An interesting couple of hours was spent at McLaren this week, in company with a small group of journalists, talking to key members of the design team and to the boss Zak Brown. Evident immediately was an enthusiasm and a sense of relish which is extremely welcome after the tribulations of the last three years with Honda. Nobody is saying that they will come out and fight for the championship immediately in this first year with Renault, but the target is to be competitive and to see Alonso and Vandoorne qualifying near the front and fighting for podium positions. Chief aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou is actively looking forward to battling against his old team Red Bull, with whom he enjoyed so much success in the early part of this decade, using the same engines and having a clear reference point to aim at. These guys are racers, and when asked if being compared to Red Bull might not cause undue pressure, they replied that’s what they’re there for, and effectively ‘Bring it on’. The rivalry between Red Bull and McLaren is certainly going to be one of the key talking points of the season, and while Red Bull is the bigger spender of the two, McLaren does have the advantage of having a double world champion on the books. 


Fernando is going to be a busy man this year, combining his F1 with the World Endurance Championship, but Zak is convinced that he’ll thrive, particularly if both programmes are competitive. He cited Alonso’s energy and enthusiasm at Daytona this year, especially when the car was on the pace in wet conditions, showing that his competitive hunger is as keen as ever. The feeling is that a happy Fernando is a competitive Fernando, and he likes nothing better than racing, particularly when decent results are achievable. Zak also feels that Stoffel Vandoorne learnt a huge amount from what was a particularly difficult early season for him last year, with more than his fair share of reliability concerns, and that the Belgian’s progress in the second half of 2017 will be built upon this year. Mind you, he’ll be glancing over his shoulder at the young Brit Lando Norris who is now the team’s official test and reserve driver as he attempts to follow in Vandoorne’s footsteps in winning Formula Two this year. 


In terms of adjusting from running a Honda engine to installing the Renault, the design team feel that the decision was made just in time for them to have made the necessary changes and still be on schedule for the start of the season. Indeed the majority of work over the past two months has been on the update package that will be brought to the first race in Melbourne; it seems bizarre that updates take place before the car has even turned a wheel at the first test, but such is the level of intensity in F1. Architecturally the Renault is different from the Honda which has caused some changes to the chassis layout, but not much change to the aerodynamic profile of the car which will be an evolution of last year’s machine. But the look of the car will change more than any other car on the gird apart from maybe Sauber according to Zak, as the new livery will attempt to engage the McLaren heritage in a more telling manner. The Halo cockpit protection will change the look of all of the cars of course, and it was fascinating hearing both Tim Goss and Matt Morris talk about the engineering challenge that has been created; like it or loathe it, the Halo is a fact of life but it has meant a redesign of the monocoque chassis in order to spread the loads that occur at the three attachment points. The discussion confirmed that adding a halo to any existing car in a lower formula is not simply a question of bolting it in; it needs to be incorporated from the beginning of the design process.


Overall, it was an encouraging briefing for those of us that want to see as competitive a series as possible. There’s real confidence that Renault can produce a power unit they can work with, although at one point there was a telling comment from Zak that implied Mercedes are still going to be very difficult to beat given their superiority in this area from the beginning of the current engine formula. Don’t expect McLaren to leapfrog their way to the very top of the charts straight away, but we can hope to see them become a factor amongst the leaders and maybe, just maybe, achieve their first win since the end of 2012 in Brazil. 

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The final round of 2017 brings us to Abu Dhabi for the curtain call on a twenty race escapade which has delivered an intriguing and entertaining season. From Round 1 in Australia the signs were encouraging, and when Vettel chased Hamilton so closely in the early stages it confirmed  that Ferrari had indeed responded to the new regulations with a big jump in competitiveness. Using that pace around the pitstops allowed Ferrari to take the first win, although as it turned out, probably the only victory over Mercedes at a track that favoured neither in particular. Hamilton bounced back in China to make it one all, and the game was on. 

Bahrain saw a significant first pole position for Bottas but what struck me more about that scenario was the fact that Hamilton did not have a car in full health on his final qualifying lap and yet never mentioned it, instead praising his team mate's efforts, demonstrating that this was indeed an entirely new dynamic at work within Mercedes. Ultimately, the lack of internal strife allowed Hamilton to soar to new levels, and he was equally gracious when Bottas took his first win next time out in Russia. 

