An analysis of the 2011 drivers’ championship after the German Grand Prix – Formula 1
The drivers’ standings was like a long straight line where Sebastian Vettel took the lead ahead of the rest of the drivers after which, it suddenly became a U-turn at the British Grand Prix where the reigning world champion has now started to lose some ground
to drivers like Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
Vettel led the championship very comfortably with an over 80-point lead during his peak time in the 2011 Formula 1 season. It seemed that the RB7 is unbeatable but after the European Grand Prix, it seems that things have now started to change and Ferrari
and McLaren have started to get a hang of this new technology.
However, Red Bull Racing still have a very good qualifying pace as a result of which, they are still unbeatable. Mark Webber secured the pole position but just by 5 hundredths of a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel on the other hand started from 3rd place on the grid and for the first time this season, finished out of the podium positions. He finished in 4th place luckily ahead of Felipe Massa.
Either way, he is still scoring points consistently and if he keeps this up, then it seems that the championship would easily be his.
With 9 races still left in the 2011 Formula 1 season, there is a huge chance that the current championship leader might retire out of at least one race since he is now struggling to perform and dominate as a result of which, the nerves will get the best
of him and he would become more prone to mistakes.
Even in the 2010 Formula 1 season, Vettel made some very silly mistakes as a result of which the whole team suffered and if that happens this year, then his chances of defending his title would not be as bright as they are currently.
Vettel’s current closest rival is his own teammate Mark Webber who is in 2nd place in the drivers’ standings with 139 points. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso on the other hand are in 3rd and 4th places with 134 and 139
points respectively.
Since the current championship leader is leading the pack with 216 points, consistency is the key to his success.
As for Webber, Alonso and Hamilton, all they can do is pray that Vettel makes some sorts of mistakes and retires out of at least two races or finishes out of the points or with very less points.
If that does happen, than either of these drivers would have to win those respective races consistently which at this point of the season is quite unlikely to happen as all the teams are pushing very hard and finishing on the top week in week out needs patience
and concentration.
The main problem for them is that all of them can finish on top which creates a huge problem for each of them.
Therefore, the championship is still wide open and with 9 races left in the 2011 Formula 1 season, we can expect anything to happen at any point in the drivers’ standings after which, Vettel’s dominance would not mean anything at all.
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