March 13, 2012

Image: nic_r via flickr Creative Commons

This Sunday sees the green light go out on the 2012 Formula One season in Melbourne, Australia. With an unprecedented six world champions on the grid this year, fans are in for some great action over the course of the twenty races that stand between the sport’s leading drivers and potential championship glory. The pecking order between the top teams remains unclear after pre-season testing, which is why I’ve presented my top ten championship predictions for Nouse with more than a little caution!

Sebastien Vettel (GER)
Age: 24
Team: Red Bull
Race Wins: 21
Drivers’ Championships: 2 (2010, 2011)
Prediction: 1st

So soon after a stunning 2011 season that included 11 wins and 15 pole positions, it’s hard to look beyond Vettel to make it a hat-trick of consecutive world titles this year. Still only 24, the German made a great leap forward last year, barely putting a foot wrong after an error-strewn 2010. At such a young age, he drew comparisons with Ayrton Senna from the late Brazilian’s old rival Martin Brundle, and showed maturity beyond his years with a controlled, calculated approach to race strategies. His dominant team have also looked quick in pre-season testing once again, but it certainly won’t be quite so easy for Vettel this time around.

Lewis Hamilton (GBR)
Age: 27
Team: McLaren
Race Wins: 17
Drivers’ Championships: 1 (2008)
Prediction: 2nd

After a disastrous 2011 which saw him brushed aside by teammate Jenson Button, many armchair pundits have written off Hamilton as spoilt and over-rated. They’ll be in for a shock this year. In a sport that is so hard to forecast, one of the few things you can be sure of in 2012 is that the man from Stevenage will be back to the top- McLaren have avoided the problems that beset their pre-season last year, and Hamilton appears to be more focused on winning than ever after resolving some of the personal issues that effected his driving in 2010. He still is, and always will be a phenomenal talent.

Mark Webber (AUS)
Age: 35
Team: Red Bull
Race Wins: 7
Drivers’ Championships: None
Prediction: 3rd

Webber came within a whisker of winning the title in 2010, leading the standings for most of the season before being pipped by Vettel at the last race in Abu Dhabi. Last year was a different story however, and the Australian was comprehensively beaten by his younger teammate. The good news for Webber is that he can only get closer to Vettel this year, and he can take further confidence from the apparent strength of Red Bull’s new challenger. Winning the title may be a step too far, but the veteran will be aiming to finish ahead of the McLarens in what is likely to be his final season at Red Bull.

Jenson Button (GBR)
Age: 32
Team: McLaren
Race Wins: 12
Drivers’ Championships: 1 (2009)
Prediction: 4th

The opinion that Jenson Button will be the biggest threat to Vettel in 2012 is a popular one in Formula One at the moment- only a few days ago, Red Bull boss Christian Horner predicted that “we are yet to see the best from him”, and this is undoubtedly true. But the Brit has to raise his game if he is to keep up the pace with arguably the strongest field in the history of the sport, despite his 2011 heroics that included twelve podiums and a runner-up spot in the final standings. A fourth-place finish in 2012 would be no reflection on Button’s weakness, far from it in fact. He’s world class, particularly in variable weather conditions- it would be very surprising, however, if the Brit is able to beat not only the two Red Bulls, but also his resurgent teammate for the second year in a row. Don’t forget Hamilton still wiped the floor with Button in qualifying last year, with a 13-6 head-to-head record.

Kimi Raikkonen (FIN)
Age: 32
Team: Lotus
Race Wins: 18
Drivers’ Championships: 1 (2007)
Prediction: 5th

The Raikkonen story has got great potential to entertain fans this season- the Iceman’s mumbled, uninterested interviews are almost as famous as his fearsome pace on the track, and he’s back after a two year break. The Lotus team have risen from the ashes of Renault, and the fact that the outfit topped the timesheets throughout winter testing has only added to the intrigue surrounding Raikkonen. Testing times can be misleading of course, but the Finn is very capable of outfoxing some of the bigger teams in 2012.

Fernando Alonso (SPA)
Age: 30
Team: Ferrari
Race Wins: 27
Drivers’ Championships: 2 (2005, 2006)
Prediction: 6th

Overall, the greatest driver in Formula One today- experienced, dedicated and consistently fast. A storm is brewing in Maranello however. Ferrari’s pre-season testing has been nothing short of shambolic, and the team’s technical director Pat Fry has already declared that his cars won’t be on the podium in Melbourne. The car’s handling seems unpredictable, and Ferrari had to abandon a radical exhaust concept after failing to get it working in time for the start of the season. Alonso is facing one of his greatest challenges, and his only chance is dramatic technical development over the course of the year.

