Guest Blog From Daniel Daykin

Why 2011 has been a great season of F1

By Daniel Daykin www.formulaonetalk.blogspot.com @daykind19

Many F1 fans have disliked this season. They have said that both championship’s are over with still 8 races to go, and that Vettel’s domination has made the season boring. Chances are, both championships are over and done with, so that means it’s been a dreadful season, right? No, this season has been the best ever in terms of on the track. 

(c) Octane Photographic

Last year was a hard act to follow, with Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber all still in the championship hunt with two races left. But in my opinion, this season has surpassed last year. Not for the championship, because I can’t see anything beating 2010 for that, but for the quality, drama and excitement of the racing. Here’s why.

This season has seen three big rule changes. The re-introduction of KERS, the new DRS and of course Pirelli tyres. All three of these have had a hand in making this season great. Australia wasn't a classic opening, but we saw some great battles including Jenson Button vs Felipe Massa, with Button unable to pass the slower Ferrari despite having KERS and DRS at his disposal. There were great drives from Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, as well as a strong recovery drive from Fernando Alonso. Paul Di Resta scored points on his debut, but the real star performances came from Vitaly Petrov and Sergio Perez. Petrov's awesome drive to take his first ever podium, while Perez went for an audacious one-stop strategy, paying dividends as he finished seventh, unfortunately though the young Mexican was disqualified after technical inadequacies on his Sauber car. So while it wasn't a thriller, it was a good start to the season. Surprisingly, Malaysia was a better race. McLaren's strategy to beat Vettel was ruined by a brilliant start from Renault's Nick Heidfeld, while it was interesting to see if the Pirellis were going to perform any different to Australia. Paul Di Resta made it into the points again, while Michael Schumacher had to deal with Hamilton and Buemi at the same time. Also, the opening laps were incredible, with drama and excitement. Another great race, just a shame that Alonso and Hamilton were needlessly penalised after contact.

China was a classic. A simply superb race, and in my opinion, it has been the best race of the season. Mark Webber made a bad call in qualifying, starting in 18th after a wrong tyre choice, while Vettel took pole again. However, it was the McLaren's who got away well, and they demoted Vettel to 3rd  by Turn 1, while Webber actually lost places and was P20 by the end of the first lap. By lap 5 though, he had made up a few and was seventeenth. Then on lap 9 though, Sauber's Sergio Perez made mincemeat of Webber, further ridiculing Red Bull's decision to start on hard tyres. Then there was drama as Button came in for his stop and stopped in the Red Bull box! Vettel had to wait for the McLaren driver to move until he could stop, and the German got into the lead. Then after a superb stop from Mercedes, Nico Rosberg took the lead. Then there was an enthralling 8-lap battle between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher, while a clever strategy from Red Bull got Vettel comfortably into the lead. Mark Webber was having a quiet race but was in 7th by Lap 35. Then on 36, a wonderful overtake from Hamilton on his team mate gave him second place. All of a sudden, Hamilton found huge pace, and with five laps to go, performed a beautiful move on Vettel for the lead. Then with three laps left, a brilliant move from Webber on Rosberg put him into fourth, before a move on the last lap on Button gives him a podium. A quite phenomenal race at a track that is quite unpopular. For me, this year's race surely certified why China should be on the calendar.

Unfortunately, Turkey didn't match that. The DRS didn't work very well at Turkey because it made the passes easy. However, it was still a good race, with Webber and Alonso's battle for second proving exciting, the Red Bull man making the race a 1-2 for the champions. Then it was Spain, a track notorious for boring races, but this season we had a much better one. Webber was on pole, Vettel defeated in quali for the first time in 2011, but the start was the big talking point. One of the best starts in F1 for a long time, as Fernando Alonso wowed his home fans by going from 4th into the lead after cleverly using all his KERS boost at the start. However, after better strategy decisions, he eventually finished fifth, Vettel winning the race with the McLaren drivers finishing on the podium after great races. So again, strategy was playing a part and making the races more exciting. Strategy was the key to Sebastian Vettel's win at Spain, and it was to be in the next race at Monaco.

