Going on their recent form,
Kimi Raikkonen could be a bit of a fly in the ointment. He is definitely running very strongly, as his second place finish showed at Monza, and the team are making good progress again in performance. I expect them to be a very strong candidate for an outright win or definitely for a strong podium position.
BMW Sauber impressed at Monza too, what with
Robert Kubica taking third and
Nick Heidfeld eighth.
Kubica’s drive was outstanding, especially if you consider how little experience he has with an
F1 car over a proper race duration. For me, he is a great find and has proved himself within a couple of races already. He is going to be a big star in the future – mark my words.
I think BMW can keep that sort of form up during the last three events too. They have obviously made inroads and, as the season draws to a close, they are finding their feet. The BMW weight is taking command in the balance of the team and they are making some big steps. The change in driver seems to have lifted the whole team, including Heidfeld. They are definitely making progress at a high rate of knots and we can only say they should be top six contenders in China. Compared to a lot of the other teams, they are looking very good.
Honda have also been doing well of late – their 5-6 finish at Monza reflected that. They seem to have a good platform now after their mid-season lull and are coming back to the same sort of level they had at the start of the year.
It is great from Jenson Button’s point of view to have something to work with, and
Rubens Barrichello is showing his pace as well. They have got consistency and something to work with now, and you can only expect them to get the job done again.
