On the morning of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo reiterated that the new Formula One was not good enough, with the new engines and other significant changes in the regulations. Red Bull’s team principal and chief designer Christian Horner and Adrian Newey joined in in criticising the regulations, something which they all have been doing since last year. Sebastian Vettel described the new engines as “sh*t”.
After Malaysia, where we had the second mediocre race in as many races, many fans were jumping on the bandwagon set by these people and looking through their tinted glasses and saying something along the lines of “oh, we should go back to last year’s regulations” as one person on Twitter told me. There was little hope for the 2014 F1 season.
Despite all this, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, both world champions, both not with the best car, both incredibly experienced, took a different stance. Button said “if you don’t like it, go and race something else” in response to Vettel.
While Alonso said “It’s like football (soccer), one game could be a boring 0-0 and the next could be a great game and finish 5-4”. The race in Bahrain, which was one of the greatest races I have ever seen in over fifteen years of watching all sorts of motorsports completely made those I mentioned in the opening paragraph incredibly red-faced. Australia could have been that 0-0 Alonso spoke about but Bahrain was probably a 5-4 with Lewis Hamilton scoring that crucial winning goal despite pressure from Nico Rosberg in a quicker package.
Yes, the 2014 F1 season is far from perfect. There has already been a lot of controversy, with fuel flow sensors, double points, drivers doing extreme weight loss, supposedly quiet engines and harsh penalties, but F1 wouldn’t be half the show without the glamour and the politics. It’s what makes it unique compared to any other racing series in the world. A bit of politics is always good for Formula one, and keeps its bosses on their toes. I feel like there will be more on all of these in the near future, especially with the proposed cost cap being scrapped for 2015, Formula One must find ways to be able to keep the smaller teams like Force India and Marussia in, and attract new teams like the possible team for next year run by Gene Haas and maybe another team as well. No sport can be perfect, and Formula One is no exception to that.
We are having what is shaping up to be a fantastic inter-team battle between the two Mercedes drivers, Nico Rosberg and 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton. Provided Mercedes can keep the gap to the rest of the field at the rate it is, the likely victor this year will be one of those two drivers. This is incredibly similar to both 1986 and 1988 at this stage of the season. In 1986, Williams had the best car, without a doubt. But with both drivers Nelson Piquet Snr and Nigel Mansell taking points off of each other, and problems for both in the final race, they both lost out to McLaren’s Alain Prost, who took an unlikely second consecutive title. Prost was joined in 1988 by Ayrton Senna, McLaren had an incredible car that year, and Senna and Prost duelled like crazy for the title, most of which was very fair, unlike in 1989. Senna came out on top that year. We could also see a situation like in 1998, 2006 or in 2009, where McLaren, Renault (now Lotus) and Brawn (now Mercedes) all had the best car at the start of the season but other teams caught up and they fought hard for the title. Despite Michael Schumacher’s hardest efforts, he was unable to beat Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and Fernando Alonso in 2006, and Sebastian Vettel was unable to overtake Jenson Button in 2009.
Behind Mercedes being more dominant than Red Bull probably ever was in the last four or five years, there is an awesome battle shaping up for the remaining podium spot each race. So far we have had three different drivers from three different teams in third place in each race, and currently Force India are second in the standings with Nico Hulkenberg in third. However, can a team like Force India with a miniscule budget hold off the likes of McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari? This is all incredibly exciting to see! It is also fantastic to see young drivers like Daniil Kvyat, Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen mixing with the world champions, showing their great potential and that F1 is in good hands once Button, Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen retire.
There are some things that as a fan, I am very unhappy with this year. Double points are a dreadful, unfair way to try and improve the show, and are not needed. And the majority of fans on Twitter agree, and this should have been avoided completely. I am also concerned about the safety of drivers after it emerged that Jean-Eric Vergne was taken to hospital because of the weight he has had to lose. Felipe Massa and Esteban Gutierrez have also been involved in some big crashes which could have been very nasty.
I like the quiet engines, and being able to hear fans, wheel spin and tyre lockups, as well as interviews in the pits before and during the race, and team radio is much easier to hear with the new engines, especially for quieter drivers such as Raikkonen.
“Anyone who claims this sport is boring is an idiot.” – Three times world champion Niki Lauda.
If the remaining races are half as exciting as what Bahrain was, then this whole 2014 F1 season will be pretty good.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @Craig_O_F1. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our Motor Sports writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
Main Photo:
