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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