By the time the first European race comes around there is normally a performance pattern being established and this year is no exception.
The Brawn steamroller continues with four wins from five races. However, Red Bull are showing they have the energy to keep biting at Brawn’s heels and keep them honest, and it is a really refreshing sight to not see the rostrum or indeed every interview overpowered by red- or grey-clothed drivers. It is also great to see drivers and teams that are enjoying what is happening and actually talking to, as opposed to talking at, the people interviewing them. Perhaps Ferrari, McLaren and BMW are not enjoying it as much as some others.
I think we were all expecting that by this point in the championship we would see the big teams get their oil tankers pointed in the right direction and overpower the relative minnows that have dominated the championship to date, but either their developments are not bringing the returns they were expecting or, as is the case with Ferrari, they keep shooting themselves in the foot. It is actually unbelievable that Ferrari can keep doing this - their car is not that far away but as a team, race after race, they look like a bunch of keystone cops and I don’t think it will be long before there will be more heads on the chopping block down in Maranello.
Coming up with or developing a package that is competitive is not all about downforce at any cost; it is really about the characteristics of that downforce. You need a car that has good rear-end stability under braking, and when steering lock is applied the downforce moves forward gradually to counteract any under-steer. When the steering lock is reduced the downforce moves rearward to help with traction and, if you get this correct, then the car will give confidence to the driver and allow him to push to the limit. If the car doesn’t do this then the driver will stay away from the limit or end up in the gravel trap.
With no mid-season testing allowed the teams have got to do their dirty washing in full public view and nearly all of them brought developments of some sort or another to Barcelona. Some of them worked and some of them did not. McLaren’s and Toyota’s multi-million pound simulation tools showed an improved performance from their components, but on the circuit these developments were actually slower, and they were taken off and in relative terms put in the nearest skip.
If you have an aerodynamic stability problem then this is what needs to be fixed - don’t just throw parts at it. If this is done then the driver will feel that him and the car are working in harmony. The drivers and teams will spend a lot of time scratching their heads over this and, believe me, over the last few months last year’s main championship contenders have been doing a lot of that.