Barcelona saw a real contest between Hamilton and Vettel throughout the full distance, but this time Hamilton triumphed, and Mercedes looked to have made some useful gains compared to winter testing at the same track. But Monaco was Ferrari terrain, and a missed victory for Kimi Raikkonen. His pole position and early lead should have been converted, but Vettel's more favoured pit stop strategy swapped them around and that was the closest Kimi ever came to winning a race this year. 

Hamilton has an extra gear in Canada no matter what he's driving, but Baku certainly caught the attention. This was another proper two way dice between our pair of title protagonists, but it ended in temper tantrums, penalties and pop-up headrests in one of the most bizarre races of the season. Bottas made the most of an electrifying start in Austria but at Silverstone Hamilton was again in a world of his own, equalling records established by Jim Clark and watching the Ferraris flounder with overworked tyres. The Italian team that had taken a drubbing on the high speed sweeps in Northamptonshire returned with gusto and a one-two in Hungary, but here once again we saw the consequences of a new relationship within Mercedes as Hamilton returned third place to Bottas. Remember how we wondered if he would regret it? Seems an irrelevant question now.. 

Vettel should probably have won Spa, but he was out-raced by Hamilton on the crucial restart and in Italy Lewis became the all time record holder for pole positions, setting his lap in wet conditions yet also dominating in the dry on raceday. The Asian tour followed, and a Ferrari meltdown in terms of reliability and points-scoring effectively ended the challenge. As much as Vettel threw at the race in Austin, he still couldn't prevent Hamilton scorching past as early as Lap 6 and the writing was on the wall. To be fair, Vettel was like a dog with a bone until it was mathematically out of sight in Mexico but after a scrappy race for both of them, Hamilton could celebrate his huge achievement of a fourth world title; game over. 
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Minor compensation came the way of Ferrari in Brazil and now we arrive in Abu Dhabi for the concluding episode. It has been a fascinating season in many ways, pitching two great drivers against each other, seeing new records established and a resurgence from Red Bull which may bode well for an even more open contest next year, especially if McLaren can also join in. I shall remember it for a proper rivalry, more often than not played out cleanly and respectfully, and for a generation of cars that has genuinely put the smiles back on the faces of the fastest drivers in the world. 

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The news this last week of two neutron stars spinning ever closer to one another and then impacting to shower the universe with gold made me realise just how much we might be missing out on a climax to this championship as a result of Ferrari’s recent troubles. It’s as if one of the stars suddenly went off at a tangent and the universe has been left in the dark. But hold on, because there is still plenty of intrigue and interest left in the remaining four races of the World Championship, and arriving in Austin for the US Grand Prix always provides an additional buzz.


Hamilton has a brilliant record in the States, matching Senna and Schumacher for five wins and easily capable of extending that to six this weekend. He is driving superbly well, we have seen no evidence of any dips in motivation and that fourth title is almost within grasp. He seems to relish the Circuit of the Americas, having won the last three in a row, plus the first one here in 2012 when he took on and passed Vettel in a straight fight. The car may be a Diva, according to Toto Wolff but Lewis seems to know how to coax the best out of her. Meanwhile at Ferrari, Vettel’s car (which he named Gina at the start of the year...) is quick in almost all conditions and the team should be more competitive here than in recent years. Seb himself has had more poles than Lewis here, and has taken fastest lap at every race bar one. 


Red Bull will also be in the hunt, with a solid record of podium finishes in the past, and a car that is clearly a match for either of the top two in race conditions. Verstappen is on a roll after that win in Malaysia and a fighting 2nd in Japan, and as long as he’s learnt from the mistake of coming into the pits in Austin when the team wasn’t expecting him, he should be a contender once again.


Meanwhile, in the heart of the pack there’s plenty to watch out for. At Toro Rosso, the Torpedo is back, as Daniil Kvyat is granted another opportunity to prove what he can do. He had one of his best ever performances here in the early stages of the damp 2015 race when he was fighting for the lead with Hamilton; sadly he speared into the barrier at the penultimate corner much later in the race, and it’s those kinds of errors that have kept him from fulfilling his potential. Joining him for what could be a one-off race or perhaps the precursor to more is New Zealand’s Brendon Hartley. At one time in his career he was understudy to Vettel as Sebastian started winning regularly for Red Bull, but Brendon’s single seater results at the time simply weren’t good enough for him to earn promotion. Having rebuilt his career and confidence with Porsche, he won the World Endurance Championship alongside Mark Webber in 2015, he’s on target to do it again this year and he won Le Mans in June. Although it is 33 years since a Kiwi was in a Formula 1 race, the first ever US GP was won by another; Bruce McLaren. 


