Continued from Part One
Toro Rosso
STR head into 2010 with a fresh challenge of having to design their own charger, no more help from Adrian Newey and big brothers Red Bull with the rules on customer cars clarified after Prodrive's faliure to enter using a McLaren B car. That saying though, the new car looks a bit too like this year's Red Bull but it will most likely be a topic swept under the carpet. Buemi and Alguersari remain although the latter will need to deliver and at least match his Swiss team-mate. Alguersari can't use the excuse of being thrown in at the deep end like last year, with plenty of testing miles under his belt before turning a wheel in anger in 2010. I think Toro Rosso may struggle a bit this year but may have just enough speed to score the odd points finish. Expect a driver change in mid-season is all I will say on them really.
Lotus
First of the new team and probably the most impressive heading into Bahrain. With their highly experienced line-up of race winners Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen their first aim is to finish and then make sure they at least beat Virgin Racing. The link to the Team Lotus of old may be tenuous but Mike Gascoyne's design team definitely have a lot of spirit and determination having only been confirmed of their entry in September with next to no time to design a car for the new season. An achievement realised much better than across the pond at USF1, more on their faliure later. Being a few seconds of the pace, all the new teams will struggle to get out of Qualifying one but no becomes winners overnight. It took Brawn in their many forms (from B.A.R to Honda to Brawn) 10 years to get it right, so good luck to Norfolk team.
Virgin Racing (formerly Manor)
Second of the new teams and closest to my heart being based in South Yorkshire, John Booth's Manor Motorsport outfit have been backed by Richard Branson's megabucks and are already in a private battle with Lotus and their owner, fellow man with big planes, Tony Fernandes. Manor have been highly successful in the lower formulae, even taking care of Lewis Hamilton in his Formula Renault days. They were 5 seconds off his McLaren pace though at the final test so once again a race finish is a target to achieve. Reliability has been a bit wobbly so far with hydraulics being a main issue as well as a slightly embarrasing front wing faliure in the first test, to put it blunty, the thing fell off giving ex-Toyota driver Timo Glock quite a shock. German Glock is joined by Lucas di Grassi, another GP2 star over the last two seasons. Come on Virgin, you have the best livery in F1, make me proud.... please.
BMW Sauber Ferrari... what
And the award for biggest FIA fail of the off-season goes to? Whoever thought not allowing Peter Sauber drop the 'BMW' from the official title of the team name, even though they have no connection to BMW anymore and even have Ferrari engines. Former owner Peter Sauber has reacquired the Hinwii based squad from BMW and got them to the grid, a great achievement and things don't look to bad if you see past the lack of sponsors on the bodywork. The car has been quick in testing in the hands of old-hand Pedro De La Rosa and starlet of Brazil and Abu Dhabi, Kamui Kobayashi. Bridgestone say the car is kind on its tyres, an important feature with the heavier fuel loads. Points are an aim in the fly-away races, a must if they want sponsorship to bring in the money when F1 returns to Europe for the Spanish GP.
Hispania Racing Team (formerly Campos Meta1)
For me Hispania being on the grid is a surprise as I thought they wouldn't be able to scrape funds together but they have done it and Ayrton's nephew Bruno Senna and pay-driver Karun Chandhok line up in a car not tested before Bahrain so expect them to be straight out of the pit lane at 7am GMT when free practice begins. Hopes are low and personally I'm not sure they will last the season. I really want to see Bruno Senna do well, he was unlucky not to win GP2 in 2008 when he finished runner-up to Giorgio Pantano. Blighted by incidents like hitting a stray dog on the track in Turkey hindered his chance to join Rosberg, Hamilton and Glock on the list of GP2 champions. He has speed and talent, maybe not as much as he great uncle but a few good performances and a move to a better team is a possibility (Toro Rosso?).
