Abu Dhabi: Rarely has the start of a new Formula One season aroused more excitement and conjecture than the impending 2017 campaign, which begins with Melbourne’s Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix from Friday. For starters, the current world champion Nico Rosberg will not be lining up on the grid after his stunning retirement just days after celebrating his maiden title in Abu Dhabi last November. Enter Finland’s Valtteri Bottas as Rosberg’s replacement at Mercedes, where he joins the incomparable three-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
The winds of change blowing through the sport have also swept out its venerable supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, who has been replaced with three experts from US sports marketing giant Liberty Media. But they and F1’s stars would be nothing without the cars, and this year new technical regulations have resulted in what are being hailed as the fastest vehicles in the sport’s history. So, as 10 teams get set to embark upon a season rich in promise, recalibration and unpredictability, Gulf News examines five key talking points ahead of the eagerly awaited opening race Down Under.
Will Mercedes again be the team to beat and how will Bottas measure up against Hamilton?
For a man accustomed to untrammelled success since 2014 in the form of respective hat-tricks in the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has been oddly downbeat.
“Any momentum we might have had is going to be disturbed by the big regulation changes,” the German has admitted. “They provide an opportunity, but also a risk.”
Yet Wolff is more confident in Mercedes’ ability to cope with the departure of Rosberg and that of the team’s technical chief Paddy Lowe to Williams, stressing: “Disruption can be a very positive factor in a company’s development.”
But can Bottas pose as serious a challenge to Hamilton as Rosberg did, especially in the German’s glorious final season? The Finn has proved himself as a cool and consistent performer with Williams over the last four years, but has yet to win a grand prix in 77 starts. And he faces a formidable foe in Hamilton, a serial winner with scorching pace and an insatiable will to win.
Rosberg admitted that the strain of competing against the indomitable Briton was a significant factor in his decision to retire. But thus far, Bottas has been bullish about his prospects. “It’s definitely a great challenge to go up against him,” he said, “but if I didn’t think I could beat Lewis, I’d stay at home. I believe in my skills and talent and I believe it’s possible [to beat him].”
Hamilton, though, is determined to regain the drivers’ crown to enhance his legacy by joining Sebastian Vettel as a four-time champion, with only Juan Manuel Fangio (5) and Michael Schumacher (7) ahead of them in the pantheon of title winners.
“I feel the best prepared I’ve ever been,” he boldly declared at the launch. “Last year has strengthened me and made me more complete as a driver. I have a strong feeling we’re still the best.”
Quite simply, a supremely confident, quick and rejuvenated Hamilton remains the man to beat.
Are Ferrari poised to mount a long-awaited revival and challenge Mercedes’ dominance?
Ferrari have been more akin to a limping pony than their Prancing Horse moniker in recent years, with their last constructors’ and drivers’ triumphs coming back in 2008.
But, if pre-season testing in Barcelona is anything to go by, the most glamorous F1 outfit of all could be about to recapture their majestic best. Ferrari clocked the fastest lap in Catalonia, which was nearly 0.7 seconds ahead of Mercedes.
The Italian marque also boast an experienced and settled pairing in Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari’s last world champion nine years ago.
And no less an observer than Hamilton believes Ferrari’s sparkling form in Spain is a mere scintilla of their true potential.
“I think Ferrari are bluffing and that they are a lot quicker than they are showing,” he said. “They are very close [to Mercedes], if not faster. It’s difficult right now to say who is quicker.”
It will be intriguing to see whether Hamilton’s prediction is borne out in an actual race this weekend, however.
But Vettel insists the all-conquering Mercedes will take some stopping once again.
“They’re very fast if you look at their long-run pace. They’re the ones to beat,” the German said.
Are there any other credible title challengers?
Yes, Red Bull. The dynamic duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen earned a win apiece last season, with Ricciardo ending the campaign third — two places above the teenage sensation Verstappen.
Their duel in Malaysia — which resulted in Ricciardo fronting Red Bull’s first one-two finish since 2014 — gave fans a glimpse of what the prodigious pair can do.
Both have been touted as future champions and will be confident of greater consistency on a race-to-race basis in the new season.
What are these much-vaunted changes to the sport, then?
Well, the main ones are exciting new technical regulations, which have produced more powerful (and slightly heavier) cars, emboldened with extra downforce and mechanical grip from wider tyres. They will, of course, be much faster than their predecessors, and may well prove to be the fastest F1 cars ever. But with so much downforce and grip, they will also be much more taxing to drive — and more spectacular.
What difference, if any, have Liberty Media already made?
Liberty’s influence has been felt at testing, where teams were allowed to broadcast video on social media to bring the fans closer to the action — a first step towards a more modern way of watching F1.
Bernie Ecclestone made no secret of the fact that he did not understand social media, nor see any opportunity to monetise it.
Liberty are also keen to stage “20 Super Bowls”, which does not mean they are targeting an Americanisation of the event — but of making a bigger deal of the races themselves wherever they are held.
As such, expect the races to be hyped more than ever in the week before through various promotional activities.