The rumour which has been floating around for some time now has finally been officially confirmed and one of the greatest if not the great Michael Schumacher will make a comeback after a gap of 3 years to partner young German Nico Rosberg in the newly branded Mercedes Grand Prix team. Schumacher has gone through the whole circle and joins the team which backed him during his early pre-F1 career and even paid for his drive during his debut for the Jordan team in 1991 at Spa.
Schumacher a seven time former World Champion with Benetton and Ferrari has most of the records in F1 and the most important thing is that he is reuniting with Ross Brawn with whom he won all his 7 championships. To expect Schumacher to come back and start winning titles is unrealistic but then knowing Schumi, all things are possible and don’t be too shocked if he comes back and drives like he did during the time he left F1.
Niki Lauda has the most amazing comeback which resulted in him winning the title once again in 1984. But Lauda was still in his mid-thirties when he made his comeback while Schumacher would be 41 when he races once again. Age may not be a factor in motorsports to a large extend as other competitive sports but then even if Schumacher is super fit, he just cannot be 100% as good as a 24 year old driver. But knowing Schumacher, he is in for good and he will give his best.
Formula one for the last 3 years have been embroiled in one controversy to other and 2009 was one of its worst years with the race-fixing scandal which rocked the F1 world. Plus 3 manufacturers pulled off in the last one year while another one just sold of a huge stake in its team to an investment company. First Mercedes taking over Brawn was a very positive news for F1 as when the likes of Honda, Toyota, BWM and even Renault all want to exit the sport, Mercedes is involving itself more than it ever did in the last 50 years and we finally get a Silver Arrow team for the first time since the 50’s.
Schumacher making a comeback is a huge positive news for F1 and a whole new generation of fans will see the living legend go wheel to wheel with old rivals like Alonso and Button while guys like Hamilton and Vettel will get to go and test themselves against the greatest of all. Schumacher has frankly nothing to lose and his comeback is not about winning, but it’s about a personal challenge in which he will compete against the best drivers on the grid to see if he has it still in him and even if he wins a few races, that would seal the Schumacher legacy forever.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Nick Heidfeld: Always at the Right Place at the Wrong Time!
Nick Heidfeld is one of the most consistent and talented F1 drivers of this generation and has the dubious record of having the most number of starts without winning a race. The German driver was part of the West McLaren young driver’s program and was also backed by the motorsport division of Mercedes Benz and was also the official test driver for the McLaren team during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. He also won the International Formula 3000 in 1999 which was the precursor to the current GP2 series.
For the 2000 season, he signed up with Prost GP and had a miserable season and he was with an unresponsive and uncompetitive car which more or less did not even last a race distance. He had 10 retirements out of 17 races and failed to score any points at all. During 2001 he signed up with Sauber and future World Champion Kimi Räikkönen was his rookie teammate. Though Heidfeld was very impressive and outperformed Kimi, the vacant McLaren seat which was created due to Mika Häkkinen’s retirement but Kimi took the seat and Heidfeld continued in Sauber for 2 more seasons with decent consistent performances.
A move to the ailing Jordan team in 2004 did him no good and after an average season with the team he was finally signed by a big team as he raced for the Williams F1 team during the 2005 season. Though he was impressive during the first half of the season, his form tapered away towards the end and also the BMW’s partnership with Williams came to an end and Heidfeld moved to the newly formed BMW Sauber team after BMW took over the Swiss team. Though BMW did not have any lofty ambitions during its first 2 seasons, Heidfeld was very consistent and was defiantly the best driver on the grid not driving a Ferrari, McLaren and Renault during this phase. Heidfeld even managed to break the most consecutive classified finishes record with 41 straight finishes which started with the 2007 French GP and ended with the 2009 Italian GP.
Though he has outperformed Kubica his teammate for 3 years in 2 out of the 3 seasons together in BMW, Kubica had a golden 2008 as till he final few races he was in contention for the driver’s title while the team actually led the constructor’s championship for a short bit and also scored its only win with Kubica winning 2008 Canadian GP with Heidfeld following him in 2nd. Things were finally looking good for Heidfeld as he was in a team which can actually challenge for the titles but 2009 was disastrous for the BMW team as due to variety of reasons, the team pulled off its F1 program and Sauber was once again an independent team.
The takeover of Brawn GP by Mercedes brought back Heidfeld into the limelight once again as due to his smooth driving style and his nationality there was talk of him partnering fellow German Nico Rosberg in an all German superteam but Heidfeld’s lack of race win along with Rosberg’s own failure to win a race so far in his career is not helping Heidfeld’s chance with Mercedes GP. He was briefly linked to a race seat with McLaren but Button’s shocking move there has removed any chances with McLaren.
Though there are still seats vacant in the grid, Heidfeld has to wait not only on Schumacher’s comeback decision but also has to wait if Kubica would turn his back on Renault as these two are the hot favourites to take the vacant Mercedes seat. If Schumacher does make a comeback, Heidfeld can re-forge his partnership with Kubica for Renault or he can go back to his old team of Sauber which will be powered by a customer Ferrari engine but time is running out for Heidfeld.
He has always been at the right place at the wrong time and if he fails to land a Mercedes GP seat, chances of Heidfeld finishing his career without a win is very high and he will have the dubious distinction of having score more points and races without a win. An unwanted record for a driver like Heidfeld, who will always be known as a very smooth operator but unless he gets a car which can win him races, we will never know if Heidfeld could have been a F1 great or just another talented youngster who failed in the big stage.
For the 2000 season, he signed up with Prost GP and had a miserable season and he was with an unresponsive and uncompetitive car which more or less did not even last a race distance. He had 10 retirements out of 17 races and failed to score any points at all. During 2001 he signed up with Sauber and future World Champion Kimi Räikkönen was his rookie teammate. Though Heidfeld was very impressive and outperformed Kimi, the vacant McLaren seat which was created due to Mika Häkkinen’s retirement but Kimi took the seat and Heidfeld continued in Sauber for 2 more seasons with decent consistent performances.
A move to the ailing Jordan team in 2004 did him no good and after an average season with the team he was finally signed by a big team as he raced for the Williams F1 team during the 2005 season. Though he was impressive during the first half of the season, his form tapered away towards the end and also the BMW’s partnership with Williams came to an end and Heidfeld moved to the newly formed BMW Sauber team after BMW took over the Swiss team. Though BMW did not have any lofty ambitions during its first 2 seasons, Heidfeld was very consistent and was defiantly the best driver on the grid not driving a Ferrari, McLaren and Renault during this phase. Heidfeld even managed to break the most consecutive classified finishes record with 41 straight finishes which started with the 2007 French GP and ended with the 2009 Italian GP.
Though he has outperformed Kubica his teammate for 3 years in 2 out of the 3 seasons together in BMW, Kubica had a golden 2008 as till he final few races he was in contention for the driver’s title while the team actually led the constructor’s championship for a short bit and also scored its only win with Kubica winning 2008 Canadian GP with Heidfeld following him in 2nd. Things were finally looking good for Heidfeld as he was in a team which can actually challenge for the titles but 2009 was disastrous for the BMW team as due to variety of reasons, the team pulled off its F1 program and Sauber was once again an independent team.
The takeover of Brawn GP by Mercedes brought back Heidfeld into the limelight once again as due to his smooth driving style and his nationality there was talk of him partnering fellow German Nico Rosberg in an all German superteam but Heidfeld’s lack of race win along with Rosberg’s own failure to win a race so far in his career is not helping Heidfeld’s chance with Mercedes GP. He was briefly linked to a race seat with McLaren but Button’s shocking move there has removed any chances with McLaren.
Though there are still seats vacant in the grid, Heidfeld has to wait not only on Schumacher’s comeback decision but also has to wait if Kubica would turn his back on Renault as these two are the hot favourites to take the vacant Mercedes seat. If Schumacher does make a comeback, Heidfeld can re-forge his partnership with Kubica for Renault or he can go back to his old team of Sauber which will be powered by a customer Ferrari engine but time is running out for Heidfeld.
He has always been at the right place at the wrong time and if he fails to land a Mercedes GP seat, chances of Heidfeld finishing his career without a win is very high and he will have the dubious distinction of having score more points and races without a win. An unwanted record for a driver like Heidfeld, who will always be known as a very smooth operator but unless he gets a car which can win him races, we will never know if Heidfeld could have been a F1 great or just another talented youngster who failed in the big stage.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Will He or Won’t He? The Red Baron joining the Silver Arrow
The entire F1 world is waiting if the resident Red Baron and one of the all-time greats in the sport Michael Schumacher will make his miracle comeback to once again go wheel to wheel around the world with the current crop of F1 drivers. The last time Schumacher was driving, he nearly had a dream retirement but thanks to a dominant Renault led by Alonso and also Ferrari’s first engine failure in nearly 5 years robbed Schumacher of his perfect retirement. A year later his replacement at Ferrari, Kimi went on to win his first and only World Championship who now will be racing in the World Rally Championship and is not sure if he will ever comeback to F1. Schumacher’s one time rival Alonso is now part of the Ferrari team and will lead the team’s challenge for the 2010 title after a disastrous 2009 for the Italian team.
It was Mercedes who brought Schumacher into the sport by giving him his first drive with the Jordan team and so impressive was Schumacher that after just one race he signed up for the mid-field Benetton and ended up winning 2 World Championships with them and then he shocked everyone by joining the Ferrari team which has last won a title some 15 years back and within a few years made Ferrari the most dominant team and won 5 Championships with the team. Schumacher became synonymous with Ferrari and it was a partnership made in heaven with Schumi being a lifelong ambassador for the team. Though an opportunity to race for the Silver Arrow Mercedes who themselves is making a comeback after more than 50 years as a factory owned outlet will be highly enticing but giving his past with Ferrari, he may in the end may not take it.
