Sport Pesa Racing Point Super Fast Canadian Force Canada Racing Formula One Racing Team… Racing?
Force Canada just unveiled their first car in their home country of Canada. Wait? It’s not called Force Canada? Then how come they spoke non stop about said country? It’s still called Racing Point? And it’s now more of a mouthful than Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer?
I’d forgotten how tedious proper car launches are in Formula 1. There needs to be a happy middle ground between full launch and the to-the-point unveilings you get at a shakedown or quick launch at the morning of day 1, test 1. “Driver 1 are you excited?” “Yes.” “Driver 2 how hard have the team worked over the winter?” “Very.” “Shall we reveal the car now?” That’s pretty much what you need. Maybe not that extreme, but get the drivers out first! Next to the car, the drivers are the stars of this show. If you’re outside Formula 1 looking in, you probably don’t care much what the bosses have to say. Show the car, then pad out a show with interviews that the press probably care more about. You may disagree and you have every right to, but that’s just my thoughts on the matter.
On to the team then. Racing Point start where Force India left off. This year’s livery is certainly tidier than last year’s, which was stronger than the one before it. The addition of blue is great, the contrast it provides is brilliant, I think it’s better than using black as in 2017. It’s just a few rough edges that spoil the look. Starting with the front wing and nose cone, the blue is striking, and just having pink on the nose is so much better than last year’s look. Cleanliness is key for me in liveries, which I’ll keep referring to but Racing Point have really cleaned up around the front. We then move to the white BWT bit where the nose meets the rest of the car. I hope it’s a necessity for them to need the white band for the BWT logo, because I don’t like it. It’s just fussy just to be fussy, just like this blog is becoming ranty just for content’s sake. Keep it clean! The deeper pink and grey lines are growing on me, I’m still yet to fully make up my mind on their appearance around the sidepod and radiator entry. I either think they’re too thick on the sidepod, or they’re just right. One thing that does bug me though, is the off centre BWT logo. Again, it’s probably just one of those things where it would look worse if the logo were centred, so I’ll let them off just this once! They definitely should’ve extended the dark blue on the engine cover and shark fin remnant so there is no pink at the top. Again just small things to keep it clean. It’s a small, small thing but it’s probably the worst part of the livery for me.
Is Lance just going to Stroll around the place?
Lance has had his fair share of stick during his 2 seasons of racing at the top. Despite being one of the youngest podium sitters in Formula 1 history, people insist on him being a pay driver. Carlos Sainz Jr. brings his Estrella Galicia 0,0 sponsorship and more than likely LaLiga to McLaren this year, but because he’s considered to be fast he’s not a pay driver. Lance has a podium, Carlos doesn’t so is he really a pay driver? There are still question marks about his ability for sure, he had a rookie season in a midfield car, and was comprehensively beaten by Massa, but we don’t know how much he’s improved because that Williams was a dog last year. To grab a podium in a mad race is a Perez style characteristic, but Lance has to show that he is on Sergio’s level otherwise you feel he is a marked man. We don’t know how many chances he’ll get in his dad’s team, but to go far in business you have to be ruthless. But how ruthless will Lawrence be?
Sergio will be consistently around the top of the midfield, as always. It’s whether he can keep a hold of his aggression because if this driver line-up turns as frosty as Ocon – Perez, Perez will more than likely be held responsible for it. He’s a quality driver but when Mercedes have Russell and Ocon waiting in the wings, a quality replacement driver for a Mercedes powered team is not hard to find. Keep on eye on this battle, it could get tasty and political, just how Formula 1 fans like it.
Again, the midfield is so close that I can’t really predict where the runners and riders will end up. I can’t help but feel Renault might well break away from the midfield and form their own little club featuring just themselves. I do, however have no doubts that Racing Point will be at the sharp end of the midfield, as long as they don’t have a driver implosion. But for now it’s nice to have the Pink Panthers back securely in Formula 1, they are the plucky team in F1 that all sports have and need.
George Talks 