USF1/Stefan GP
Two other teams were making preparations for 2010 but won't appear. Stefan GP had acquire the designs to Toyota's 2010 car after they pulled out of the sport and looked like they could make the grid when USF1 started making weird PR statements but the FIA in the end said their entry wasn't strong enough which was probably a good thing when it was heard Jacques Villeneuve was in line to drive the car. Onto the comedy of errors that is/was USF1. The first of the new teams first said they would test their car on American road circuits, this never happened. They then said they wouldn't be at Bahrain, Australia, Malaysia and China. Then said they needed Youtube's owner to give them more money, he didn't. And finally it was announced they would not be taking to the grid in 2010 with no car built, no sponsors and no money. 85 people have lost their jobs due to the shambolic management who blamed the mid-season FOTA/FIA arguement as the main reason they weren't ready. In my opinion this is the biggest load of horsedung a team owner has made in a long time. Oh hang on, Flavio Briatore, anyway the shear ignorance of Ken Anderson to use this excuse was if anything offensive to the efforts of Mike Gascoyne and Lotus who had less than a quarter of the time as USF1 to prepare a car for this weekend at least. Good riddance I say, F1 didn't need USF1, its toasters, its fridge (see comical cartoon on YouTube) and someone who would have been F1's worst driver since Yuji Ide, Juan Maria Lopez.
New rules
The big rule change for 2010 is the banning of refuelling. Cars now have to start the race with a full tank of fuel and wear of tyres and brakes will be a bigger concern. The cars have longer wheelbases this year to accomodate the larger fuel tanks changing the look of them to the eagle eyed. It will be interesting to see how the racing changes, drivers perhaps will take more risks in overtaking knowing they probably won't have as much time in the pits. No refuelling also means that precious tenths of a second can be won in the pits by the tyre changers. Apparently the Red Bull boys have got their tyre changes down to 1.8 seconds, impressive stuff. Their are a few other minor changes with narrower front tyres, amended engine rules, top 10 qualifiers having to use the same tyres in Q3 and the first phase of the race and the banning of wheel fairings. A new points system has been introduced which will see the top 10 score points and the winner get 25 points instead of 10, more akin to MotoGP. Some purists have complained saying it will spoil the records for point scores saying it won't be a measure of who is history's best driver. Oooo crumbs, bite me, get a grip I say. The current list is already biased to more recent drivers with more races on the calendar compared to say the 50's where they only raced 7 or 8 times a year and up to the 1980's only the best 75% of a driver's results counted to your final score. The prime example is Juan Manuel Fangio, a 5 time champion back in the old days. Let's have a look where he is in the apparently unflappable all-time points table, 23rd. Behind Ralf Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard and Juan Pablo Montoya to name a few. Good drivers yes but world championships between them, 0. The points system needed to change so leave it to polls in F1 Racing and Autosport to truly decide who is the best of all-time.
New track - Korean GP
F1 sees another Hermann Tilke designed track in Asia join the calendar. Korea should host its first F1 race in October and will look to put on a spectacular show for the F1 circus, competing against the likes of Bahrain, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Whether the track will encourage good racing is yet to be seen. Tilke hasn't got it right yet, Abu Dhabi I was left deflated by with only a couple of end of season battles to tingle the taste buds, the whole track reminded me a bit of something of Crash Team Racing on the Playstation One. The new track in Yongam looks distinctly to be in two parts, two long straights at one end and then a very twisty other half.
My tip for the championship
Lewis Hamilton, the McLaren will be strong and he'll have the edge over Jenson.
If I were a betting man
Felipe Massa, in the shadow of pre-season favourite Fernando Alonso, odds longer but still has a very good shot
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Monday, 8 March 2010
F1 2010 Preview Part One
The last two season in Formula One have seen two of the most epic title battles in the last decade and this new season is once again looking like it could be even better than last year. New teams, new drivers, new rules and a new track to the calendar as well. Here are my thoughts ahead of the curtain raiser in Bahrain.
McLaren
The Woking squad head in 2010 with much more hope than 2009 with the last two world champions in the MP4-25. The car has been quicker in the latest tests with a raft of aerodynamic updates including a slitted rear wing, new diffuser and engine cover to gain the best part of a second over a lap. Their main rivals will be the new/old/slightly changed Mercedes GP (formerly Brawn). The battle between Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton is the most anticipated inter-team line up since Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya. The difference here though is that I think the two Brits will get along and could potentially be McLaren's most successful line-up since Hakkinen and Coulthard. Lewis should edge Jenson on raw pace but the gap won't be as big as last year with Heikki Kovalainen. Plus Jenson has his old helmet back, silly Monster sponsorship gone and luck probably back.