Though Ferrari’s over reliance on Kimi resulted in Schumacher retiring a bit early and if not for his neck, he could have well made his comeback as a replacement for Massa in 2009 but then his neck may not be the only reason for Schumacher not making a comeback this year. The 2009 Ferrari was so bad that it took Kimi half a season to get used to it while Fisichella who was having a dream season with Force India failed to score any points with the car. Maybe it was wise of Schumacher not making his comeback in such a bad car.
Ross Brawn was involved with Schumacher’s all titles in both Benetton and Ferrari and Brawn in his first season as a team principle managed to win both the Championships. Ross Brawn was one of the main reasons why Mercedes decided to take over Brawn GP and Schumacher knows that Ross Brawn can deliver a car which can make him go head to head with the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull. No one expects Schumacher to win the title in his comeback, but then knowing Schumacher he will give his best and will try to win a few races for his team.
Schumacher actually has nothing to lose as if the car is very good then it is because of Schumacher and if he fails then the car is not good but knowing Schumi he will not take this path and if he makes a comeback then he will make sure he gives his best for the entire season and he has a car which will make him challenge for victories and maybe even for the title. F1 is a funny world with weirder things happening so don’t discount Schumacher making a comeback for Mercedes but then it would be a dream to see the likes of Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Hamitlon and Button going head to head with the greatest driver the sport has ever produced.
It was Mercedes who brought Schumacher into the sport by giving him his first drive with the Jordan team and so impressive was Schumacher that after just one race he signed up for the mid-field Benetton and ended up winning 2 World Championships with them and then he shocked everyone by joining the Ferrari team which has last won a title some 15 years back and within a few years made Ferrari the most dominant team and won 5 Championships with the team. Schumacher became synonymous with Ferrari and it was a partnership made in heaven with Schumi being a lifelong ambassador for the team. Though an opportunity to race for the Silver Arrow Mercedes who themselves is making a comeback after more than 50 years as a factory owned outlet will be highly enticing but giving his past with Ferrari, he may in the end may not take it.
Though Ferrari’s over reliance on Kimi resulted in Schumacher retiring a bit early and if not for his neck, he could have well made his comeback as a replacement for Massa in 2009 but then his neck may not be the only reason for Schumacher not making a comeback this year. The 2009 Ferrari was so bad that it took Kimi half a season to get used to it while Fisichella who was having a dream season with Force India failed to score any points with the car. Maybe it was wise of Schumacher not making his comeback in such a bad car.
Ross Brawn was involved with Schumacher’s all titles in both Benetton and Ferrari and Brawn in his first season as a team principle managed to win both the Championships. Ross Brawn was one of the main reasons why Mercedes decided to take over Brawn GP and Schumacher knows that Ross Brawn can deliver a car which can make him go head to head with the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull. No one expects Schumacher to win the title in his comeback, but then knowing Schumacher he will give his best and will try to win a few races for his team.
Schumacher actually has nothing to lose as if the car is very good then it is because of Schumacher and if he fails then the car is not good but knowing Schumi he will not take this path and if he makes a comeback then he will make sure he gives his best for the entire season and he has a car which will make him challenge for victories and maybe even for the title. F1 is a funny world with weirder things happening so don’t discount Schumacher making a comeback for Mercedes but then it would be a dream to see the likes of Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Hamitlon and Button going head to head with the greatest driver the sport has ever produced.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Who will race for the Silver Arrow Mercedes in 2010?
Mercedes-Benz traditionally has been one of the early power houses in F1 and finally after 55 years, Mercedes is back in grand prix racing as a constructer ever since taking over Brawn GP a few days back. Though the McLaren Mercedes alliance has been one of the most enduring one in the sport and has lasted 15 years and it is quite possible that it may even go on to last 21 years after their revised contract, in which McLaren buys back its shares while Mercedes supplies engines till 2015. For years Mercedes wanted a German driver for the team but McLaren has usually gone with Finnish or British driver and for 2010 they have pulled a major coup and has pulled the rug under Mercedes by recruiting Jenson Button the 2009 World Champion who will team up with Lewis Hamilton the 2010 Champion. It will be a dream team for all the British marketing firms as finally McLaren has two British drivers who have won the Championship in the last 2 seasons. Crucially, Button will once again bring the #1 to the team while Mercedes after buying Brawn who won both the titles last year had to go through one more season to reclaim the #1 position.
Though the team has said that it wants to become an international power house team, it is most likely to have 2 German drivers in its cockpits. Though for F1, there is nothing better than a Great Britain-Germany rivalry but then Mercedes could be forced to field 2 drivers who have raced in more than 200 races without even winning once. Well Rosberg never had a car which can win races while Heidfeld despite being a very promising driver never was in the right teams. Rosberg was considered to be the “Next Big Thing” of F1 while Heidfeld has become from being the nearly man to a vastly underestimate driver who is Mr Consistent. It may not be a team of superstars but it has enough talent and potential backed by an ideal machinery, could well go on and challenge the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull for the title.
Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, were no superstars as Button was more or less a “has-been” driver in 2009 with a single race win due to rain while Barrichello was one the world’s best # 2 driver who can be a good side-kick but never good enough to challenge for the crown but in 2009 both were fighting for the crown and now Button is a World Champion and will join McLaren while Barrichello despite his age still manages to find a seat in Williams.
For 2010 we will see Mercedes Grand Prix end up with Rosberg and Heidfeld, but you just cannot ignore 2 other drivers who had a chance to drive for the team and both are ex-Ferrari drivers. 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen was in contention for a McLaren seat but due to money related issues and with Jenson Button joining the team, that option is closed but with Norbert Haug has always been impressed with Kimi and you can still have Kimi leading the charge for the Mercedes team for the next season.
The other option is something which has been going around in many circles but if you do look at the past, it was Mercedes which did support Michael Schumacher in his early career and though he has been retired from the sport for the last 3 years, he was still in contention to race for Ferrari as a replacement for Massa and if not for his injured neck, he could well have made a comeback but a more interesting link to the Mercedes team is that Ross Brawn was involved in all the 7 World Titles he has won with Ferrari and Benetton. It could be the most amazing comeback in the history of F1 and if one person can pull it off it can be only Schumacher but then he is soo much associated with Ferrari, it is actually strange to even imagine him driving for any other team apart from Ferrari but then never say never in F1 and he can be winning the championship next year with the Silver Arrow Mercedes.
One thing is sure and that is Mercedes is surely having one German driver and this is Rosberg but who will partner him is still a mystery and given the current scenario, you can expect anything and it can even lead to a Cinderella comeback for Schumacher.
Though the team has said that it wants to become an international power house team, it is most likely to have 2 German drivers in its cockpits. Though for F1, there is nothing better than a Great Britain-Germany rivalry but then Mercedes could be forced to field 2 drivers who have raced in more than 200 races without even winning once. Well Rosberg never had a car which can win races while Heidfeld despite being a very promising driver never was in the right teams. Rosberg was considered to be the “Next Big Thing” of F1 while Heidfeld has become from being the nearly man to a vastly underestimate driver who is Mr Consistent. It may not be a team of superstars but it has enough talent and potential backed by an ideal machinery, could well go on and challenge the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull for the title.
Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, were no superstars as Button was more or less a “has-been” driver in 2009 with a single race win due to rain while Barrichello was one the world’s best # 2 driver who can be a good side-kick but never good enough to challenge for the crown but in 2009 both were fighting for the crown and now Button is a World Champion and will join McLaren while Barrichello despite his age still manages to find a seat in Williams.
For 2010 we will see Mercedes Grand Prix end up with Rosberg and Heidfeld, but you just cannot ignore 2 other drivers who had a chance to drive for the team and both are ex-Ferrari drivers. 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen was in contention for a McLaren seat but due to money related issues and with Jenson Button joining the team, that option is closed but with Norbert Haug has always been impressed with Kimi and you can still have Kimi leading the charge for the Mercedes team for the next season.
The other option is something which has been going around in many circles but if you do look at the past, it was Mercedes which did support Michael Schumacher in his early career and though he has been retired from the sport for the last 3 years, he was still in contention to race for Ferrari as a replacement for Massa and if not for his injured neck, he could well have made a comeback but a more interesting link to the Mercedes team is that Ross Brawn was involved in all the 7 World Titles he has won with Ferrari and Benetton. It could be the most amazing comeback in the history of F1 and if one person can pull it off it can be only Schumacher but then he is soo much associated with Ferrari, it is actually strange to even imagine him driving for any other team apart from Ferrari but then never say never in F1 and he can be winning the championship next year with the Silver Arrow Mercedes.
One thing is sure and that is Mercedes is surely having one German driver and this is Rosberg but who will partner him is still a mystery and given the current scenario, you can expect anything and it can even lead to a Cinderella comeback for Schumacher.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
And then there was none........
The team line-up for the 2010 season was expected to be right on track after Spanish double World Champion Fernando Alonso joined Ferrari but so far only 10 out of the possible 26 seats is yet to be confirmed. Though there was some uncertainty if Toyota and Renault would stay in F1, but Toyota has pulled out of the 2010 season while Renault is still expected to stay on despite the global economic turmoil which affected the automobile industry and not to mention the spygate scandal where some former senior members of the team was involved. They have confirmed Robert Kubica as one of their drivers and actively on the lookout for another driver to partner him but all said and done, they may still end up pulling out but they should stay as an engine supplier as their customer team Red Bull Racing gave Brawn GP a run for their money and fought till the Brazilian GP for both the titles.
Jenson Button after his title victory may still not sure if he will race next year as his contract talks with Brawn is stalled and he could be the key to the driver’s market puzzle. If talks with Brawn fail, he only has McLaren as his realistic option for defending the title he won this year. McLaren would not mind a pairing of the reigning World Champion with the 2008 Champion Lewis Hamilton as that would be a dream combination in the minds of all English racing fans and would be a sponsorship coup. Though Brawn has been talking about how sponsorship has been lined up for the next 3 years and there are rumours of Mercedes buying a stake in the team but Jenson Button is actually not too expensive for a World Champion and if Brawn is still not keen on spending too much cash Button can look at McLaren but then there are stumbling blocks to it too.
