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Trackside - Murray Walker on F1 2007
09 March 2007 With four British racers in the running, top drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen switching teams, and Michael Schumacher retiring, it promises to be the most unpredictable season in years. Read our comprehensive preview featuring the EXCLUSIVE insights of former F1 commentator Murray Walker – and tell us who you think will win. The Teams F1 legend Murray Walker gave us his thoughts on the 2007 teams: “Ferrari have lost Michael Schumacher plus race technician Ross Brawn and engine guru Paolo Martinelli. How is Raikkonen going to go? He’s a very different character to Schumacher and I think Ferrari are going to suffer because of it. “Renault have lost arguably the best driver at the moment – Fernando Alonso. I don’t think Giancarlo Fisichella is up to it and everyone says Heikki Kovalainen is the second coming but he hasn’t even driven in a Formula 1 race yet. “McLaren look very strong indeed with Alonso and Hamilton who’s going to be a superstar – no doubt about that. “Honda have got two damn good drivers in Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. But the car hasn’t been good enough in testing. “BMW should be right up there, which they weren’t quite in their first year. “Williams have got it in them to recover but it all comes down to budget. How can an independent team do as well as a major manufacturer like BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Honda, when they haven’t got a fraction of their financial and other resources? It’s going to be extremely tough for them. “I’m not really expecting anything from Toyota. They haven’t done anything yet and, if they were going to, they would have done it by now. “Toro Rosso and Red Bull ought to do a lot better with a decent car designed by former McLaren man Adrian Newey. “Spyker will go better but they’re not going to be winning any races. “If the Super Aguri is, as alleged, a Honda with a different paint job, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Anthony Davidson doing very well, indeed in the points. I’m expecting him to blow his team mate Takuma Sato away.”
Britain has its biggest F1 driver line-up for seven years. Experienced campaigners David Coulthard and Jenson Button are joined by rookie Lewis Hamilton and Anthony Davidson. Hamilton stormed the GP2 championship – the feeder series to F1 - last year. He won it first time out with some dominant performances and amazing overtaking. He faces a near-vertical learning curve at McLaren alongside champion Fernando Alonso. But the Hertfordshire racer – F1’s first black driver – has been very quick in testing and has a cool head. Anthony Davidson has made a couple of F1 starts and finally gets his first full season this year. But the popular driver (also from Hertfordshire) will struggle to impress in the back-of-the-grid Super Aguri team. Button heads into another season at Honda with the car neither looking quick nor reliable enough. The team are already planning a big upgrade for the second round and will need rapid development to repeat last year’s win. Coulthard remains with Red Bull and has a major threat in rapid new team mate Mark Webber. But both face an even greater challenge from their car, which has proved troublesome and un-competitive in testing.
Although Michael Schumacher won’t be racing for Ferrari, he is still working with the team, and they are at the peak of their form. Brazilian Felipe Massa has been fastest in testing but it’s hard to believe that mega-quick new team mate Kimi Raikkonen won’t have the upper hand when the serious business starts. Reigning double champion Alonso has taken on the challenge of getting British team McLaren back to the top – they didn’t win a single race last season. If McLaren give him a competitive car we could see another thrilling battle Raikkonen. Alonso leaves current constructors’ champions Renault in a poor state. The car has lagged behind the leaders in testing and number one driver Giancarlo Fisichella was far slower than Alonso for much of the two years they were together. It leaves the Oxfordshire-based team placing a lot of faith in new Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen. The Calendar 18th March, Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, Mebourne Your Predictions Who do you think will be champion this year? Can Fernando Alonso make it three in a row? Has Jenson Button got any more wins in him? Can Lewis Hamilton score his first win? The best F1 pass – as voted by you It's official - Nigel Mansell's kamimaze pass around the outside of Gerhard Berger in the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix is the best ever. Over 38% of you voted for it over the past four weeks. Check the video above to see the pass on last time. Trackside video – A flying start The F1 season started with a bang in Melbourne five years ago. Check out this onboard footage from Ralf Schumacher’s car as he hits the back of Rubens Barrichello’s Ferrari and takes off, triggering a crash that wiped out half the field. External links Buy tickets for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Auto Trader links Auto Talk - Murray Walker |
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