Racing Eagles

F1 Power Rankings (June 1st, 2009)

The Champ in waiting.

1: Brawn GP (1): It's over.

Yes, I know there about a dozen races left, but the constructors championship is over. Brawn has just absolutely blitzed the field this year. The Brawn is good on the streets and it's good on the track. It's good on the fast sweepers and it's fast in the hairpins. It's bullet proof and gentle on the rubber. It's has a stable chassis and great aerodynamics. At this rate, it will join the elite class of the F2002 & 2004, Lotus 79, Mercedes-Benz W196, McLaren MP 4/4, and Williams' FW14 and Fw18 as one of the dominate F1 cars.

In addition to the car, the team has been absolutely dynamite this year. Their race strategy and work in the pits have been second to none. Jenson and Rubens have both been on fire so far this year.

Jenson is in a strange and wonderful place right now. I was looking for an equivalent driver from the past that matched what is going on with him this year. One comes to mind: Mika Häkkinen in 1998. Both drivers had some podiums and one win to their name before they started dominating. Both were drivers of talented drivers stuck in purgatory until the regulations changed which suited both their teams and respective driving style. Both won a slew of races in dominating fashion on the way to a world championship (pending of course for Jenson.) Actually, you could extend it further to say that the way McLaren nailed the regulations and dominated races in 1998 is similar to what Brawn is doing this year.

F1 Power Rankings (April 20th, 2009)

The Contenders

1: Brawn GP (1): It wasn't their weekend as Red Bull was clearly the best team on the track in Shanghai. I still think however they are still the class of the field. Actually, Red Bull winning really does shows how amazing that Brawn car is. Even in the pouring rain (which lessens the effectiveness of any diffuser) the car was only slightly less pacey than the Red Bull. That Brawn chassis must be pretty dang good. However, as we saw this weekend, its' not the Brawns' diffuser, but it is how good it is on the tires wear, how robust it is, how stable it is. True, they were slower than Red Bull this weekend but this is only one race.

I get the feeling once we get to Bahrain, we might see them on top once again.

2: Red Bull (3): Everyone will talk about the race from Vettel... deserving so. However, Mr. Mark Webber deserves a lot of love for his performance this weekend. Vettel might been able to cruise up front for a lot of the race, but Webber did the grunt work of fighting off Button and the rest of the field throughout the race. This is just the latest example of the new, feistier Webber this year. For example in Sepang, he fought Hamilton and Alonso tooth and nail throughout the race. This race, he fought off the Brawns. All in all, great stuff to watch. I know Vettel is now getting all the credit but Mark is also doing something great this year. The podium finish in Shanghai was well deserved.

The Contenders

1: Brawn GP (1): It wasn't their weekend as Red Bull was clearly the best team on the track in Shanghai. I still think however they are still the class of the field. Actually, Red Bull winning really does shows how amazing that Brawn car is. Even in the pouring rain (which lessens the effectiveness of any diffuser) the car was only slightly less pacey than the Red Bull. That Brawn chassis must be pretty dang good. However, as we saw this weekend, its' not the Brawns' diffuser, but it is how good it is on the tires wear, how robust it is, how stable it is. True, they were slower than Red Bull this weekend but this is only one race.

I get the feeling once we get to Bahrain, we might see them on top once again.

2: Red Bull (3): Everyone will talk about the race from Vettel... deserving so. However, Mr. Mark Webber deserves a lot of love for his performance this weekend. Vettel might been able to cruise up front for a lot of the race, but Webber did the grunt work of fighting off Button and the rest of the field throughout the race. This is just the latest example of the new, feistier Webber this year. For example in Sepang, he fought Hamilton and Alonso tooth and nail throughout the race. This race, he fought off the Brawns. All in all, great stuff to watch. I know Vettel is now getting all the credit but Mark is also doing something great this year. The podium finish in Shanghai was well deserved.

F1 Power Rankings (April 7th, 2009)

A shorten F1 power poll for a shorten F1 race.

The Contenders

1: Brawn GP (1): Even with the rain coming and the race being stopped, I think Button would of won a race of full distance with those two amazing laps he put in during the first pit cycle.

Even though they won the race today, there are several chinks that can be seen in the Brawn armor. I think the rest of the field isn’t that far behind the Brawn as we first thought. Also, Rubens has me a bit concerned with some of his comments and body language after the race. With all that said, they have to be the clear favorite going into China in a fortnight.

2: Toyota (2): What a qualifying session by Trulli and what a race by Glock. The team made the right call at the right time for Glock and it really came up trumps. I really starting to think that Glock is this year’ Kubica where he will finally start putting it all together, win a race, and might be a outside contender for the drivers’ championship. The guy is just looking better on the track. To this, Trulli must feel a little desa vue as another young teammate looks posed to overtake him like what happen with Button and Alonso.

The first F1 Power Rankings for 2009. (March 30th, 2009)

 

Last year, I did a weekly round up of where I think the teams are in relations to each other. These were put on the website, f1-pitlane. I will continue this in the 2009 season. I will also be cross posting this on this blog here. So enjoy!

(Note: The numbers in parenthesis are the final rankings from the last Power Ranking of 2008.)

The Irresistible Force...

1: Brawn GP (NA): A dream weekend for the team. Just everyone (including me) jumped on the bandwagon for good reason; it is just an awesome story that will be retold for years to come... we'll... except at the board rooms at a certain Japanese car company.

Yet if you look behind the headlines, it all comes down the Ross Brawn and his staff designing one hell of a race car. It is by far the most stable car of the field and teamed up with that Mercedes engine, is one potent racing package. The only thing that really bothered this weekend was Richard Branson. I personally found the way he was trying to hone in on the team achievement a little bit tacky. Then again, both F1 and Branson don't do subtle.

All in all, a wonderful weekend. Seeing the strength of the Brawn, Button, Barrichello connection; I think it will be the first of many. The only thing I am wondering is if they have the talent and resources to keep the developing the car throughout the season.

On the heels...

2: Toyota (3): Forget all the stupid and deserved penalties for a second, that Toyota is a really strong car. The fact that BOTH of their drivers started in the pit lane and BOTH cars got into the points (before the rather harsh penalty) was an amazing thing. Both Glock and Trulli drove the wheels off that car.