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Formula One's midfield to be the most competitive in 2017

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz was the last productive driver pairing for Toro Rosso. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
22nd March, 2017
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While many followers of Formula One since the advent hybrid era have been cynical about the sport’s competitive nature; the midfield contingent has delivered some of the most intense racing in recent times.

Whether it’s Red Bull junior driver in Carlos Sainz fighting off a moaning Lewis Hamilton in his inferior Toro Rosso, or witnessing intense wheel-to-wheel combat between Max Verstappen and Felipe Nasr on one of the fastest sections of the heritage Spa-Francorchamps circuit – Formula One’s midfielders have really put on a show in the past two seasons.

2017 promises a pukka contest for the outright championship between the leading triumvirate in Mercedes AMG, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, though it will be the fight for fourth in the constructor’s championship that will fascinate most.

With pre-season testing not really revealing much in regards to the pecking order in the midfield, it will be difficult to gauge where most of these perennial outfits are placed heading into their respective 2017 campaigns.

Force India enter the season with targets on their backs, having duly earnt fourth place in the constructor’s championship in the previous season – a first for the team which was berthed only in 2008.

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Their two podium finishes courtesy of incumbent Sergio Perez and consistency across the arduous 21-race schedule of 2016 was what aided the Silverstone based squad to defeating their more experienced rivals at Williams.

Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez on the Monaco podium

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The team’s Deputy Team Principal in Bob Fernley has come out and stated that targeting one better than Force India’s 2016 outcome might be difficult, which is a little too optimistic it must be said – however the drivers are confident that being the best of the midfield again is their ambition.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” remarked their new driver in Esteban Ocon when asked about the team’s aspirations for the new season ahead.

“Development will be high for every car, because of the new regulations and I think everyone is learning every time you drive.”

Starting his fourth season with Force India, Sergio Perez started that “It’s not important where you start this weekend [the Australian Grand Prix], but it’s where you finish in Abu Dhabi,” highlighting how dynamic 2017 will be with the way teams develop their new machines.

It is already clear that this new aerodynamic era for Formula One will see an arms race of development from all teams. The question will be, who has the biggest budget to come out on top?

The midfield is already convoluted having not even turned a wheel in anger, with the likes of McLaren and Renault entering on the backfoot. This is where the onus turns to someone like a Williams, Toro Rosso, Haas or Force India to step up to the plate and grapple that coveted fourth position.

A team such as Force India whom have been renowned for ‘thinking on their feet’ in the hybrid era, are certainly expected to come to the fore should Renault or Williams fail to challenge them in the midfield (as McLaren are already ruled out of that battle).

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Though with the likes of Williams having retained the services of a veteran of 250 grand prix in Felipe Massa; someone who has driven Formula One cars remotely close to the herculean beasts of the past – Force India’s relatively young driver combination has a lot to show in these supposed gladiatorial chariots that are the 2017 cars.

As does the rest of the midfield, whom the most experienced driver apart from Massa is Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, who only debuted back in 2010 and has contested 115 grand prix – having never raced a car with remotely the amount of mechanical grip than the latest spec Formula One car.

The scrap at the front of the grid may be what captivates most viewers in 2017, though it is advised not to take any attention away from the war that will be raging evermore in Formula One’s midfield.

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