Following two dominant seasons in Formula One, Red Bull Racing will be looking for a hat trick in 2012. How easy will that be?
This coming season, Red Bull Racing will be using a completely redesigned car. Last seasons car was a direct descendant of the 2010 car, using the blown diffuser as the main build around. They had the most successful adaptation of this technology by a country mile and that showed with Sebastian Vettel seemingly always at the front. Mark Webber, however didn't fair so well but still had plenty of good finishes.
Red Bull will find this season a lot more difficult. McLaren will push them a lot harder this season and are, in my view, likely to beat Red Bull to the championship. In 2012 Red Bull will stick with the same drivers, that being World Champion, Sebastian Vettel and Australian Mark Webber. Mark Webber is in a situation similar to Felipe Massa, in that he needs to have a much better season to keep his seat going into 2013. You'd go a long way to find anyone who dislikes Mark Webber so it'll be a shame if he doesn't stay on the grid, but as F1 is a competitive sport, emotions have to take a back seat. When I talk about it being a more difficult season for Red Bull, please don't mistake that for a struggle, try certainly won't struggle. They will in my opinion fall just behind to McLaren.
In my previous previews I've not really talked about individual drivers and/or the drivers championship. In the final two previews I will talk about it and where I think they'll finish. For Mark Webber, I think he'll have a much better season, however it still won't be enough to make a great deal of difference to his final position. This season I believe Mark will have two wins to his name but it'll only mean a 5th place finish for him as he'll find the consistency of Alonso a tough nut to crack. For current double champion, Sebastian Vettel I think a 3rd place will be his final outcome this season. I've been hovering between 2nd and 3rd for Sebastian, but settled in 3rd, purely because I think Lewis Hamilton will have his best season yet. More about that in the McLaren preview.
Red Bull are likely to be strong in aero again as they have the massive talent that is Adrian Newey. In races where aero matters you should expect Red Bull to reign supreme.
2011 Position - Champions
2012 Predicted Position - 2nd
Conclusion - its a huge ask for a team to win three titles in a row. I don't believe Red Bull will manage this, however they will still have a good season with some very dominant races. You may well see them dominate again if Newey comes up with an innovation no one else has come up with. You can never write off a team like Red Bull. In recent years they've been unstoppable. This coming season will be a little different, perhaps this will make F1 a little more exciting, on the other hand it may just be season 3 of the world domination of Red Bull.
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