As for the rest, there is only one place to start and that is with BMW Sauber. They are definitely the third best team, but the big question now is can they close the gap?
I have to say I have my doubts and, while it would be nice to see, I don’t think they are quite ready. Interestingly, it seems they are a little bit behind in terms of qualifying because, in race trim, they seem to be very good. They just start a bit too far back to make a really good impression.
But, saying that, they have taken a big step forward from last year and you have to give them a lot of credit for that. I just can’t see them making that next step, at least before the end of this year.
After
BMW, we have the midfield pack and it’s very tight here, seemingly led, if the last race is any indication, by
Renault and
Toyota.
I’m sure Renault will have been pulling out all the stops during this lay-off and doing lots and lots of work. I can’t imagine it sits nicely with anyone there to be languishing where they are and to be referred to as a ‘mid-pack team’.
That has definitely not been the case for the last few years and I don’t think they like being associated with that area of the grid. I would expect them to have better performance this weekend.
It will also be good to see
Heikki Kovalainen doing something a bit more spectacular. He has had good press and I think he has got good potential and talent - we just haven’t seen the best of it yet. I would expect a bit more from him - and soon.
As for
Giancarlo Fisichella, you have to feel for him because I am sure he came into this year with a real hope that he could fight for the title given the form of Renault over the previous two years. Things have definitely taken a U-turn and gone downhill slightly. That has got to be really frustrating.
