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| Nico Hulkenberg's Force India - Sutton Images |
Welcome to Part 2 of my Formula One 2012 Season preview. If you missed it, you can find Part 1 here. Part 2 covers the remaining seven teams; Force India, Sauber, SRT, Williams, Caterham, HRT and Marussia. How have they fared in testing and what can we expect from them this season?
Sahara Force India F1 Team (Paul di Resta/Nico Hulkenberg)
If pre-season testing is anything to go by, Force India should be in for an interesting season. Their 2011 year was relatively successful, with sixth place finishes in Silverstone and Singapore. Dropping Adrian Sutil in favour of Nico Hulkenberg for 2012, the Indian squad have targeted to be inside the top five teams at the end of the year. This will mean beating a manufacturer team such as Lotus or Mercedes however, and will be no mean feat.
Keeping Scot Paul di Resta was also a no-brainer as the former DTM Champion has talent and maturity beyond his years. He will be a valuable asset to a team that has set themselves high targets for the coming season.
Keeping Scot Paul di Resta was also a no-brainer as the former DTM Champion has talent and maturity beyond his years. He will be a valuable asset to a team that has set themselves high targets for the coming season.
Sauber F1 Team (Kamui Kobayashi/Sergio Perez)
Sauber have an unchanged driver pairing for 2012, and for good reason. Stability and consistency will serve the team well as they develop and nurture the talent of their two young drivers, Kobayashi and Perez. Their 2012 car may not be the most pleasing to the eye, but it has been quick and relatively consistent during pre-season testing. Kobayashi and Perez should continue to grow over the course of the year and hopefully extract some impressive finishes.
It will be an especially important season for young Mexican Perez, who is widely tipped to be Felipe Massa's replacement at Ferrari in 2013.
It will be an especially important season for young Mexican Perez, who is widely tipped to be Felipe Massa's replacement at Ferrari in 2013.
Scuderia Toro Rosso (Daniel Riccardo/Jean-Eric Vergne)
Surprising a lot of people by ditching both Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Alguesuari in favour of Riccardo and Vergne after 2011, Toro Rosso are in for a season of exploration and development. Riccardo has just 11 races to his name and Vergne is new for this year, meaning that Toro Rosso has the least experienced line-up of anyone on the grid.
Making any predictions about where they are in comparison to teams such as Sauber and Williams is difficult to call given the apparent closeness of the midfield.
Making any predictions about where they are in comparison to teams such as Sauber and Williams is difficult to call given the apparent closeness of the midfield.
Williams F1 Team (Pastor Maldonado/Bruno Senna)
Much like Toro Rosso, Williams also have a relatively inexperienced pair of drivers. Maldonado is starting his second season in F1, whilst Senna will be starting his first full year at a team after brief stints with HRT and Lotus Renault in 2010 and 2011. Williams endured a torrid time last year, scoring only 5 points. If pre-season testing is anything to go by, then Williams should have improved on last year's car. Also, using Renault engines instead of Cosworth will be a benefit.
Not having the experience of Rubens Barrichello will hinder the team technically but it makes sense for the team to turn over a new sheet by nurturing new talent such as Maldonado and Senna. They are by no means secure however, with Finn Valtteri Bottas ready to step into the race-seat if they fail to perform.
Much like Toro Rosso, Williams also have a relatively inexperienced pair of drivers. Maldonado is starting his second season in F1, whilst Senna will be starting his first full year at a team after brief stints with HRT and Lotus Renault in 2010 and 2011. Williams endured a torrid time last year, scoring only 5 points. If pre-season testing is anything to go by, then Williams should have improved on last year's car. Also, using Renault engines instead of Cosworth will be a benefit.
Not having the experience of Rubens Barrichello will hinder the team technically but it makes sense for the team to turn over a new sheet by nurturing new talent such as Maldonado and Senna. They are by no means secure however, with Finn Valtteri Bottas ready to step into the race-seat if they fail to perform.
Caterham F1 Team (Heikki Kovalainen/Vitaly Petrov)
Caterham appear to have built a car fully capable of beginning to challenge the more established teams such as Williams and Toro Rosso. Kovalainen and Petrov are a solid line-up and will hopefully begin to score the odd point or two by the middle of the year. Anything less this year for Caterham will be a disappointment.
HRT F1 Team (Pedro de la Rosa/Narain Karthikeyan)
HRT have yet to take part in pre-season testing and this doesn't bode so well for the year ahead. Failing two crash tests has set them back quite a way and it will be frustrating for de la Rosa and Karthikeyan to have lost the chance to test the car before Melbourne. De la Rosa was a surprise choice but a logical one. He has years of experience at teams such as Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren and Sauber and this will serve the team well.
Marussia F1 Team (Timo Glock/Charles Pic)
Marussia F1 Team (Timo Glock/Charles Pic)
Marussia have also missed their chance at testing in Barcelona and will arrive in Melbourne with little to no knowledge of how their car will perform. Now in his third year for the team, Timo Glock has talent going to waste and it must be frustrating for a driver of his experience and talent. Second driver, Charles Pic, fills Jerome D'Ambrosio's vacated seat.
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