Joel Wong

Brawns vs Bulls vs Rest of the field

Red Bull Racing’s 1-2 win at Silverstone underlined the fact that there may be more than meets the brawn this season.

The bulls sported a ‘beak’ that of a platypus if you observe the front nose of the RB5 and a 3rd hole that increased the aerodynamic efficiency and saw the car save about half a second per lap. Vettel flexed that muscle when he pulled away at the start and started clocking laps faster than 2nd placed Webber by at least a second per lap in his first stint.

Silverstone complemented the new package brought on by Adrian Newey as it demands high speed through the corners with a good amount of downforce to keep the car grounded. As it is, the RB5 is good in handling but made better by the new aerodynamic package.

One would wonder if winning begets winning, like how Jenson dominated the start of the season. Would Vettel start to build confidence on the back of this win and start to dominate from here on?

Another factor to consider in the bull charge is the ‘competition’ between teammates. Now that Mark Webber finally has a winning car, he doesn’t seem ready to let his younger teammate take all the glory, and is willing to fight it out for his own. And that demands Vettel to bring his A-game.

To add to the mix, It’s not just the bulls this time.Felipe Massa did well to claw his way to a fine 4th to prove that Ferrari is on the right way in a comeback trail. Also, beyond the 10th place, Giancarlo Fisichella did well to haul himself from 16th to 10th, and was only 2 seconds behind Kimi 8th place.

I smell change in the air for the 2009 season.It’ll be exciting to see teammates vs teammates, teams vs teams, FIA vs FOTA.

And what a 2009 thus far! (we’re not even halfway through!)