Many people are hoping that the 2017 Formula One season is the one where finally some opposition gives chase to Mercedes after the Silver Arrows’ three-year domination of the sport.
New technical regulations turn the sport away from power unit strengths to aerodynamic strengths, changing many parts of the car including the size of the rear and front wings and bringing wider Pirelli tyres.
However, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is appearing a large favourite to win a fourth Formula One world title in 2017 even before a decision on the identity of his new teammate is made.
The British driver’s odds have been slashed to just 1/1 from 7/3 since the retirement of Nico Rosberg at the start of the month as the sport waits to hear whether the likes of Mercedes-backed Pascal Wehrlein or Williams’ Valtteri Bottas will be announced as his new rival.
The three-time champion was already ahead in the odds compared to Rosberg’s 7/4 before the German made the decision to leave the sport.
Hamilton is expected to bounce back to try and regain his title, but there are some fears that he could be left to dominate the sport if his teammate cannot prove to be a consistent threat and the Mercedes W08 car remains as the class of the field.
Turning 32 in January, he is still in the prime of his career, scoring the most pole positions of his career so far (12) and the highest-ever amount of points for a runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship (380) at the end of 2016.
The team are expected to still be in contention for the title, although Red Bull may be closer to their rivals as the new regulations play to their strengths in developing good aerodynamics, with their odds also lowering.
Red Bull have arguably the strongest driver pairing on the grid with drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen still capable of pushing each other to new limits throughout the 2017 season after battling hard in 2016.
Both drivers are level on odds of 4/1 with nothing separating the drivers yet, despite the Australian outscoring and outqualifying the Dutchman over 17 races in 2016. Ricciardo scored 220 points compared to his teammate’s 191 since Verstappen switched to the main Red Bull team from Toro Rosso at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen lost out by 11-6 in the qualifying head-to-head, with Ricciardo claiming his first career pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix. He also finished the season with an average qualifying position of 3.94 compared to Verstappen’s 5.70 in their time together.
However, the youngster has shaken the sport with his interesting defensive driving manoeuvres and wet weather driving and still has the opportunity to break more records at just 19 years, five months and 27 days of age by the time the Australian Grand Prix gets underway in March.
A winner from either of these drivers wouldn’t be too much of an unlikely scenario next November, if Mercedes’ chosen driver doesn’t beat them to the championship and the new technical regulations do not produce a massive shock and bring teams such as Ferrari back to the front.
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