SPRING OF DISCONTENT
The start of the season has thrown up a host of interesting topics to feed the 2018 F1 narrative.
First of all Valtteri Bottas, whose Mercedes contract runs out this year. He increased the already substantial pressure on himself by crashing in final qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. Not a good start, when the Finn knows Wolff will spend the first half-season deciding whether or not he should pick Daniel Ricciardo or Esteban Ocon instead for 2019, and that Bottas’s level of performance will be a crucial determining factor.
Haas threw away their best-ever result with finger-trouble at their two pit stops but that did not stop grumbling about what many people perceive to be the too-close relationship between them and Ferrari: Fernando Alonso and Christian Horner both referred to the Haas as a “2017 Ferrari” in Melbourne.
Team boss Gunther Steiner was not amused by the jibes, pointing out that the VF-18 cannot be that as it has the longer wheelbase of the 2018 Ferrari, dictated by suspension components bought from Maranello. A longer wheelbase means different airflow and therefore different, Haas-designed, bodywork.
Steiner says the critics “talk without intelligence and without knowledge. If they have a problem with that, I show them the way to the FIA. They can file a protest.”
Mclaren and Williams, meanwhile, are both having to come to terms with not delivering on their own performance expectations.
Alonso finished fifth in the Mclaren, splitting the Red Bulls, but admitted his position owed much to reshuffling brought on by the Virtual Safety Car. The MCL33 appeared to be close to a second off the Red Bull, with which chassis Mclaren last year claimed they had equivalency of performance. Racing director Eric Boullier attributed the deficit to challenges inherent in changing engines, which was the cause of the reliability problems that hit them in testing.
As for Williams, the race debut of the FW41, the first chassis designed under the technical lead of Paddy Lowe, was dispiriting. Lance Stroll said he was “not racing out there at the moment, [just] surviving,” after finishing 14th. Their lack of pace arguably highlighted the flaw in their driver choice. With drivers so lacking both in experience and proven front-running pace, how will Williams ever understand the true potential of their car?
“BOTTAS KNOWS TOTO WOLFF WILL SPEND THE FIRST HALF-SEASON DECIDING WHETHER TO PICK DANIEL RICCIARDO OR ESTEBAN OCON FOR 2019 INSTEAD