Credit - Ferrari media

As quickly as a new Formula 1 season seems to come, it is not long until drivers, teams and fans alike start to think about the coming season ahead. Take the 2011 season for example; Sebastian Vettel, driving for Red Bull Racing, won his second Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix – a full four races before the season was to come to an end. Yet well before the Formula 1 circus rolled into Japan, it was becoming clearer and obvious who were going to take the Championships that year, and competitor teams quickly forgot about the year in which they were competing and shifted focus to the season ahead.

Jump to 2012, almost a year after the events above, and the Formula 1 scene is somewhat different. Seven races remain on the Formula 1 2012 Calendar, and the title fight for both the World Drivers’ Championship and the World Constructors’ Championship is still anybody’s to fight for. Going into the Singapore Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso leads the Driver’s Championship by an impressive 37 points, with Lewis Hamilton in second and a surprising, but not unexpected, Kimi Räikkönen in third. With Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Jenson Button all with 100 points or more, and a maximum 175 points still available to win, it can be argued that it is still very much anyone’s Championship.

It is also key to point out that of the six named drivers fighting for this years’ Championship, five of them already have at least one Formula 1 World Driver’s Championship to their name. Sebastian Vettel is the reigning World Champion and is a double champion with back to back titles. Fernando Alonso is also a double World Champion, whilst Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Kimi Räikkönen all have one Championship each. Mark Webber is the only exception, having come close on several occasions, but having not yet made it.

The result of such a tightly fought Championship in 2012 has meant a change in tactics for Formula 1 teams, a change that I believe is for the better. It’s better for the teams, it’s better for the drivers, it’s better for the sport, and it’s better for the fans.

At this stage last year, many teams started to give up on the season and looked to the year ahead. Ferrari attempted to challenge for just over half the season before publically announcing that they would be focusing all team efforts on next years (2012) car. This trend followed suit throughout the paddock as teams feared they could not compete in 2011, so why bother even trying. Even the ‘back-bencher’ teams such as Caterham F1 choose to move their attention to the development of next season’s car. McLaren were the exception, pushing their drivers and cars as far as possible in order to secure second in the World Constructors’ Championship.

2012 to-date has offered a somewhat more exciting and unexpected season, where one driver is not cleanly running away with the title. Yes, Fernando Alonso is a full race wins’ points ahead, but he can be caught. A serious of unfortunate mistakes would be all it takes for one of the five drivers behind to overtake him in the standings. And because of this reason, and even though only seven races remain on the 2012 Formula 1 calendar, this year’s season is far from over.

The unique position in which the teams find themselves in means they cannot simply turn off for the year and focus on next season’s car. Of course, there will always be a team of engineers, aerodynamics and so forth back at the factory gathering important data for the season ahead, but currently, the main focus of each and every team remains firmly on the races ahead – it would be a mistake to set attention anywhere else because to do so, would mean failing to achieve the best result possible in 2012.

Each and every team and driver on the grid currently has something to fight for. At the front of the grid, the usual suspects are battling it out – Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, and Lotus are all fighting not just for the World Constructors’ Championship, but also for one of their drivers to be crowned World Drivers’ Champion 2012.

In the middle of the field, each team wants to be closer to the front runners – the higher you are in the Championship, the more money you win at the end of the season, and the more respect gained as contending Formula 1 team. And more money means more development for the season ahead. Williams F1, Sahara Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso all want to place as high as possible, and so far this season the fight in the mid-field has been as exciting, if not more exciting, than the fights for position going on at the front of the grid.

Even at the back of the grid there is a passion to do better. The ‘newcomer’ teams of Caterham, Marussia and HRT all want to be better than each other. The higher position achieved at the back, means the closer you are to competing in the mid-field and ultimately establishing yourself as a serious contender in Formula 1 for the years ahead.

And so, with everything still to play for in 2012 and a maximum 175 points still to be won in the Drivers’ Championship and a maximum 301 points available to the constructors, it will be a few races yet before we hear teams start to take their attention away from what is left of the season.

