Racing News

Formula 1 2010 Spanish GP Preview

After a three-week break F1 heads to Spain for the fifth round of the 2010 championship.

At this race we will learn a lot about how the rest of the season is likely to pan out for two main reasons:

Firstly the Catalunya circuit is the ultimate test of a Formula 1 car. It’s for this reason this track has been the most popular venue for testing for a long time now. Hence why most drivers could probably drive the track with their eyes closed.

The car needs to have very good aerodynamic efficiency to cope with the track’s high speed and long corners.  Also Catalunya is one of the most punishing tracks on tyres. The tyres have to withstand heavy load in those long corners. Therefore having a car that is kind to its tyres is critical here.

2010 Malaysian GP Review: Vettel Wins with Red Bull 1-2

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull showed that why they were the most feared team before the season started as finally the Red Bull managed to hold up and Vettel drove the perfect race to finish a one-two for the team with Mark Webber coming in second.

Though rains made qualifying unpredictable with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren missing Q1, they stayed away from the race and though Vettel was not bothered much by anyone, there were awesome fights across all the other positions on track.

Lewis Hamilton drove one of his best races and though was at times a bit too aggressive, it was great to see him finish sixth after starting from the 20^th . Though towards the end he struggled to overtake Adrian Sutil, but it was a great site to see Force India keeping ahead of McLaren.

Teammate Jenson Button managed to come in eighth but was luckily to keep out Alonso,  who had gear problems which eventually not only caused him problems in overtaking Button, but with a lap to go the engine blew up causing him to lose two vital points.   Now he is tied second in the championship with Vettel while teammate Massa leads the table for Ferrari with a two point lead.

McLaren New Signing Produces Stunning Results

Early this year, McLaren has signed Dutch kart racer Nyck de Vries to its young driver development programme. The 14-year-old is being managed by Anthony Hamilton and the Hamilton Management Group, who firmly believe in Nyck’s status as an up-and-coming junior racer.

This European Champion and winner of WSK in KF3 in 2009, Nyck De Vries made some spectacular debuts in the top category of karting, Super KF. The young Dutch driver (15 years) immediately engaged in a fight for victory against the best drivers in the world. Already very fast at the Winter Cup, at the wheel of his Zanardi-Parilla from Chiesa Corse Team, he quickly confirmed his excellent state of form when mounting on the second step of the podium at the inauguration of the WSK Euro Series, just behind double world champion Ardigo. An excellent result, which he immediately dedicated to the F1 McLaren Team.

F1 2010 Fever

If you have not been following news about Formula since last season ended, this article is just what you are looking for. We take a look at the changes made for the upcoming season, allowing you to catch up on what has been missed.

Lotus Racing

Out With the Old and In With the New.

Since the last season, there has been several blows to Formula 1. First off, two major players have pulled out of the Series. Both Toyota and BMW have decided to pull the plug and back out of Formula 1. Whilst there is a team on the grid that is named BMW Sauber, it no longer has backing from BMW. USF1 has also pulled out just before the season is about to begin.

Despite major manufacturers pulling out due to economic reasons, there is also an influx of new players. Virgin Racing, Hispanic Racing Team and Lotus Racing will be participating in F1 2010.

F1 2010 : The Rookies

The Senna name is back in F1 for the first time since 1994, courtesy of Bruno. The likes of Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are always going to command the most attention in F1. But we shouldn’t overlook the rookie field of 2010, which is one of the most promising we’ve seen in years. And it includes the return of a name which is even more famous than those three.

Nico Hülkenberg

2009 form: GP2 champion, 100 points, five wins

If there is such a thing as a textbook route into F1, Nico Hülkenberg demonstrated it.

His 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix campaign for Team Germany was a tour de force – he was never seriously rivalled on his way to the championship. He went on to mimic Lewis Hamilton’s feat of winning the F3 Euroseries and GP2 championships in successive seasons with the crack ART squad.

Zoran Stefanović Waits His F1 Chance

F1 has been bleeding big players. BMW have gone, Toyota have gone, Honda have gone. Really and truly, Renault have gone, even if their name lingers on like the Cheshire Cat’s smile. Nobody who has studied the sport’s history has been surprised by any of this. It has always been the case that mass-market car makers come into F1 and drop out again. Only Mercedes remain of the volume car makers, at least for now, and they are not so foolish as to think they can build a successful F1 car.

After a long association with McLaren, they now have their name pasted on the car built by Ross Brawn’s team and have brought Michael Schumacher back into F1 to drive it. Should we F1 fans mourn the loss of the big boys? I don’t believe so, but we do need their places on the grid to be filled. To me and to other F1 traditionalists, independent teams are the heart of the sport. By independent, I mean not controlled by and bearing the name of a mass-market car manufacturer. Which is why I extend a cautious welcome to the new 2010 F1 teams.

Toro Rosso and USF1 Confirm Drivers, Heidfeld Latest

Before the start of this week, there were five race seats available for the 2010 Formula One season, now there are just two.

Toro Rosso has confirmed that young Spaniard Jaime Alguersauri will remain with the team, not exactly a secret, but the paperwork has finally been completed, and the deal formally announced.

Alguersauri replaced Sébastien Bourdais half-way through the 2009 season, finishing just three of his eight races, but just 19-years-old, he still has a lot to learn, and a lot of miles to run before his career takes off.

Elsewhere, new team USF1 is finally on the verge of announcing their first driver as Argentine José María López joins the team.

The team expects to make a formal announcement next week, but López’s manager has already confirmed the deal.

Piquet moves to NASCAR for 2010

Nelsinho Piquet has revealed he will be racing in NASCAR this year after giving up on landing a Formula 1 drive.

The Brazilian, who has been involved in the ‘crashgate’ affair after leaving the Renault F1 team during the 2009 season, did not confirm in which series he will race this year, but made it clear it will be in NASCAR, meaning it will be either the Truck, the Nationwide or the Sprint Cup series.

