Formula 1: Robert Kubica and BMW Sauber show they can take on the big guns

We have seen three very different races and three different victors so far. With a three-week gap before the European season kicks off, it’s time to see who’s hot and who’s not.


Despite a truly disastrous opening race in Melbourne, Ferrari have been the form team so far this year despite lying second in the constructors' championship (down only to Felipe Massa’s silly error in Malaysia where second place was surely safe). Clearly the fastest, and crucially – as seen most recently in Bahrain – the least punishing on tyres in the most crushing of conditions, the F2008 is a triumph of aerodynamic stability (which the McLaren has yet to show) and sheer pace (something BMW Sauber cannot quite replicate just yet).

The drivers, too, Melbourne dramatics aside, have displayed the kind of attitude and commitment that wins titles. Kimi Raikkonen, of course, has shown the greater composure and skill. In Bahrain, his experience and maturity enabled him to settle for eight points and he remains the more fancied to triumph over his Brazilian team mate. But, thankfully, Massa proved the alarmingly keen doubters wrong with a commanding display in the desert, despite the psychological barrier of failing to clinch pole – something which could have affected him after two races in which he was seen by many to have taken a step back to his wild Sauber days.

McLaren remain the closest team to the Italians, but some worrying cracks are undoubtedly forming. The MP4-23 is at times the fastest package on the grid and will remain a contender for the title all season, but a few tenths have been lost to Ferrari over the winter. The bigger worry for the Woking squad is the car's lack of traction and grip – significantly highlighted in Bahrain and especially Malaysia.

The team’s darling and unofficial No.1 driver Lewis Hamilton is evidently enjoying his second Formula 1 season much less. The ’debut season rookie’ label is off now and replaced with expectation; it hasn’t helped either that Finnish team mate Heikki Kovalainen, as expected by some, has comprehensively beaten Hamilton for pace and self-control. It is, of course, no crisis for Hamilton, not yet.

By far the next best team, BMW Sauber are currently leading the constructors' championship and have been the revelation of 2008. Any gremlins that existed over winter testing have been shaken off and the squad – given the dramatic swings in momentum between the top two teams race by race – can expect regular podium finishes and a fair few more pole positions throughout the season.

In Robert Kubica, the team had their historic first pole sitter in Bahrain. The Polish driver has been correctly labelled the brightest young thing in the sport. His raw pace is now being met with a greater composure and a maturity that defies his 23 years. Teammate Nick Heidfeld has to be feeling a tad anxious, despite a solid second place amidst the carnage Down Under. He, too, is being slightly overshadowed by his less prolific teammate.

The midfield battle has been an incomprehensible mess of race-to-race form that has seen most teams capture the limelight on at least one occasion. Of them, Williams have enjoyed the most success with 10 points after three races. Nico Rosberg’s fine drive to a maiden podium in Melbourne was a stark contrast to a disappointing 14th place in Malaysia, where the team were nowhere after suffering McLaren-style with a lack of aerodynamic structure.

In Bahrain he could only muster an indifferent eighth after failing to conquer his main race rival Jarno Trulli in an improved yet still hardly revolutionary TF-108. Toyota themselves, in the hands of Trulli, look to be back to their regular points finishes, which is fine for a small independent team, not the Japanese giants. Toyota can at least be happy that perhaps for the first time, they have two drivers who with their combined pace, experience and proven title-winning mentality are actually worthy of a place in F1.

They will improve with every race.

Along with the unfancied Toyota, Honda have surprised everybody with their pace and reliability – especially in qualifying where the team have been in or around the top 10; a vast development on the rank 2007 car. Ross Brawn has made the difference much quicker than expected and I fancy the team – with the calibre of its fast and evergreen driver pairing – to grab a healthy points haul by the season’s end.

The midfield teams who have faltered are obviously Renault and Red Bull. The former world champions have not improved at all on their 2007 back-step. Fernando Alonso, like Giancarlo Fisichella and Kovalainen before him, is doing the best he can with the car, and even that is rewarding him with nothing more than a draining battle that ends with little or no points. Red Bull, who do not possess the pedigree of Renault, have fewer reasons to despair, but the team can once again boast an Adrian Newey-designed car – something that should have pulled in more than four points after three races.

A special mention for David Coulthard, who is sadly beginning to show signs of fatigue and a real lack of concentration and probably commitment. Two wasteful collisions and an uninspiring ninth place are hardly commendable for a man of such experience.

Lastly, of the three teams with the least promise on paper it has been Force India who have delighted the most. In the veteran Fisichella’s hands (a man who for no straightforward reason has always excelled in lesser cars), the team are achieving race pace equal to Toyota and have enjoyed the biggest leap in form since last year.

The former Spyker squad, like Torro Rosso, are still using a revised 2007 entry, but the Red-Bull sister team, with their superior resources and more stable foundations are scoring the points. The two ‘Sebs’ are a delightful mix of exciting pace and feel, and proven title-winning composure. They have made the rather faceless Torro Rosso squad a joy to behold.

Super Aguri, who did so well to even make it to the grid, are in dire need of some resources and funds. The team have so far resembled the Minardi outfit in their final years – verging on embarrassment.
Can the Sauber team challenge the Ferrari and McLaren big guns in F1? Tell us what you think, either by commenting below or writing your own Sportingo article.

source: sportingo