F1: A Beginners Guide - The Top Teams and Drivers - Page 4

Drivers - Jenson Button (England, 1 Wins) and Rubens Barrichello (Brazil, 9 Wins)

Prediction - The Honda team has been struggling for pace in Winter testing. It seems that the team is struggling to get the aero balance of the car and tyres right. The team has been getting better towards the end of the testing season - times have not quite reached the levels of the other top teams yet. Jenson Button has rid himself of the worry that he would not win a race, and towards the end of last season looked more at ease with himself and his driving. Rubens Barrichello has proven himself as a winner in the past, he struggled to acclimatise to the Honda last year, but with a year of driving behind him, could be back on form this year. The team should be in the podium places more often this year as long as the package is reliable.

Panasonic Toyota Racing - The Toyota team is the most recent team to set up "fresh" in F1 (they did not buy a current F1 team, instead they paid the 40 million dollar joining fee). They were created in 1999 and started racing in 2001. The team has been heavily criticized for not performing in the five years they have been competing, this is mainly due to the fact that they are rumored to have the largest budget of any team on the grid and as yet have not won a race. Team Panasonic Toyota have competed in 87 races and had two pole positions, a handful of podium finishes and one fastest lap. The team set up shop in the factory that the championship winning World Rally team used prior in Cologne Germany. Toyota has a proven record in motorsport winning everything they have competed in besides F1.

Drivers - Ralph Schumacher (Germany, 6 Wins) and Jarno Trulli (Italy, 1 Wins)

Prediction - It's considered by most, that 2007 is a make or break year for the Toyota factory team. The company is now supplying its engine to another top team in Williams, and if the factory team cannot outperform or at least equal the 'sister' cars throughout the year then Toyota may well withdraw funding for its own F1 team, and perhaps increase its support of Williams. That said, the team did show glimmers of performance in 2005 and 2006. Ralph Schumacher has underperformed since joining the team, and he commands one of the highest wages on the grid. Unfortunately for Schumacher, his contract expires at the end of 2007 and must show that he can perform on a par with his great brother (Michael). Jarno Trulli is something of a Jekyl and Hyde. He can be blisteringly quick in qualifying making the car look amazing, then struggling to maintain pace during the race. He must try to bring his Saturday pace into the race on Sunday. If he can manage, Trulli would be a strong candidate for wins. The car has been plagued by small technical issues during Winter testing, but looked solid when it did run correctly. I personally hope the team get it together this season. Long term F1 watchers will know that corporate teams never do well in the sport. Toyota could be the company to change that view, if they do then they could dominate the sport.

Article Author: Ashleigh Charlesworth

Ashleigh currently writes for Naked Cleaner and F1 Blog. His interest lie in Technology (of all forms) and engineering. Day to day he does network security for living (yes I AM that nerdy).

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