This has been the most confusing F1 offseason I can remember, and I'm trying to make some sense out of it. First we were told there would be four new teams participating next season: Lotus, Campos, Manor and USF1. Then Manor became Virgin, USF1 dropped out, and Campos became the Hispania Racing Team, abbreviated HRT. In the meanwhile, BMW sold their team to Peter Sauber and the Russian Mafia, but despite the fact that it isn't owned by BMW any more, it's still called BMW Sauber. Then Toyota dropped out, but sold their F1 operations to a Serbian guy, who started a team named after himself, which really should have got Toyota's place on the grid, but didn't.
Confused yet? I know I am. For what it's worth, what confuses me most is Stefan GP not being allowed into the world championship. In a typical press release, via autosport.com:
"Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms that it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the Championship at this late stage," the FIA said.
"In the coming days the FIA will announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season."
It's really useless to try to figure out why anything happens in F1. For all we know, Bernie won't let them race because his ex-wife is from Yugoslavia. Also, he's totally dedicated to his new project, which involves a businessman from Qatar financing a Grand Prix on the Moon or something. Whatever the reason is, Stefan had cars and drivers ready, and as I understand things, would have been entitled to a spot on the grid as the inheritors of Toyota, but in the weird world of F1, they're barred from the grid. Maybe they would actually have been competitive...
Last time the FIA held a selection process, it included charming details such as forcing all the new teams to use Cosworth's rubbish engines, and not accepting any team that refused to. If anyone remembers Prodrive, this is the reason they're not on the grid.
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Anyway, F1 politics is what it is. As far as I can tell, here's the teams and drivers for next season, in constructors' standings order from last season:
Mercedes GP
3. Michael Schumacher
4. Nico Rosberg
Red Bull
5. Sebastian Vettel
6. Mark Webber
McLaren
1. Jenson Button
2. Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
7. Felipe Massa
8. Fernando Alonso
BMW Sauber
26. Pedro de la Rosa
27. Kamui Kobayashi
Williams
9. Rubens Barrichello
10. Nico Hülkenberg
Renault
11. Robert Kubica
12. Vitali Petrov
Force India
14. Adrian Sutil
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi
Toro Rosso
16. Sebastian Buemi
17. Jaime Alguersuari
New teams:
Lotus Racing
18. Jarno Trulli
19. Heikki Kovalainen
Hispania Racing F1 Team
20. Karun Chandhok
21. Bruno Senna
Virgin Racing
24. Timo Glock
25. Lucas di Grassi
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All the unfamiliar names are GP2 drivers. There's a couple of new guys to look forward to. Last year, Nico Hülkenberg and Vitali Petrov tore up the GP2 series in an epic fight for the title, which Hülkenberg won. He's been pegged as the next Michael Schumacher, and there's a certain icy feel to his driving that is very reminiscient of Schumacher. Petrov, though, was my favorite driver to watch in GP2 last year, and I expect him to do well in F1, all things taken into account.
In my opinion, F1 drivers can be divided into two groups: combative and non-combative drivers. Some F1 drivers just have that fire in them, a willingness to take the fight to their rivals and drive for the win, not just trundle along for a finish in the points. All the great drivers had that fight. On the grid today, Schumacher and Alonso undoubtedly have it. Jenson Button never had it, and I still don't think he does. With all due respect to his driving abilities, which I do respect, I can't see any way he would have won last year's world title without the diffusor controversy. Felipe Massa is even more useless as a driver and a second driver because he has absolutely no fight in him. For that reason, I don't believe Massa will ever win a world title.
Two guys who have fight in abundance are Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica, and Petrov fits right in. If the Renault car is even vaguely competitive this year, both Kubica and Petrov should do well. I'm really looking forward to seeing the two of them compete!
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I suppose I should make some kind of prediction about the results, but quite frankly, I haven't been following things nearly closely enough. It was only when I did this roundup that I actually got the teams and drivers straight in my head, so there's no way I have an intelligent opinion on, for instance, who's going to do well at Bahrain. It'll be interesting to see if the new teams are really as hopeless as everyone expects them to be. Mercedes has kept saying they're not competitive, even though everyone expects them to be, and McLaren are trying to repeat last year's diffusor trick with a questionable rear wing, so maybe we'll have some proper controversy right at the start. There are several obvious rivalries to look forward to as well, including the return of Schumacher vs. Alonso, the two McLaren drivers and the two Ferrari drivers. I don't think Massa will take well to being number 2, nor Alonso to having a totally useless no. 2.
One thing to look forward to, by the way, are Red Bull's record-breaking two-second pit stops. I can't wait to see one!
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