Wednesday 17 August 2011

Spa-Francochamps - all eyes on a rattled Red Bull, Vettel and McLaren.

Last year's Belgian Grand Prix at the famous Spa circuit was nothing if not filled with collisions. Saying 'crashes' sounds too ominous and conjures up images of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger on that infamous day in 1994.

The long and short of the race was that Lewis Hamilton drove wonderfully to win the race, leading from the first corner, Sebastian Vettel ploughing into Jenson Button to end the Englishman's race, veteran Rubens Barrichello smashing into the back of Fernando Alonso at the Bus Stop chicane and Lewis re-taking the lead in the World Championship.

That's without mentioning the weather, either. As is so often the case, fickleness in the atmosphere provided more drama on the track, as if it were needed. On-off rain throughout the start and climax of the race allowed the race itself to remain competitive and interesting right up to the chequered flag.

This year, things are slightly different.

The start to the season made by Sebastian Vettel has been nothing short of remarkable, dominating the championship in a way not seen since the days of Herr Schumacher or even the indomitable Juan Fangio. The Drivers' Championship is all but over, though you certainly won't get Sebastian saying so until it's mathematically over. McLaren, Hamilton and Button won't say they still have a chance until they're within 25 points of Vettel, but the table doesn't lie - this is Seb's to throw away.

What makes the upcoming Grand Prix so interesting is the sudden poor performances being turned in by Red Bull and their drivers - Vettel and Mark Webber. Some are suggesting that this dip in competitiveness and results over the last three or four races could yet blow the Championship wide open. I don't know about that necessarily, but something has certainly got the Red Bull team rattled.

Speaking to the BBC, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said, "Operationally we've been very, very sharp and we've extracted the best from the car on a Grand Prix weekend and that's where the team has been very strong this year.
"These tyres are very complicated but the one thing that has been consistent is Red Bull running at the front.
"Nothing changes in our philosophy," said Horner. "We'll keep pushing, keep attacking every single grand prix because you cannot back off.
"As soon as you start looking to consolidate that is when you make mistakes.
"Our target is to win every single grand prix between now and the end of the year. In reality that's going to be impossible but in the races that we can't win then we want to be second, and if we can't be second then we want to be on the podium."

If they want to win every race left, they need to improve - simply because McLaren and Ferrari have and it's worked over the last three races. If Red Bull continue this slump, the Championship may well be a contest again.

Not that you'll get McLaren or Ferrari to say that though.

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