The one real thing which happened in the 90’s was that though the entry of manufacturers insanely hiked the budgets of various teams but with the likes of Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Toyota, Renault and Ford all either started teams or closely aligned with constructors and the likes of Jordan, Sauber and Minardi were the last set of independent teams and apart from Sauber who after taken over by BMW is once again back as an independent team this year while Williams after a bad marriage with BMW which finally ended in 2005 was at one stage the only independent team in the grid.
With the global financial downturn, big names like BMW, Honda and Toyota have all left the sport while Renault only exists in its name while teams like Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India are financed by billionaire entrepreneurs. Also the FIA had such a dicey selection process where known names like Prodrive and Lola missed out while teams like Manor, Campos & USF1 made the grid. Off the 3, manor due to Virgin’s backing did not have any problem launching while Campos is now taken over by Jose Ramon Carabante and renamed the team Hispania Racing F1 Team while USF1 has shut shop.
The influx of new teams and the high cost of the sport have forced even established teams Sauber and Renault to look for drivers with some money as otherwise Nick Heidfeld would have still made it to the grid. The issue with under funded team entering the sport is a huge risk as their cars are 5 seconds slower than most of the grid and Hispania Racing is going to start the grid in Bahrain with 2 rookie drivers with no testing. The teams would not have any qualms about overtaking a slow car but then a car which can potentially drop parts is highly dangerous and looking at what happen to Massa, this will be a concern for all the teams.
There are five new boys: Nico Hulkenberg, Vitaly Petrov, Karun Chandhok, Bruno Senna and Lucas di Grassi. Of the lot, Nico Hulkenberg has proved himself at all the previous levels of racing while Lucas di Grassi has been a test driver with Renault and does deserve a spot on the grid. Vitaly Petrov is a decent driver who did finish runner-up to Hulkenberg in GP2 but without his money he may not have made it to the grid. Bruno Senna is decently talented but got his break due to his last name while Chandhok is purely in because of the money he managed to bring in for the team.
There is an argument that GP2 or any other lower formulas is an indication on the talent as we had Kimi who came through after just a handful races at open wheel racing while Kamui Kobayashi did not exactly set the world on fire in GP2 but have shown that he is an extremely quick driver and with a fast car can go wheel to wheel with anyone. Though guys like Hamilton, Rosberg, Kubica and Vettel who have come through the ranks of lower formula have all done consistently well at those levels and of course for every Hamilton you will have a Nelson Piquet who despite good credentials at junior formulas failing at the highest level.
F1 is an expensive sport where but the era of pay drivers is something which should be avoided as guys like Chandhok who apart from a few wins in GP2 in 3 years has not exactly set the world on fire but him racing ahead of a talented youngster like Paul di Resta or a veteran like Heidfeld is just bringing the standard of the grid down. 2010 is having one of the strongest grids ever with the likes of Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton, Button, Vettel, Massa and Webber all eying for the championship along with the likes of proven drivers like Rosberg, Barrichello, Kubica, Sutil, Trulli & Glock along with exciting youngsters like Kobayashi and Hulkenberg is just amazing for the sport. You will always have the likes of failed drivers like Heikki Kovalainen and guys making comeback like Vitantonio Liuzzi but the grid should not be weakened by the era of drivers coming in due to their money.
These names will come and go but as with the case of established teams like even Jordan and Sauber at times due to financial constraints have to employee pay drivers as a one off basis and this should not become the norm like how Minardi used to run it but then Minardi also gave us the likes of Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber from time to time. It would be great if the new teams can provide talented drivers a start in F1 but then giving it to the guys with the most money is just not the right thing to do. Off the rookies, the most likely to impress will be Nico Hulkenberg while Vitaly Petrov may just prove everyone wrong and prove that he too deserves his seat.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
2010 Season Preview: Chaos reigns supreme
The season officially begins only on 14th March but already the 2010 season has garnered so much attention and this could be the most awaited and excited season in the history of the sport. Just 2 days into the first testing for the season in Valencia, Michael Schumacher has already created ripples by being one of the fastest men on track and has outpaced teammate Nico Rosberg. The irony of all this is that Rosberg was supposed to be an equal match to Schumacher given his potential but Schumacher getting behind a wheel of a F1 care after 3 years is able to outpace his teammate who is 16 odd years his junior. Maybe Barrichello was right when he joked that Rosberg should get out of Mercedes when Schumacher is also in the team.
