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F1 Season Preview 2012: Can Vettel Take A Third Title?

With the opening of the 2012 Formula One season just days away in Melbourne, Australia, this year’s 25 entrants are looking forward to what will be a year of certain rule changes, one new venue, and a return of a former World Champion to the lineup.

So let’s take a look at the teams that will be contesting this year’s title, starting with the worse team on the grid, Marussia.

The squad, which changed its name from Virgin last year, includes the veteran German driver Timo Glock, who returns for another season, along with rookie Frenchman Charles Pic from the GP2 series. The advantage of this team is that they have former Renault technical advisor Pat Symonds, along with chassis assistance from McLaren. This could do some good, but the fact that this team just passed their crash test shows that they still have a long way to go and it could take a while even before they can pick up some points.

HRT is another team that just passed their crash tests and expects to be at the back of the grid as well. The squad now is fully Spanish funded, with a new factory near Madrid, Spain. The team has Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan back with a lot of money, and includes former McLaren tester Pedro De La Rosa, who brings plenty of experience. Both drivers combine an age of 76 years old, so the team is looking for fast results very quickly. But do not expect too much out of this team either.

Out of all the teams that debuted new a couple of years ago, Caterham (formerly team Lotus) have improved during their teething years in the sport. Finn Heikki Kovalainen returns for another season, but his partner will be Russian Vitaly Petrov, full of cash money, which bumped out veteran Jarno Trulli at the last minute. With the expertise of Mike Gasgoyne in the technical department, this could be the new team that could be one of the newer squads to challenge the midfield.

Last season, Williams had a horrible year. The team lost both Patrick Head and Sam Michael, and although they still have Adam Parr, it could be a hard fight. The loss of Rubens Barrichello does not help any for veterans, but the addition of Renault engines could make things a little better. Pastor Maldonado returns for a second year, but is now joined by Bruno Senna, who drove part time last season at Lotus Renault (now Lotus). This team is under more pressure then any others to perform because of their long history of success. Is this why the team are on the stock market now? Hard to say, but it could tell you something.

Toro Rosso is one of two teams that have fully changed their driver lineup for 2012. The squad was always in the fight last year, but felt that both Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Alguassuari were not capable of succeeding for another year. In their place are Aussie Daniel Riccardo and Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne. Riccardo himself had a taste last season when he began his Grand Prix year at Silverstone last July with HRT. But this season sees him with a better car and this could give him better results. Vergne on the other hand, did very well last winter testing the Red Bull car at Abu Dhabi, setting the best time of the week. So this could be the candidate of rookie of this year, unless the inexperience shows him otherwise.

And then there is Sauber. This team has been here for a long time in the F1 paddock, but yet again, they continue to remain in the midfield. The team keeps Japanese Kamui Kobyaschi and Mexican Sergio Perez for another season, and also remains with plenty of cash supplied by billionaire Carlos Slim. It would be nice to have a driver on the podium one day, but do not keeps your hopes up.

Force India now changes their name to Sahara Force India, and keeps their Mercedes engines and Scottish driver Paul Di Resta, who performed well last season as a rookie. Joining him will be German Nico Hulkenberg, who was the team’s tester last year, who knocks out Adrian Sutil. This team has high hopes for the year and do not be surprised if the squad can achieve good points finishes along with a possibility to get that ultimate podium finish.

After a fight for the most historical name in the sport, Lotus F1 becomes the sole representative of the F1 paddock and it also has two new names to the team: 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen and GP2 champion Romain Grosjean. With a lot of successful history to this team, Raikkonen is the perfect match to get things going again after years away from the sport. The squad has had some tough times over the last two years, but this season could be different, especially after successful tests recently by both drivers. Grosjean especially has the tension to deliver, since it is the second time he has done this since replacing Nelson Piquet Jr. in 2009. But the Frenchman has sponsor ship from Total and encouragement from Team Manager Eric Boullier, both items that are French. So the Gallic influence is not done yet, and if there can be a team to watch unexpectedly, this is the one.

Mercedes two years ago took over the former Brawn Grand Prix team after the huge success of that squad in 2009. But since then, the teams have gone from British ownership to German, and with seven time world champion Michael Schumacher in his last year of his contract, many realize that this has to be the year for him to make his comeback or else he could be at the end of his comeback, which has produced results, but not to those of a former muli-time world champion. Just as much to lose is fellow German Nico Rosberg. Certainly of getting a podium finish, Rosberg has been in the sport for Six seasons, first with Williams and then with Mercedes. But the problem is not in the drivers, but the car. The team had a short wheelbase to combine with their adjustments to the blown diffusers which did not produce results. With the diffusers now gone, the team could have a better chance to move up and challenge the top three.

This brings us to Ferrari, who just could not put things together last season. With a new design for 2012, this will be the team’s best chance to regain that lost momentum that they had recently abandoned. But the car so far has had difficulties and President Luca Montemozolo is getting inpatient and heads could fly if things are not up to par.Felipe Massa is one of these victims. Ever since the Brazilian was hit on the head by a large car spring in Hungary three seasons ago, he has not been the same and needs results fast, for he has not renewed a contract. As for Fernando Alonso, the two time world champion knows he has a future with the team and is one of the best drivers around. But he needs a car that can be good enough to deliver the goods and if there are any problems, time can be lost, and this is what Ferrari does not need.

If anyone can challenge the top team, it is McLaren, who gave everyone the idea that they are not likely to fall away for a title challenge, especially after both drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton ran away with three wins each. While Button finished second in the championship last year, Hamilton struggled with personal issues and bad luck. But this is another season, and with those situations behind him Hamilton should improve and with the challenge against his teammate, both he and Button should give the team plenty of chances ahead for not only a constructor’s championship bid, but for a drivers title as well.

This comes to the top team, Red Bull. Over the last two seasons, Sebastian Vettel has been the dominate force in the formula one calendar. Along with teammate Mark Webber, and the guidance of designer Adrian Newey and Renault engines, the team has been unstoppable. But can Vettel take a third title? Webber is certainly coming to the end of his career and knows that a challenge is almost impossible unless Vettel starts having problems. The RB8 was rolled out last week and had problems since the blown diffuser is now banned, which was such a huge advantage for the team last season. Now the challenge is for them to turn this problem around, and still remain the top contender.

For this season, 20 races are on the calendar, including a United States Grand Prix for the first time since 2007. The venue will be a new track south of Austin, Texas, that is still under construction and expects to be finished in summer. New rules will besides limiting blown diffusers, will include cars that can unlap themselves during a safety car period, a restriction to tire use, a maximum race time to only four hours and a certain nose height for all cars ought to make this season very interesting.

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