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| Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool |
After a very topsy-turvy first half that was filled with drama,
excitement, tension and controversy, Formula One is taking a much required
break. So before we head back to the race track, let’s take a quick look at the
season so far.
For the champions - Red Bull Racing, and their
drivers Sebastian Vettel & Mark Webber, this season has been quite a
challenge.
Rule changes at the beginning of the 2012
season meant that the blown diffusers used in the RB7 were now banned and the
exhaust had to be redesigned to comply with new regulations. This cut down
RBR’s advantage significantly resulting in a rather mild start to the year. Red
Bull was no longer ‘the team to beat.’
For the first time in the history of Formula 1,
the first 7 races were won by 7 different drivers hailing from 5 different
teams. Although this meant more competition for Red Bull, the technical
director-team principal partnerships of Adrian Newey and Christian Horner
improved RB8 significantly over the course of the season and made sure it
stayed ahead of the pack and at the top of the Constructors’ standing.
Some notable points from the season so far:
- The pre-season testing at Jerez and Barcelona
showed that RBR had their work cut out for them.
Even during the tests, Mercedes, McLaren and
Lotus matched Red Bull’s pace.
- Though Vettel managed a 2nd place finish in
the first race at Albert Park, RB8’s lack of pace was immediately exposed when
they failed to get a podium finish in next two races.
- Mark Webber has won two races so far and
cemented his position in the team for next year as well. The Aussie recently
signed a fresh contract with the Milton Keynes-based marque which will see him
driving the bull till the end of 2013.
- Since Vettel is already on the contract till
2014, RBR is the only team to have their driver lineup fixed for the next
season. This ensures that they don’t deal with any discomfort in the pits when
the driver market heats up in the coming weeks.
- Unlike other teams, RBR has been smart enough
to do small upgrades to their car in every race. As a result, RB8 is much
faster and more reliable than it was at the start of the season.
- One of the most significant and controversial
changes was made to the car owing to a directive issued by the FIA. Mark
Webber’s Monaco GP winning car had a hole in the floor and though no official
complaint was made by other teams, FIA declared the hole to be illegal and RBR
were asked to change the design by the next race i.e. Canadian GP.
- One thing that Mark and Seb need to work on
is the number of podium finishes.
Alonso with 164 points has grabbed six podiums
so far. Webber’s two podium finishes have come in the form of victories at
Monaco and Silverstone, while Vettel (122), who is two points behind Webber has
tasted the bubbly thrice. Surprisingly, Hamilton (117) and Raikkonen (116) have
been on the podium five times each.
Despite a tough season start, RBR are scoring well. They’re
currently leading the Constructors’ Championship, and Mark Webber & Sebastian
Vettel are current 2nd and 3rd in the Drivers’ Championship. With Webber two
points ahead of Vettel and the latter enjoying a 6-5 head-to-head lead in terms
of finishes over his Aussie teammate, it seems that this fight will go down to
the wire.
The only thing left to be seen now is if Adrian
Newey and Christian Horner can bring RB8 up to pace and give both their drivers
a shot at the ultimate glory – the Drivers’ Championship.
So tighten your seatbelts and keep your fingers crossed, the second half of the F1 season is going to be one helluva ride!
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The above post appeared on Red Bull India's website on 14th August '12. The original article can be found here.
So tighten your seatbelts and keep your fingers crossed, the second half of the F1 season is going to be one helluva ride!
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The above post appeared on Red Bull India's website on 14th August '12. The original article can be found here.
