Now the way I see testing if that teams are trying different strategies and set-ups that could lead to suiting there drivers. This includes not driving at 100%, which could test fuel consumption or tyre wear. I don't see what the big hype is about to be honest. The only thing we can compare is the speed of the cars from last year. Not all teams are going flat out yet, as it is just testing, so comparing the teams lap times at this stage seems a bit pointless to me. We should really wait until the final ever test for 2011, or the later stages of FP1 in Bahrain. On another note, I think this year we can expect a lot more, or less with the midfield teams. We all know that Mercedes and Renault have greatly improved their cars, and happy with the results, but we don't know whether it'll be enough to win races next year and challenge the front runners for the title. Force India have got a very good line up this year. A very motivated DTM champion Scot Paul di Resta and an experienced but young Adrian Sutil, with Nico Hulkenberg, a GP2 champion and one of the best rookies last year,joining them as a reserve driver, we could see them in the points a lot more often. Last year, Force India was among the first to put their reserve driver in FP1, and if di Resta proves he can perform well, then maybe other teams will have to try this strategy. Sauber-Ferrari continue with Kamui Kobayashi, who proved he is more than a rookie in his first full season. Sauber have also taken Sergio Perez who was runner up in last year's GP2 season. A great deal of sponsorship money has gone into Sauber, that hopefully can aid the drivers into improving from last year. Williams have Rubens Barrichello, a well known F1 veteran, and current GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado. A lot has been said they have struggled recently what with Patrick Head concentrating on the cars for 2013, and rumours that KERS was not working for then. With any luck, this is only a rumour, and Williams can get back to top point scoring positions in 2011. And last, but certainly not least, Toro Rosso, who remain with Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for 2011. The pair have greatly improved since they joined. Hopefully with a car that is strong enough and consistently challenge force India and Williams. So, there are many great challengers for the midfield runners in 2011. I for one think that there will be a lot better racing there and could be just as exciting as the championship battles. Most of the drivers have at least a year under their belts, and know what to expect, so the racing should be much better. What are your opinions?
I think Sauber may be one to watch this year, not saying they're going to "do a brawn" but I think they may be fast. As you say, they have Kobayashi (awesome) and Perez (people call him a pay driver, yes he has lots of sponsorship, but he's highly rated from GP2) and with the additional funding they should have a good package. I heard on - http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/category/sauber-c30/ - this website that Sauber have done something quite different to other teams with their diffuser so maybe that will give them an advantage?
I think Team Lotus have made big steps forward, and will catch up to the midfield, but will still be struggling to get out of Q1 on a regular basis -because they do not have KERS.
Im not sure whether they will struggle or not, I think it its perfectly plausible to build a very good car without Kers, a la Brawn 2009. If they optimise the car to work without it well, I think that they'll do just fine without it. Especially around Monaco, where I seem to remember every KERS car in 2009 struggling in some way or other
