F1 2014: Nearly here

We've now had the first three tests and the first Grand Prix of the season will be starting in 5 days time. It's time to look at the prospective teams and drivers.

Red Bull
The Red Bull team have had a traumatic pre-season. The car looks great, but is very tightly packaged, as you'd imagine from Adrian Newey. The Renault engine has been very problematic. Initially unreliable, they had hardware and software issues. They fixed some of the hardware issues but the software still had bugs.

Even when the engine was more reliable, the tight packaging of the car led to fires and frequent stops on track. The first test was a disaster, the second and third showed brief spells of the old Red Bull but were more often punctuated by stops and red flags. It really was and is a crisis. Most people have written them off, I think the first few races will be difficult but they will probably turn it around mid season - but by that time I think it will be too late to fight for this year's championships.

I expect that Sebastian Vettel will be more troubled than usual regarding the reliability but will have the measure of Daniel Ricciardo. This season we will really see what the current champion is made of.

Mercedes
The new Mercedes is looking very good. The engine looks like the best of the three, and has shown reliability and speed. There have been a few issues for the team, but it looks like the problems occurred when they were really pushing the car. The Red Bull never really got that close. Both drivers managed to do several race distances and had good pace.

I think the most fascinating aspect to this season will be who comes out on top between Hamilton and Rosberg. Last year was close, and I think this year will be closer. I think Lewis will be the fastest over the year, but with Rosberg grabbing quite a few victories and pushing Hamilton hard. It will be difficult for the team to manage. I expect Mercedes and Hamilton to be champion by the end of the year, if not Hamilton then Rosberg.

Ferrari
I think the Ferrari looks ugly this year with its really squashed nose. The car has been very reliable in testing, and has shown reasonable pace, but it looks less drivable than the Merc and there are serious rumours that there are problems with fuel usage which could see the cars drop down the order.

It will be fascinating to see whether Alonso or Raikkonen comes out on top. I believe that Alonso will be more consistent and may win a few of the races, but will become annoyed by another year not being able to realistically fight for the championship.

Lotus
The Lotus is intriguing with the double tusk nose. Another Renault runner, it has had a difficult pre-season, missing the first test and sitting out lots of time with issues in the second and third tests. We don't really know the pace and I'm not sure we will until the season has set in a little.

It's Grosjean versus Maldonaldo at Lotus and I know which one my money will be on. Grosjean showed speed at the end of last year and Maldonaldo is too inconsistent. Whether either will get a chance to shine this year will be difficult to say.

McLaren
The McLaren is looking better than last year, although the front of it makes it look like someone who's taken a lot of cocaine! Running the reliable Mercedes engine helps, and they looked good in the first and second tests, but seemed to not move forward as much as the other teams by the third test. So it may get them podiums but maybe no wins.

The team has a new fast rookie in Kevin Magnussen and he was looking very confident and fast. I believe we may be about to witness a re-run of the 2007 Alonso/Hamilton scenario where the rookie is shown to be faster than the experienced World Champion. Although given Button's laid back attitude I don't think there will be the same fireworks. Which one comes out on top is difficult to say!

Force India
Another Mercedes runner which looked good in testing, albeit not as quick as the Mercedes and Williams, this should be a good year for the team. Nico Hulkenburg is back and I think the combination should be great with some giant killing performances. I expect Nico and Sergio Perez to be fighting with the Ferraris throughout the year. I expect Hulkenburg to have the measure of Perez.

Sauber
The Sauber was very twitchy in testing but proved to be reliable with the Ferrari engine. It did the largest amount of laps in one day, but went off on several occasions, due to the poor fly by brakes. I think they will struggle to show the same pace as late last year. I also think the driver line up is weak. Sutil should come out on top but it could be either.

Toro Rosso
The Toro Rosso seems to have chosen the wrong time to go from a Ferrari engine to Renault, and have said they are one month behind schedule. The car has been only slightly more reliable than the senior team's due to the greater cooling. It's another ugly car due to the sex toy like front nose.

I'm not sure whether we can see who will do better between Daniel Kvyat and Jean-Eric Verne, though this must be JEV's last year at a guess.

Williams
The Williams is looking fantastic, which I think is marvellous. Last year was dire by their standards, but this year they are fast and very reliable. In fact, they may just have an edge on the Mercedes which should be interesting fro Felipe Massa and Valteri Bottas. I really hope that they do have a good car, I would like to see the team battling at the front on a regular basis.

I expect it to be quite close between Massa and Bottas and am not sure which will come out the winner. I also hope the new surroundings give Massa a renewed vigour which he lost playing second fiddle to Alonso at Ferrari.

Marussia
The Marussia had a slow start to testing, turning up for the last day of the first test but have shown some reliability and with some consistency may be able to snatch their first points of the year. The car looks tidy and so I'm hopeing for some good things.

Caterham
The Caterham has to have some marks for the ugliest nose in F1. With their Renault engine I expect them fall behind Marussia, although they appear to have provided more cooling than the other Renault racers.

The returning Kobayashi is good value, but whether he can show any of the battling overtaking that he's known for will be another matter. I don't know enough of Marcus Ericsson to be able to say.


It should be a fascinating year, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Squiffy.