F1 - Drivers to Watch

F1 – DRIVERS TO WATCH THE FORMULA 1 SEASON MIGHT ONLY BE A FEW RACES OLD, BUT ALREADY FANS WILL HAVE AN IDEA WHO THE TITLE CONTENDERS ARE LIKELY TO BE. HERE’S A GUIDE TO THEM…

LEWIS HAMILTON Possibly the most famous of the current crop of Formula 1’s stars, Lewis Hamilton is hugely popular in his home country of Britain. The 2008 World Champion is sitting 2nd in this year’s standings at the moment, but it’d take a brave man to bet against the McLaren driver topping the standings come the end of the season.

Image by llcoolj40 on Flickr

JENSON BUTTON Of course, Hamilton’s partner at McLaren – Jenson Button – might have something to say about that.

Button won the World Championship in 2009 (and finished runner up last year), so is always in contention.

He might be in 4th position in the standings at the moment, but you can rest assured he’s got his sights set on the very top of the leaderboard.

Image by Gizmo-10 on Flickr

SEBASTIAN VETTEL The 2010 and 2011 World Champion is currently top of this year’s standings, and few would bet against him making it three in a row at present.

Immensely popular in his native Germany, Sebastian has been dubbed “the new Schumacher” by many. Of course, he was quick to point out he’d rather be known as “the new Vettel”.

Image by ph-stop on Flickr

Even if he doesn’t win this year, there are sure to be plenty more World Championships in this young man’s future.

MARK WEBBER The veteran Red Bull driver has never won a World Championship, despite previously having 7 race wins and 30 podium finishes under his belt.

Currently sitting third in the standings, he has both the experience and the car to make a serious challenge this year. He’s certainly got plenty of fans across the world who would like to see it happen, but none more so than in his native Australia.

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FERNANDO ALONSO The 2005 and 2006 World Champion is always a force to be reckoned with on any circuit, however since switching to Ferrari in 2010 he’s struggled to repeat much of his early success.

Currently sitting in fifth (ten points behind Vettel) he might be a bit of an outsider at this stage, but count him out at your peril – he’s one of the best pure drivers in the world.

Image by moq88 on Flickr

NICO ROSBERG Son of the legendary Keke Rosberg, Nico has had somewhat of a breakthrough this year – winning his first Grand Prix last month in China.

While the World Championship might be a bridge too far at this stage, the Mercedes driver will be hoping for more victories and plenty of podium finishes between now and the end of the season.

Image by formula80_ca on Flickr

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER The seven-time World Champion is renowned as one of the greatest drivers of all time, however since he came out of retirement for Mercedes in 2010 he’s struggled to achieve anything like his previous form.

He’s had some good performances this year, but mechanical faults have put him out of Championship contention already. That being said, many fans of the sport would love to see him notch up a win before the season was out.

Image by ph-stop on Flickr

BUT WHO WILL WIN? Well, there’s a long way to go between now and the end of the season, so it’s hard to pick anyone at present. If it’s not any of the candidates just mentioned though, it’ll be a shock to everyone.

The most important thing to remember though, is not to try to replicate anything the drivers do.

No matter how comprehensive your performance car insurance is, you can’t put a price on the damage that you could end up doing to yourself.

Stay safe!