Can the prancing horse chase down the silver arrows?
By Daniel Surey
The green lights go out this weekend for the 22 drivers and 11 teams currently preparing for the first race of the new Formula 1 season in Melbourne.
Ferrari ended pre-season testing in Barcelona on top of the time sheets but the first indication of whether or not they’re capable of matching the German team in true race conditions will come this weekend.
If they are, it’s great news for the neutrals. With the exception of a couple of races, the past two seasons have been dominated by the silver arrows of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Assuming that the prancing horse has closed the gap, and what we’ve seen so far suggests they have, we could see four drivers competing for the championship. If Kimi Raikkonen manages to get his act together alongside Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari, the 2007 world champion might just be able to make a decent stab at reclaiming his crown.
It’s a big if though. To have any say in where the 2016 title ends up, Raikkonen will have to improve hugely on his dismal performances of the past few seasons.
Lewis Hamilton remains the man to beat but he’ll have to be wary of a rejuvenated Nico Rosberg. The German won the final three races of last season but the Briton will be eager to secure his legendary status in the sport with a fourth world championship. No British driver has done it before and it’s a feat achieved by only four other drivers in the history of the sport – one of them is Sebastian Vettel.
