Saturday 21 January 2012

What am I Expecting From the Front of the Grid in 2012


This little love in between Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel is where I will start. This season I don't see Sebastian Vettel running away with the title, instead he will have to have a close eye on both McLaren drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Come the end of the season I can see Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel fighting it out for the drivers championship. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso should be close behind until we get to the last race or two.
I believe that we will see Mercedes become a lot stronger this year, I am confident in saying that they will be nowhere near the quality of the Brawn GP year. I think this is the season where we see whether Michael Schumacher has still got it, he will have a car that I believe will be able to challenge for a few podiums, if Michael doesn't improve on a consistent basis, surely he'll have to finish at the end of his contract. Michael loves to win and it's in his blood, whether you like him or not, you have to agree with that. Nico Rosberg will continue to do better than Michael, which will also annoy Michael, even if he doesn't say so himself. I personally couldn't stand Michael when he was at Ferrari, mainly for his somewhat dangerous style of driving on occasions (of course that's still in him, remember the Rubens incident). I think we might be saying our goodbyes for a second time at the end of 2012.

Ferrari will either have a brilliant car which will fire Fernando Alonso to the very top. Despite what I have said above, I have stuck my neck out at the bookies and gambled on Alonso winning the title. If the 'gambles' Ferrari have made are successful then we may see the Spanish flag a lot on the top step of the podium this year. On the other side of the coin, Ferrari's decision to make a so called 'ugly' car with a unique design might fall flat, just as Renault front facing exhaust did after a few races. As for Massa, I expect a resurgence from him this year, and if the car is good then he could find himself on the podium too and fighting for the championship. This is a make or break year for Massa and also it's the same for Red Bulls Mark Webber, especially the latter, as the Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner has seemingly rubbed his hands with glee at the thought of two promising young drivers in the Toro Rosso seats. 

Mark Webber will win a couple of races but I am expecting an announcement towards the end of the season about his seat. I love the guy, as everyone does and I so want him to be a success, but I think the end is nigh at Red Bull, simply because he won't get the required results when up against the talent that is Sebastian Vettel.

In conclusion, expect a straight fight between McLaren and Red Bull with Jenson Button coming out on top. Then perhaps be surprised when in the first two races Ferrari's ugly car gets them a 1-2 at both events. You can expect a lot of 4th places for Mercedes, and one or two podiums. I might be right or I might be wrong. What do you think?

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