Another return was that of Massa who was returning to the sport after the terrifying accident which made him sit most part of the 2009 campaign. Massa showed no signs of rustiness as he topped the timing for both the days of the practice and though it is too early to predict anything, Ferrari will pose a more formidable challenge this season and Alonso should be wary of Massa but then racing on empty tracks is different from the race itself and come Bahrain we will know if Massa has lost speed or is still the same.
Though the return of Schumacher and Massa has been on top of everyone’s mind, another drive made his F1 return and it is longtime McLaren reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa who will be making his debut for the BMW Sauber team during the 2010 season. He was also pretty quick and the Sauber can was impressive but the weird thing is that the team is yet to change the name as BMW is out of the sport and now the official name is BMW Sauber Ferrari which is really stupid and I don’t see why Ferrari is still quiet about it. Sauber has said for legal and commercial reasons he needs to change but if Brawn can become Mercedes, then FIA and FOM should have no problem with BMW Sauber dropping the BMW tag from its name.
A few more technical changes though minor will be enforced this season but the biggest change will be the new points system which will ensure 10 drivers score points while the driver who wins will get a big share of the points. This will make races more interesting and will make drivers challenge for places and go for the wins rather than just drive to score points consistently which along with a few races will make a driver win Championships without taking much risks.
This is a bit early for predictions but this should hold good for most of the season:
Ferrari – As a team after a disastrous 2009 the team will be going in strong for 2010 going after both the Championships. They have Alonso, who beat Schumacher twice to the title when he was at Renault while he will be joined by Massa who based on the testing so far is as good as he was before the accident. Ferrari is in a good position to win the titles provided Massa and Alonso have the sort of balance which Massa had with Kimi. Early on Massa may be the quicker of the duo but as the season progress Alonso should be very strong.
McLaren – The team had a very poor start to 2009 but they were stronger than Brawn towards the end of the season. They have the championship pair of Button and Hamilton, arguably one of the strongest line-up ever fielded by the team since the days of Senna and Prost. If McLaren produces even a car which is as good as a Ferrari, then Hamilton will be one of the favorites for the title while the mid-fueling ban could favor Button but it is still early days but one thing is certain and that is McLaren would challenge for the title in 2010.
Mercedes – Mercedes pulled off a coup of sorts towards the end of the season by 1st taking over Brawn and then bringing Schumacher from retirement to join Rosberg in an all German super team. Though Rosberg is yet to win a race and Schumacher has not raced in 3 years and is 41, based on what happened during the 1st 2 days of testing, normal service will resume and Schumacher would challenge for the title and would also outpace Rosberg. The young German will be more than happy to win his 1st race and anything more than that from him for the season may just be too much.
Red Bull – Though the team has delayed its launch by 15 days, Red Bull may pull off something this season after a phenomenal 2009 where both Vettel and Webber for challenging Brawn for both the titles. Vettel has really matured as a drive and it won’t be too long that he may be racing for either Mercedes or Ferrari but he is all likely to win a title with Red Bull while Webber will be very consistent and help challenge Red Bull for the constructor championship.
Williams – The team will have an all new driver line-up with the vastly experience Barrichello joining the highly rated German rookie Nico Hulkenberg who is managed by Wili Weber, who also managed Schumacher. Though Williams has promised a radical design, they may well be behind the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull but the chances of even Sauber being quicker than Williams is pretty high. Hulkenberg like Rosberg before him would want to use this chance to impress the big teams and Weber already is plotting Hulkenberg’s future by predicting a Ferrari drive for him within 3 seasons.
Sauber – Sauber may have never made it to the grid if at all for Toyota’s withdrawal in the end but the team not long ago under the BMW moniker was challenging Ferrari and McLaren for the title and the team which worked on the car is the same. Sauber may not pull off a Brawn but expect the team to be best of the rest and even challenge the big teams at times. Kamui Kobayashi is highly rated while he is joined by experienced test driver Pedro de la Rosa who with his years of experience will be highly useful for his skills in car development.
