2010 Formula One World Championship

[purch]

OK so the silly season is (for the most part) over. Now down to the "off season". So many changes, rules, drivers, new teams...this is how they all stand as of now:

Mercedes GP
1. Nico Rosberg
2. Michael Schumacher
Engine - Mercedes

Red Bull
1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber
Engine - Renault

McLaren
1. Jenson Button
2. Lewis Hamilton
Engine - Mercedes

Ferrari
1. Felipe Massa
2. Fernando Alonso
Engine - Ferrari

Williams
1. Rubens Barrichello
2. Nico Hulkenberg
Engine - Cosworth

Renault
1. Robert Kubica
2. TBA
Engine - Renault

Toro Rosso
1. Sebastien Buemi
2. Jaime Alguersuari (expected)
Engine - Ferrari

Force India
1. Adrian Sutil
2. Vitantonio Liuzzi
Engine - Mercedes

USF1
1. Jose Maria Lopez (conditional)
2. TBA
Engine - Cosworth

Campos META
1. TBA
2. Bruno Senna
Engine - Cosworth

Virgin Racing
1. Timo Glock
2. Lucas di Grassi
Engine - Cosworth

Lotus
1. Jarno Trulli
2. Heikki Kovalainen
Engine - Cosworth

Sauber
1. Kamui Kobayashi
2. Pedro de la Rosa
Engine - Ferrari

So it's 13 teams at the time of writing..rumour has it that there may be less come the start of the season. From my perspective it is nice to see the Lotus name back in F1 (if they line up on the grid), though we all know it isn't the REAL Lotus. It's actually a Malaysian company, Proton, which has bought the Lotus name for F1 purposes. I applaude their employment of Jarno, but Heikki just doesn’t do it for me as an F1 driver…

It's also good to see Webber line up again the young Vettel again. These guys were more evenly matched that most thought last year IMO.

Of course the biggest news is the return of Michael Schumacher. Umpteen World Championships to his name already...how will he fare against a young, hungry Rosberg? They both join the silver arrows of Mercedes (formally Brawn, and last years Constructors' Title winners)

Speaking of past greats' relatives, we finally see the name of Senna back in F1. Whilst many will compare Bruno to his great Uncle Ayrton, we should all we aware that he is his own man. At the same time I hope he does his Uncle proud (if indeed his team makes it to the grid)

Speaking of Brazilians, one Felipe Massa is back in the hot seat after his horrifying and quite freakish shunt in Hungary qualifying last year. This year he lines up against Fernando Alonso, the man once touted as the best driver on the planet, until he was beaten fair and square by Lewis Hamilton in the same car. In fact, that label of the “best of the best” is well and truly up for grabs in 2010.

Joining Lewis in '10 is the winner of the '09 WC, Jensen Button, to make a completely British team at McLaren. My tip is for Lewis to blow Jensen away with raw pace, but if tactics and patience come into it, then perhaps Jensen will be more competitive than I think.

Of the other young guns not already mentioned, I look forward to seeing Kubica (already a race winner and a proven performer when the car is right), Alguersuari and Di Grassi go around. The less well known name making a comeback is Pedro de la Rosa. I always thought he had talent too, but with Sauber backing him he might just be out of his depth still. Time shall tell. Pre-season testing to come...

What are you thoughts?

[purch]

2010 F1 Winter Testing Calendar
February 1 - 3, Valencia
February 10 - 13, Jerez
February 17 - 20, Jerez
February 25 - 28, Barcelona
Early February - Barber Motorsport Park, Alabama (USF1)

[purch]

2010 F1 Calendar

14 Mar – Bahrain
28 Mar – Australia
4 Apr – Malaysia
18 Apr – China
9 May – Spain
16 May – Monaco
30 May – Turkey
13 Jun – Canada
27 Jun – Europe (Valencia)
11 Jul – Great Britain
25 Jul – Germany
1 Aug – Hungary
29 Aug – Belgium
12 Sep – Italy
26 Sep – Singapore
10 Oct – Japan
24 Oct – Korea
7 Nov – Brazil
14 Nov – Abu Dhabi

I must say, it's great to see Canada back on the Calendar....one of my favourite tracks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAd64s4Ofhs

[RustyCage]

Speaking of Brazilians, one Felipe Massa is back in the hot seat after his horrifying and quite freakish shunt in Hungary qualifying last year. This year he lines up against Fernando Alonso, the man once touted as the best driver on the planet, until he was beaten fair and square by Lewis Hamilton in the same car. In fact, that label of the “best of the best” is well and truly up for grabs in 2010.

