Preview: Formula One Mid-Season Update
With the Formula One mid-season break nearing its end and the Belgian Grand Prix just around the corner, race fans are ready to get back into gear for what is one of the most exciting and unpredictable championship seasons yet. With promising prospects for Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari, the top five drivers are seeking the title with a hunger unparalleled as they test the limits of each car and strive to come out on top of the line-up.
Red-Bull in the Lead
It is no surprise that the technologically suave Red Bull sits at the top of the Team Championship with 312 points, just a mere eight pts ahead of McLaren and 74 in front of Ferrari. But Australian Mark Webber, Red Bull's new star who leads the Driver's Championship at 161 pts, is a surprise success story this season. Deftly pushing aside prodigal team-mate Sebastian Vettel, Webber has beaten his favoured colleague four times to take the race win, while Vettel has secured only two wins from seven pole positions and now places third in the Driver's Championship with 151 pts. Fraught with tension, the rivalry between the two racers has built up a terrific record for Red-Bull this year, and the energy shows no sign of waning in the up-coming tournaments.
The Contenders
On the brink of catching up with Red-Bull are title champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, both sitting at 147 and 157 pts respectively. With two wins each and a good finishing record, both drivers are an ever-present threat to Red-Bull's lead, and both are positive they can catch up and overtake their opponents in the remainder of the 2010 race course. “We're all really looking forward to getting back into the title fight,” BBC Sports reports Lewis Hamilton as stating, who acknowledges that McLaren must “dig deep,” to “come back stronger.” Given the month-long interim between races, McLaren no doubt will have honed up a more defiant car that will be able to tackle the superior edge of Red-Bull engineering. As for Ferrari, the team has a heavy issue of politics to unravel with the controversy surrounding Felipe Massa's second place surrender to team-mate Fernando Alonso during the German Grand Prix. Under the guise of a coded order, Massa let the Spaniard pass so that Ferrari would tally up a higher score in the Team Championship. Stirring up a flurry of criticism by its opponents, Ferrari was fined $100,000 by The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, though Alonso kept second place. Despite Massa's protests that his decision to let Alonso overtake him was justified, F1 fans felt strongly that the Italian talent, close to his first real victory in over a year, was cheated out of a well-deserved victory.
Near-Fatal Move
Yet even more enraging was Michael Schumacher's outrageous challenge to former team-mate Rubens Barrichello of Williams at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver forced Barrichello into a dangerous vicinity of the wall which nearly resulted in collision and as a result, Schumacher was hit with a 10-pace grid penalty. Though one of the most highly anticipated events of the 2010 Formula One season, Schumacher's return has been mediocre at best until tainted by his recent antics, and is unlikely to redeem himself over such a dangerous move.
Now, the contenders for the F1 Championship title are narrowed down to a select few, but amongst the elite, there is little knowing as to who will come out the top trophy winner this year. While Webber and Vettel of Red-Bull declare their readiness to shoot for the title in the last segment of the season, McLaren have a few tricks left to exhibit in the talent and resilience of Button and Jenson, and Ferrari's Alonso has proven to be a tough rival to keep at bay as well. Bets aside as to the “who,” the conclusion to the 2010 season will be dramatic, surreal, and exhilarating. The world awaits the final chapter beginning this weekend at Spa Francorchamps on August 27th through 29th.
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