Formula One last time

F1 2018: Catch it while you can...

It’s set to be a thrilling season for Formula One fans.

Both Britain’s Lewis Hamilton and Germany’s Sebastian Vettel have now achieved four world titles each, with Hamilton equalling his arch-rival’s tally last year. Who was battling it out for that title last time? Yup – those two. It wasn’t always the most gentlemanly of battles either, with Seb famously banging wheels with Lewis after he believed the Brit had brake-tested him.

So far, so tremendously entertaining. True, Vettel’s team, Ferrari, along with their driver himself, lost the plot somewhat when it really counted. Happily, it looks like we may be on for another ding-dong (and potentially bodywork-bashing) re-match.

The cars look a little different this year too. Imagine someone sticking the bit that goes on top of your foot from a flip-flop onto the cockpit of the cars, and you’ve pretty much got the ‘halo’. This controversial new safety feature should help protect drivers from injuries caused by flying debris, cars going over the top of each other and loose wheels. But it isn’t pretty.

Liberty Media, F1’s new owners who took over management of the sport last year, will doubtlessly be continuing their efforts to make the sport more of a ‘show’. To be fair, they’ve made a pretty good go of it so far – expect new innovations and features.

Apart from Ferrari, and Hamilton’s team, Mercedes, expect Red Bull to be somewhere nearby, and likely to grab the occasional win when the other two have a poor weekend. McLaren, the once-great team, have spent the last few seasons either at the back or on the back of a breakdown truck, thanks to a hopeless Honda partnership that backfired, rather than going with a bang. If they can nail reliability issues, their new Renault deal might see them return to somewhere near the front.

If McLaren are in the midfield, they are likely to find it rather crowded. Force India remain strong, and the American Haas team looked promising in winter testing. The works Renault team may be in there too, and Williams as well. Even Toro Rosso seem to be coping admirably with the unloved Honda engine. Its likely Sauber will still be the backmarkers, even with support from Alfa Romeo.

Whilst Hamilton and Vettel will be the main attraction, their team-mates, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen, may pull of the odd surprise, as will Red Bull’s boys, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.

Sadly, unless you happen to have forked out for Sky’s coverage, the terrestrial TV package, from Channel 4, will once again feature only half the races live, with the others as highlights packages. Come 2019, even that will be something to remember wistfully, as Sky will have all the coverage.

Supposedly, highlights of each race will be available, but as yet there’s no announcement of how us mere mortals are supposed to get to see it. 2018 may be a vintage year for F1. Enjoy every last drop, because soon it will be gone for good.

This post first appeared as the lead piece in my column/page in The Mail and the News & Star, on the 23rd of March 2018. It was re-titled as "The flip flop of Formula 1", and featured a couple of pictures from down under, which was nicely topical.

I've watched formula one for over 30 years, and have seen TV coverage go from random highlights packages, through ITV with adverts, the expansive BBC live coverage, and the more recent 50/50 highlights vs live. Channel 4 in the UK do a great job with this limited package, but after this season...? Well, no-one currently seems to be telling the country's fans that. Which is pretty disgraceful.

(CD A-Z: Still suspended. All the CD's are boxed up ready for a house move.)