Toro Rosso have been put in the unusual situation of completely changing their driver line up from Japan partly as a result of Carlos Sainz moving early to Renault, and that’s going to be another focus of attention this weekend. For all the talk about time to settle in, this is F1 and you are judged from the moment you jump in the car, before even leaving the pit lane. Sainz will want to start his career with the team strongly, and he has every chance; he was an excellent 6th last year with Toro Rosso, at the time matching his best career result, and he was 7th the year before in the wet race. Sainz vs Hulkenberg is going to be one of the stories of the next 18 months and it starts right here in Austin. 


So while Hamilton and Vettel’s orbits have separated after the Asian escapades, the ripples of change throughout the grid are like gravitational waves created by colliding astronomical bodies and the outcomes will begin to evolve here in the Lone Star State. 

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1. It's Old School. This is a track of its era, the 1960s, and has remained remarkably true to its original scope. From a flat-out blast dropping downhill past the pits to the meandering S curves that climb back up the other side this circuit is narrow, fast, twisty, and unforgiving. A few inches off line and the car will be clipping the grass to one side, and from there it's often a short distance to the barrier. Mistakes have real consequences, but then the best drivers respond to that with millimetre accuracy and utter commitment. Mind you, one of the strangest statistics here is that Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen with 6 world titles between them have never taken pole position. 

2. Variable weather. While the prospects of a typhoon appear to be slim this year, the variety of weather in autumnal Honshu can still throw a spanner in the works. Temperatures can vary enormously; carry a raincoat, a fleece and plenty of suncream. Even over the course of this weekend the temperatures are set to change considerably from a cool and damp Friday to a warm and dry Sunday and that will have a key influence on outcomes. Mercedes will be looking for cooler temperatures where their package works best, but Ferrari will want the opposite, and look set to be given that on raceday.

3. Lessons from history. Nico Rosberg won this race last year from pole for Mercedes while Hamilton spent the afternoon recovering from a poor start from his front row slot, but failed to find a way past Verstappen at the end and settled for third. Ferrari were the second fastest team but both drivers carried penalties into the race that set them back on the grid, but Red Bull were only a fraction behind on sheer pace. Judging by performance levels in Malaysia it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see pole position going to either Ferrari or Red Bull, even though Mercedes have annexed the front row for the last three years. Red Bull dominated this event when Vettel was winning his 4 titles; now they are in separate camps it is difficult to predict which will emerge ahead. 

4. Dutch on Dutch. Max Verstappen's superb drive in Malaysia just reconfirmed his potential; we know what he's capable of, but it was encouraging to see fortunes favour him for once. As David Coulthard mentioned on our C4 programme, the Suzuka circuit was designed by a Dutchman, John Hugenholtz who was also responsible for the original layout at Zandvoort and another twisty, narrow delight; Jarama in Spain. He used the natural rolling terrain here in Japan to create the only figure of eight circuit on the current calendar. His fellow countryman has excelled on the 3.6 mile layout since making his Friday morning practice debut for Toro Rosso in 2014 and if his luck has truly changed, I reckon his chances of back to back wins are pretty high. But if Ferrari can recover quickly from the setbacks in Sepang and if Mercedes can get the tyres in the right working range, it will still be a mighty tough contest.

5. A warm welcome to Japan. Passionate fans bedecked in handmade regalia wait for hours on end on the approach to the circuit, hoping for the briefest glimpse of their heroes yet always happy, smiling, enthusiastic. Spectators in the grandstand opposite the pits, sitting in their seats well into the night on Saturday just to watch from a distance the work that's going on in the garages, giving the mechanics a real sense that their efforts are appreciated. Despite the fact that there's no Japanese driver in the field and that Honda are not exactly at their best right now, there is still a wonderful atmosphere at this place created by people who simply love the sport, and what could be better than that?