Fernando Alonso may never win another world title
Any hopes Alonso had of stepping into a winning car at McLaren-Honda this year have been dashed after two deeply disappointing testing sessions in Jerez and Barcelona, which ended with him crashing on the final day. Formula One drivers, in general, seem to reach their peak between the ages of 29 to 33. In general, I’m saying, so don’t remind me about Juan Manuel Fangio, Giuseppe Farina and Jack Brabham, who all won the world title when they were over 40, though not in the modern era. And don’t tell me about Sebastian Vettel, who was a champion at 23 and looked a duffer at Red Bull last year, when he was 27. Alonso will be 34 in July and time is running out. His best chance could be a move to Mercedes, if Lewis Hamilton ends up at Ferrari. Meanwhile, McLaren-Honda are unlikely to be competitive until later in the year.
Ferrari will be better this time round
Don’t believe those times we have seen from Ferrari, because we’re not sure they’re “real”. We just don’t know what specs the teams are using at this stage. Things look a lot rosier than in 2014, when they failed to win a race, and when Ferrari-powered Sauber did not pick up a point. The times in Barcelona were not as eye-catching as those in Jerez earlier in the month but the mood in the camp is very positive. The British designer James Allison has his fingerprints all over the new car and the power unit appears better too. The team were silly to target two race wins in 2015 – they shouldn’t have mentioned any specific number of victories but they do look stronger, which is good news for everyone in F1.
Mercedes will still dominate
In Barcelona Mercedes looked like Hercules travelling incognito, a shy giant reluctant to flex his muscles. They went to Barcelona with one driver ill and the other injured but still looked quietly formidable. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg wore slow rubber in Barcelona but they were still fast, and when Hamilton put in a race simulation he was 0.8sec quicker than Red Bull. Red Bull and Ferrari should be stronger this year but Mercedes have improved too.
Lotus could be a surprise
Their move to a Mercedes power unit has improved their chances of impressing in 2015. OK, so their drivers were using rubber that looked softer than a duck down pillow, and some of their runs looked shorter than a sprint from Usain Bolt. So there were a few glory runs but Lotus look and sound a better organised unit. The Mercedes engine will give them a reliability that was elusive last year.
Max Verstappen can drive
There was a lot of head shaking when it emerged Max Verstappen, only 17, would be driving for Toro Rosso this season but he really looked the part in Barcelona. OK, these cars are a doddle to drive, especially when you think back to the brutes that had to be manhandled around the track a few years ago, but this is a driver who could be a champion once he lands a better drive.
