Category Archives: Sports

With just five days left until the beginning of the 2011 F1 championship in Melbourne Australia, it seems impossible to tell how this season will turn out. There are now  Five world champions on the grid, the most ever in Formula 1 history, and the question is who will emerge the Champion of Champions? The contenders are.

Vettel

Sebastian Vettel: 2010 World Champion driving for Red Bull Racing RBR. At 23 Vettel became the youngest ever f1 world champion. He has entered 62 F1 races winning 10 of them and has been on pole position 15 times in his career. He has a career total of 381 pts.

His goal this season will be to defend his Crown and fight off preasure from team mate Mark Webber. Last season there was controversy between the two drivers as it seemed RBR showed favoritism to Vettel during the British Grand Prix. Vettel has proven if given the right race craft he is a favorite to win. Blog Central give Vettel 4/1 to defend his crown.

Jenson Button: 2009 World Champion driving for McLaren. Jenson has entered 191 F1 races winning 9 of them and has been on pole position 7 times in his career. He has a career total of 541 pts.

For many years in formula Button had been a back marker, just another driver making up the numbers but in 2009, with a drive for Braun, Button dominated the season and proved to the world he was the real thing. In 2010 he joined McLaren and many thought this would be a big mistake as a very hungry Lewis Hamilton resides there. But throughout the 2010 season Button showed that the previous year was no fluke and that given the right machinery he is a very serious contender. Blog Central gives Button a 10/1 chance of becoming 2011 World Champion.

Lewis Hamilton: 2008 World Champion driving for McLaren. In 2008 Hamilton became the youngest ever World champion in one of the most exciting season ending races in history. On the last lap of the last race Hamilton overtook to win the championship by 1 point over Massa.

Hamilton has entered 71 F1 races winning 14 of them and has been on pole position 18 times. He has a career total of 496 points. Hamilton is one of the most exciting drivers to watch on the circuit, never afraid to overtake and always fighting near the front of the pack. Hamilton is Blog Centrals favorite for the 2011 crown given McLaren give him a reliable race craft. 3/1 to become Drivers Champion.

Alonso

Fernando Alonso: 2005-2006 World Champion now driving for Ferrari. Alonso has entered 159 F1 races winning 26 of them and has been on pole position 20 times. He has a career total of 829 pts.

in all honesty Fernando Alonso is most probably the most skillful all round driver in the championship, in 2005 he became the youngest World champion in history (a title since eclipsed by Hamilton then Vettel) but more importantly it is Alonso ended Michael Schumacher’s  dominance of the sport. In 2004 Alonso showed no fear of the German and in one race Alonso in a inferior Renault proved he was just as good as Schummacher in the superior Ferrari. never to be underestimated and never to be written of, Alonso is hungry for another crown, Blog central rank him 3/1.

Schumacher

Michael Schumacher: 1994-95, 2000-02, 03 and 04 World Champion now driving for Mercedes. Shumacher has entered 269 F1 races wining 91 of them and he has had 68 pole positions in his career. He has a career total of 1441 pts.

Dispite having amazing stats Shumacher has never seemed to gain the respect due to a seven time world champion, even though he has broken every record set by the late great Ayrton Senna there has always been this cloud over Shumies head and right now I will explain why that is. while at Ferrari Schumacher was the official tire tester for the for the seasons suppliers, and with Ross Braun at the helm Ferrari always seemed to have the edge in technology and reliability, meaning Schumacher had a slight advantage over the rest of the field year in and year out. In order to beat Shumacher in his prime your would need to be an exceptional driver, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and Fernando Alonso were such drivers. This season is probably the last chance Shumacher will ever get to prove he was not just fortunate to have little compettion during his rain, but that in a field of champions he can stand up and be counted. Blog central rank Schumacher 70/1 outsider.

Webber

Mark Webber: Has yet to win a World Championship. Mark has entered 159 F1 races winning 6 of them and has had 6 pole positions in his career. He has a career total of 411 pts.

Although Mark Webber has yet to be crowned Champion, his drive last season and the fact he is with the same team and in an improved car makes him very much a contender for the 2011 crown. In many ways if Mark Webber were to win the championship this season it would be poetic justice. Last season mark had a fer=w setbacks not to mention his team raping his car for bits when his team mates car malfunctioned. Mark did cry foul play and the F1 community seemed to stand by him, but eventually Mark did his talking on the track. Pound for pound Webber is as good as anyone on the track and his hunger for this crown could possibly be the greatest. Blog Central rank Mark Webber at 4/1 to be the 2011 Formula 1 World Champion.

The season begins in 5 days time be sure to follow live on BBC and come back to Blog Central to get a Petrol Heads view on things.