Nico Rosberg (GER)
Age: 26
Team: Mercedes
Race Wins: None
Drivers’ Championships: None
Prediction: 7th

Nico Rosberg has struggled to attract the same level of attention that surrounds his legendary teammate, but retains the edge over Michael Schumacher. Having finished ahead of the former superstar twelve times out of the nineteen races last season, Rosberg will want to go a step further and challenge for race wins in 2012. The Mercedes team has to provide him with a competitive machine first though, and it remains unclear whether it has managed to do so this year. A handful of podiums and a narrow advantage over Schumacher is the most likely outcome of Rosberg’s season.

Michael Schumacher (GER)
Age: 43
Team: Mercedes
Race Wins: 91
Drivers’ Championships: 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Prediction: 8th

Just typing out those career statistics serves as a reminder of Schumacher’s past brilliance. At 43, he cannot be expected to add an eighth championship, but he’ll be desperate to win the internal battle with compatriot Rosberg this season. Can Schumacher do it? Well he came much closer last year than in 2010, narrowly losing out due to poor pace in qualifying. Mercedes team principle Ross Brawn masterminded all seven of Schumacher’s titles however, and has spoken of the new car’s suitability for the legend’s driving style. He’s likely to improve again, but securing a 2013 Mercedes drive through respectable finishes should be the main priority for Schumacher.

Felipe Massa (BRA)
Age: 30
Team: Ferrari
Race Wins: 11
Drivers’ Championships: None
Prediction: 9th

Massa’s epic championship battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2008 seems a very long time ago. His present for recovering from a near fatal head injury sustained in 2009 was Fernando Alonso as a new teammate, and the popular Brazilian has struggled to keep up with the double world champion throughout their two years together. His contract runs out at the end of the year, and Ferrari President Luca Di Montezemelo has made no secret of the fact that Massa has to start delivering results in order to extend his career with the prancing horse. The team’s problems in testing have only made Massa’s task harder, and his run of just two podium finishes in thirty-six races is unlikely to improve in 2012.

Nico Hulkenberg (GER)
Age: 24
Team: Force India
Race Wins: None
Drivers’ Championships: None
Prediction: 10th

The Williams team’s sacking of Hulkenberg at the end of 2010 was scarcely believable given that he had delivered a promising series of results and even a pole position in his debut season. A year spent licking his wounds as Force India’s test driver has led to a race drive with the team in 2012, and the German must feel a sense of satisfaction now it is clear his team are in a better position than the ailing Williams outfit. Just how fast the Force India will be this season is difficult to say, but it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Hulkenberg and teammate Paul Di Resta battling with the top teams in 2012. Both would be disappointed with a championship finish outside the top ten.

Having made my predictions, I have to echo the words spoken last week by a typically to the point Kimi Raikkonen, “there is no point to guess here. I don’t know who’s going to be the fastest. Nobody knows”. The Finn’s assertion rings especially true at the end of one of the most confusing winter testing programmes in recent memory, which failed to highlight any clear frontrunners. What do you think? I’d love to read the thoughts of any fellow ‘armchair critics’ who have an opinion on what will emerge over the coming eight months.

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February 12, 2012

Long before Mark Webber’s solitary win in Brazil brought down the curtain on the 2011 season, it had become predictable enough to rekindle memories of Formula One’s dullest days. Just as his childhood idol Michael Schumacher had during the early 2000s, Sebastien Vettel took the sport by the throat, dominating the field with enough ease to take the shine off some of the greatest races in living memory.

Button’s last gasp victory in Canada; the Hockenheim duel between best of enemies Hamilton and Alonso; Webber’s manic climb through the field from eighteenth to third in China; all classics by any normal standards. But the fans were left craving a championship battle. Last year saw some superb racing on the track with plenty of overtaking and controversy, but the familiar ritual of going to bed on a Sunday night agonising over championship permutations just wasn’t there.

As the covers come off the 2012 machines and winter testing begins, we can only wait and hope for a battle to the wire this time around. But even if Vettel strolls into the distance once again, there is an intriguing sub-plot to the coming season which is sure to provide thrills and raise smiles in equal measure. Kimi Raikkonen, the enigmatic Finn known for his playboy lifestyle as much as his blistering on-track pace, will return to the sport after a two year absence.

Competing as a standalone team for the first time after a short partnership with Renault, the Lotus outfit have taken a gamble on the 32-year-old, who will have a lot to do if he is to avoid a similarly tame comeback to Schumacher. Will he feel the pressure though? Not the Iceman. Think back to the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix, minutes away from re-starting after a rain delay- as Ferrari’s Felipe Massa sat anxiously in his car on the grid, screaming down the radio for a fresh helmet visor, where was team-mate Raikkonen? Calmly perched in the team motorhome of course, in shorts and flip-flops, tucking into an ice-cream. It was classic Kimi- nonchalant, unflappable, almost uninterested.

