This year’s Formula One championship is already a done deal. Sebastian Vettel, the German wunderkind, is streaks ahead of all the other drivers and has dominated the Driver’s Championship from the season’s outset. His team, Red Bull has dominated the Constructor’s Championship too.
How did Red Bull and Vettel get to be so far ahead and why is the other Red Bull driver, Mark Webber, so far behind in fifth place?
It’s rumoured that Red Bull may have used a new technology similar to the traction control technology which was banned in Formula One racing in 2008. Traction control technology is one that means drivers can accelerate more quickly when coming out of a turn. Red Bull cars have passed all the Formula One checks, so there’s no suggestion that they are bending the Formula One rules in order to keep winning, but they may have developed something similar.
During the Singapore Grand Prix in October, which Vettel won with a 32 second lead, his car made a very distinctive noise compared with the rest of the field when coming out of the bends. It’s a grinding sound that was often heard on racetracks in races before the traction technology ban in 2008.
And while Vettel’s car made this familiar grinding sound, his team mate Webber’s car did not. Maybe Red Bull is only making its new technology available to one of its drivers. To combat the rumours team boss Christian Horner has made a statement to the effect that there is no use of traction control at Red Bull and also that there is no truth in the idea that the team has restricted Webber’s chances.
Even though the Formula One World Championship has already been decided, there’s still everything to drive for in terms of pride in the penultimate race of the season next week at Austin, Texas. At the time of writing, Betfair has placed Vettel and Webber as favourite and second favourite to be the winning driver, with odds of 2/7 and 5/1 respectively.
Yet, as the championship is not in reach for anyone but Vettel now, the last two races of the season might also be a useful time for experimentation with technology for the teams ahead of next season, so it may be that there are some surprise results in these last races of 2013. Keep an eye out on betting exchanges for good value bets in the run-up to the Formula One season finale in Brazil.