Mercedes (formerly Brawn)
Among many others the news of Michael Schumacher's cancelled return to F1 was probably the most disappointing part of '09. So the return of the 7 time champion with a team other than Ferrari is by far the best story of this close season. With Nico Rosberg alongside him they probably have the most to prove as a line-up but are without doubt very strong with wins for both very possible. The Brackley squad may lag behind McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull but with Ross Brawn still at the helm anything is possibly, another championship is a push but I reckon three race wins is a strong and achieveable target, almost like McLaren in 1997.
Red Bull
Adrian Newey's design was the quickest car at the end of 2009 but unreliability let them down throughout the season. Aerodynamically the Red Bull was the best on the grid as shown by the fact that many of the team have copied the '09 design, especially at the front. The '10 car looks very similar, just with a longer wheelbase to fit in the larger fuel tank. Vettel and Webber remain and of course are both proven as race-winners. Vettel has more raw pace and will want to prove himself against Schuey whilst Webber will be full of confidence after a great 2009 with 2 wins. I found new respect for Webber last year with his great racecraft (Abu Dhabi v Button, what a two laps) and could be one of the biggest entertainers of the year.
Ferrari
At Ferrari we have the only battle where I truly get off the fence and nail my colours to the mast. I don't care who wins the championship this year, as long as Felipe 'Baby' Massa beats Fernando 'Eyebrow Man' Alonso. Massa of course returns after his horrific injury suffered mid-season in '09, refreshed and stronger than ever. There probably isn't a better time for him to take on Alonso who for me needs to prove himself. In '09 he was invisible, OK the Renault was bad but for me he showed no fight, something for example Robert Kubica showed in a similarly tardy BMW last year. The Ferrari looks devastatingly quick and probably arrive in Bahrain as the favourites, but just. The dominant start of season gap they used to have when Messers Todt, Brawn and Byrne were in charge still won't be there. Italy expects, probably more than ever.
Williams
Williams were highly underrated last year for me. They easily matched the works Toyota team over the course of the season and could have scored even more points with a decent 2nd driver instead of Kazuki Nakajima alongside Rosberg. With Barrichello and new boy Hulkenberg on board they have one of their strongest lineups since Mark Webber was at the team. Rubens showed both with his wins and also he rants (Nurburgring an example) that he still has the fight at 37 and won't want to be showed up by reigning GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg, potentially the best of the GP2 champions after Hamilton and a hell of a lot better than his fellow GP2 and A1GP champion Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins on raw pace are too far for Williams but if the top teams falter, podiums are possible and they already have a hand on the Cosworth-powered championship.... if there was one.
Renault
Hold the phone, we have a winner for best livery of the year and my word.... RENAULT. The team that came out with the worst livery since B.A.R zip up the middle 1999 effort in 2009. A combination of white and a regurgated Spanish flag made many feel ill, even more so when it was constantly going in circles in the hands of Piquet/Grosjean. But now with no sponsors the team under new management have gone back to their old 70s/80s look with a yellow and black combo which Eddie Jordan will obviously love and I do to. As for the drivers Kubica is once again a dark horse and although Vitaly Petrov may be a pay driver but he was strong in GP2 last year and doesn't have a three time world champion father breathing down the management's neck. I reckon he could do well. Renault's aim will be to stabalise and score points regularly, they must beat Force India.
Force India
The dark horses heading into 2010, the Silverstone squad have set some good times in testings in the hands of Adrian Sutil. As Martin Brundle says, Sutil needs to stop hittings things and he could score regular points. Liuzzi needs to up his game and revive the form he had at Monza last year otherwise Scot Paul di Resta will be breathing down his neck. My big concern is that they have lost several key technical members of their team to their rivals which could de-stablise them later in the season.
