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.

How To Launch a Formula One Car

It’s February, the beginning of a motorsports season (unless, of course, you’re A1GP, which you’re not, because you actually exist) F1 car launch and test season, and in this year more than ever, the strategies for launching a car are many and varied.

If you’re an F1 fan, or even a general racing fan, you’ll be familiar with launches.

They generally consist of drivers, and more occasionally team principal, pulling back a cover, normally of a colour corresponding to the car beneath or the sponsors there on, and revealing a car that looks like it’s been polished to the point just before the paint gets rubbed off.

We get treated to a tidal wave of stories and press releases about how the whole team has been locked in the factory over the winter, designers forced to spend Christmas poring over the front wing design, engine technicians fighting surviving on Pro Plus as they squeeze that extra horsepower out of an old block, simply to get the car finished on time.

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