Hamilton was given specialty treatment by McLaren, and ended up on the same amount of points as Alonso, hardly beaten fair and square.

Am surprised to see de la Rosa back in a race seat, has never done anything in the past so I'd be surprised if he gets near Kobayashi.

Campos today passed their final crash test, so that part of the car is ready to go. The doubtful team so far is USF1, who seem a long way behind all the other teams. If one of the teams does fall over, Stefan GP is ready to take their place, having bought Toyotas car and data, crash tested a car, hired drivers, created a team, and are about to start testing, all without a place on the 2010 grid!

Bring on the first race! Very excited about this season, probably more than any in the past.

Go Renault!!

[devilsadvocate]

Great thread Purch!

Can't wait to see Lotus back on the grid either! What I would give for the good old days in the late 80's - Lotus being a genuine contender, with Nelson Piquet at the wheel. These were the days:



Also agree it's great to see Canada back on the calendar!

Fingers crossed for Webber this year. If Red Bull can up their budget a bit, there's no reason why he can't better last year's effort. It'd be great to see him win in Melbourne.

McLaren Mercedes have done well to bring in Button. All British team with the 2 most recent world champions.

Finally, I think it's great that the British GP will be at Silverstone for the near future at least.

On a bit of a side note, how good would it be for little old Adelaide to stick it up the vics, install lights all around our old street circuit and pull the F1 back home? Pipe dream - I know!

[purch]

If you visit the new Lotus F1 web page (http://www.lotusf1racing.my/) it gives us a hint that their livery might be something like this; on the 49 (an absolute classic):



I like that!

But I could also live with this:

[purch]

Well here is a first glimpse of the new Lotus (really a "Proton") courtesy of autosport:



In a selection of other news:

1. Ferrari quickest in all 3 days of Valencia testing

Day 1 Times
01. F Massa Ferrari 1:12.574 102 laps
02. P de las Rosa BMW Sauber 1:12.784 74 laps
03. M Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:12.947 40 laps
04. N Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:13.543 39 laps
05. G Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.846 86 laps
06. R Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:14.449 75 laps
07. S Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:14.762 18 laps
08. R Kubica Renault 1:15.000 69 laps

Day 2 Times
1. F Massa Ferrari 1:11.722 124 laps
2. K Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:12.056 96 laps
3. L Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.256 108 laps
4. R Kubica Renault 1:12.426 119 laps
5. N Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:12.899 119 laps
6. R Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:13.377 102 laps
7. S Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.823 107 laps

Day 3 Times
1 Alonso Ferrari 1:11.470 127 laps
2 de la Rosa Sauber 1:12.094 80 laps
3 Schumacher Mercedes 1:12.438 82 laps
4 Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:12.576 97 laps
5 Button McLaren 1:12.951 82 laps
6 Petrov Renault 1:13.097 75 laps
7 Hulkenberg Williams 1:13.669 126 laps

Things to take from this: Well it's only early days, but Williams, Torro Rosso and Renault all look to be struggling for pace. It would seem that this year's Ferrari is better than last years car. Massa and Alonso were both quickest in their respective sessions. Brawn has said that the Mercedes is a bit off the pace but I reckon they'll have lots of tricks up their sleeves between now and Bahrain. Sauber set impressive times on all 3 days and word is that they were running full tanks to set those times (maybe its the Ferrari power unit coming into play??). Still nothing from last year's other big team, Red Bull...we have to wait until Jerez testing for indications of their early pace.

2. If reports are correct Campos look doomed...Monday has come and gone

3. Todt reveals USF1 and Campos can miss the first 3 races without penalty

4. Stefan GP (a team funded by the Serbian govt) have announced that they have started freighting garage equipment to Bahrain, despite the fact they don't have a 2010 grid spot...

5. Senna, Grosjean among potential Stefan GP Formula One drivers

[Cambridge Clarrie]

After the procession in Bahrain, what's the chance of this weekends race being a decent spectacle?

Red Bull and Ferrari seem to have the pace but I reckon Mercedes will build over the next few races.

A points result for Schumie in his first race back I would consider a success and I expect that he may even pop up for a win or two before the end of the season.

Let's hope Mark can get over the line first, but my tip is Vettel by 15 secs+...

[Danger Mouse]

Hamilton feeling the heat from the quick red bulls?????
http://au.sports.yahoo.com/motorsport/n ... e-hamilton

[devilsadvocate]

Rosberg fastest in today's practice session.

