We all know that the bottom three teams had a predictable shocker last year, mainly due to the fact that they could not develop the cars in time for the season, or hadn't enough money. Not only that but HRT had the driver changes all year, and the ongoing disputes between Group Lotus and Tony Fernandes for the right to the Team Lotus name. With a season under their belts, where do you expect these teams to be? In my opion, Lotus will catch up to Force India and Toro Rosso, and have some interesting battles to score points. I think Virgin and HRT will remain at the back, but won't have the 4 second disadvantage they had. One thing's for sure all of crew at these teams have done fantastic work to at least get where they have been. I'm looking foward to see how they do in Bahrain,and with any luck, we could see Team Lotus restored to its winning ways in a few years!!
Not sure its fair to say they had a shocker. I mean what did you expect. Anyway i think lotus will be on par with Sauber and Torro Rosso with Virgin just behind them, but i honestly think Hispania will fall further behind and will perhaps struggle to qualify for some races. They just dont seem to have the funds and narain karthikeyan is really not a good start. That said i hope they prove me wrong.
People are quick to dismiss HRT however they were the most reliable of the three new teams and while they may lack stability, they do have Geoff Willis who is highly regarded. The 2011 car is supposed to be a totally new chassis design and the team behind it seem to be far more integrated into the long term future of the team than Dallara ever was. They also have a deal in place with Williams to use their drivetrain and gearbox, while there appears to be use of Toyota's ex-F1 technical expertise too. Yes, they may lack financial and managerial stability however technically, I'd place them ahead of Virgin at least....on paper anyway.
Lotus will be up near Toro Rosso, you only have to glance at their car to see it's better, last years looked like something out of a lower formula. Virgin and HRT will be propping up the grid though.
