Only 15 starters in Melbourne. Another yawn-fest from the dominant Mercedes team. Unhappy Red Bull and engine-supplier Renault want to reassess their participation in F1. This could be Sepang’s last F1 race.
The headlines that emanated after the opening F1 race in Melbourne weren’t exactly glowing. You can’t fault neutral observers either for harbouring the impression that Formula 1 is in a mini turmoil. As my transport – a red Renault Clio RS200 – made swift progress to Sepang on race day, some questions needed answers.
Will Renault buy Toro Rosso? What will happen to Red Bull?
Following a dismal showing at Melbourne, the spat between the Red Bull team and engine-supplier Renault Sport F1 went public. A Friday pre-race press conference involving team principals raised further questions, but at least the exchanges were cordial.
Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost revealed that he’d welcome manufacturer ownership of his team, while Christian Horner talked up the success Red Bull have had with Renault power, with four championships on the trot from 2010 to 2013, and to focus on improving the cars in the races ahead.
For the record, Renault spokespersons wouldn’t confirm rumours of any move to acquire Toro Rosso, though Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul was brutally honest about his under-performing engines when the questions was posed to him.
He conceded that Renault was behind in development at Melbourne, but through “working day and night without sleep”, they have made a step up particularly in the calibration of the very complex hybrid engines which in turn improved the drivability of all the Renault-powered cars at Sepang.
Fourth, fifth and sixth on the starting grid was testament, though the Renault powered cars eventually only managed seventh to tenth places, at least all four cars were in the points and finished a punishing race with no reliability issues attributed to the engines.
Is Formula 1 in turmoil?
Caterham is history, and while the Marussia team did start and completed the race at Sepang, cost is once again casting a dark shadow over the paddock, with Red Bull boss Christian Horner even suggesting a ban of wind tunnels.
It is however looking quite rosy in terms drivers’ talent and potential, none more so with the Red Bull-backed teams, and in particular, the youthful Toro Rosso line up of 20-year old Carlos Sainz Jr. with 17-year old Max Verstappen, the youngest ever F1 driver in history, and after his excellent seventh place finish at Sepang, the youngest ever F1 points scorer.
It’s not an overstatement to say this Dutch teenager looks set to eclipse the achievements of his dad, Jos, an ex-Formula 1 racer who counted Michael Schumacher as a team mate during the days of Benetton in the 90s.
With a name so closely associated with the folklore of rally racing, you’d wonder why Carlos Sainz Jr isn’t dicing with the likes of Sebastien Ogier and Jani-Matti Latvala in WRC. Running into his illustrious father (two-time world rally champion and Dakar winner) El Matador himself at the team’s hospitality home helped clear the air. Sainz Sr explained that Jr started with go-karts at five and went on to get his single-seater license at 15, whereas in rallying, you need to turn 18 first. Formula 1’s gain, WRC’s lost.
It’s uncanny how composed and controlled both these young Toro Rosso drivers where in what was only their second race, they certainly showed the likes of “Crashdo” Maldonado and Perez (who both have Mercedes engines powering their rides) how to race competitively yet bring home much needed points for the team, the youthful duo even finishing in front of the more fancied Red Bull sister team. Remember, you read about these future F1 stars here at Countersteer!
Sepang beyond 2015?
Doubts whether Sepang will host F1 after 2015 were put to bed when a post race announcement confirmed that Malaysia will continue to be the hottest F1 race in the calendar till 2018. For the record, the ambient temperature during the race was hovering at 40-degree Celsius, with track temperature at 60! The key question then is whether we can do a better job promoting it in the next three years. That’s a hot potato right there!
Snapshots from Sepang F1 2015
(All images by Countersteer)