The Circus is Back

I know you are about to be bombarded with the hyped-up opinions of the multitude of experts lined-up on Sky and Channel 4 to make F1 sound exciting but if you want the simple version of what to expect when the Circus begins in Australia please read on …

As usual there has been a lot of talk about new rules for both this year and beyond but, as usual, little has actually changed. All the talk about plans for 2017 still revolve around the one fan who asked for cars to be 5 seconds a lap faster (something that just happens to appeal to the boffins that run the teams) whereas the vast majority, that just want better racing, remain ignored…

So we are still set to have bigger, wider, more ‘aggressive’ cars next year which will still be unable to follow the car in front and will have even shorter braking distances and even less chance of overtaking.

The idea of restricting budgets seems to have disappeared completely and the greedy big guns still refuse to give up any of their large slices of income to help the smaller teams survive. So we have Sauber and Manor relying on their drivers to bring the money and Force India hoping their owner Vijay Mallya can sort out the personal financial crisis he appears to be facing.

Indeed, with Dietrich Mateschitz still banging on about not racing in 2017 if he can’t get a competitive engine, having just grown the grid to 22 with the arrival of self-funded Haas we could suddenly find ourselves with just 12 cars turning up next year…

But, for now, barring any last minute writs from aggrieved drivers or unpaid suppliers a healthy grid of well tested and proven machines are heading to Australia as the Circus gets back on the road. However with little change we can pretty much expect more of the same – apart from a few desperate tweaks to liven up the action.

Firstly drives can now select their 13 sets of tyres for the weekend from a choice of three compounds. They’ll still have to use the two ‘regulation’ tyres during the race but they can also use their ‘joker’ tyres as and when the want. So, to get your interest going, Hamilton has selected 1 Medium, 6 Soft and 6 Supersoft for Australia with Rosberg going radical with 2 Medium, 5 Soft and 6 Supersoft … excited now?

Then there are some strict new regulations on the use of radios – to make sure the drivers have to do some of the thinking for themselves. There is now a specific list of the 31 things you are allowed to say to a driver and the good news is you can’t tell them to turn their engines up or down of inform them of overheating brakes or tyres – but I fear they’ll still find a way!

The biggest change though is with the qualifying system. A desperate last minute bid to try and mix up the grid by catching drivers out with a system where the slowest car is eliminated every 90 seconds after the opening seven, six and five minutes of the three sessions.

The idea is that it will lead to two cars remaining on track for the final three minutes which could be quite entertaining or, even better in the scheming minds of the likes of Bernie, several of the favourites being caught out and qualifying mid-grid to spice up the action.

However, should there be changeable conditions it’s going to turn into a complete lottery as the order you leave the Pit Lane might end up being the order you qualify in – or vice versa on a drying track. Then there’s going to be the ‘backing up to make space’ problem and I can envisage a queue of aggrieved team managers heading for the Stewards to moan about their man being held up…

I have to say it should be entertaining and cause a few upsets but, on the other hand I’m not one of those campaigning for reverse grids and success balance to spice up the action like British Touring Cars. I’m a purist at heart and feel the pinnacle of our sport should be devoid of such artificial influences. If you are ‘the best’ you should win and if you are ‘the rest’ you should work harder to close the gap. I just want regulations that help make that possible.

So what can we expect once the lights go out? Well, assuming the Russian roulette of qualifying doesn’t throw too many spanners in the works, this is what I see in my crystal ball!

It has to be a hat-trick of titles for Lewis but it’s going to be much closer and more entertaining. Harder fought than last year, with the Ferraris getting in amongst the Mercedes on occasions and Vettel finishing runner-up ahead of Rosberg with Kimi close behind.

I think Red Bull will push Williams back a step. I’d love to see Williams favour Bottas a little instead of making him sit dutifully behind Massa as he did at Silverstone – but then the man calling the shots is Felipe’s best mate! Fire Valtteri up with a bit more aggression and I think he’s a champion of the future.

Force India will punch above their weight with their two very well matched drivers – just as long as they have the budget to keep developing the cars – while Toro Rosso will pogo up and down the field as their young chargers have good days and bad with the super talented Max perhaps having a bit too much self-belief (if that’s possible) and Carlos keeping him honest and occasionally overshadowing him.

Which leaves McLaren, Renault and Sauber fighting to pick up the odd top ten finish, occasionally embarrassed by some flashes of brilliance from Romain Grosjean in the new Hass, while Manor hang on at the back not so far behind as before.

With a much tighter pack in the middle I’m confident there’s going to be more exciting racing this year but then I could be completely wrong … Formula One may frustrate me but I still love it!