Written by Matthew Molver for @Hollywoodbets.
March is upon us and it seems to be flying by, I’m not complaining about this, however, because the time is nearly upon us for the 2016 Formula One season. Soon the pleasant, but boring relaxation of a Sunday afternoon will be shattered by the roaring of V6 Hybrid engines roaring around tracks all over the world. This year’s season promises to be an absolute doozy as teams have been rebranded and there is some new blood on the circuit. The cars are looking absolutely stunning and I cannot wait till the 20th of March when it all kicks off in Melbourne.
Bellow we’ll take a look at the teams who will fight it out at the back of the field.
Haas 1000/1 | Manor 2500/1 | Sauber 2500/1
HAAS
The newest team on the block, Haas, is the first American-led formula one team to compete since 1986. They have signed Esteban Gutierrez who was the reserve driver for Ferrari in 2015, and Romain Grosjean, a veteran of 78 Grand Prix starts.
Tempering youth with experience, can this new American team make their mark this year? The initial testing in Barcelona with their car the VF- 16 which has a Ferrari power unit, suggests that they can do exactly this. They got in quite a few laps with only a few technical difficulties which were solved over the weekend’s testing session.
Going on the evidence of the first Barcelona tests, Haas seems to have a hard working team with competent drivers, and I think there is an outside chance that they will score a top six finish or two this season.
MANOR RACING
Manor racing endured a horrendous 2015, which started with them just scraping qualification for the last seasons circuit. They then had to contend with numerous technical difficulties which left them struggling to get their car on track for a few of the circuit stop offs.They will be looking for a much-improved showing, this time around.
Rookie drivers Rio Haryanto and Pascal Wehrlein have replaced Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi – who cannot be held accountable for the disaster that was the 2015 season, as their under-powered car was the sole culprit.
The first tests in Barcelona, this year, showed promise for them as they got great mileage out of their new car the MRT05. The car ran smoother and experienced a lot less problems than what they had to deal with in 2015.
I don’t see Manor claiming any great victories this season but I think they will definitely score some points if the car manages to keep up and Haryanto keeps his head.
SAUBER
2015 saw Sauber rise like a phoenix out of the ashes and managed to finish the season eighth on the constructor’s standings. This improved showing was mainly down to their improved C34 car.
Rookie driver Felipe Nasr proved to be a revelation for the team. He and Marcus Ericsson garnered points at nine of the seasons 19 stop offs. Which was a massive improvement on their dismal 2014 performance.
Sauber seem to be playing their cards rather close to their chest for the 2016 season. They have kept their drivers from 2015 but left it late to reveal their car. They did manage to get over a hundred laps under their belt in the final testing session in Barcelona last Sunday, which, when you take the horrific weather that plagued the Catalan city this weekend, was a decent achievement.
Sauber are an intriguing prospect this year. They have two fantastic drivers who will be chomping at the bit to get out on track. The new car seems to be an improvement on last year’s model, which was a rather decent build. If they can string a few top six finishes together, I can see them finishing the season as one of the top six constructors.
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