VitalF1.com’s 2011 Formula 1 Preview

Finally, the long wait is almost over as Formula 1 fans around the world look forward to what is promised to be yet another exhilarating, unpredictable and action-packed season of F1 motorsport action.

Following the success of Vital Football since its launch in October 2005, the established online community website has now added “Vital F1” to its ever-growing network and we cannot wait to get started and provide you will all the news, views and results throughout the 2011 F1 season. As always on Vital, you, our readers can join in and discuss everything related to F1 on our Message Forum where you can find a host of topics to talk about. As well as that, there’ll be live threads to discuss and keep up to date will all 19 races – starting with Australia GP on 27th March 2011.

With the disappointing, but rather inevitable cancellation of the initial opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, we kick off the 2011 campaign in Australia as Red Bull look to continue their dominance following last year’s Constructor’s and Driver Championship wins.

There’ll plenty of questions to ask ourselves ahead of the opening weekend. Can Sebastian Vettel retain his driver’s Championship? Will Red Bull continue to be the leading constructor or can Ferrari and McLaren provide sterner competition? How will Brits Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button’s relationship develop? Will a bigger rivalry grow within the McLaren team?

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, vital to Vettel’s 2010 Championship win, turned down an offer to join Ferrari recently, and that will be a massive boost for the team who are looking to retain both their Driver’s and Manufacturer’s Championships in 2011.

Formula 1 is forever changing year on year, whether it’s the rules and regulations, technology advancements, number of cars, drivers, teams, races – and this year is no different. Kers is back, Pirelli are the new tyre manufacturer plus the introduction of a new movable rear wing – which hopes to make overtaking easier and races far more exciting.

With McLaren and Ferrari likely to chase Red Bull once more at the front, can Mercedes improve their cars following last year’s disappointing return for Michael Schumacher? The 7-times World Champion struggled to match his team-mate – young prospect Nico Rosberg last year and the German will be looking to show the man, 17 years younger, his true quality.

We’ll also be interested to see what happens further down the pack, as last year’s new teams will be looking to show a vast improvement from their rookie season in 2010.

Can the likes of Lotus, Hispania and Virgin score points and we can’t forget Felipe Massi’s return following a horrific accident last year that ended his season prematurely.

We’ll be disappointed with the news that talented German driver Robert Kubica, tipped for a WDC in the near future, will be unavailable to drive for some time after an horrendous crash in a Rally Car. Of course, we wish him the very best of recoveries and hopefully we’ll see him in a Formula 1 car in the not so distant future.

In his unfortunate absence, former BMW driver Nick Heidfeld comes in as his replacement to join his new teammate, Polish Vitaly Petrov.

Williams could achieve one of their most promising seasons in recent years with their new FW33 car boasting a tightly packed rear end that could provide plenty of grip for their drivers – the most experienced man on the 2011 grid – Rubens Barrichello and F1 rookie and reigning GP2 Champion Pastor Maldonado.

Force India also have a new driver – with Scottish rookie Paul di Resta who teams up with existing driver Adrian Sutil.

A third rookie driver to mention is Sergio Perez, who joins Kamui Kobayashi at Sauber. It’ll be interesting to see how these GP2 drivers handle the increased pressure, competition and obvious speed of F1.

Judging from recent seasons, I’m sure they’ll adapt pretty instantly and provide some exciting overtaking moments from now until November.

oro Rosso remained unchanged in the Drivers’ department, with Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari still looking to win a few points here and there to keep them in front of last year’s new teams.

So there you have it plenty to look forward to and get excited about. Who are you routing for to win the Formula 1 2011 Championship?

What are your predictions for the opening Grand Prix in Australia? You can share your thoughts on the VitalF1.com Forum.