Posted on 27th December 2013
As the end of season driver merry go round slowly settles, with riders and horses pairing up nicely, I look forward to the coming season. The talent v money debate amongst F1 fans continues, but 2014 is likely to be an exciting season with all new engines and proposed rule changes, although expect some of those to be scrapped before racing starts.
Testing may throw up some surprises, as several key team personel have also changed, let’s hope for some good racing this season, both fans and drivers deserve it.
Not surprisingly World Champion Sebastian Vettel retains his seat at Red Bull, where he is joined by Ricciardo replacing his fellow Australian Mark Webber who has sadly left F1. Many expect the new boy to present a strong challenge to Sebastian.
Mercedes retain the pairing of Hamilton and Rosberg, who are really closely matched, expect them to continue to entertain in 2014 as Mercedes continue the development of the car and the team, I can’t wait to see what the team and drivers can do.
Most fans, me included expect great things from Ferrari. They have two of the best drivers in F1 in my opinion in former World Champions Alonso and Raikkonen. If Ferrari can field a good car, these two will be great to watch and will certainly be at the front of the field.
One of the drivers who really impressed me in the last few races was Romain Grosjean, who showed how good he really was. The second Lotus seat, most people thought would go to Nico Hulkenberg, but Lotus have confirmed Pastor Maldonado who brings cash to the team, let’s hope he can produce the goods.
It was sad to see McLaren struggling in 2013, but hopefully a good car is in the offing for 2014. Jenson Button stays with the team, and is joined by the Danish driver Kevin Magnussen who impressed the team in the Young Driver Tests, an interesting pairing for this iconic team.
The pairing of Gutierrez and Sutil at Sauber may prove a good one, as both have good potential if the car stacks up, both have shown in the past that they have potential to be in the top half of the field, but the team need consistancy.
Force India have dispensed with Paul Di Resta and signed Nico Hulkenberg, and bring in Sergio Perez from McLaren to a team that struggled at the end of 2013. make no mistake, these are two very capable drivers who could revive the fortunes of the team.
It’s great to see Felipe Massa at Williams and still in Formula One with the young Finn Valtteri Bottas as his team mate. Let’s hope the combination of youth and experience see this great team back up at the front of the grid where they belong.
Toro Rosso have signed the young Russian driver Daniil Kvyatretains who leaps into F1 from GP3 by virtue of some impressive performances, he will partner Jean-Eric Vergne who keeps his seat.
Caterham and Marussia have not finalised their driver line up yet, although Jules Bianchi will remain at Marussia for 2014, watch this space for developments in both teams.
So the line up so far is
RED BULL Renault
Drivers: Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo.
FERRARI
Drivers: Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.
MERCEDES
Drivers: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
LOTUS Renault
Drivers: Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado.
McLAREN Mercedes
Drivers: Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen
SAUBER Ferrari
Drivers: Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez.
FORCE INDIA Mercedes
Drivers: Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.
WILLIAMS Mercedes
Drivers: Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.
TORO ROSSO Renault
Drivers: Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat.
CATERHAM Renault
Drivers: TBC.
MARUSSIA Ferrari
Drivers: Jules Bianchi and TBC.
Confirmed 2014 F1 Calendar
16 March Grand Prix of Australia Albert Park
30 March Grand Prix of Malaysia Sepang
06 April Grand Prix of Bahrain Sakhir
20 April Grand Prix of China Shanghai
11 May Grand Prix of Spain Catalunya
25 May Grand Prix of Monaco Monte Carlo
08 June Grand Prix of Canada Montréal
22 June Grand Prix of Austria Spielberg
06 July Grand Prix of GreatBritain Silverstone
20 July Grand Prix of Germany Hockenheim
27 July Grand Prix of Hungary Budapest
24 Aug Grand Prix of Belgium Spa-Francorchamps
07 Sept Grand Prix of Italy Monza
21 Sept Grand Prix of Singapore Singapore
05 Oct Grand Prix of Japan Suzuka
12 Oct Grand Prix of Russia Sochi
02 Nov Grand Prix of USA Austin
09 Nov Grand Prix of Brazil Interlagos
23 Nov Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi Yas Marina
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