Piquet tested a NASCAR truck from the Red Horse Racing team in October last year and is expected to test again this month.

“I have spent the last few months carefully evaluating my options for this year,” Piquet wrote on his website. “I had to choose a path and it was a difficult decision to make.

“Being successful in Formula 1 was always my goal but I have learnt that happiness is just as important as ambition and after my first 18 months in F1 did not go as planned I have decided to focus on something different and have chosen to take a route in America.

“NASCAR is hugely challenging and nobody has ever come in as an outsider before and gone on to win it – it will be the ultimate challenge.

“I will let you know more details on the exact programme soon.”

He added: “This will be an awesome new challenge for me, and a healthy one. I have always been open to new challenges and I will be putting everything I have into this. I have found a good group of people that are really willing to help me in my career and I am grateful that they are there for me.

“I think it will be a positive environment and a good life experience. I am sure this year is going to be fantastic and I am very excited at the prospect of my future.I will miss Europe and all the friends I have there but I will always have my successes there to be proud of.

“I am sure I’ll still do some racing in Europe as I have a lot of ambitions in my life, one of which has always been to win the Le Mans 24 Hours.”

Source: autosport.com

The Return of Cosworth: An F1 Legend Screams Again

On June 4, 1967, Jim Clark won the Dutch F1 Grand Prix in a Cosworth-powered Lotus. That was Cosworth’s first F1 win, and they went on to become the most successful engine builder in F1 history.

Numerous F1 world champions were propelled to victory by Cosworth engines. Jim Clark, James Hunt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti, Kiki Rosberg, Jochen Rindt, Alan Jones, Graham Hill, Nelson Piquet; all of them were Cosworth-powered F1 champions.

Michael Schumacher scored his first F1 victory in 1992 and his first world championship in 1994 with a Cosworth engine screaming behind him.

A fabulous history, then, but what can they do now? Is their glory of another day?

We’ll know soon enough.

For the 2010 F1 season no less than five teams will be using Cosworth engines, so if all those teams actually run, Cosworth engines will be the most numerous on the grid. Bernie Ecclestone does not believe all those teams will run, he does not believe they all have the finance to, and he may well be right.

The Edge

Before looking at the Cosworth-powered teams, it may be worth asking if an engine can give an F1 car that winning edge.

In 1968, there were three teams using Cosworth engines; they won all but one grand prix and finished with the top three championship places. That was not coincidence, it was a demonstration of Cosworth’s absolute supremacy at the time.

In the current era of F1, engine development has been severely restricted by the FIA, which has had the intended effect of equalising power outputs. It is no longer possible for an engine to give a team a decisive edge, and we saw that in the 2009 season.

The most successful driver, and thus the champion, was Jenson Button in a Mercedes-powered Brawn car. Behind Button, second in the championship, was Sebastian Vettel in a Renault-powered Red Bull car.

Yet the highly-rated Fernando Alonso finished a long way down the rankings, despite being Renault-powered, and Mercedes engines did not elevate Force India to the top rank.

An engine does have to be reliable, for a string of DNF’s will scupper a driver’s ambitions for certain. And because there will be no in-race refueling in 2010, engine economy will assume crucial significance. The thirstier an engine is, the greater the fuel load the car will have to start the race with, and weight increases lap times.

Quite possibly, the chances of a Cosworth engine powering a 2010 F1 winner will depend on the chassis design more than anything, so let’s have a look at the teams who will produce those cars.

Williams

Drivers: Rubens Barichello and Nico Hülkenberg

Williams F1 have been a very successful partner for Cosworth in the past, although I suspect their adoption of a Cosworth engine for 2010 is due more to price than nostalgia.

Of all the five Cosworth runners, Williams seem to be the most certain to actually appear on the grid. In recent years they have been no better than a mid-field team, and there have to be questions about their ability to hang a winning chassis design together.

Frank Williams and Patrick Head must be coming towards the end of their F1 careers now, it would be a fine thing to see them raise a last hurrah.

Rubens we all know and smile about, Nico is a GP2 series winner and a hot prospect. They look a good pairing to me.

Virgin Racing

Drivers: Timo Glock & Lucas Di Grassi

Richard Branson’s money has put his Virgin brand name on a car produced by Manor Grand Prix. Manor have been successful in Formula Renault and Formula Three, and the Virgin team will have Nick Wirth as Technical Director.

Wirth made his mark on F1 as chief designer for Benetton, and was owner of the Simtek F1 team. The Virgin car is the first to be designed entirely by using computational fluid dynamics simulation technology, and that’s a great phrase even if it doesn’t produce a front-runner!

Overall I find Virgin the most intriguing of the new entrants, and I only regret their unexciting driver line-up.

Lotus F1 Racing

Drivers: Jarno Trulli & Heikki Kovalainen

Given that their backers include the Malaysian Government (via car maker Proton), it does at least seem highly likely that Lotus F1 will actually put cars on the grid.

Sadly, the team is nothing to do with the legendary Lotus race-winning machine founded by the great Colin Chapman.

They have Mike Gascoyne as Technical Director, and he has F1 experience aplenty, if not a cabinet full of trophies. The team began as a venture by Litespeed, a reasonably successful F3 team, so they appear to start F1 life with enough racing expertise aboard to make a not-too- embarrassing debut.

It is good when a new team brings at least one new F1 driver’s face to the circus, but Lotus F1 have gone for two faces that are far from being that. Jarno and Heikki? I’d rather see Wallace & Grommit.

US F1

They’ve got a website, a YouTube channel, and some big talk; with a car and some drivers they could really go places.

There have been media reports of drivers being offered US F1 seats if they can bring sponsorship worth millions of dollars to the team, it’s all very sad.

US F1 should have been a big thing for F1, attracting new interest and support in America, but Bernie Ecclestone does not think they are going to happen, and it is hard to disagree.

