F-1 is back. What’s new and who can compete with Mercedes

F1 tests. Mercedes power, McLaren problems

Last season, the teams and fans experienced a serious change in the design of cars, but this time it was not without a global novelty. As expected, many did not like the pilot’s head protection system – Halo, which was tested during the last championship. However, most riders agree that after 2-3 stages everyone will get used to the new type of car and the issue will disappear on its own.

And if Halo manages to save the health or life of the pilot, then all this will definitely not be in vain.

In addition to worsening the appearance of the cars, the new system makes the cars much heavier – approximately 80 kilograms, which is more than the average weight of the pilot. True, this did not prevent us from setting several new speed records during the tests. The engineers had to work hard to fit the Halo into the car’s design, but there didn’t seem to be any critical issues.

Some, like Ferrari, even introduced certain aerodynamic elements into the system, and the same McLaren agreed on a sponsorship contract with advertising just on Halo.

In 2016, Formula 1 held a record number of races in a season – 21, but in the last championship, due to the departure of the German Grand Prix, 20 stages remained. Now Formula 1 is returning to a 21-race format, including a newcomer race in France. The newcomer, of course, is conditional, because there have been races at the Paul-Ricard circuit before, but F-1 returns to France for the first time since 2008. The stage is scheduled for the summer, and it will indeed be the hottest period for pilots.

Last autumn there was a segment when the teams held four stages in a month, but now the calendar is planned so that three races in a row will have to be held. That is, three grand prix in three weeks – June 24, July 1 and July 8. Obviously, this is due to the World Cup, with the matches of which F-1 does not want to intersect, so we had to build such a calendar.

In addition to the return of stages in France and Germany (Hockenheim), we highlight the absence of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The race management did not renew the contract, which allowed F-1 to meet 21 races per season.

To the already familiar hard, soft, medium, supersoft and ultrasoft, the rubber supplier Pirelli added two more compositions – superhard and hypersoft. This should diversify the choice of teams and their tactics for the race, which can lead to more interesting decisions on the track. Let’s see if this is true or not, but the same hypersoft, in fact, is a qualifying rubber for 1-2 laps.

During the pre-season, Mercedes didn’t even test this type of tire, which won’t be used very often anyway.

Let’s see, tactical diversity is good, but it is important that the types of tires really differ from each other in terms of speed and wear rate.

Perhaps one of the most important innovations will be the tightening of restrictions on the number of engines. Now one pilot can use only three motors per season without penalty – and this is subject to an increase in the number of stages. Last season, for 20 races, the pilots had 4 engines, and this was not enough for many. Before the start of the current championship, team leaders said that the rule should be canceled and at least 4 engines returned, but the decision was upheld, and some are already preparing for fines.

However, in general, the leaders in this regard look calm. Obviously, Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault have worked on the reliability of the power plants and can fit into three motors. As for Honda, for her it threatens to become a sore point. True, I don’t want some fine for replacing the engine to decide the fate of the championship title at the end – after all, pilots should not be so hostage to technology.

Bookmakers and experts leave Lewis Hamilton as the undisputed favorite. If we talk about the intra-team battle, then almost no one believes in the ability of Valtteri Bottas to throw a serious challenge to the Briton. Nico Rosberg, who had been at Mercedes for much longer and who knew his main rival much better, managed it with great difficulty only once.

This season will be the most important for Bottas in terms of future prospects, but other pilots are now seen as the main rivals of Hamilton.

Is Sebastian Vettel capable of winning a fifth title? If there is a suitable car – certainly. Last season, the German showed that he remains a top-level pilot, but at the end his technique let him down. Ferrari did not keep up with the development of the Mercedes car, and technical problems dropped Vettel out of the fight a few stages before the end.

What now? Apparently, the situation has not improved. If last year Ferrari was even ahead of Mercedes in the early stages, then according to the results of the tests, many concluded that the German team had taken the lead again, but Ferrari rolled back and remained even behind Red Bull. It is difficult to assess this outside of racing conditions, so it remains to wait for the start of the Australian Grand Prix.

And yet, both the pilots and the teams, with their comments, created the impression that, at least at the start of the championship, Red Bull could become the main opponent of Mercedes. The young and daring Max Verstappen, as well as the experienced Daniel Ricciardo, in the case of possessing a fast car, are capable of throwing a competitor off the throne.

However, it is too early to rejoice at optimistic forecasts. Before each season, they promise, including Mercedes, which warms up the intrigue, that all competitors have pulled themselves up to the leader and there will soon be a bright fight. We hope that this will happen, but the German team and Lewis Hamilton still remain favorites, so you should not have too high expectations from the season.

And yet Formula 1 is back, and this is a big plus.

• Probably the last season of 38-year-old Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen
• Collaboration between Toro Rosso and Honda. Japanese engines performed well in tests, and Red Bull is eyeing them for the 2019 season
• Expiring contracts of Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo. Two top pilots can change teams, including applying for a place in Ferrari
• Fernando Alonso and McLaren. Will the car of the British team finally show Alonso his real level and fight for the top places again?
• The progress of Renault and Haas. The Renault factory team is expected to fight for the top 4 and maybe even podiums, and Hass surprised many in the tests with his speed
• Rookie Pilots. This is Charles Leclerc in Sauber and Sergei Sirotkin in Williams.