It’s not really any surprise that environmental concerns have made motorsport a bit lackluster, and Formula One hasn’t escaped the criticism. There are few big crashes, it’s a fairly reasonable assumption that whoever starts on the front row will finish on the podium, and passes are harder to come by than college towns without at least one Starbucks. The 2017 season was a vast improvement considering Mercedes at least had some competition. On top of that, the cars looked drastically better, were faster (hence the plethora of new lap records), and were a bit more unforgiving when drivers pushed a bit too hard.
Combining excitement at 220 mph with environmental-friendliness has not been an easy task, and it seems almost impossible to get the best of both worlds, but we certainly can try. The 2018 season has some pretty major changes to look forward to, both from a regulatory and competitive standpoint. Below are 5 things we are hoping will make the 2018 Formula One season more exciting.
5) Maybe Mclaren Won’t Suck
Mclaren is not doubt and iconic team. Legendary drivers such as James Hunt, Ayrton Senna, and current world champion Lewis Hamilton, have arisen from the Woking-based racing team. To say that they’ve fallen from grace in recent years is an understatement. Their 3-year fling with Honda power units has come to an end in 2018, replacing the underpowered and unreliable engines for Renault units. New power units are a great thing, but we won’t be seeing Mclaren winning the championship anytime soon. The best we can hope for is that Mclaren won’t be struggling just to finish in the points.
4) Brand New Rubber to Burn
This season, Pirelli will be required to supply two new tire compounds, one on each end of the spectrum. New tire compounds means differing levels of tire wear and grip, paving the way for new strategies. The new tires include a “hypersoft” and “superhard” tire. Tire availability for each race will also change, with non-sequential tire offerings now legal. This means weather will be much more of a concern. For example, if three softer-compound tires are offered for a race but the weather changes in favor of rain, teams may be forced to use intermediates rather than a harder tire. This will make tire wear vary more depending on conditions. There are also other strategy implications that will come as a result of different tire compounds.
3) Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails
The 2018 grid will feature a slew of new drivers:
- Reigning Formula 2 world champion, Charles Leclerc
- Torro Rosso’s two rookies, Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley
- The reason Robert Kubica won’t be on the grid, Sergey Sirotkin
New drivers means new underdogs to root for. Remember the sensation that Max Verstappen created when he became the youngest race winner in Formula One, there are now more youngsters to root for. On a rather unrelated note, remember Daniil “The Torpedo” Kvyat? He’s now a Ferrari development driver.
2) Major Aesthetic Changes
One of the more controversial announcements of last year was the implementation of the Halo, a carbon fiber ring around the driver’s head intended to prevent fatal head injuries. After the death of Jules Bianchi, the safety of open-wheel open-cockpit racing cars was called into question. The Halo is not intended to keep debris from hitting the driver, such as Felipe Massa’s skull-shattering encounter with a coil spring. Instead, it is meant to prevent drivers from being truck in the head by other cars or impacting their head during a roll.
1) A Possible Three-Way Title Fight
The 2017 season saw F1 heavyweight Mercedes begin the year with a hefty points deficit to Ferrari, but a series of disastrous races for Ferrari ultimately gave the constructors’ championship to Mercedes and the world championship to Lewis Hamilton. Drastic changes to aero regulations (no “shark fins”, no T-wings), tire regulations, and team dynamics could lead to another title fight between the two giants. However, Mercedes and Ferrari aren’t the only ones within a shot of the championship. Red Bull was plagued with reliability issues, but when everything went right, they put on some spectacular performances. If they can work out their reliability issues for this upcoming season, they could give both heavyweights a run for their money.