Campos Meta 1

Drivers: Bruno Senna & TBA

The Campos car is being built by Dallara, who have a long and successful history of producing open-wheel racers, notably in Formula 3 and IndyCar.

Team Principal Adrián Campos has a long racing history as an F1 driver and then running various racing teams, he gave Fernando Alonso his first professional drive.

On the face of it, Campos appear to be a sound contender, except that they have not yet secured a major sponsor, and that may be the reason Bernie Ecclestone has publicly doubted they will make it to the F1 grid.

There may be better qualified F1 newbies than Bruno Senna, who is coming to F1 at a relatively late age, he will be 27 in 2010. The Senna name in F1 again will attract a lot of attention to him, and merciless criticism if he does not live up to it.

The Return

The last time Cosworth power won a grand prix was at Interlagos in 2003. That was an unfortunate last win, because the result was only settled after a court battle resulted in Giancarlo Fisichella being declared the victor.

If an F1 car with a Cosworth engine scores a win in 2010, and I don’t care which team achieves that, then the engine king will truly have returned.

Source: bleacher report

Formula BMW Sponsorship Finalists Results

We are pleased to announce the drivers who have been selected to take part in the Finals of our Formula BMW Sponsorship Program.

No surprise was Chrissy Palmer, as he earned his place by winning the Formula Ford Festival Duratec Final at Brands Hatch in October. We had to choose eight other drivers and it was so difficult that we ended up choosing nine! The standard was amazingly high and we had many so many champions taking part that it was clear there would be many surprises.

Here are the lucky ten in alphabetical order:

1.Elliot Burton 19 United Kingdom

KF1 karter

2.Gabby Chaves 16 USA/Colombia

2009 Formula BMW Americas Champion

3.Daniel Domit 21 Mexico

Novice

4.Eftihios Ellinas 17 Cyprus

Multiple Rotax Champion Cyprus

5.Jesse Krohn 19 Finland

Formula Renault UK race winner 2009.

6.Jordon Lennox-Lamb 17 United Kingdom

KF1 karter

7.Chris Maliepaard 18 Netherlands

3rd British Formula Ford 2008

8.Stevan McAleer 25 United Kingdom

Skip Barber National race winner

9.Chrissy Palmer 18 United Kingdom

Formula Ford Festival Duratec Champion 2009

10.Richie Stanaway 18 New Zealand

2009 New Zealand Formula Ford Champion

We’ll just have to see whoe does well in the Finals where they will be tested in a Formula BMW.

Read more

2010 F1 Season Preview and the Return of Schumi

By: Daniel Charles

Once again, we have come to the end of the 2009 racing season, where we saw some of the best action taking place in Formula 1. As we enter into a new year of racing, many changes have to been made to the grid. Top teams like BMW, Toyota which were once thought to have an unlimited flow of funding, are down and out for the count just like Honda did so a year back. It looks like the global recession has hit some of these factories harder than we can imagine.

However, as the saying goes, out with the old and in with the new. So the good thing is that there will be 4 new F1 teams filling up the grids.

1.Campos Meta 1: Spanish-based GP2 team led by former racing driver Adrián Campos, who lodged an entry for his Campos Racing team in conjunction with Meta Image.

2.Virgin Racing: Headed by F3 owner John Booth and former team owner Nick Wirth was an unknown entrant until the FIA published the 2010 entry list on 12 June 2009. The team was originally entered as Manor Grand Prix prior to Virgin’s investment.

3.US F1 Team: A group led by designer Ken Anderson and former Williams employee Peter Windsor.

4.Lotus F1 Racing: A partnership between the Malaysian government and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs. Mike Gascoyne, whose previous Lotus entry with Litespeed was unsuccessful, will be the technical director.

Although these new teams will not be able to run with the kind of budget that some of the fore runners have, they will present a new era in Formula 1 where cost is brought to a minimum whilst not compromising on the quality and the excitement of racing. Hence, everyone will be holding their breath in 2010 eagerly looking on to see if the legendary Sir Richard Branson can yet again conquer another business challenge with his F1 team.

With any season preview, it is always essential to take a look at what has happened in 2009, if you ask any F1 fan, the first thing that would be on their mind would be the success story of the Brawn GP team and Jensen button. After 10 years, without much luck and success in Formula 1, Jensen got his 1^st F1 Championship title with his highly experienced team manager, Ross Brawn.

An amazing feat that started out with dominance by the team during the early stages of the season followed by consistent finishes towards the season close to clinch the title. Their win was been a subject of criticism since the win was not considered typically “convincing” as they looked to have scraped past the victory line rather than to have sped across it.

Question now lies with Jensen button. Could he defend his title in 2010 when he is set head to head with Lewis Hamilton as his new team mate? After all, the young Lewis Hamilton is still fantastically quick as he showed in 2009 when he managed to clinch 5 podium positions in the latter part of the season when the car seemed to be more drivable.

Watch out for Lewis and Button on the track as we could very well see a remake of the bitter rivalry that once plague the McLaren team when Senna and Prost were competing for dominance in the sport. However, our panel of experts still think that the rare talent and speed of Hamilton is still going to be a dominating factor in the McLaren team and Jenson will just have to work harder to earn the same kind of respect and favour he did when he was in Brawn GP.

Now to add even more spice to the entire McLaren team, Mercedes has announced a split with McLaren after they bought a 75% stake in Brawn GP renaming it Mercedes GP. Joining them in the driver line up is Nico Rosberg which has been confirmed and also Michael Schumacher has confirmed his participation with Mercedes GP to be their driver for the 2010 season. After weeks of speculations, it was finally annouced that the 7 time world champion will make a full comback and issues with his neck injury which caused him to stay out of the cockpit as Massa’s replacement has now been resolved. It has been reported that the 7 time world champion got interested to race again after a brief stint in a Ferrari F1 car got him hooked onto the racing bug. We will be waiting to see if this dream team will be able to do the most important thing of all, win world a championship. Now that Michael is back, whose to say whats going to happen for F1 next year? Only time will tell.