Renault- Though the team has Robert Kubica driving for them and has gone back to its roots with the livery but the team is not totally under control of Renault and though the team is not going to challenge the top teams it would want to be the best of the rest with Williams and Sauber expected to challenge Renault for that glory. Kubica will be joined by Russia’s 1st F1 driver in Vitaly Petrov who apart from bringing in good sponsorship money is also a very decent driver as he finished runner-up to Hulkenberg in the 2009 GP2 championship.
Force India – Last season Force India pulled off a very strong performance by being one of the fastest cars on the grid during a few races and even challenging for a win at Spa but with Sutil and Liuzzi have both the experience and the talent to challenge the mid-field pack on the grid. Force India will be hoping to move away from the back end of the grid with the influx of four new teams and challenge the likes of Williams, Sauber and Renault for a mid-field position. In all likelihood Force India should be faster than STR during the 1st half of the season.
Toro Rosso – It will be the first time the team will be building its own chassis and though the 2010 design will not be radical, it will be more of an extension of the 2010 design and in Buemi along with Alguersuari, the team has a pretty good young line-up which will finish well ahead of the new teams while it will be hoping to finish ahead of its immediate rival Force India.
Lotus – The iconic name is back on the grid but this team has no links to the Chapman led Lotus team. Among the new teams this team looks the best and it could be the 1st to score points. Having Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen in the line-up makes it a pretty decent outfit and by the middle of the season, Lotus would want to emerge from the new team pack.
Virgin Racing – Richard Branson has branded the Manor outfit as Virgin and last year he spent the least among sponsors but got the most visibility due to Brawn’s Cinderella season while this season looking for a new challenge he is backing Manor GP which is designing the 1st car in F1 history without the use of wind tunnel. The drivers will be former Toyota driver Timo Glock and joining him will be Renault test driver Lucas Di Grassi who has been very consistent in GP2. Unlike last season, this season Virgin will be happy if the team managed to just score points.
Campos – Campos was considered to be the strongest among the new teams a few months back but now the team is cash strapped and it would be something for the team just to be on the grid at Bahrain. Bruno Senna is the only announced driver while the 2nd driver is bound to be a driver who can bring in a lot of sponsorship along with him and as of now Andy Soucek, the Spanish driver who won the FIA F2 Championship along with Pastor Maldonado are the favorites to get a drive.
USF1 – The team again like Campos is struggling to be on the grid but USF1 was the first to announce its intentions of joining the grid and though some of the top open wheel drivers in US like Danica Patrick, Ryan Briscoe, Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti have all been linked to the team along with some F1 veterans like Alexander Wurz and Jacques Villeneuve. Though the team has confirmed José María López, the identity of the other driver is unknown and like López, the team may surprise once again.
2010 Constructor Championship Predictions:
1. Ferrari
2. Red Bull
3. Mercedes
4. McLaren
5. Sauber
6. Williams
7. Renault
8. Toro Rosso
9. Force India
10. Lotus
2010 Driver’s Championship Predictions:
1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Fernando Alonso
4. Felipe Massa
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Jenson Button
7. Mark Webber
8. Nico Rosberg
9. Kamui Kobayashi
10. Nico Hulkenberg
Another return was that of Massa who was returning to the sport after the terrifying accident which made him sit most part of the 2009 campaign. Massa showed no signs of rustiness as he topped the timing for both the days of the practice and though it is too early to predict anything, Ferrari will pose a more formidable challenge this season and Alonso should be wary of Massa but then racing on empty tracks is different from the race itself and come Bahrain we will know if Massa has lost speed or is still the same.
Though the return of Schumacher and Massa has been on top of everyone’s mind, another drive made his F1 return and it is longtime McLaren reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa who will be making his debut for the BMW Sauber team during the 2010 season. He was also pretty quick and the Sauber can was impressive but the weird thing is that the team is yet to change the name as BMW is out of the sport and now the official name is BMW Sauber Ferrari which is really stupid and I don’t see why Ferrari is still quiet about it. Sauber has said for legal and commercial reasons he needs to change but if Brawn can become Mercedes, then FIA and FOM should have no problem with BMW Sauber dropping the BMW tag from its name.
