Amazing the difference a team can make to perceptions. On march 1st Mercedes announced in a shock press conference that they would retire from F1 immediately, dismayed by perceptions of fuel saving and the inextistant noise from the engines. In case you missed that press conference, this is what happened since:
The Mercedes engines were clearly dominant in power, but a superior chassis produced by Red Bull as usual and Alonso's magic hands made up for that and somehow allowed us to enjoy battle after battle in which cars with radically different behaviour got to dice for each win, with 6 race winners so far, 4 of them for the first time.
These are some highlights of the 2014 season so far:
Australia
The season opener produced an unexpected dose of glory, a big controversy and then another dose of glory. Local hero Ricciardo produced an error free performance from pole to keep at bay the Mercedes engined cars and claim victory on local soil in its first race for Red Bull. The local crowd went crazy beyond measure before the bomb exploded: he would be stripped of his maiden victory after irregularities in its fuel flow sensor. The circus had to leave Australian soil protected by the army, but this meant that the victory went to rookie Magnussen in his first appearance with McLaren and in the sport, improving on Hamilton's debut race. McLaren, with a 1-2, appeared poised for a dominant season with permission of Red Bull.
Bahrain
After a familiar dominant victory by Vettel in Malaysia, Bahrain left us with yet another new race winner, this time Perez claiming also Force India's maiden win with two white, green and orange cars in the podium. After uncountable leaders during the race, a late safety car bunched the field and gave us the closest and most open battle for victory in recent memory with up to 8 cars shooting for the win. Ricciardo came close to legally claiming his first victory after charging from 5th to 2nd in the last 10 laps, but arrived too late at Perez's tail.
Spain
A dominant 1-2 by Red Bull finally gave Ricciardo the maiden victory he deserved and us our 5th race winner in 5 races so far. With Red Bull appearing somewhat superior, it is Alonso who leads the championship, with the Mercedes engined trio giving away too many points to keep up.
Canada
Ricciardo lapped the field up to 3rd position in Monaco while Marussia and Caterham got their first points. In Canada he got his third consecutive win in best Vettel style. A late tire thriller saw Massa chasing the leading trio and Perez hanging on to his lead and his fading tires. He lost his lead with 5 laps to go and everything in a last lap collision with Massa. After his initial disqualification and DNF, Ricciardo went 2-2-1-1-1 to claim the lead in the championship while Mercedes' engine advantage seemed not so dominant after all.
Austria to Germany
In Austria Williams finally capitalized on its perceived pace with a 1-2 in qualifying and in the race, delivering Bottas' maiden win. In Britain Bottas went from 12th on Saturday to victory. While in Germany he won from pole after a dominat Williams 1-2 in qualifying making him a surprise firm favorite for the title.
Who will prevail, the motor prowess and ridiculous straight line speed of the Williams, or the superior aero of the Red Bull? And will it really be their youngsters carrying the weight? Vettel is ready to pound. Will Alonso finally capitalize on always being there while the rest come and go? And will Hulkenberg break his duck or will he forever be remember as the very fast driver who coulda-shoulda-woulda have won a grand prix?. We can look forward to an exciting and open second half of the season.
This is points standing after Hockenheim:
D. Ricciardo 149
F. Alonso 144
V. Bottas 136
S. Vettel 118
N. Hulkenberg 105
J. Button 86
K. Magnussen 64
S. Pérez 58
F. Massa 48
K. Raikkonen 40
R. Grosjean 20
D. Kvyat 18
J. Vergne 13
J. Bianchi 6
M. Ericsson 2
P. Maldonado 2
A. Sutil 1
E. Gutiérrez 0
M. Chilton 0
K. Kobayashi 0
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