I've had a cheeky punt on him to finish on the podium. $3 @ $16

[Cambridge Clarrie]

Rosberg fastest in today's practice session.

I've had a cheeky punt on him to finish on the podium. $3 @ $16

Not bad odds for what is effectively last years champion team...

[the joker]

FORMER Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was caught hoon driving and had his car impounded last night.
The English McLaren driver did a burnout and a fishtail in a 2010 silver Mercedes along Lakeside Drive in front of a Victoria Police divisional van, that pulled him over.

He will be charged on summons with improper use of a vehicle. The sports car was towed to a police yard in Raglan St in Preston, where it will be held for 48 hours under anti-hoon laws.

The divisional van saw Hamilton turn into the street with smoking wheels and pulled him over.

Senior Constable Scott Woodford said the 2008 world champion stopped right away and was "extremely co-operative".

It would have been fair to say he was fairly disappointed with the incident," he said.

Hamilton was interviewed for around half an hour in the car, and would have been routinely breath-tested.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
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Hamilton, who was visibly upset, had his car towed away and impounded and will also receive a fine.

It is understood he told policemen at the scene that he was worried this would dent his reputation.

The Herald Sun understands that he was not taken back the police station for questioning.

The incident happened at around 9.15pm last night.

In 2007, Hamilton was banned from driving in France after being clocked driving at 123mp/h (around 200km/h).

He was given an on-the-fine and his sports car was impounded by French police

[purch]

That's pretty funny. Must be embarrassing for Lewis

Yes Bahrain was a bore fest, but unfortunately that track has a history of banal races. Interesting thing from Bahrain was Rosberg quicker than MSC in every sessison AND in the race. I can't help but think that both the Mercs held up Button and Webber for most of the race. The best battle of the race was between Lotus and Virgin down the tail end of the field. More of that please...but preferably between teams fighting for podiums..

However, Melbourne is no better as far as tracks go. It's a pity we have to wait so long for Silverstone, Spa and Interlagos.

There are 4 methods that I reckon could be used to make the racing better:

1. Ban diffusers entirely; to help slipstreaming
2. Get rid of rev limiting; to help slipstream passing
3. Get rid of the limit on engines and gearboxes per car per year - to stop drivers nursing their cars instead of racing. This was evidenced by the Ferraris in Bahrain who had the pace over Vettel at about 3/4 race distance, but then nursed home cars with hot/almost overheating engines and worn tyres. I fear that for those teams planning to see their their current engine through the first 3 races of the season we might see more of this in Melbourne.
4. Make a bigger differencial between soft and hard tyre performance and durability. Surely this could be done by mid season...

Thoughts?

[purch]

Well I must eat my words. That is probably the best Aussie GP I've ever seen in Melbourne. I forgot to take into account the Melbourne weather...How about that OVERTAKING!!?? Can you just put it down to the rain or is there more to it?

Am I happy about the result?

Yes.

- Kubica is a driver who deserves to be on the podium more often...wonderful drive!
- Felipe beat his team mate this time...and deservedly so...well done Massa! Points in the first 2 races...consistency is everything in the long term
- Rosberg easily beat MSC again. I am starting to have doubts about Schumcher, but I know that is a dangerous thing to do.
- Jensen's drive was phenomenal...forget the early pit stop and just look at his laps times compared to any other car....when there were cars with fresh tyres on. Amazing..
- Mark had a lousy day. Wrong side of the grid at race start despite P2 in Qualifying...but kudos to him for matching it with Lewis throughout the latter half of the race. Yes he did make an error, and yes he has apologised to Lewis. Such a shame that he didn't come into the pits for slicks on the same lap as Button, rather than having to wait that extra lap. It cost him heaps and he had the bit between the teeth every moment after that.... very impressed with the way he and Lewis caught the Ferraris

Big winners are McLaren, Renaualt and Ferrari. Big loser is RedBull...

[Cambridge Clarrie]

Spot on Purch.

The extra lap he had to do before his first stop really cost him. As they mentioned in commentary, it was probably his worst race so far as mistakes are concerned. I doubt he'll get an opportunity like that to win the AGP again. In fact, I can't see him in a Red Bull next year...

Despite being a Webber fan, I'd really like to see Vettel win the next few races. He's definitely the class runner of the field but is sitting with a paltry 12 points after two races.

What are your thoughts on this years points scoring system? Personally, I'm not a big fan of rewarding 9th and 10th.