Now onto the Ferrari Camp. Massa has been itching to get into his cock pit office space even since the incident at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he was struck on the head with a part from the Brawn GP car. Known for his incredible pace as a qualifier and controlled driver during races, Massa will be one that will be dying to prove himself again on the race track after his long medical leave. He is been actively taking part in kart races and even winning the Granja Viana 500-mile kart race. But Massa won’t be having it easy in 2010 with the exit of Finnish F1 Champion Kimi Räikkönen as he will be repace by 2 time world champion Fernardo Alonso.

Alonso driving for Ferrari after a horrid year with Renault that saw 3 retirements for the young Spaniard and only a 3^rd place best finish in Singapore. Back when Alonso was in Mclaren, the bitter rivalry between Hamilton was one of the most well fought battles in F1 for a long time and with Alonso switching to Ferrari, that may well be a possibility with Massa too. We’ll be still expecting Alonso to be able to change the Ferrari team around to take the fight to the Redbull and Mclaren team.

Overall, the 2010 will be a fantastic season to watch with the new entries and also switching around of drivers. When the first race takes places in March 2010, fans will definately be assured of an action packed weekend at Bahrain where teams try to fight for their 1^st win of the season.

Here is a short list of People to watch for 2010:

1) Nico Hülkenberg: German Driving sensation discovered and managed by Willi Webber which was also the person that discovered the Schumacher brothers. Winning the GP2 season in his maiden season, Nico will definately be looking to prove himself to the world as he partners Rubens Barrichello in the Williams F1 Team.

2) Lewis Hamilton: No one will truly take out Lewis from the grid of champions. With a 2009 slightly recoved, the Mclaren paddock are all ready and fired up to get a championship winning season in 2010. With Lewis hamilton as their lead driver, that is definitely a strong possibility.

3) Michael Schumacher: The 7 time world champion has decided to take up Mercedes GP as his team for the 2010 season, his experience and racing talent will something that will be a force to be reckon with. All eyes will be on him to see if he still has what it takes to compete in the levels required for F1.

4) Jenson Button: The 2009 Reigning World Champion that has everything to prove to the motor sport world and to tell everyone that he is indeed a good driver and his championship is not only because of the brilliant work from the Brawn team.

5) Fernardo Alonso: The Spanish world Champion is desperate to get into a competitive car after 2 season with Renault a 1 season with Mclaren. Hopefully with Ferrari backing him up, it will his time to stretch his legs to make some headlines in F1 yet again.

The Reincarnation Of Lotus Confirmed

So, the name of Lotus storms back into Formula One. And with quite a considerable bang, it has to be said.

The team, despite being in the hands of completely different owners and staff, have a lot to live up to when driving under that famous name.

Whether we will ever see Lotus back at the front of the Formula One grid remains to be seen. Seeing a Lotus at the front in 2010 seems extremely unlikely. But the team have laid down their plans for 2010 with confidence, and rightly so, given their newly-announced driver line-up.

Firstly, we have Jarno Trulli. Now reaching the twilight of his career, the Italian has never been a glimmering star of the F1 field, but his performances have always been consistent enough for him to stay on the grid for what will be his 14th season in motorsport’s pinnacle.

Trulli is taking on a mission rather similar to David Coulthard’s venture to Red Bull: developing a new team and help them to become an established force on the Formula One grid.

He will, of course, be out to prove himself. Even at the ripe old age of 35, Trulli is still regarded as one of the finest drivers over one lap. His problem, particularly in the last few seasons with the recently departed Toyota team, has been turning his mesmerizing one-lap pace into race results.

He does, however, bring with him the experience of a single race victory.

Exactly as many as his team-mate in waiting, Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn was hotly tipped to give Lewis Hamilton a run for his money at McLaren after a successful spell at Renault got his F1 career off to a flyer.

It is safe to say, however, that his two years at McLaren were not the most enjoyable. Kovalainen often showed in qualifying what raw pace he possessed, but very rarely turned it into a race result worth shouting about.

A solitary race victory (and an extremely fortuitous one at that) in Hungary after Felipe Massa’s engine had cried enough is all Kovalainen really had to show for his efforts at McLaren, compared to Lewis Hamilton’s seven race wins and a world championship to boot.

In the year that Hamilton stole the title from a once again unlucky Massa in dramatic circumstances, Kovalainen finished a lowly sixth in the overall standings, behind both BMW drivers.

The drivers are extremely difficult to compare on past results, as Trulli has been around for so much longer than his Finnish counterpart.

But both seem to have the same fundamental problem: turning their raw pace into consistent race results.

Both drivers have a point to prove. Trulli would, like any other driver, love to end his career on a high, whereas Kovalainen is in desperate need of a revival after his career was practically left in tatters with McLaren.

It is also particularly important that both drivers prove their worth, or Lotus’ ambitious and confident start will come to nothing if results are not delivered in comparison to their rival debutants, Campos Meta, Virgin Racing and USF1.

If the drivers cannot live with the race pace one again, then Lotus will struggle to live with the pace of the F1 paddock that has changed so dramatically since they last competed in the sport.

Source: bleacher report

Kimi Raikkonen’s Future Revealed: Rallying for Citroen’s Junior Team

Kim Raikkonen, the 30-year-old 2007 World Champion, will be rallying next season for Citroen’s junior rally team in the WRC.

The Finn has signed a one year deal with Citroen’s Red Bull backed junior team. This would give Citroen a great boost, having the greatest driver in Rallying in their main team, Sebastian Loeb, and an ex-F1 World Champion.

Kimi will team up with fellow compatriot Kaj Lindstrom as his co-driver, who previously partnered multiple rally champion Tommi Makinen.

“I always wanted to compete in rally, especially in the World Rally Championship at some point in my career,” said Raikkonen, who impressed on his debut at the Rally Finland, earlier this year. ”Thanks to Red Bull, I have the opportunity to drive the best car of the series with the Citroen C4.”

