Preview: Knocking on the door of the big four

Drivers who will be pushing the big four

Mar.9 (Daniel Chalmers) Both Williams and Renault have Formula 1 world champion pedigree. For Renault triumphs are the thing of the recent past, Williams have to delve back a little longer while Toro Ross… well really they are still pretty much Minardi with bulls clothing.

These three teams have podium aspirations and will be there to pick up the pieces when the big four scrap it out and perhaps even steal the show on occasions. Daniel Chalmers rates the drivers who will be knocking on the door of the big four teams.

Toro Rosso – Sebastien Buemi

Sebastien Buemi

Overall Sebastien Buemi had a very solid debut season last year. He scored points in his first race, and was fighting with Mclarens and Ferraris in the wet in China a few weeks later. His pace was strong enough to send Sebastien Bourdais out of F1. It will be very interesting to see what he can do with what looks like a competitive Toro Rosso this season.

Buemi has to set his eyes on trying to nick Mark Webber’s Red Bull in 2011. If can regularly score points in 2010 then he has an outside chance of being able to achieve that.

It’s important he beats his younger team mate this year. Whichever one of those two comes out on top is likely to have the better chance of their F1 career progressing further.

Verdict: Expect another decent season from the young Swiss in his second season.
Driver Rating: 6/10

Toro Rosso – Jaime Alguersuari

Jaime Alguersuari

The young Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari was thrown right into the deep end in the middle of last season. He went into Hungarian GP practise with no experience of driving a F1 car. Despite this he still did a solid job, and became competitive in the last two or three races of the year. This year he goes into the season with a full winter of preparation, so he should be able to improve even more and become a good grand prix driver.

Many have noticed that his driving style is very smooth and calculated just like Jenson Button’s. That style will definitely suit the re-fuelling ban and could be to his advantage in races.

This could enable him to punch above his weight in 2010.

Verdict: Could surprise in his first full campaign
Driver rating: 5/10

Force India – Adrian Sutil

Adrian Sutil

Adrian Sutil’s F1 career has been full of ups and downs. It’s obvious that he does possess a high level of talent though. His drives at Monaco in 2008, China 2009 (before the crash) and at Monza shows how he is capable of moments of brilliance that only the top drivers can match.

On the other hand Sutil gets himself involved in far too many incidents, and can be completely anonymous during some race weekends, such as Spa last year where his team mate Giancarlo Fisichella was able to finish 2^nd.

In 2010 Sutil is going to have a very quick Force India. Therefore he has to make sure that he is consistent and show that he can be on the pace in every race, not just the odd one or two. If he can show his moments of brilliance every weekend then his F1 career could take off.

However another season with more of the same and his F1 career will fade away. It’s now or never for Sutil.

Verdict: 2010 is likely to be Sutil’s make or break season
Driver Rating: 6.5/10

Force India – Vitantonio Liuzzi

Vitantonio Liuzzi

Tonio Liuzzi showed great promise in Formula 3000 and has been constantly tipped for superstardom ever since he dominated the series in 2004. So far it has never really materialised. His seat share with Christian Klien at Red Bull in 2005 yielded only four race starts. At Toro Rosso it became obvious that the relationship between the management and the drivers was poor, affecting on track performance.

When he replaced Fisichella at Force India at Monza he surprised people with his pace. Despite having never driven a 2009 spec formula 1 car he immediately qualified 7^th. So clearly the ability is there.

Now he has a full season ahead of him in a competitive Force India. This season will prove once and for all whether there was any truth in those original claims.

This could be his last chance to succeed in F1. If he flatters to deceive again then it could be game over.

Verdict: Liuzzi has to make the most of his second chance. He won’t get another one.
Driver Rating: 5.5/10

AT&T Williams – Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello

The evergreen veteran Rubens Barrichello is now driving for his fifth team, and will pass the 300 race mark this year which is an absolutely astonishing feat. He might be 37 now but mentally and physically he seems much younger, and his passion for the sport shows no signs of fading away.

Last season he showed that when given the car he still has the ability to win races. On the other hand Williams must make sure that Barrichello is happy with the brakes (an area he is very sensitive to) in order to extract the most out of him.

Needless to say his sheer amount of experience will be invaluable to the team, and also to his young team mate Nico Hulkenberg. Intriguingly Barrichello made his F1 debut the last time that there was no-refuelling in F1 so has some useful experience to look back on there.

Rubens should get some strong results in 2010, maybe even sneak in a race victory but you wonder if he will look back on 2009 with regret. It was his best chance to win the world championship.

Verdict: Expect Rubens to cause a few upsets, but he will have Hulkenberg hot on his heels.
Driver Rating: 8/10

AT&T Williams – Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg

They refer to him as the next big thing, affectionately known as “The Hulk”, Nico Hulkenberg who could make a huge impression on F1 this season. Just like Lewis Hamilton he has had a glittering career whilst rising up the ladder. He’s been a champion in Formula BMW, F3 Euro series, A1 GP with Team Germany. Like Hamilton he went into GP2 and sealed the title in his first season.

During winter testing he has looked very impressive. Looking at his long runs his times have been extremely consistent, which is a rare thing to see from a rookie driver straight out of the box. His quickest time he set in Barcelona was right up there with the big boys.

The German rookie could be F1’s best new driver since Hamilton came onto the scene in 2007. He probably won’t have the car to deliver Hamilton-esque results but he could still make equally as good an impression, if he can get that Williams onto the podium a few times.

No doubt that if he does achieve that, then the “next Schumacher” cries won’t be far away.

Verdict: Will be one of the big stories of 2010
Driver Rating: 7.5/10

Renault – Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica

Poland’s Robert Kubica may have had a bad car last year, but he still produced some moments of magic, such as his brilliant second place in Brazil.

Robert is a pure no nonsense racing driver. He isn’t interested in politics or the added perks of being a F1 driver. He just wants to get on with the job and win the world championship.

He is very consistent and reliable hardly ever making an error. It’s these two traits that put him in the hunt for the 2008 title despite not having as quick a car as the Mclaren or Ferrari that season.

If you give him a sniff of a good result then he will go and grab it. He is the perfect driver for Renault in 2010 as he will lead them, and push them hard to return them to the glory days of the Alonso era.

Verdict: He isn’t in a car that will win him the championship, but expect a few spectacular highlights from him.
Driver Rating: 9/10

Renault – Vitaly Petrov

Vitaly Petrov

The general consensus is that Russia’s first F1 driver Vitaly Petrov has only got the F1 seat because he has brought a huge sum of money to the team.

That’s a little bit harsh. In GP2 this year he was only beaten by the very highly-rated rated Hulkenberg, so there is no reason why he shouldn’t be given an opportunity.

However he will have a tough task ahead of him. His main problem is that the established teams are only separated by a second. Therefore if he is a few tenths off the pace in qualifying he will end up starting a long way down the grid, and struggling as a result.

Qualifying will be by far his biggest hurdle. If he can overcome that he has a chance of impressing.

His other problem will be the calibre of his team mate. If Petrov doesn’t get up to speed quickly we could see a huge gulf between the pair, and that will be very detrimental to Petrov’s career.

Verdict: May end up getting completely overshadowed by fellow rookie Hulkenberg, and team mate Kubica.
Driver Rating: 5/10 Print This Article