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Much was made of the FW23s performance last year, although realistically it only proved dominant on
tracks with enormous straights and big stops. That combination tends to favour cars with big engines, which certainly the BMW was. Now whilst the BMW engine enjoyed a power advantage over its
rivals, it also had a reliability approximating that of Korean made fake Rolex, when it worked it was
great, but rarely did it work for long. There is a theory that if BMWs competitors pushed there engines
to the point were the reliability levels matched the BMW, they would at least be on a par in terms of performance, and more probably beyond. To win a championship, reliability and speed are required. Williams’s best hope is a dominant Michelin tyre, reliable BMW engine and a struggling Mclaren
(their main Michelin clad competitor).
Ralf Schumacher
The insiders favourite to win the title. This may surprise a lot of people but when he has his winning hat on he can be as cool and collected as his older brother, admittedly when things aren’t going his way he has an annoying tendency to mess it up. If the car package Williams roll out in Melbourne proves to have the beating of everything else on the grid, it will come down to a straight fight between Ralf and his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya for the title.
Juan Pablo Montoya
The tough Columbian who barged past Schumacher in his second ever GP and was often sensational last year. The one race win he netted did not reflect his pace. One important fact is the incredible number of retirements. Statistics tell us that his retirement rate makes him the second unluckiest driver in F1 history; obviously the car plays a part in this, but is the Columbian too hard on his equipment. Its one thing to hit the track and be fast, it is entirely another to be fast over an extended period. There’s not much more to add, except that if you believe the hype he will be the man to take over from Michael Schumacher.
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| Betting Verdict |
1pt Mclaren to win Constructors Championship at 7/1
Drivers Championship - Coulthard for the title 12/1 is an excellent price. In Australia he was emerging as the main challenger to Schumacher, even with a misbehaving engine management system that kept launching him off the track. Admittedly much of his hopes rest upon the performance of the Michelin tyres and Mercedes engine, but that’s motorsport. Michael Schumacher at 2/5 is a non-starter.
Constructors Championship – The ominously good form of Ferrari has given them very poor odds at ½, but this is based on Michael Schumacher dominance. If Coulthard and Mclaren can raise their game, particularly when Ferrari run the new car for the first time to take advantage of the inevitable teething problems then they have an excellent chance at the title. Another major factor is the simple fact that if Coulthard is challenging for the title, then Schumacher is not running away in the points and so teammate performance will have a much larger effect on the outcome. This is where I feel Mclaren are better equipped to make a challenge with rising star Kimi Raikkonen.
Take the 7/1 on Mclaren winning the Championship
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