Life Through A Lens - "It's all about the tyres"



I went to two of the pre-season tests in Valencia and Jerez and it won't surprise you to hear that Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes all look very fast. It really is too close to call, so the races may well come down to other factors than just raw one-lap pace.

I think one of the biggest talking points at the first race will be tyres. I've heard that the softer compounds are basically useless after seven or eight laps when the car is running with full fuel loads. It's going to be interesting to see whether some drivers will risk using the softer, faster tyres in the final session of qualifying, because under the new regulations they will have to use the same ones at the start of the race. Maybe the question we should be asking is will qualifying actually be that important? Imagine if someone qualifies on pole but then has to pit after just seven laps because they've destroyed their soft tyres with all the extra fuel on board. It's likely they'll the get held up in traffic behind competitors who opted for the harder Bridgestones. Perfecting strategy is going to be very important.

But there is also a massive unknown for the teams, because the first race is in Bahrain and the temperature will be over 30 degrees Centigrade. That's far higher than what we've seen in testing where it has typically been between 10 and 15 degrees. The track temperature could be twice or three times as hot as in Spain over the last month, so it's going to make a huge difference. Whether Bridgestone are planning to change the tyre I don't know, but potentially it will make it very interesting.

The other factor, which links in with that, is how fuel efficient the engines are. The more frugal the engine, the less fuel you have to carry - making the cars quicker and a car that is easier on its tyres at the start. I've heard that the Cosworth could be quite efficient, and if that's the case, it will be a massive bonus for Williams who have a good chassis, much faster than the other Cosworth runners.

But it will also come down to the driver. Alain Prost was nicknamed 'The Professor' and the reason why was because he paced himself and didn't go balls out at the beginning of the race. Instead he looked after the tyres and precisely monitored the fuel in order to gain places when his rivals came up against problems. Looking at the current field, only Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello raced before the refuelling era so they might be at an advantage. But whether any of the drivers have a Prost-like mentality will remain to be seen. The good news is that we should see some very exciting battles towards the end of the races as some drivers are on worn tyres or maybe saving fuel and others still have plenty to play with.

I also think there might be a couple of surprises this year among the teams. Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso all look quick and I wouldn't be surprised to see them join the fight at the start of the season. Force India has benefitted from its ties with McLaren and Mercedes, and this year the car looks very impressive when I've seen it in the garage up close. Sauber has an amazing windtunnel and one of the best engines in the Ferrari unit. It's also just hired James Key as technical director from Force India and he's a guy I rate quite highly. As for Toro Rosso, it has supposedly broken its ties with Red Bull but you can't deny that the two 2010 cars look very similar. It will also know a lot of the secrets behind last year's race winning car Red Bull and you can bet it's incorporated those into its design.

It's also exciting for us photographers as we've got a new track to shoot at in Korea and changes to both Bahrain and Silverstone. I think Bahrain and Silverstone will offer better angles and more scope for improved images, as the older corners were very quick and dull. I've got a feeling there will be more overtaking and that always offers improved imagery. We'll have to head to Korea early and do a track walk of the circuit to get to know all the angles and best positions before practice begins. I went there after Japan last year when the circuit was far from finished, but even then you could tell from the plans that it will be an amazing venue. What's more, it's always fun discovering new cultures and parts of the world.

But first we're heading out to Bahrain, where I'm expecting to see lots of changes to the cars. It's our job to make sure we get good shots of them and get in the right place to capture all the battles on track as they emerge. I can't wait.