The last time McLaren was in such a comfortable position when it comes to have 2 very good drivers was in the 80’s when Prost and Senna were teammates but now McLaren have enough options to choose on who will partner Hamilton in its quest of reaching the top once again. Ferrari has a very enviable combination of Alonso and Massa, while Red Bull has the wonder kid Vettel partnered by the very able Mark Webber who is one of the most underestimated driver on the grid. They can go back to Kimi would will be the ideal foil to Hamilton and if Kimi is motivate, well McLaren can pose a very dangerous combination which can take on anyone on the grid while picking Rosberg too can be an ideal scenario for McLaren as not only would that please Mercedes but Hamilton and Rosberg go a long way and there would not be any friction in the team. One thing is certain, both Rosberg and Button would drive a Mercedes powered car next year. Other options include McLaren’s former protégé Nick Heidfeld who is actually talking to every other team apart from Ferrari and RBR. Many were surprised when Heidfeld was overlooked for Kimi but though this maybe too late in his career, he can be the ideal #2 driver for the team. If the team wants a long term #2 then Sutil will be a good choice but neither Sutil nor Heidfeld would be challenging for the titles as long as Hamilton is there.
Renault has confirmed Kubica and though there was talks on Heidfeld partnering Kubica but now the team is interested in securing the services of former Toyota driver Timo Glock and if the team does races next season, the combination of Kubica and Glock would be a power house mid-field line-up. Apart from Glock the team can go back to Heikki Kovalainen, who is on the hunt for a race seat for the next season while current driver Romain Grosjean’s chances of retaining his seat is slim but long term test driver Lucas Di Grassi has an outside chance.
Toro Rosso was expected to confirm both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari but so far only Buemi has been confirmed while Alguersuari may have some stiff competition from Red Bull backed drivers which also includes the highly rated Italian Mirko Bortolotti who broke the Fiorano lap record while testing with Ferrari and was touted as one of the potential replacements for Massa after his injury. The others includes New Zealander Brendon Hartley, who was a reserve driver for STR for some parts of the season and also Australian Daniel Ricciardo, the new British F3 champion. Among the 3, Bortolotti will be the one most likely to get the nod if Alguersuari does not make the cut as not only is STR powered by Ferrari but the team may also have long term plans for this Italian protégé.
Force India is expected to retain both Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi but former driver Giancarlo Fisichella also cannot be ruled out if Sutil ends up joining a higher profile team. Though Neel Jani and Karun Chandok may have an outside chance due to their Indian heritage.
Sauber the team to benefit most from Toyota’s withdrawal will be looking to retain current driver Nick Heidfeld if his move to McLaren fails to initialize while test driver Christian Klien may also be in the loop. If Heidfeld does drive for McLaren, then Italian Fisichella may also be in contention as the team has a Ferrari engine and Fisi is open to racing next season though he is a Ferrari test driver from 2010 onwards.
Among the new teams, Lotus F1 is surely going to make it to the grid and the mercurial Italian Jarno Trulli is being linked with the team. Among others who has been linked includes former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, Christian Klien and Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi, who impressed everyone with his drives in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Campos has brought the Senna name back to F1 by signing in Bruno Senna the nephew of legendary Ayrton Senna while Pedro de la Rosa was expected to take the other seat but talks have not been that fruitful and even Nelsinho Piquet may have a chance for a seat due to his good financial backings. No one has a clue on who will be signed for Manor GP and USF1, but we can rule out some famous American drivers like Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti for USF1, while experienced drivers like Anthony Davidson and Alexander Wurz will be on the radar for these teams.
Nothing is certain till the Bahrain GP of 2010 where we will actually know which teams makes it and which drivers manages to have a spot on the grid.
Jenson Button after his title victory may still not sure if he will race next year as his contract talks with Brawn is stalled and he could be the key to the driver’s market puzzle. If talks with Brawn fail, he only has McLaren as his realistic option for defending the title he won this year. McLaren would not mind a pairing of the reigning World Champion with the 2008 Champion Lewis Hamilton as that would be a dream combination in the minds of all English racing fans and would be a sponsorship coup. Though Brawn has been talking about how sponsorship has been lined up for the next 3 years and there are rumours of Mercedes buying a stake in the team but Jenson Button is actually not too expensive for a World Champion and if Brawn is still not keen on spending too much cash Button can look at McLaren but then there are stumbling blocks to it too.