Citroen team boss Olivier Quesnel as released a statement about Citroen’s future.

“We will continue to count on Sebastien and Dani to defend our world titles in 2010. We will also be prolonging our association with Sebastien Ogier who showed outstanding potential this year.

“Last but not least, it is with immense joy that we welcome Kimi Raikkonen to our ranks. We are very proud he has chosen Citroen.”

Raikkonen will contest 12 out of 13 events, as the team are not entered into the New Zealand Rally.

Raikkonen has said he will return to F1, but only if he is offered a seat in a title winning car, stating, “We will see what happens in the future.”

Raikkonen is taking a sabbatical after Spaniard Fernando Alonso was given his seat at Ferrari, and Kimi failed to secure a seat at his old team, McLaren, who took the 2009 World Champion Jensen Button instead.

The question is now, however, is whether many Raikkonen fan’s will begin watching more Rallying to see if their can man perform as well as he has done in F1.

Source: Bleacher report

Lewis Hamilton. 2008 Formula One World Champion. Game Over.

It is now mathematically impossible for Lewis Hamilton to retain the World Drivers Title. It is September of the following year. This is normal in Formula One with a relinquishment rarely happening without only a few races to spare, if any at all!

How many of you thought, however, that it would take this long, 13 races in total, for him to lose his crown following the start of the season that he endured?

A disqualification, the possibility of being thrown out of the Championship after just one round, and a lot of mediocre results had the World Champion genuinely struggling to love the sport he has strived to compete at the top of since he was a very young boy. He was struggling, and due to the current international media machine, it showed, and was visible to the world.

Yet the McLaren Motor Racing Machine based in Woking pulled together, and somehow Lewis slowly mounted a charge, just a case of too little too late really. By the time he got properly up and running, Jenson Button had already won six Grands Prix, and was well on his way to a possible world title.

So we reach the end of the “European Season” and with it, what honestly seems like the strangest of crashes from one of the current driving masters. Nobody will know what Lewis was up to at the first Lesmos corner on the last lap, other than he was pushing too hard. Nobody will be harder on him for that error than himself. Especially considering that it certainly wasn’t a last dash attempt to keep his vague championship hopes alive, as he required Button to finish fifth or lower, and not score any more points all season, as well as for Lewis himself to win every remaining race to be able to retain his crown.

So if this wasn’t the incentive then what was? A fastest lap at the end of a race means nothing, especially since there are no points awarded anymore for the man lapping the quickest in race trim.
In the current generation of computer games left, right and centre, it seems like Hamilton was just going through the motions in “Arcade Mode”, having a bit of fun and almost hoping he’d breeze up to the back of Button and pass with ease.

He ended up with pieces of car all over the road with no way of pushing a “Restart” button.
Championship over Lewis…

GAME OVER

source: bleacher report

2010 Driver Market Analysis: Can We Please See Some Action?

Never before have we gone this late in the season without knowing very much about the look of the grid for next season. But the game seems to have changed greatly over the last few weeks. Going team-by-team, in order of Constructor Standings:

Brawn

Everything that Team Principal Ross Brawn is saying about next year indicates that he wants to bring back the current driver lineup of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. And why not? Both drivers have delivered this season, and they appear to have a friendship and good working relationship.

The only issue that Brawn needs to consider is the unique driver market in 2010. Only five drivers on the grid—Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, and Felipe Massa- have confirmed race seats next season.

As such, there has never been such an abundance of talent on the market at one time, especially young talent. Brawn may feel that, in order to secure a young talent for the future, he may need to dump Barrichello to make way for one.

But if Ross Brawn is anything, it’s patient and forward-thinking. He knows how well his current team is gelling now, and with Barrichello still on form and having plenty of juice left in the tank for another go or so, there’s not really much of a reason to dump him. There will surely be opportunities in the future to sign young talent, especially if the team builds on its success this season.

Predicted Drivers Button and Barrichello.

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are confirmed for next season.

Ferrari

Ferrari have confirmed Massa will be ready for the start of next season and will be with the team.

The Fernando Alonso-to-Ferrari rumors just will not die, even though they should. Ferrari have maintained throughout that both Massa and Kimi Raikkonen are contracted for next season, and they have done so without waffling.

Furthermore, Raikkonen has come alive since Hungary, with three-straight podiums and a win. He’s done something for the first time in his career that many people didn’t think he was capable of doing: taking leadership of a team during a difficult time.

Ferrari would be stupid to dump Raikkonen at this point, given that the Iceman has shown he still has it and that he and Massa have a good working relationship. They would be taking an especially high risk with Alonso, who, regardless of what one thinks about his driving ability, has shown he’s willing to blow up a team if things don’t go his way.

Furthermore complicating the “Alonso-to-Ferrari” plot is a report that the team made an aggressive approach to Vettel before he signed an extension with Red Bull, apparently offering him a seat beginning in 2011. This just happens to be the year that both Raikkonen’s and Massa’s contracts expire, as well as the year by which Alonso is supposedly guaranteed to be in a red car.

If this is true, then it calls into question what interest they really had in Alonso, who surely wouldn’t approve of having to go up against another young super-talent.

Predicted Drivers Raikkonen and Massa

McLaren

Martin Whitmarsh has finally signalled McLaren’s intent in the driver market, and that intent has a familiar ring to it when it comes to the team’s strategy in hiring drivers:

Hire the best driver they can.

The persisitent rumor is that Mercedes’ thirst for a German driver will sway McLaren to hire Nico Rosberg, the young German ubertalent. But if Whitmarsh’s recent comments are any indication, talent will come before other concerns.

Whitmarsh stated in Valencia that his greatest regret is that McLaren did not manage the situation with Alonso properly in 2007, indicating that his desired situation is to have two championship drivers in the team pushing each other.

