It's not long now before the 2013 Formula One season kicks off in Melbourne and these pages will show my opinions on who should be the one to watch, the one to not watch and any surprises that could happen between Melbourne and Brazil on November 24th. The season has already taken one major twist at the tail end of the grid with Luiz Razia being replaced almost as quickly as he was announced at Marussia by Jules Bianchi. The reason given by the team was lack of payment by sponsors but at least now Ferrari Academy driver Bianchi can finally get some F1 seat time.
4. One To Watch At The Back
Let's face it some of the grid has to be at the back be it their generally ineptitude or the fact they haven't got the machine to mount a decent challenge. Either way they can still be classy doing it and this season I think that person will be Max Chilton. The Marussia, as hard as the team try, will probably be a back marker they just don't have the finances to be able to match the Torro Rossos or the Saubers. However, in Chilton they have a driver who could do a decent job his form in last years GP2 certainly sees him start off on the climb to greatness and he will be hoping that continues. Although his results have not been anything to shout about - fourth place in GP2 and a career high second in T-Cars - he is one to take a bet on for the future. I'm taking a massive leap here and I am going to compare him to Audi Sport driver and multiple Le Mans winner Allan McNish, if you discount Allan's sportscar career before F1 (which include the ALMS) you could say his stint in Formula 3000 was nothing that set the world on fire a high of fourth being the end result. However, I don't need to tell you, the well informed reader that after a 19th place finish in 2002 with Toyota the world of Le Mans Series racing has seen an absolute icon grace it's tracks. Even Chilton has sportscar experience which he could go back to if F1 doesn't pan out (Bruno Senna to Aston Martin anyone?) an excellent 6th place in the 2007 1000KM of Silverstone, beaten only by the all conquering Peugeot 908 and the legendary Pescarolos was a very respectable result. Summary: A good one to watch - he could spearhead a Marussia charge into midfield if the team give him the right tools for the job and the AON sponsorship is a good bargaining chip.