You can bet he’ll raise a few more smiles over the next twelve months, but Raikkonen is here to race. The talent was evident from the very start, finishing sixth on his 2001 debut, in only his twenty-fourth car race, and driving an uncompetitive Sauber (Raikkonen was fast asleep thirty minutes before the start, even more remarkably). A move to Mclaren in 2002 launched his career to the very top, and would have brought championships in 2003 and 2005 had it not been for poor reliability. Nine wins during this period were rendered fruitless by more than twenty mechanical failures, leaving the Finn runner-up twice despite some of the best drives seen in the modern era- his 2005 Japanese Grand Prix win, sealed with a glorious final lap overtake on the fastest part of the circuit, will always be remembered as one of the sport’s greatest moments.

2007 saw Raikkonen finally get his just desserts with the narrowest of championship victories. Chosen by Ferrari to replace the retiring Michael Schumacher, the Finn edged Hamilton and Alonso by a single point after a season of in-fighting between the two Mclaren new boys. Needless to say, having completed his lifelong dream to become champion after a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix, Raikkonen simply completed his obligatory media interviews and walked briskly from the paddock to the car park, rucksack on back, his icy Scandinavian eyes lacking even a hint of emotion.

That kind of composure is one thing, but Lotus must ensure Raikkonen does not slip into the periods of de-motivation that have often held him back. Schumacher’s years of dominance came from his willingness to spend hours going over technical data with engineers and commitment to staying in top physical condition throughout each year. Raikkonen’s style has always been very different- turning up on a test day and pushing the car to its limits, of course, but staying around for extended debrief sessions? The infamous video clip of him falling from the top deck of a yacht at a private party, drunk as a wasp in spilt beer, did very little to curb the image of ambivalence that has become associated with Raikkonen. The two seasons with Ferrari that followed his 2007 triumph, which saw him beaten regularly by the lesser-rated Massa and a noticeably sharp decline in his effort, led to an anti-climatic exit from the sport- Raikkonen has a lot to prove this time out, and Lotus face the challenge of keeping the Finn motivated if he is to restore his reputation.

If Raikkonen does find enough passion within himself to put down the magnums, and the team manage to deliver a competitive car, Formula One could have an irresistible combination on its hands to rival the might of Red Bull and deliver a classic championship battle. Raikkonen has already shown promise, topping the timesheets on the first day of winter testing. First-season glory for the Iceman? Don’t rule it out for a second.

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December 1, 2011

Reigning world champion John Higgins held an open session at York’s ‘Cueball Club’ last week, inviting challengers to take him on in a frame with the promise of a drink for everyone in the room if he could be defeated. Surprisingly, I lost. It was just as well for the Scot too, as there were well over a hundred of us packed into the dingy basement snooker hall. Such is the popularity of the sport today- and with this year’s UK Championship to be held at the Barbican Centre in December, interest is surely set to grow in York, if only for a fortnight.

While the presence of poster boys Willie Thorne and Steve Davis is sure to set female hearts racing, some of snooker’s younger stars will be looking to make their big break at the event, and emerge with the most prestigious trophy in the sport bar Sheffield’s World Championship. World number one Mark Selby, the Jester from Leicester, will be in with a great chance, as will China’s 24-year-old darling Ding Junhui.

Judd Trump will surely be at the head of the charge for glory though. Just as he did so superbly on route to the World Championship final in April, the 22-year-old is set to bewilder fans at the Barbican with his trademark attacking style of play and bold long-pot attempts. Trump is certainly in a focused and determined mood, confidently proclaiming on his twitter account this week “Jack Daniels sauce. Delicious”.

But can Trump and the other young pretenders usurp Higgins and the veterans? 36-year-old Mark Williams was last year’s runner-up, and is enjoying some of the best snooker of his career after returning to second position in the world rankings. Dropping out of the elite top sixteen in 2008 would have buried many careers on the baize, but the Welshman’s rejuvenated form means he has a fighting chance of entering 2012 as UK champion.

It would also take a brave man to write off Ronnie O’Sullivan, even at 35 years old- just ask the hapless Mick Price, one of many victims to have sat slumped in his seat, watching the legend race through a maximum 147 break. Rocket Ronnie’s time on that occasion in 1997? A little over five minutes, an astonishing record that nobody has come even close to since. Price is now a student careers advisor in Kenilworth, by the way. He doesn’t normally recommend snooker.

Whoever takes the £100,000 prize money that comes with the title would be able to buy 20,000 students tickets for first-round matches at the Barbican Centre. That’s right maths fans- student admission has been set at a bargain price of £5, in a generous bid to attract younger fans. Not interested in snooker? Put off by its tag as a ‘Dad sport’? Well put down your Panini, pour the Costa down the drain. Stuart Bingham versus Marco Fu is a much more sensible way to spend a fiver this week. Give snooker a try. Go on, I dare you.

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