so we know now that the blown diffuser will be banned for 2012, so obviously that will have an effect on the rest of the grid. as far as i know sauber, Williams, Virgin and HRT weren't using the device for 2011 wihc could give them an advantage. the diffuser ban could also see some midfield and the top three being affected by the reliance on the blown diffuser. i think that woth the ban the constructors championship will look like this next year (i am missing ot the first three teams because this will simply be based on opinions and bias so i am just focusing on the midfield. the poll will allow people to have thier opinion on that matter) 1.- 2.- 3.- 4.Mercedes 5.Renault 6.Sauber 7.Force india 8.Williams 9.Toro rosso 10. Lotus 11.HRT 12.Virgin i think that mercedes and renault will be on similar terms throughout the season with mercedes having the funding and renault being able to drop the front blowing exhaust without losing performance compared to the rest of the field. i think that with the ban sauber will overtake force india because of their experience with non blown diffuser. williams have the experience over toro rosso and so i think they will be able to use their knowledge of the car without blown diffusers and overtake them in pace. the bottom three teams i dont think will change much from last year with the same finishing order as last year because lotus could never get their blown diffuser working, so i dont think that they will lose much pace from not having it next year.
There is not doubt about the advantages some teams had with their blown diffusers compared to those who did not have it. Whislt I am sure they will find a way to make up some of teh downforce, hopefully the teams at the back this year won;t find themselves so far adrift in 2012. If Williams did not have a blown diffuser, then I find that astonishing for a team of that calibre, but it would explain their terrible form in 2011.
Of the top three... you would imagine that Ferrari would benefit the most from the ban, but with the experience and resources that RBR, McLaren and Merc have, you have to suspect that one of them will come up with some new piece of kit that will be the next big thing that every team has to have. Who knows what that might be. Personally, I'm just hoping that McLaren don't start the winter testing with another "Oh bollocks" car. I'm pretty sure that RBR will come out guns blazing again, and with the rest of the field seemingly still trying to get their loafs around the flexi-wing, they may still hold a bit of an advantage. You have to wonder though, if McLaren may still be the team to struggle in 2012? RBR will be tailoring the car as close to Vettel as possible, Ferrari to Alonso and I assume Merc may be looking at Schumacher as their #1. If McLaren have to develop a car around both drivers, then they'll never quite get the best out of the car in my mind.
I'd say Sauber and Williams are the teams most likely to take a step forward next year. Sauber were badly hit by the saga of the blown diffuser - they had to take it off their car, then put it on again, then their development ended up all over the place. On the plus side, I guess they have a bit more experience without one. Williams I think were so poor they can ONLY take a step forward. Plus it's possible they lacked a blown diffuser. So they're even more experience.
The key will be trying to compensate for the loss of real downforce with the ban of the BD. No idea who who do the best in this departement, but next year will be much closer than this year. Mid field teams without the BD last year will have a decent base to close the gap slighty.
I think it extremely likely that Adrian Newey will still be seen as the "best in this department"! I also agree with Bhaji's assertion that the car will once again be designed around Vettel; after all, it would seem illogical not to! Ferrari have to be the next biggest bet. Their car was far less reliant upon the EBD than Red Bull and McLaren. It is also a 'racing certainty' that Alonso will continue to benefit from Ferrari's age old '1-2' philosophy. It is therefore pretty clear to me that Vettel and Alonso are the most likely to hold the best hands at this stage. McLaren were extremely reliant upon their EBD, and were famously slow getting their act together to make proper use of it. On top of that, of the top teams, they have the clearest 'no favouritism' policy and it is reasonable to expect their drivers (who I firmly believe to be the best pairing on the grid) to once again be fighting each other through the season. Mercedes must be considered the other big unknown. Although I do not believe their driver line-up to match that of McLaren, Mercedes are looking to make a clear step forward to the front, and if McLaren slip up again, Mercedes could be the team to take the fight to Vettel and Alonso. After that, I'd agree that Sauber and Williams are likely to make strides forward. But I also think Caterham (green Lotus) could make a very positive move away from the tail-end-charlies. And Toro Rosso will still be benefiting from Red Bull technology and Mateschitz's determination to see both teams improve. (Regardless of denials, I find it hard to believe that there is no sharing of technology between them, even though they have separate design teams).