Starting from pole, Vettel knew he had a good chance of victory. He led from Button and Alonso for the first part of the race, but after dreadful stops by red Bull on both drivers, Button took full advantage and had the lead. Red Bull had also put the wrong tyres on Vettel's car. However, an audacious idea from vettel would end up winning him the race. "Let's do a one stop" was the message that transformed the race. While Hamilton was constantly hitting people, it was all about Vettel, Button and Alonso fighting it out at the front. It was edge of your seat stuff, and with seven laps to go, Vettel's tyres were just about dead. But then disaster for Alonso and Button, as Vitaly Petrov had a good chance of victory. He led from Button and Alonso for the first part of the race, but after dreadful stops by red Bull on both drivers, Button took full advantage and had the lead. Red Bull had also put the wrong tyres on Vettel's car. However, an audacious idea from vettel would end up winning him the race. "Let's do a one stop" was the message that transformed the race. While Hamilton was constantly hitting people, it was all about Vettel, Button and Alonso fighting it out at the front. It was edge of your seat stuff, and with seven laps to go, Vettel's tyres were just about dead. But then disaster for Alonso and Button, as Vitaly Petrov crashed, causing a red flag. During the delay, Vettel was allowed to change his tyres, and f1 fans were cross that an unpredictable last seven laps were taken away. Another great race done, next was Montreal.

Personally, I don't think this race was quite as good as it was claimed. But don't get me wrong, it was brilliant. Horrendous rain meant safety car start, and after five laps we were underway. Vettel held the lead from Alonso and Massa, while Hamilton spun Webber round, leaving the Aussie at the back of the field. Seven laps in, Hamilton saw an opportunity as his team mate ran slightly wide into Turn 1, and Hamilton had a look. Edging nearer to the wall, there was contact, and Hamilton was out of the race after hitting the wall. Not long afterwards, the red flag was brought out. After a delay of over two hours, the race finally resumed. Button was on a charge but touched Alonso, and the Spaniard became the second of JB's casualties. An incredible drive ensued from Button, and with a few laps to go he was in 4th. The real star of the show though was Michael Schumacher, who was doing brilliantly in 2nd. The old reinmeister proving his talent once more in the Mercedes. This is where the race lost it's 10/10 rating for me, as Webber and Button cruised past poor Schumacher using DRS, which was a joke in this race. However, the last lap was easily the most excitement F1 has produced. There was less than a second between Button and Vettel, so JB was in the DRS zone. However, it wasn't necessary, as Vettel made a schoolboy error, putting two wheels on the damp grass at Turn 6, and half spinning, allowing Button through to win. One of the most memorable Grand Prix events ever, that's for sure.

As expected, Valencia was a bore, but it was an improvement on last year. Then came Silverstone, and another exceptional race, this time a beautiful drive from Fernando Alonso earning him the top step of the podium. Once again, tyres and strategy were key, as the track was literally half wet half dry. Alonso managed the situation brilliantly to take his first win of 2011 in an enthralling race. On the last lap, Vettel and Webber battled for 2nd before Webber was ordered not to attack. Also, Hamilton and Massa finished almost level on the last lap, battling for fourth. Next was Germany, and that also lived up to Silverstone's thriller. A brilliant three way battle between Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber was certainly the highlight, but clearly Vettel was not happy with his car. A spin costing him 7 seconds and off the podium for the first time this season was not the plan. Even so, he finished 4th in another thriller. Hungary followed suit, with Button reigning victorious this time. The opening laps have to be the highlight of that race, watching both Mercedes cars fly away into 4th and 5th as well as Vettel cracking under Hamilton's pressure on Lap 5 made it a very enjoyable race.

So, in short, this season should have been dreadful, but in fact, it’s been awesome.