A Fine Year for ‘Silly Season’

With little talk of teams shifting their focus to next year’s development, the door has been left wide-open for the ‘silly season’ to continue – aptly named due to the sometimes far-fetched rumours that start to spread during the five week summer break as people struggle for factual Formula 1 news.

Over the five week summer break, the ‘usual’ rumours started to spread. I use the word ‘usual’ as after a few years of following Formula 1, one starts to appreciate the ‘generic’ content of rumours that soon emerge. Generic rumours were focused somewhat this year around Felipe Massa.

A driver who has been struggling most of this season to not only compete with teammate Fernando Alonso, but to compete at all, the rumour mill fired up soon into the season – when would he be fired? Where would he go? Who would replace him? Social Media outlets, news publications and fan forums and blogs were rife with stories of it being ‘only a matter of time’ until he was replaced, and of course, everyone had a different driver in mind as to who would replace Massa. Naturally, over half way through the season now, nothing happened, and Felipe Massa continues to hold his seat at Ferrari and will do so until the 2012 season is complete. The talk however, still continues.

Becoming apparent that for now, the Felipe Massa story was a lost cause, the rumour started to slow – until the biggest rumour of the season hit the press.

On September 5^th, just days after Jenson Button’s win for McLaren at Spa, Eddie Jordan, BBC F1 pundit, released a radical article stating that he believed it was simply a “matter of time” until it was announced that Lewis Hamilton would be driving for Mercedes AMG F1 in 2013. Stating his various reasoning’s behind his story, it was soon to become the rumour that would top Formula 1 rumours for quite some time. Lewis Hamilton, who has only driven with McLaren since starting his Formula 1 career in 2007, has always shown what is regarded as a firm allegiance with the McLaren team – some argue he is one of the most ‘loyal’ drivers to their team in the paddock. Fans were, to say the least, surprised at the story; some hated him for even thinking about moving, some were devastated he would leave McLaren, and some refused to believe it. On the other side, some fans were pleased to hear he’d be moving on, and would be more than happy to associate their favourite driver with a brand such as Mercedes AMG.

When it comes to Mercedes AMG fans, the general consensus was that fans were saddened at the fact that seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher would be replaced by Hamilton, thus confirming his second retirement from the sport.

However, it is key to remember that just one person started this rumour. Eddie Jordan had his reasons to push the story, and in past situations his stories have proved to be correct as time goes on. But as things currently stand, this story is but a rumour; a rumour which currently has the substance of only one individual, and nothing more. McLaren were quick to deny the story, saying Lewis Hamilton’s Management team (XIX Entertainment) have denied the truth of the story. Mercedes AMG F1 refused to comment, stating they do not comment on “speculation”. And then at Monza, McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh told the press that they (McLaren and Hamilton) were still working on negotiating a contract for the coming season.

Since then, talk of Sergio Perez replacing Hamilton at McLaren has emerged, yet still no official word of where Lewis Hamilton will driver in 2013. As so, the story simply proves to show how powerful the ‘silly season’ can really be. Even as I write this article, there is a new rumour circulating that Heikki Kovalainen is in talk with Ferrari to replace Felipe Massa in 2013 – and thus, the rumour mill has come in full swing back to where it all started; at the beginning of the year, with Felipe Massa at the centre.

In my opinion, there is too much of an exciting Formula 1 season left in 2012 for us all to be worrying about what’s to come in 2013. Rumours are rumours, and only that. Yes, keep them in the back of your mind, but also take them with a pinch of salt, and remember – it’s called the Silly Season for a reason.

There’s plenty left to fight for in 2012, and I think we’re about to see one of the most exciting, spectacular, unpredictable fights for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships that we’ve seen in Formula 1 for a long time. All eyes on the seven races ahead.

Contact Details:

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©Jordan A. Irvine - 2012