mds wrote:
It indeed looks reliable. Mclaren, Ferrari, Mercedes all have had some problems by now, RBR none.
Can't say I am thrilled by the RB9 though. Newey sounds a bit hesitant about it. I'm inclined to think Mclaren (with the changed design philosophy for this years car) and Ferrari (with the rather big changes at the back of the car) will have found more speed than RBR with the RB9, which sounds like a careful evolution of the RB8. Newey himself: "we tidied up some bits and pieces". Doesn't sound like big improvements are to be expected.
Thing is, when you are the leading car, you've got less margin to improve into... And by the end of last year, RBR were the leading car.
Mclaren made the obvious changes for big gains in performance. Sorting out their nose to match everyone else was something that could yield big gains for them.
Ferrari were also clearly going to make big steps forward. The experts widely recognized that last years car had it's issues, so if they've sorted them out, they'll be right back in the mix.
Obviously we won't know for sure how things stand until Q1-3 in Melbourne, but my view is that things are even closer at the front (throw in Lotus and Mercedes too) so we could be up for some cracking racing... Vettel will really have to prove himself if he wants that 4th title... (same for all the other drivers if they want it from him)