The last time McLaren was in such a comfortable position when it comes to have 2 very good drivers was in the 80’s when Prost and Senna were teammates but now McLaren have enough options to choose on who will partner Hamilton in its quest of reaching the top once again. Ferrari has a very enviable combination of Alonso and Massa, while Red Bull has the wonder kid Vettel partnered by the very able Mark Webber who is one of the most underestimated driver on the grid. They can go back to Kimi would will be the ideal foil to Hamilton and if Kimi is motivate, well McLaren can pose a very dangerous combination which can take on anyone on the grid while picking Rosberg too can be an ideal scenario for McLaren as not only would that please Mercedes but Hamilton and Rosberg go a long way and there would not be any friction in the team. One thing is certain, both Rosberg and Button would drive a Mercedes powered car next year. Other options include McLaren’s former protégé Nick Heidfeld who is actually talking to every other team apart from Ferrari and RBR. Many were surprised when Heidfeld was overlooked for Kimi but though this maybe too late in his career, he can be the ideal #2 driver for the team. If the team wants a long term #2 then Sutil will be a good choice but neither Sutil nor Heidfeld would be challenging for the titles as long as Hamilton is there.
Renault has confirmed Kubica and though there was talks on Heidfeld partnering Kubica but now the team is interested in securing the services of former Toyota driver Timo Glock and if the team does races next season, the combination of Kubica and Glock would be a power house mid-field line-up. Apart from Glock the team can go back to Heikki Kovalainen, who is on the hunt for a race seat for the next season while current driver Romain Grosjean’s chances of retaining his seat is slim but long term test driver Lucas Di Grassi has an outside chance.
Toro Rosso was expected to confirm both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari but so far only Buemi has been confirmed while Alguersuari may have some stiff competition from Red Bull backed drivers which also includes the highly rated Italian Mirko Bortolotti who broke the Fiorano lap record while testing with Ferrari and was touted as one of the potential replacements for Massa after his injury. The others includes New Zealander Brendon Hartley, who was a reserve driver for STR for some parts of the season and also Australian Daniel Ricciardo, the new British F3 champion. Among the 3, Bortolotti will be the one most likely to get the nod if Alguersuari does not make the cut as not only is STR powered by Ferrari but the team may also have long term plans for this Italian protégé.
Force India is expected to retain both Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi but former driver Giancarlo Fisichella also cannot be ruled out if Sutil ends up joining a higher profile team. Though Neel Jani and Karun Chandok may have an outside chance due to their Indian heritage.
Sauber the team to benefit most from Toyota’s withdrawal will be looking to retain current driver Nick Heidfeld if his move to McLaren fails to initialize while test driver Christian Klien may also be in the loop. If Heidfeld does drive for McLaren, then Italian Fisichella may also be in contention as the team has a Ferrari engine and Fisi is open to racing next season though he is a Ferrari test driver from 2010 onwards.
Among the new teams, Lotus F1 is surely going to make it to the grid and the mercurial Italian Jarno Trulli is being linked with the team. Among others who has been linked includes former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, Christian Klien and Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi, who impressed everyone with his drives in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Campos has brought the Senna name back to F1 by signing in Bruno Senna the nephew of legendary Ayrton Senna while Pedro de la Rosa was expected to take the other seat but talks have not been that fruitful and even Nelsinho Piquet may have a chance for a seat due to his good financial backings. No one has a clue on who will be signed for Manor GP and USF1, but we can rule out some famous American drivers like Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti for USF1, while experienced drivers like Anthony Davidson and Alexander Wurz will be on the radar for these teams.
Nothing is certain till the Bahrain GP of 2010 where we will actually know which teams makes it and which drivers manages to have a spot on the grid.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Over the Curbs Awards - II
Over the Curbs awards enter the 2nd season and though it was fun giving the awards last season and deciding on a few things was very tough, but at the beginning of this season, I though it should easy given that Jenson Button and Brawn during their Cinderella run were reaching immortality but as the season picked up we saw good performances from a variety of teams and drivers.
Once again it is going to be fun in naming a few drivers and teams but then this year was marked with controversy off-track that it managed to take the sheen of an exciting season. Need to go back into the F1 record books and actually look when the last time 2 non-works team fought for the title were. It should be a very interesting research.
Driver of the Season – Jenson Button
Team of the Season – Brawn GP/Red Bull Racing
The Next Big Thing - Sebastian Vettel
Most Improved Driver – Nico Rosberg
Most Improved Team – Force India
Race of the Season – Belgian Grand Prix
Best Grand Prix – Belgian Grand Prix
Worst Grand Prix – Malaysian Grand Prix
Rookie of the season – Kamui Kobayshi
Most disappointing driver of the Season – Heikki Kovalainen
Most disappointing team of the Season – BMW Sauber
Lucky to be in F1 (for the season) - Nelson Piquet Jr
Veteran of the Season – Rubens Barrichello
Comeback of the Season – Mark Webber
JV of the Season - Nelson Piquet Jr
(For the driver who talks utter nonsense like how JV used to do it in his racing days)
Most missed Driver – Felipe Massa
Least missed Driver - Nelson Piquet Jr
Once again it is going to be fun in naming a few drivers and teams but then this year was marked with controversy off-track that it managed to take the sheen of an exciting season. Need to go back into the F1 record books and actually look when the last time 2 non-works team fought for the title were. It should be a very interesting research.