He has also publicly backed Raikkonen in the media in a variety of situations. When David Coulthard questioned Raikkonen’s car development ability, Whitmarsh retorted that the Iceman’s contribution to development was very valuable.

He furthermore praised Raikkonen’s performance publicly in Valencia, all in the context of firing the “improve your race pace, or else” warning to Heikki Kovalainen.

Whitmarsh’s comments may be intended as a signal to the Raikkonen camp that Macca wants him, as does his statement that he will wait and see what happens with Alonso before Woking makes their driver move. But every sign from Maranello points to Raikkonen being in a red car next season.

If McLaren are going to hire the best man can, which they have signalled to be their intent, then it appears they need to decide if they think Rosberg or Robert Kubica is better.

Rosberg has shown promise in many moments in his F1 career, and this season he has displayed consistency perhaps unmatched by any other driver on the grid. It is also apparent that he has high technical savvy, as he scored the highest ever on the technical aptitude test that Williams gives to its drivers

On the other hand, Kubica is perhaps the more skilled driver of the two. While Rosberg has not particularly shown in wet races, Kubica has thrived in them with an array of impressive rain drives from the moment he entered F1. Furthermore, Kubica is the one who has achieved a grand prix victory and proved he can contend in the thick of a championship campaign.

And with cars having similar performance levels relative to the rest of the grid in 2006, Kubica outperformed Rosberg in the brief period at the end of the season in which he raced that year.

Both drivers came through the the development path with Hamilton and are well-acquainted and friendly with him, suggesting that the working relationship at McLaren would be harmonious.

While Kubica is linked to Renault and Rosberg has said that staying at Williams is a possibility, both are in prime position to move themselves into more competitive cars and teams for next season. In Formula One, such a chance doesn’t come often, if more than once or even ever.

McLaren is the team with the most resources and promise of consistent competitiveness season-to-season. If either Kubica or Rosberg get the call, you can bet they’ll answer.

Predicted Drivers Hamilton and Kubica or Rosberg

Toyota

It has long been rumored that Toyota is on the way out of Formula One, but a recent reports indicate that they will remain but with cost cuts.

Toyota is probably in the worst position of signing drivers of any team currently on next season’s grid, as their budget for next season reportedly will not be approved in Japan until after the 2009 championship is over. This puts them likely not only at a development disadvantage next season, but also with less leverage in the driver market.

Compounding the problem for them is that, despite reportedly spending more money than any other team for a long time in Formula One, they have yet to win their first grand prix or have a sniff at the championship. They blew their one chance at a win this season with a poor strategy in Bahrain, a weekend in which they had the quickest car.

Toyota has signalled that they want Timo Glock back. But Glock will likely have offers from teams whose competitive future looks brighter than Toyota’s, so keeping him will be a task.

They have signalled that they will part with Jarno Trulli, who didn’t help himself with his botching of what looked to be a shot at victory in Spa with his poor start. Odds are he will have to deliver a win, and soon, if he’s to keep his seat.

Toyota won’t contend for young drivers like Rosberg and Kubica, who will surely have their pick of more competitive seats to fill. As large cost cuts are expected, it’s more like they will sign at least one affordable veteran driver to replace Trulli.

One strong possibility for the seat is Kovalainen, who appears to be exiting McLaren. It is reported that many teams think he is better than the form he’s shown with Macca, and he would be an affordable hire who has previously shown competitive form in a midfield car.

Another possibility would be Nick Heidfeld, who is looking for a team more competitive than what will be left of the BMW-Sauber team. Heidfeld would also be affordable, and he has been credited with good technical aptitude.

Predicted Drivers Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen

Williams

Pencil in GP2 Champion-to-be Nico Hulkenberg for one seat. Everyone in the paddock knows how good he is, and Williams would be flat foolish to let him walk to another team (who would most likely be McLaren). Frank Williams isn’t an idiot.

Williams is in a fantastic position to select the driver for the other seat. They have shown competitive form this season, and in an era of cost-cutting, what many feel to be the best-run team on the grid will be in prime position to compete with a lean-and-mean operation.

While nearly everyone is reporting that Rosberg will go to McLaren, it’s by no means a guarantee. Rosberg has praised Williams’ form many times this season, and as perhaps the smartest driver on the grid, he likely sees the direction in which they are headed for the future.

If Rosberg signs with McLaren, then Williams’ choice seems to be between the current BMW-Sauber drivers, Kubica and Heidfeld. Kubica is younger and quicker, but Heidfeld performed well with the team in 2005 when it was the BMW works team and would provide valuable experience to the team.

Williams is back in competitive mode, though, and they’ll elect the quickest driver available.

Predicted Drivers Hulkenberg and Rosberg or Kubica

Renault

Renault, for some reason, are a hot destination in the rumor mill. This is a shock, considering their uncompetitive form for three seasons straight, the controversy in which they have continuously involved themselves, and the perception in the paddock that it is Alonso’s play den.

For starters, Alonso should be expected back at Renault next season. All signs point to Raikkonen staying with Ferrari in 2010. BMW are pulling out, and Toyota look set to be uncompetitive next season.

Unless lots of unheard noise is being made about him among the likes of McLaren, Brawn, and Williams, there really isn’t a better team on the grid than Renault for whom he can drive next season. Furthermore, it is quite apparent that he will always be Flavio Briatore’s backed driver, so why leave such a secure position if a better one isn’t available?

Rumors are that Renault wants Kubica. But it’s doubtful that Kubica will select them over teams like McLaren and Williams, who are currently more competitive and look to be more competitive in the future.

Renault will certainly give Romain Grosjean the rest of the season to prove his worth. He has performed decently in his first two races, and odds are good that he’ll have the second seat next season.

Predicted Drivers Alonso and Grosjean

Force India

Fresh off an amazing performance for the team in Spa, it looks as though Force India may indeed one day become competitive. They will not sign a major name for next season, but the future looks bright for the team.

