The penultimate moment of the 2009 Formula One season is upon us with the Spanish Grand Prix. This is the race when teams introduce their big changes after the diffuser debate was decided in favor of allowing the double diffuser. All indications are Ferrari and McLaren have made no jump forward.
Juan Pablo Montoya has always been highly thought of as a driver, but has nearly always been a disappointment. That being said, he did say one accurate thing following his move to NASCAR from Formula. He noted that NASCAR was different because you had the ability to improve an uncompetitive car to the point where you could race for wins and be competitive in NASCAR. A bad car, in his view, was a bad car for the season in F1. He was definitely on point.
The 2009 season finds us with the two best teams caught with their pants around their ankles. The McLaren and Ferrari cars are slow. McLaren appears to be a bit faster than the Italians, but neither car has any realistic hope of finishing on the podium. The teams are solid and have good drivers, but the end of the 2009 season is nigh and they are kidding themselves if they think it is anything other than a fact.
The first race of the European season is upon us with the Spanish Grand Prix. The teams have moved forward with major changes in an attempt to catch the front runners. The effect? Ferrari and McLaren have spent the first two practices driving in the double digit positions – 11 through 20th. While they could certainly be sandbagging, the facial expressions and comments from the drivers indicate it is going to be another long weekend for the teams.
The question now is what should occur? Should the teams continue to develop the cars for 2009 in an attempt to be competitive? The answer is found in the comments of Montoya. The cars are dogs now and they will be dogs in another 10 races. Any advances made by Ferrari and McLaren will just be matched by Brawn GP, Red Bull, Toyota and so on. The lack of in season testing further nails down the fate of McLaren and Ferrari.
The 2009 season boils down to a Red Bull versus Brawn GP championship. Oh, joy. Unless it rains at every race, Brawn GP are your constructor’s champions and Jenson Button is World Champion. After three seasons of exciting racing, this is where the changes of the FIA have left us. The season is decided after only five races.
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