This is getting ridiculous now. We may as well just delve into the archives and use race reports from 2001-2004. A minor bit of tweaking, such as substituting ‘Vettel’ for ‘Schumacher’ and ‘Red Bull’ for ‘Ferrari’, and nobody would notice the difference. Such has been the dominance of the Red Bull cars since Sebastian Vettel took their first win at this very Grand prix two years ago, many feel we are now entering a period of Schuey-esque supremacy. And why not; since Red Bull’s maiden victory in 2009 they’ve won almost half the races since – 17 out of 37. There aren’t many in the F1 fraternity who would bet against an 18th victory this weekend.
However, the chasing packing is getting closer. Much closer. Lewis Hamilton qualified just a tenth slower than Vettel in Sepang having been miles away in Melbourne, while on race pace it appears even the likes of Ferrari and Renault are closing the gap. Yet in sheer qualifying terms, the Red Bull RB7 appears simply untouchable and therefore the only man who can really challenge Vettel on Saturday will be his team mate Mark Webber. Without being to harsh on the Australian, he has clearly underperformed in such a fast car and will need to bounce back immediately. Granted, he has suffered several reliability issues, culminating in that horrific start in Sepang last week, but he needs to get back on terms with his team mate. Webber lost countless points in the early part of the season in 2010, which undoubtedly played a huge part in his championship charge.
The Drag Reduction System proved to be a huge success in Sepang and hopes are understandably high ahead of this weekend’s race. However, the FIA has confirmed drivers will not be allowed to use the Drag Reduction System along the full length of Shanghai’s 1,170km straight during the race. The DRS can be activated along the back straight before turn 14 and this should provide plenty of overtaking as it is the prime passing spot on the circuit. The DRS won’t be allowed, however, if we have a wet race in China and since its introduction on the F1 calendar in 2004 we have had more than our fair share of those.
It seems incredible that Vettel is searching for his fifth consecutive win this weekend. Moreover, had it not been for Fernando Alonso in Singapore and a spectacular engine failure in Korea, he would have won the last eight races. That, in modern day F1, is simply staggering. Theworld champion, who has led 109 of the 114 racing laps this season and taken pole in both Grand Prix so far, topped both practice sessions this morning to lay down a marker to the rest of the field.
Although one should not read too much into the results from free practice, Hamilton was 0.166 seconds behind Vettel's fastest time while Hamilton’s team-mate Jenson Button was 0.247secs off the pace, indicating that Mclaren’s updated car is getting much, much closer to the charging bull. Much will depend on whether the Red Bull team can fix their KERS issues as they will be exposed all too easily between turns 1 and 14. The RB6s locked out the front row of the grid in Shanghai last year yet they were trumped in the wet conditions by Button and Hamilton. Button, the 2009 world champion, has not won since then and he will be keen to end his yearlong victory drought. Ending the Red Bull/Vettel dominance will also be on his, and the rest of the field’s, agenda.
Josh.
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