McLaren
The Woking squad head in 2010 with much more hope than 2009 with the last two world champions in the MP4-25. The car has been quicker in the latest tests with a raft of aerodynamic updates including a slitted rear wing, new diffuser and engine cover to gain the best part of a second over a lap. Their main rivals will be the new/old/slightly changed Mercedes GP (formerly Brawn). The battle between Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton is the most anticipated inter-team line up since Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya. The difference here though is that I think the two Brits will get along and could potentially be McLaren's most successful line-up since Hakkinen and Coulthard. Lewis should edge Jenson on raw pace but the gap won't be as big as last year with Heikki Kovalainen. Plus Jenson has his old helmet back, silly Monster sponsorship gone and luck probably back.
Mercedes (formerly Brawn)
Among many others the news of Michael Schumacher's cancelled return to F1 was probably the most disappointing part of '09. So the return of the 7 time champion with a team other than Ferrari is by far the best story of this close season. With Nico Rosberg alongside him they probably have the most to prove as a line-up but are without doubt very strong with wins for both very possible. The Brackley squad may lag behind McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull but with Ross Brawn still at the helm anything is possibly, another championship is a push but I reckon three race wins is a strong and achieveable target, almost like McLaren in 1997.
Red Bull
Adrian Newey's design was the quickest car at the end of 2009 but unreliability let them down throughout the season. Aerodynamically the Red Bull was the best on the grid as shown by the fact that many of the team have copied the '09 design, especially at the front. The '10 car looks very similar, just with a longer wheelbase to fit in the larger fuel tank. Vettel and Webber remain and of course are both proven as race-winners. Vettel has more raw pace and will want to prove himself against Schuey whilst Webber will be full of confidence after a great 2009 with 2 wins. I found new respect for Webber last year with his great racecraft (Abu Dhabi v Button, what a two laps) and could be one of the biggest entertainers of the year.
Ferrari
At Ferrari we have the only battle where I truly get off the fence and nail my colours to the mast. I don't care who wins the championship this year, as long as Felipe 'Baby' Massa beats Fernando 'Eyebrow Man' Alonso. Massa of course returns after his horrific injury suffered mid-season in '09, refreshed and stronger than ever. There probably isn't a better time for him to take on Alonso who for me needs to prove himself. In '09 he was invisible, OK the Renault was bad but for me he showed no fight, something for example Robert Kubica showed in a similarly tardy BMW last year. The Ferrari looks devastatingly quick and probably arrive in Bahrain as the favourites, but just. The dominant start of season gap they used to have when Messers Todt, Brawn and Byrne were in charge still won't be there. Italy expects, probably more than ever.
Williams
Williams were highly underrated last year for me. They easily matched the works Toyota team over the course of the season and could have scored even more points with a decent 2nd driver instead of Kazuki Nakajima alongside Rosberg. With Barrichello and new boy Hulkenberg on board they have one of their strongest lineups since Mark Webber was at the team. Rubens showed both with his wins and also he rants (Nurburgring an example) that he still has the fight at 37 and won't want to be showed up by reigning GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg, potentially the best of the GP2 champions after Hamilton and a hell of a lot better than his fellow GP2 and A1GP champion Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins on raw pace are too far for Williams but if the top teams falter, podiums are possible and they already have a hand on the Cosworth-powered championship.... if there was one.
Renault
Hold the phone, we have a winner for best livery of the year and my word.... RENAULT. The team that came out with the worst livery since B.A.R zip up the middle 1999 effort in 2009. A combination of white and a regurgated Spanish flag made many feel ill, even more so when it was constantly going in circles in the hands of Piquet/Grosjean. But now with no sponsors the team under new management have gone back to their old 70s/80s look with a yellow and black combo which Eddie Jordan will obviously love and I do to. As for the drivers Kubica is once again a dark horse and although Vitaly Petrov may be a pay driver but he was strong in GP2 last year and doesn't have a three time world champion father breathing down the management's neck. I reckon he could do well. Renault's aim will be to stabalise and score points regularly, they must beat Force India.
Force India
The dark horses heading into 2010, the Silverstone squad have set some good times in testings in the hands of Adrian Sutil. As Martin Brundle says, Sutil needs to stop hittings things and he could score regular points. Liuzzi needs to up his game and revive the form he had at Monza last year otherwise Scot Paul di Resta will be breathing down his neck. My big concern is that they have lost several key technical members of their team to their rivals which could de-stablise them later in the season.
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