Williams announced this week that Bruno Senna would be taking the second place at Williams. I don't particularly believe this to be a mistake. He showed flashes of pace and race craft in what by the end of 2011 was a terribly inconsistent Renault. What is the mistake is not retaining Rubens Barrichello. The man has 19 seasons of F1 experience to give to a team. Williams are in the doldrums. They've singed on a raft of new people, and undertaken an engine deal with Reno for the 2012 season, a change from two seasons with Cosworth. The thing they need above all is consistency. A known quantity in their car. Instead they've plumped for Maldonado and his Venezuealan bankroll. I understand that the team are suffering for a few too many years on the trot as a low scoring constructor, and sponsorship is hard to find but settling on a veritable rookie with what i'd consider a dangerous streak (see Spa qualifying 2011) is a huge mistake in my book. Two veritable rookies will make it hard to find direction with development, and a limited amount of feedback. While technically both are probably quite capable, they weren't the best that was on offer and it strikes me as odd that a team hoping to pull themselves up the grid would plump for two such men. I'd love to see Williams draw an ace and find themselves up the front. I haven't been a fan of the sport long - see my introductory blog - but i've done enough backlog research to know that they were a force to be reckoned with and a great team. The deal is done now, and only when the season is underway will we see whether Williams have what it takes to get back to fighting ways. How the drivers perform, and if their decision pays off.
Which brings me on to my next point my 2012 hopes and predictions.
The regulation changes are minimal for 2012, the biggest technical one is the repositioning of the exhaust exit, no more exhaust blown diffusers (EBD). That should erode some of the advantage the top teams have to the midfield and backmarkers at least. Personally, i'm hoping it'll dent Red Bull enough that we have a closer championship. Looking at the only example we have for a lack of EBDs (Silverstone) the best showing were Ferrari. If I had to bet money, i'd place some on them. I think they are on course for a strong year, and based on that showing they really could be. Of course the teams have all had a similar amount of time to come to terms with the change, and will claw back a certain amount of the downforce anyways. Still, Red Bull evolved their concept around that feature and it could hurt them a lot.
If i'm going to go with hopes, i'd want McLaren to start the year in a strong fashion. I'd love it if they were just blitzing the field from the off, but realistically i'd just like a competitive showing, pacesetting, challenging. The addition of Sam Michael to the team I think is a good one. From what i've read he was like butter over too much bread at Williams, not getting to use his skills to the best. Hopefully he will add strength to McLaren operationally in 2012, it was an area they suffered on a few different occasions. Jenson's Monaco strategy, Lewis' lack of banker lap at Monaco, Critical fuel for Lewis in Silverstone for thinking he'd save some in traffic seems like a doozy. Hopefully his appointment will see these ironed out.
Ideally i'd like to see: Hamilton win his second WDC, and McLaren end their drought of WCC's.
Realistically: I think Ferrari will be strong, McLaren there or there abouts and Red Bull either the same, or pace setting. The new and now only Lotus on the grid seem off to a good start with some innovative ideas so hopefully they can enter the mix with Mercedes more often. I'd love a year like 2010, but they can't all be diamond. So just more Formula 1 would be fantastic! Good grief the winter's long!
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