With this season's driver line-up complete, we sat down with Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle to discuss the class of 2012...
The driver line-up for 2012 is now complete. What are your thoughts on its composition and how it shapes up?Martin Brundle: Well, it's a very curious and interesting mixture.
There's three distinct categories to the line-up, headlined by the presence of six World Champions on the grid. That in itself says plenty about the fitness of those drivers. It also speaks about the sport's safety levels and the lack of testing available - which means experience is considered critical by so many of the teams.
But it's a dramatic feature this year that one quarter of the grid is either a former or reigning World Champion and that two of them have actually returned to the sport after some years away. They just can't stay away or give it up - and that's not a criticism because I just can't park it either!
And then we have a very young contingent on the grid...Martin: Yes, but only a few of them are absolute rookies. Daniel Ricciardo, for instance, drove for half of last season and Nico Hulkenberg is coming back after a year away. What's unusual is that a couple of teams in the midfield have gone for a complete clear-out and changed both their drivers. That doesn't happen very often.
Is that a reflection of how much more pressurised F1 has become for the drivers? Every year is now a trial.Martin: But there's always been pressure. That's not a new thing. What is new is where it comes from. I remember when I was starting out that I was competing against South Americans - who were mainly from Brazil - and Europeans. Nowadays, there's competition from Russia, India and all across the globe because of the way F1 has spread and all the countries it has reached want to feed their own drivers into the sport.
So if there was a driver pairing on the grid that you think we should keep an eye on, which one would it be?Martin: Vergne and Ricciardo at Toro Rosso is a very interesting pairing. They are both massively highly-rated but will need to do the same thing at the same time. It's a fascinating dynamic: They have an opportunity, but they also have pressure and the demand to impress.
Were you surprised that Toro Rosso changed both their drivers then?Martin: No, I wasn't. My surprise was that they didn't change either of their drivers the year before. As Marko put it in his customary blunt fashion, neither Buemi nor Alguersuari did enough to convince they could make the next step up. They had their chance and they didn't take it. That said, I was massively impressed with the way that Alguersuari handled the news.
Speaking about drivers who have an opportunity to impress, any fears about Paul di Resta?Martin: The situation at Force India is very similar to the one at Toro Rosso, isn't it? But if I had a fear about Paul it's only that year two is very often harder than year one. I know Paul well and saw him up close again recently at the Force India launch. I sensed a confidence in him about the year ahead and a growing maturity. These might be famous last words, but I don't have any worries about Paul next season.
You rate him then?Martin: I rate him very highly.
So which of the driver announcements over the winter did surprise you?Martin: It was an announcement which was made last year rather than over the winter, but, I must admit, I didn't see Pedro de la Rosa coming back. That news caught me completely by surprise - when I saw the 'De la Rosa to HRT' headline, I just thought 'that's a good move - Pedro will make a good team boss'. It was only when I read the story that I realised he was coming back as a driver! Can I blame him? Not at all. I'd do the same if I could. Other surprises? Charles Pic coming in to Marussia. I thought Jerome d'Ambrosio had done a steady job there.
And Kimi Raikkonen coming back. Was that a surprise?Martin: No, that wasn't a shock. We heard that Kimi was talking to Williams and I think he'll do a very solid job at Lotus. What I'm hearing is that the Kimi who has come back is completely different to the Kimi who went rallying. I've no doubts that he'll still be quick enough. I think he'll be coming back fresh and motivated and focused. What he's learnt in the last couple of years is that the grass isn't always greener - and that the trees are a lot harder in rallying.
Although Michael's comeback hasn't exactly been a raging success...Martin: Except that Kimi is a decade younger than Michael, and coming back for different reasons and with a different dynamic.
Final question. Which driver in 2012 is under the most pressure to deliver?Martin: I think there are three drivers who really need a strong year in 2012 - Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, because Lewis has to get his career back on track, and Felipe Massa. And of that trio, Felipe is under the most pressure because I just can't believe Ferrari won't make a change to their line-up for 2013 whatever happens.
Ok, I lied. That wasn't the final question. But this one is: what about Nico Rosberg - isn't it time he delivered?Martin: Nico has been threatening for a long time to show that he is something special but so far it's only been a threat. It's only a gut feeling but my suspicion is actually that this will be Michael's strongest year since he came back. I can't see him matching Nico for raw pace but I think he'll be more in tune with the car and the tyres than he has been in the last two years.
It will be an interesting battle at Mercedes - but, as I said, the great thing about 2012 is that there are very interesting team-mate battles all the way through the field.
