel showed in races like Singapore, Russia and Japan that once the updated car was to his liking, he was able to unleash his inherent speed.
One thing to consider is that with stable rules for 2020 and a big change coming for 2021, the answer of who comes out on top may well rely on which of the teams has committed more resources to the short term rather than holding back a bit with an eye on the future. Lewis Hamilton goes into this year with 83 victories and based on recent form, you’d be a brave man to bet against Lewis Hamilton getting nine wins next season, especially with an extra race. That would put him ahead of Michael Schumacher in the all time list of race winners – a record many people thought would never be beaten.
I do get bored by all the comments from people saying “you’re all biased towards Lewis” but the reality is the guy has been sensational from the first race he did back in 2007. He’s won 50 per cent of the championships he’s taken part in and arguably should have won two more (2007 and 2016) so you can’t help but admire and appreciate greatness.
Despite over two decades of living life out of a suitcase (albeit an expensive designer one), the reigning world champion has lost none of his motivation. Sure he may not enjoy testing or sound bored in a Friday practice session, but he delivers when it matters in qualifying and the race. His work ethic with the engineers has been praised by everyone at Mercedes and credit must be given to Toto Wolff as well as Lewis’ manager Marc Hynes for managing him in a way that brings out the best in him.
The pressure’s on Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon more than anyone else I think. Ferrari have signed Leclerc up until 2024 indicating that he’s their long term prospect. The feeling in the paddock is that Vettel may not go on for that long. Sebastian is a very fast racing driver and still has a lot to offer the team in terms of his experience and technical knowledge. When the car is working for him, he can be devastatingly fast but the guy in the other car is clearly someone special.
Valtteri has been handed a vote of confidence by Toto Wolff by passing on the opportunity to replace him with Ocon. He may hate hearing this, but the apolitical Finn is a perfect number two for the team. He wins the races when Lewis can’t, he doesn’t ruffle any feathers or play games and he racks up the points well enough to secure the constructors title for the team. But should Lewis decide to leave F1 in a couple of years, will the team count on Valtteri to be their number 1? He would like them to and 2020 is a chance for him to once again prove why.
Alex Albon had a whirlwind 12 month period going from giving up on his F1 dream to ending up in one of the best seats on the grid, via a stint at Toro Rosso. The poor guy must have been mentally and emotionally exhausted by the end of the year but this season it’s a clean sheet where he won’t be cut any slack.
The team don’t need him to beat Max, but they need him to be close enough that when opportunities to win like Budapest are presented to their number 1 driver, the other car is close enough to stop their rivals from using alternative strategies to beat Max. That’s what Albon needs to do this year. ⌧
Problem for Ferrari is that Lewis makes very few errors and Mercedes don’t often get it wrong strategically