This past month, over the summer break, Formula 1 has been discussing a few seemingly intangible issues – will Vettel hold supreme? Will Schumacher retire? Will the BBC-SKY deal affect the sport, and why? Will the engines sound right in 2014? Were you wondering about these as well? Well, read on.

Sebastian Vettel, the 2010 Formula 1 World Champion, has had a fantastic first half of the 2011 Formula 1 season. Put simply – a perfect title defense! He’s been helped by a near-perfect car, the RB7, delivered to him by Red Bull Racing, and an almost perfect driver-team combination.

Vettel leads the Driver’s Championship table with 234 points, an almost unassailable 85 points ahead of his teammate, Mark Webber, who’s struggling to hold 2nd position from McLaren’s charging Lewis Hamilton. But here’s what the points table won’t tell you – Vettel has scored 6 victories in 11 races this season, and his worst performance has only been a lowly 4th place (the 2011 German GP). He’s finished on the podium in 10 out of the 11 races, either winning or coming second, which also means that he hasn’t finished ‘3rd’ yet. Red Bull Racing is the only team to have completed 100% racing laps this season with both their cars. A much needed improvement in reliability over last season has seen Vettel (and Webber) complete all 681 racing laps this season.

However, Vettel and Red Bull Racing have looked vulnerable in the last few races – and the statistics back me up. Of the last 5 races, Vettel-Red Bull have scored only one victory – even after managing to score a pole position at almost every GP this season. Which brings me to the inevitable question – can Vettel clinch his second World Championship this season?

Ferrari is known to be one of the strongest teams in terms of developing its cars mid-season, and they’ve done that this season as well. McLaren has always been strong as well, and the Hamilton-Button pair have won 3 of the last 5 races. We have seen the Red Bull racing car be unbeatable in qualifying, but the opposite has been true in the race. Critics are also out to question Vettel’s ability to win races while not starting from the front row. But the truth is that with an 85 points lead this season, I do see Vettel defending his World Championship in 2011.

The dominating performance in the early season has offered Vettel a lead that allows him to have 3 DNF’s, and still lead the World Championship. The battle to upstage Vettel includes 4 drivers – Webber, Alonso, Hamilton, and Button – and this, again, works in Vettel’s favour. Should Vettel lose to even 2 of the 4 drivers at a particular weekend, it won’t necessarily see him lose his advantage at the top of the table. So, my point is that if all goes as planned, we will see Sebastian Vettel win the 2011 Formula 1 Driver’s Championship.

And while I’m talking of one young German winning his second successive title, talks of his compatriot, the legendary 7 times World Champion, Michael Schumacher’s retirement have surfaced yet again. I can tell you that Schumacher is the biggest pawn in the driver’s transfer market at the moment. Depending on his decision to continue or retire for the 2012 season, we will see major driver changes in the mid and bottom grid teams. However, I don’t see Schumacher retiring just yet. I’m certain that we will see him racing the ‘Silver Arrows’ in 2012 yet again. Beat the other young German driver, Nico Rosberg, will he? I hope so!

So, talking of all the action on-track, where will you be watching it on the tele? For Indian F1 fans, this shouldn’t be a problem! ESPN-Star are contracted towards F1 broadcast in India till the 2013 Formula 1 season, so we don’t have a reason to worry yet. However, if you’re watching the broadcast in Europe, be ready to shell out around 300 GBP more to watch F1 next year.

In an unexpected move, in the week leading upto the Hungarian Grand Prix, Bernie Ecclestone shared with the F1 teams a proposal to broadcast Formula 1 on a BBC + SKY shared platform – indicating that Formula 1 will indeed be available only on a pay-per-view platform next year. While it’s sad for the fans, the news is actually a mixed bag for the F1 teams. The teams actually stand to benefit with over a million Dollars from the new deal, but could stand to lose out on sponsorship revenue. How?

Well, Formula 1 is a television sport. It attracts millions of viewers on a Race Day broadcast, and last year’s figures indicate close to 500 million viewers. So, how does F1 achieve those numbers? By airing its races on a terrestrial and, hence, free-to-air platform – like the BBC in Europe (much like our Doordarshan in India). This free-to-air broadcast means a larger reach for the sport, which translates directly into its sponsors.

And the last matter that should shock most F1 fans is the proposed usage of electrical power in the Formula 1 pit lane starting with the 2014 season. There’s a regulation for 2014, which would need F1’s combustive engines to shut off upon entering the pitlane, and self start at the exit of the pitlane. What would power the car in its brief time in the pit lane? Electrical power!

Do you think this regulation makes sense? Do you think F1 is pushing it too far in its attempt to achieve a ‘green’ image?
Share your thoughts with me at kshah@autox.in