Driver of the Season – Jenson Button
Team of the Season – Brawn GP/Red Bull Racing
The Next Big Thing - Sebastian Vettel
Most Improved Driver – Nico Rosberg
Most Improved Team – Force India
Race of the Season – Belgian Grand Prix
Best Grand Prix – Belgian Grand Prix
Worst Grand Prix – Malaysian Grand Prix
Rookie of the season – Kamui Kobayshi
Most disappointing driver of the Season – Heikki Kovalainen
Most disappointing team of the Season – BMW Sauber
Lucky to be in F1 (for the season) - Nelson Piquet Jr
Veteran of the Season – Rubens Barrichello
Comeback of the Season – Mark Webber
JV of the Season - Nelson Piquet Jr
(For the driver who talks utter nonsense like how JV used to do it in his racing days)
Most missed Driver – Felipe Massa
Least missed Driver - Nelson Piquet Jr
Friday, October 30, 2009
Abu Dhabi GP Preview: The Spectacle descends on to the Emirates!
Jenson Button and Brawn GP may have wrapped up the Championship at Interlagos but there is still more important battle to be fought on track apart from the grand debut of the 1st ever Abu Dhabi GP at the Yes Marina Circuit which is not only the 2nd grand prix in the Middle East but this race is the first twilight race in F1’s history and this race would want to be the Monaco of the East.
Though Button can relax his teammate Barrichello is locked into a fierce battle for the 2nd place in the driver’s championship with Red Bull’s Vettel. Though Vettel leads only by 2 points, this seesaw battle has seen both drivers swapping places nearly at the end of each race so anything can happen and both cars are evenly matched at this circuit which has one the longest straight lines in F1. Brawn though may have won the Championships is yet to secure Button’s signature for the next season and if things do get hostile after yet another contract talk deadlock, McLaren may once again have the #1 car on the gird.
Though both Brawn and McLaren looks strong in practice Red Bull is not too far off and both Webber and Vettel will be looking for a strong showing during the race but McLaren with KERS will have a slight edge over rest of the field. Hamilton for the first time in his career is going into the last race without having the pressure of having to win the championship. He will be the favourite going into the race and he would want to finish 2009 on a high. His only condolence could be finishing ahead of Kimi who can actually race with Hamilton at McLaren for the next season. Heikki Kovalainen did not make the most of his chances at McLaren and it is certain that he would not race for them for 2010 but he would want to leave the team at a high.
Ferrari may have given up on the season but both its drivers will be pumped up for what could be both men’s last race. Kimi though may still end up with a race seat but teammate Fisi has signed on as a tester for the team and though he may still drive for one of the teams but unless Sauber gets an entry, the Ferrari powered team may have Fisi behind the wheels for them. It is highly important in terms of ego for Ferrari as they are behind McLaren by just a point and Ferrari would want to finish ahead of their arch rivals while Kimi too would want to finish ahead of Hamilton who also happens to lead Kimi by a point. Fisi will be hoping for some good luck as though he may be living a dream, but his departure from Force India was just when the team went through a surge and at times were on par with the likes of even McLaren and Brawn.
BMW Sauber will have mixed feelings going into this race as this is the last race for the BMW team. Though the team has supplied engines to the likes of Brabham in the 80’s and Williams during the early part of this decade, but apart from this season, ever since BMW took over Sauber, the team has been a force to reckon with and till last season, it overtook Williams and joined the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Renault as the new big 4 of F1. Though Kubica has secured a drive, his teammate Nick Heidfeld is yet to secure a drive and he has been linked to every other team with a vacant spot and he definitely would like to end his Sauber career a team with which he has driven for most of his career in both the BMW and the Petronas avatars.
Toyota has had a last minute revival and though Trulli had an intense battle with Force India’s Sutil outside the track, the team will be hoping for a good show on a track which is fast paced and which could help them but everyone will be looking at Kamui Kobayashi who has the speed and the driving skills to become the next Sato a highly entertaining gutsy driver though may not be consistent always but would not mind banging wheels with anyone on the track. Another good show here may seal a seat with Toyota for the next season.
Williams will have a wholesome change for 2010 as not only have they announced a new engine partnership with Cosworth but also will have a total new driver line-up for the next year. They are most likely to filed veteran Brazilian Barrichello and rookie German protégé Hülkenberg who is managed by Weber the same guy who did manager Schumacher during his glory days. Frank Williams has already given hints that Rosberg would drive for a Mercedes powered team and that could be only one of the 2 between Brawn and McLaren.
Alonso is very emotional about having his last race for Renault and this time it could actually be his last race for the French team as he would want to retire from the sport with Ferrari but then Kimi said the same thing and he could infact be making a dramatic comeback for 2010 with McLaren but Alonso doing once again with Renault may not happen. Teammate Romain Grosjean needs to drive his best ever he has drive so far if he has to retain his Renault seat for 2010.