Adrian Sutil looks set to return. Team Principal Vijay Mallya thinks highly of him, and rightly so, as Sutil has impressed quite a few times while nonetheless failing to close the deal.

Giancarlo Fisichella’s seat is now open, as Fisi fulfills his dream to drive for Ferrari for the rest of the season in relief for Felipe Massa before becoming the reserve driver in 2010. Current reserve driver Vitantonio Liuzzi has been rumored to be in line for the seat, and he is reportedly scheduled for a straight line test before Monza.

Mallya has said that he wants an Indian driver with the team, but given the progress it’s showing, he surely realizes it’s no time to install a pay driver who doesn’t have the talent to deliver and help the team progress.

The critical piece in Force India’s development has been Fisichella’s input for the last season and a half, and he is an asset who will be sorely missed. Look for the team to turn to a veteran driver on the market who can help the team with development.

Their pace in Spa has greatly increased their stock among such drivers. The performance of the car on low-drag circuits indicates that perhaps the team may have a car worthy of victory next season at places like Spa or Monza. If this is the case, then the direction seems aimed toward Heidfeld.

Predicted Drivers Sutil and Heidfeld

Toro Rosso

The team have said flat out that Jamie Alguersuari’s time this season is preparation for next season. He’ll be back.

As will Sebastien Buemi, whose inconsistent form has shown he needs more seasoning before he is ready to step up to a more competitive drive.

Predicted Drivers Alguersuari and Buemi

The Team Currently Known as BMW-Sauber

Their future is completely up in the air. However, they have Christian Klien on the roster as a reserve driver itching for a chance at a race seat. He’s a good bet to take one of the seats.

Trulli likely won’t find anything better than this seat on the market if he wants to stay in F1. He’ll certainly get a call from USF1, as Peter Windsor does his best every grand prix weekend to make the American F1 audience very uncomfortable with his impromptu fawning over the Italian’s driving. But I doubt Trulli will stoop that low.

Predicted Drivers Trulli and Klien

USF1

USF1 will definitely higher a veteran development driver to help the team in its first year or so. And they’re going to need him in fine form, as reports are that the Cosworth engine they will be using could be up to three full seconds off the pace. Alexander Wurz seems the strongest contender.

Jonathan Summerton is rumored to have visited the team’s base recently. He seems to be the favorite for the “American” seat.

Predicted Drivers Wurz and Summerton

Campos

Pedro de la Rosa, longtime test driver for McLaren and one of the best as such, looks set for a ride with the young team. Surely, Campos is smart enough to realize the impact the Spaniard could have on the first-year Spanish team.

As for the other seat, the main contenders appear to be Lucas di Grassi, Bruno Senna, and pay driver Vitaly Petrov.

Petrov is the weakest of the three, but reports are that he brings up to $15 million in sponsorship from Russia with him. Clearly, he’s a strong contender for a seat with a team that needs cash to get it off the ground.

The ultimate journeyman of the young GP2 series, di Grassi has performed solidly throughout his GP2 and entire F1 development career, if unspectacularly. It’s pretty hard to imagine what the former winner of the Macau Grand Prix has to do to just get a Formula One seat.

Senna has perhaps permanently doomed his chances of a Formula One career by choosing not to race this season. Another year in GP2 with a competitive team could have seen him smooth some rough edges and possibly contend for the title, boosting his credentials.

Predicted Drivers DLR and di Grassi

Manor Grand Prix

OK, so we know they’ll have Virgin as the title sponsor.

Now, what? Is Richard Branson going to drive the car, too? Isn’t skydiving enough for Mr. Mid-life Crisis to get his kicks?

Source: bleacher report

KERS to Be Used in Formula One in 2010?

Cutting costs has been one of the biggest topics in F1 recently and it has lead to radical changes in the regulations of both the 2009 and 2010 seasons. One of the biggest contradictions to the overall theme of cost cutting has been the implementation of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System.

Teams have spent large sums attempting to fine tune the new technology which harnesses the normally wasted kinetic energy during braking and converts it into an 80 horsepower boost at the push of a button on the driver’s steering wheel.

For 2009 this feature is optional, but claims that it would become mandatory for the 2010 season were at large earlier this year.

After a series of reliability and safety issues emerged this season due to the devices, Ferrari and McLaren became the only two teams still left with the desire and budget to run it.

It had been suggested that KERS would be abandoned at the end of the season but an article on the official F1 website outlining the new qualifying session layout suggests the contrary. At the end of the article the newly raised minimum weight rule is mentioned.

“Minimum car weight has been raised by 15kg to 620kg, to give teams running KERS more flexibility in terms of weight distribution and set-up, and tyre warmers will still be legal, despite previous talk of the heated blankets being banned.”

The text seems to suggest that KERS will again be an optional feature for the teams. The implementation of an optional KERS system not only goes against the spirit of cutting costs but it also makes for an unbalanced grid with some cars being able to leap to the front at the start of races like Ferrari and McLaren have displayed numerous times this season.

This will also decrease the overtaking opportunities by the cars not running the system as KERS has been used effectively as a defensive tool this season as well.

Why not eliminate KERS and with some of the money saved, allow a little more in season testing? Why not level the grid so that all cars have equal opportunities during the starts and during the races?

source:bleacher report

Luca Badoer Gets His Chance After Michael Schumacher Cancels Comeback

Just as quickly as Michael Schumacher took Felipe Massa’s ride as his replacement, he gave it back. An injured neck, sustained in a motorcycle crash back in February, will keep the German away from the track in Valencia.

While the shock of Schumacher’s non-return is making headlines, what isn’t is the driver who will step in and fill the void while Massa recovers: Look no further than tester Luca Badoer, a driver with the dubious distinction of having driven the most races without scoring a single point.

I’ll go out on a limb and say he’ll end that streak in Valencia. This year’s Ferrari may not be a race winner, but it’ll definitely get into the points, or even on the podium.

