So, here we are again, 3 hours to go before the start of the 2010 world championship, in the pits, the drivers are nervous. Will everything go according to the well thought out plans? has Chandhok managed to located the Sakhir A-Z in time? and most importantly, the ferarri engineers, want to know why they've brough Kimi's ice-cream fridge with them this year..
The stage is set, for sure, as all eyes slowly turn to the grid, the talking, the analysis, the bluffing, will all soon be over.
Around the world, fans have picked out their favourite drivers, and argue fiercely amongst themselves, over who is better, who will dominate, and who will fall by the wayside. All of them hoping, that their chosen driver performs well, and their 'nemesis' eats gravel at turn 3.
So much is up in the air at this time, who has done their homework this winter, and will come flying off the grid, certainly not mclaren, who, despite being nowhere near the disaster of last year, don't have the raw pace, could this be a case where they should have listened to the old saying 'keep it simple, stupid'?
The return of the silver arrows, a lean mean fighting machine, reuniting the tactical genius of ross brawn, with the ruthless efficiency of schumacher, while still blowing the cobwebs out, he remains, a force to be reckoned with.
My predictions:
Redbull or Ferarri will likely win this race, with mercedes putting in a brave third, and mclaren dragging their heels in fourth, the mclaren just seems to be getting too complex, and they should take it back a few steps and stop with all the 'gadgets'. I expect force india to make a reasonable showing, probably finishing in the higher order of the second pack, probably alongside williams, that said, if ole barry gets a good start, he could cause an upset at the top, and I suspect that he has a few grudges to settle.
As to my previous comment about the new section..
Mark Webber: "Nothing but tight corners, Accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake ..."
The defence.. Hermann Tilke (Track designer): "This loop has been around for years. It was designed for long distance races to accommodate more cars"