Both STR and Force India are strong but Force India with more experienced drivers seem to be in a better position to score points while STR thought maybe in reckoning but the drivers at times make errors to just throw a race from point scoring positions and on a new technically challenging track, they need to be at their best.
Abu Dhabi GP has made tall claims on wanting to be the Monaco of the East but with a twilight race and a brilliantly designed track, they may end up having that distinction if they race turned out to be “Any One Can Win” race. Yes Marina circuit is a great addition to the F1 calendar and this track will definitely separate the talented drivers from the rest.
Abu Dhabi GP Top 8 Predictions:
1. Sebastien Vettel
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Jenson Button
4. Mark Webber
5. Rubens Barrichello
6. Kimi Räikkönen
7. Heikki Kovalainen
8. Sebastien Buemi
Though Button can relax his teammate Barrichello is locked into a fierce battle for the 2nd place in the driver’s championship with Red Bull’s Vettel. Though Vettel leads only by 2 points, this seesaw battle has seen both drivers swapping places nearly at the end of each race so anything can happen and both cars are evenly matched at this circuit which has one the longest straight lines in F1. Brawn though may have won the Championships is yet to secure Button’s signature for the next season and if things do get hostile after yet another contract talk deadlock, McLaren may once again have the #1 car on the gird.
Though both Brawn and McLaren looks strong in practice Red Bull is not too far off and both Webber and Vettel will be looking for a strong showing during the race but McLaren with KERS will have a slight edge over rest of the field. Hamilton for the first time in his career is going into the last race without having the pressure of having to win the championship. He will be the favourite going into the race and he would want to finish 2009 on a high. His only condolence could be finishing ahead of Kimi who can actually race with Hamilton at McLaren for the next season. Heikki Kovalainen did not make the most of his chances at McLaren and it is certain that he would not race for them for 2010 but he would want to leave the team at a high.
Ferrari may have given up on the season but both its drivers will be pumped up for what could be both men’s last race. Kimi though may still end up with a race seat but teammate Fisi has signed on as a tester for the team and though he may still drive for one of the teams but unless Sauber gets an entry, the Ferrari powered team may have Fisi behind the wheels for them. It is highly important in terms of ego for Ferrari as they are behind McLaren by just a point and Ferrari would want to finish ahead of their arch rivals while Kimi too would want to finish ahead of Hamilton who also happens to lead Kimi by a point. Fisi will be hoping for some good luck as though he may be living a dream, but his departure from Force India was just when the team went through a surge and at times were on par with the likes of even McLaren and Brawn.
BMW Sauber will have mixed feelings going into this race as this is the last race for the BMW team. Though the team has supplied engines to the likes of Brabham in the 80’s and Williams during the early part of this decade, but apart from this season, ever since BMW took over Sauber, the team has been a force to reckon with and till last season, it overtook Williams and joined the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Renault as the new big 4 of F1. Though Kubica has secured a drive, his teammate Nick Heidfeld is yet to secure a drive and he has been linked to every other team with a vacant spot and he definitely would like to end his Sauber career a team with which he has driven for most of his career in both the BMW and the Petronas avatars.
Toyota has had a last minute revival and though Trulli had an intense battle with Force India’s Sutil outside the track, the team will be hoping for a good show on a track which is fast paced and which could help them but everyone will be looking at Kamui Kobayashi who has the speed and the driving skills to become the next Sato a highly entertaining gutsy driver though may not be consistent always but would not mind banging wheels with anyone on the track. Another good show here may seal a seat with Toyota for the next season.
Williams will have a wholesome change for 2010 as not only have they announced a new engine partnership with Cosworth but also will have a total new driver line-up for the next year. They are most likely to filed veteran Brazilian Barrichello and rookie German protégé Hülkenberg who is managed by Weber the same guy who did manager Schumacher during his glory days. Frank Williams has already given hints that Rosberg would drive for a Mercedes powered team and that could be only one of the 2 between Brawn and McLaren.
Alonso is very emotional about having his last race for Renault and this time it could actually be his last race for the French team as he would want to retire from the sport with Ferrari but then Kimi said the same thing and he could infact be making a dramatic comeback for 2010 with McLaren but Alonso doing once again with Renault may not happen. Teammate Romain Grosjean needs to drive his best ever he has drive so far if he has to retain his Renault seat for 2010.
Both STR and Force India are strong but Force India with more experienced drivers seem to be in a better position to score points while STR thought maybe in reckoning but the drivers at times make errors to just throw a race from point scoring positions and on a new technically challenging track, they need to be at their best.
Abu Dhabi GP has made tall claims on wanting to be the Monaco of the East but with a twilight race and a brilliantly designed track, they may end up having that distinction if they race turned out to be “Any One Can Win” race. Yes Marina circuit is a great addition to the F1 calendar and this track will definitely separate the talented drivers from the rest.
Abu Dhabi GP Top 8 Predictions:
1. Sebastien Vettel
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Jenson Button
4. Mark Webber
5. Rubens Barrichello
6. Kimi Räikkönen
7. Heikki Kovalainen
8. Sebastien Buemi
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