I reckon Malaysia will be a Bahrain type race unless there's weather mixed into the equation. Without the weather today could have been quite boring (though I agree that it was quite a riveting race).

[devilsadvocate]

Rosberg fastest in today's practice session.

I've had a cheeky punt on him to finish on the podium. $3 @ $16

Not bad odds for what is effectively last years champion team...

I'm an idiot. Rosberg was fastest in Friday's practice. I jumped on Centrebet to back him for a top 3 finish, but actually chose Kubica. So I had Kubica at $16 for a $48 return.

A mistake that turned to gold. Love it!!!

On the race; it was a very exciting race IMO after the procession in the Gulf. Button's huge gamble paid massive dividends. His first lap on slicks looked like he'd struggle to get around 2 complete laps. But his and McLaren's call to go to dry's was a brilliant piece of timing and by the time everyone else caught on, Button had it in the bag.

I really think Webber was presented with the same opportunity as Button. He could have jumped in and onto the same dry setup a lap before Vettel and gone on to win, but he didn't make the call and paid the price.

Poor Vettel though. 2 races where he was dominating, 0 points.

I'd say Hamilton will be pretty pissed off at Webber today. Webber blatantly took him out and in turn cost himself points. Silly mistakes by Webber yesterday.

There's something about Jensen Button. He's a great character and obviously has loads of talent. He's flamboyant without being irritating. He's been successful without being arrogant. I really hope he goes on and wins the championship again this year. There's no reason why he cant with McLarend putting together a strong car.
Oh and he has a smoking hot missus too!

[purch]

I reckon Malaysia will be a Bahrain type race unless there's weather mixed into the equation.

I think you might get your wish there CC:

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3429/6063931/Another-wet-race-expected-in-Malaysia

Let's hope they can go full race distance (or 2 hours on track) this year. Who is there to eat ice cream with no Kimi there anyway??

[Cambridge Clarrie]

I reckon Malaysia will be a Bahrain type race unless there's weather mixed into the equation.

I think you might get your wish there CC:

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3429/6063931/Another-wet-race-expected-in-Malaysia

Let's hope they can go full race distance (or 2 hours on track) this year. Who is there to eat ice cream with no Kimi there anyway??

Yeah! Last year was memorable...

Watch for Vettel to absolutely cream them here. I reckon the Red Bull will take P1 and P2 in qualifying and Vettel will win from Webber by over 20secs.

[purch]

I reckon Malaysia will be a Bahrain type race unless there's weather mixed into the equation.

I think you might get your wish there CC:

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3429/6063931/Another-wet-race-expected-in-Malaysia

Let's hope they can go full race distance (or 2 hours on track) this year. Who is there to eat ice cream with no Kimi there anyway??

Yeah! Last year was memorable...

Watch for Vettel to absolutely cream them here. I reckon the Red Bull will take P1 and P2 in qualifying and Vettel will win from Webber by over 20secs.

Interesting thoughts. Webber went off in P2 yesterday and was slowest of the "established" teams. Ferrari seem off the pace so far too. I'll go for a Vettel - Hamilton front row this time.

Last year Webber had everyone on toast in the rain, at least in terms of lap times, before the deluge caused a halt to proceedings. IIRC he was lapping 2-3 seconds quicker than anyone, incl. Vettel. But I think that was due in part to a few drivers having the wrong tyres on.

Regarding the points system, I do not like it one bit. A win has always been worth 9 or 10 points in my time. From this point on there is no sense in tallying how many points a driver has scored in their career for comparison purposes. To say that it gives incentive for drivers to go for the win is senseless, esp. after what we saw from the Ferraris in Bahrain. I personally thought that the 10-6-4-3-2-1 for a top 6 was the best, because to score you had to finish in the top 25% or thereabouts. If you ignore Hispania, Lotus and Virgin who don't look like scoring points this year, then that means you only have to finish in the top half of the field to score points...a bit generous if you ask me.

[brod]

Australian Mark Webber made the most of running a new engine to clock the fastest time in Saturday's final free practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver, whose car suffered an engine failure on Friday, outpaced nearest rival Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren by little more than one-hundredth of a second.

Webber, 33, who finished a disappointing ninth after colliding with Hamilton at his home race in Melbourne last Sunday, clocked a best lap time of one minute and 33.542 seconds.

Hamilton was second in 1:33.554 ahead of Webber's Red Bull team-mate German Sebastian Vettel with Spain's Fernando Alonso fourth for Ferrari and seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher fifth for Mercedes.