Double world champion Sebastian Vettel will start to defend his Formula 1 title in Melbourne this weekend and, once again, he starts the season as the top favourite to clinch the world championship.
If he does so, he will become the youngest driver to ever win three consecutive titles in the sport. Only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher managed the feat, but they were more experienced than the 24-year-old German.
Vettel and his Red Bull dominated the past season, much more than they had done the year before. In 2010, he had to wait till the last race to crown his dreams; last year, he piled up win after win so much so that by mid-summer it was clear that he had no rivals, and ended up winning a staggering 13 races.
This year, it looks likely that he will dictate the season proceedings once again, even though fellow driver Mark Webber and his rivals at McLaren and Ferrari will be doing their utmost to try to make it hard. As yet, McLaren seem to be more advanced in their aspirations to battle with Red Bull, while Ferrari are not too happy with what they have achieved in the pre-season.
But it is the races that count, and speed enthusiasts will be hoping for an engaging season, one in which each Grand Prix will turn out to be an exciting event, rather than a procession of cars from start to the chequered flag.
It is a season that will see, for the first time ever, six world champions taking part. Added to Vettel, we will have Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton taking part, together with Kimi Raikkonen, who will return to the sport after a few years’ absence on a Lotus.
Vettel, nicknamed ‘Baby Schumacher’, has shown an ability to tune out the pressure and focus his attention on track, where he made fewer mistakes with a more reliable car than in his first championship-winning season.
This will be Button’s third season with McLaren and if he continues to blossom, he will be a candidate to win the F1 championship for the second time. While Hamilton may have more speed, the experienced Button, with more than 200 GPs to his name, is a master at handling changing weather conditions.
Hamilton’s driving ability rivals anyone’s, but the 2008 champion needs a clearer head this year, and to sort out his contract situation with McLaren as quickly as possible.
Raikkonen expects to pick up where he left off when he returns to Formula One, despite three years away from the grid, but it will be a hard job for him to compete with the giants.
Despite two roller coaster seasons, Alonso still believes Ferrari is capable of providing the Spanish driver with a championship-winning car. Unfortunately, the Italian team has struggled in pre-season.
Schumacher’s decision to come out of retirement after three years went flat soon into the record seven-time world champion’s first season two years ago. Mercedes hasn’t provided the car to turn that around to date. It is the last year of the German driver’s contract.