F1 2012: A season of diverse possibilities
After eleven fabulous races in the ongoing F1 season, the drivers standing and the constructors championship is hardly one that a seasoned bookie would willingly want to bet on. While the previous season was a one-sided affair, this one has been a ferocious battle and continues to be an open-ended field.
After eleven fabulous races in the ongoing F1 season, the drivers standing and the constructors championship is hardly one that a seasoned bookie would willingly want to bet on. While the previous season was a one-sided affair, this one has been a ferocious battle and continues to be an open-ended field.
While the top five of Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen continue to have a chance of toppling one another, most others in the list that make up the top-10 have also had a taste of the podium.
What is a great boon for the sport, as has been seen so far this season is the opening up of the field. It is no longer a battle between two Red Bull drivers. It is not about Red Bull and McLaren. It is not about Ferrari being the only war-horse fighting to come out on top. Teams like Lotus and Sauber have also managed to thunder away on some of the tracks. While Lotus has banked on the combined strength of Kimi Raikkonen (116) and Romain Grosjean (76) to rake in 192 points, just three ahead of Ferrari, Sauber has 80 points and have assumed a threatening stance. Add Williams to the mix with their 53 and it makes for a riveting contest at hand. While these teams, perhaps barring Lotus, do not really have realistic chances of bringing the Bull and the Laren, it continues to be a good sign of great things to come.
Another team which has done reasonably well so far in the season is Sahra Force India. Yes, Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenburg have together driven to 46 points in the season. Their confidence and will to collect points in each race though continues to appease their fans.
Next stop: Belgium! And as the racers enter the 12th contest of the season after a break of over a month, the filed-of-play on the leaderboards can only widen further.