So, just how will Luca Badoer do in his role as driver? Of course, this will not be his first go around as an F1 race driver; he raced for Scuderia Italia, Minardi (twice), and Footwork, before taking the role as tester for the most famous of F1 teams.

A simple look at F1 Rejects will tell you the stories of those teams, so it comes as no surprise that Badoer couldn’t score points with any of them.

Plus, luck hasn’t exactly been on his side either. Case and point: Look back to 1999. Schumacher broke his leg at Silverstone and would miss a nice chunk of the season. Badoer, who had just signed as their tester, looked to be set for a drive in (arguably) that season’s best car.

But, as you well know, Mika Salo was given the ride, and Badoer had to keep his role as test driver. And people say Johnny Herbert had the worst luck of an F1 pilot.

It seems only fitting that the Italian (a nice bonus for Ferrari I’m sure) will finally get his chance. Even Luca di Montezemolo admitted the loyalties of the veteran tester, and that he deserved a chance to race.

“We have decided to give Luca Badoer the chance to race for the Scuderia after he has put in so many years of hard work as a test driver,” said the Ferrari president.

So, what could be a realistic result for Badoer on his return to a race seat? Given that the car is not for it, and that we’re unsure of his own capabilities as a racer, a win is a little too much to expect of him, especially on his first outing.

However, as I said earlier, points should definitely be in the cards. The Ferrari F60 has improved greatly through the year, and has turned into a solid points scorer, if not a podium contender. A finish up in the top eight would do very well.

source: bleacher report

F1 Unable To Get Rid of Michael Schumacher despite Best Efforts

Michael Schumacher will make a shocking return to Formula One this month despite his advancing years and lack of experience in the new Formula One cars.

His return is not a surprise to many who are involved with the sport, as the German even admits, he’s just been waiting for someone to ask him to drive.

“I’ve been hanging around dropping hints to all the bosses, but no one would get it,” exclaimed the 40-year-old German. “I’ve been bored out of my mind. I tried to convince people I was the Stig, and then they saw I couldn’t drive a normal car. I even tried motorcycles, but I kept falling off”.

Despite his desperation to get back into a Formula One car, others were not so keen to see him around.

FOTA seemed certain they would never have him race again. After crisis meetings earlier this season, all the teams agreed to ignore Schumacher in the paddock, hoping he would just go away.

“We all liked his brother, but Michael just won’t let it go,” explained an unnamed team owner. “He’s like that kid who’s too big to join in but still tries; none of us have spoken to him in two months, but still he’s here”.

The crisis talks were well-documented in the press, but FOTA and the FIA managed to keep the topic secret by making phoney press statements about less important issues.

Unfortunately, Felipe Massa’s accident could not have come at a worse time for those involved in Formula One.

Formula One tried promoting the test drivers and teenagers in its circuit, but in a disastrous turn of events, it appears many of those drivers have yet to pass a basic road safety test and are unable to drive.

This oversight has left Ferrari with little choice but to return the calls of the former world champion and allow him to drive.  But even now, Williams, Red Bull, and Toro Rosso are openly plotting against the man who made the sport so boring by winning everything.  And it’s not just them.

It has been overheard at several dinner tables that the Drivers’ Association are teaming up with FOTA and the FIA to make things as difficult as possible for Schumacher in the hope his failure will discourage him from being around.

Sebastian Vettel was overheard this week claiming, “We’re all going to block his moves and make sure he finishes in the bottom four or five; that will teach him”.

This coming from a young German who no doubt saw the man as an idol a few short years ago.

Apparently, the self-proclaimed “King of Racing” has outstayed his welcome in the paddock, and everyone involved in the sport will be doing all they can to stop him in Valencia, hoping the humiliation will force him away for good.

The question is: Can they stop this once-great racing driver?

Source: bleacher report

Pic: Getty Image

Michael Schumacher Is Coming Back To Formula One

Fuji pulls plug on Japanese GP

Fuji International Speedway has pulled the plug on hosting the Japanese Grand Prix in the future, track officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The circuit had been planning to share the event with Suzuka, having held the last two Japanese GPs, but the global economic downturn that has affected track owners Toyota has forced a rethink.

A statement on the circuit’s website said that although planning had already been underway for the 2010 event, the track had no option but to abandon its plans.

“In view of the sharply deteriorating business conditions and few signs of a rapid economic recovery, we decided it would be extremely difficult to continue holding the F1 Japanese Grand Prix,” said the statement.

Fuji returned to the F1 calendar in 2007, following huge efforts by Toyota to revamp the circuit.

Lewis Hamilton won that first event amid torrential conditions, while Fernando Alonso took a surprise win for Renault in last year’s event following a chaotic first corner.

Fuji said its focus now would be on holding Formula Nippon and Super GT events.

Hiroaki Kato, president of the Fuji track, could not hide his disappointment at the decision that brings an early end to the track’s return to the F1 schedule.

“After only having announced barely three years ago, in March 2006, that Fuji Speedway would hold the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, it is heart-wrenching that we were not able to avoid the decision to abandon our plans to hold the race from 2010,” he said.

“To the people who attended the event at Fuji Speedway last year and the year before, to those who were looking forward to the event there in the future, and to all those locally and elsewhere who granted us their immense understanding and encouragement, I deeply apologize for a result not commensurate with your expectations.

“At the same time, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for your kind support.

“Fuji Speedway intends to devote itself with even greater intensity to promote motor sports. For this, we humbly seek your continued understanding.”

Suzuka is due to hold this year’s Japanese GP, and the future of the country’s race will now depend on whether the track’s owners Honda wish to bankroll the event in the future – having already pulled out of F1.

Toyota’s decision to stop the bankrolling of the Fuji event, which Reuters has suggested was costing it around £12-£18 million GBP, come against the backdrop of the company expecting overall losses of £5.5 billion GBP in the business year to March 2010.

Source:autosport.com