The former world champions rule again

Fernando Alonso and Ferrari reign supreme in China.

Round four of the F1 2013 season will be held today in Bahrain, the last of the ‘away’ races before the F1 circus returns to Europe.

Last season, the initial races were all won by different drivers. This year, with the massive change in regulations, and with the teams adamant on consolidating what they had achieved last year, three different drivers, namely Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, won the first three races, all former F1 world champions.

But is it down to the driving abilities of these world champions or to having a good race car? Or is it a combination of both? Out of the three GPs, Shanghai was the only event where dominance prevailed, with a super-aggressive Alonso and a very competitive Ferrari earning their first F1 win for 2013, and the first since the team’s last win in Germany on July 22, 2012.

Tyres and strategy also seem to be a dominant factor of the race. Pirelli are offering the spectacle on track with different team strategies; however the Italian tyre manufacturers are claiming that the minimal amount of laps attained by the teams is related to the adaptation of the F1 cars to the tyre compound and not the tyre degradation from Pirelli. However, F1 cars are meant to be raced with anger and it was strange to hear Jenson Button asking his team: “Do I race?”.

Brazilian Felipe Massa had a much improved drive in Australia.

Volumes have been written about Vettel’s disobedience towards his team’s orders, although I think it is still early in the season to see whether this would have any bearing on the championship.

Red Bull Mark Webber’s has been unlucky so far, running dry during his qualifying run yesterday week and having a rear wheel coming loose. Raikkonen seems to be enjoying it even more. His stint at WRC seems to have reinvigorated the Ice Man.

Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move away from McLaren is now making sense, having attained two podium finishes for the Silver Arrow, even though the Malaysian lower spot on the podium was a giveaway from his team mate, or should I say, team instructions.

Definitely the Mercedes outfit is looking more competitive with an innovative suspension system having the front and the rear moving in synchronisation according to the front and rear lateral movement of the car.

The current F1 season has at least five teams all in for the title. Sauber have been disappointing with just one solid driver in Nico Hulkenberg. Sharing more disappointment are the Williams team, which seem to have been relegated to the lower back of the grid, where Frenchman Jules Bianchi in the Marussia seems to be getting the best out of the rear group, constantly outpacing in both qualifying and race pace his team mate and both drivers of the Caterham team.

The Frenchman, who forms part of the young drivers Ferrari academy and who is managed by Nicholas Todt, seems to be paving his way to replace Felipe Massa in 2014, as is the case of Daniel Riccardo in the Toro Rosso, the Australian with a great smile and great talent replacing fellow Australia Mark Webber who, it has been rumoured, is signing up with Porsche.