A few more technical changes though minor will be enforced this season but the biggest change will be the new points system which will ensure 10 drivers score points while the driver who wins will get a big share of the points. This will make races more interesting and will make drivers challenge for places and go for the wins rather than just drive to score points consistently which along with a few races will make a driver win Championships without taking much risks.
This is a bit early for predictions but this should hold good for most of the season:
Ferrari – As a team after a disastrous 2009 the team will be going in strong for 2010 going after both the Championships. They have Alonso, who beat Schumacher twice to the title when he was at Renault while he will be joined by Massa who based on the testing so far is as good as he was before the accident. Ferrari is in a good position to win the titles provided Massa and Alonso have the sort of balance which Massa had with Kimi. Early on Massa may be the quicker of the duo but as the season progress Alonso should be very strong.
McLaren – The team had a very poor start to 2009 but they were stronger than Brawn towards the end of the season. They have the championship pair of Button and Hamilton, arguably one of the strongest line-up ever fielded by the team since the days of Senna and Prost. If McLaren produces even a car which is as good as a Ferrari, then Hamilton will be one of the favorites for the title while the mid-fueling ban could favor Button but it is still early days but one thing is certain and that is McLaren would challenge for the title in 2010.
Mercedes – Mercedes pulled off a coup of sorts towards the end of the season by 1st taking over Brawn and then bringing Schumacher from retirement to join Rosberg in an all German super team. Though Rosberg is yet to win a race and Schumacher has not raced in 3 years and is 41, based on what happened during the 1st 2 days of testing, normal service will resume and Schumacher would challenge for the title and would also outpace Rosberg. The young German will be more than happy to win his 1st race and anything more than that from him for the season may just be too much.
Red Bull – Though the team has delayed its launch by 15 days, Red Bull may pull off something this season after a phenomenal 2009 where both Vettel and Webber for challenging Brawn for both the titles. Vettel has really matured as a drive and it won’t be too long that he may be racing for either Mercedes or Ferrari but he is all likely to win a title with Red Bull while Webber will be very consistent and help challenge Red Bull for the constructor championship.
Williams – The team will have an all new driver line-up with the vastly experience Barrichello joining the highly rated German rookie Nico Hulkenberg who is managed by Wili Weber, who also managed Schumacher. Though Williams has promised a radical design, they may well be behind the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull but the chances of even Sauber being quicker than Williams is pretty high. Hulkenberg like Rosberg before him would want to use this chance to impress the big teams and Weber already is plotting Hulkenberg’s future by predicting a Ferrari drive for him within 3 seasons.
Sauber – Sauber may have never made it to the grid if at all for Toyota’s withdrawal in the end but the team not long ago under the BMW moniker was challenging Ferrari and McLaren for the title and the team which worked on the car is the same. Sauber may not pull off a Brawn but expect the team to be best of the rest and even challenge the big teams at times. Kamui Kobayashi is highly rated while he is joined by experienced test driver Pedro de la Rosa who with his years of experience will be highly useful for his skills in car development.
Renault- Though the team has Robert Kubica driving for them and has gone back to its roots with the livery but the team is not totally under control of Renault and though the team is not going to challenge the top teams it would want to be the best of the rest with Williams and Sauber expected to challenge Renault for that glory. Kubica will be joined by Russia’s 1st F1 driver in Vitaly Petrov who apart from bringing in good sponsorship money is also a very decent driver as he finished runner-up to Hulkenberg in the 2009 GP2 championship.
Force India – Last season Force India pulled off a very strong performance by being one of the fastest cars on the grid during a few races and even challenging for a win at Spa but with Sutil and Liuzzi have both the experience and the talent to challenge the mid-field pack on the grid. Force India will be hoping to move away from the back end of the grid with the influx of four new teams and challenge the likes of Williams, Sauber and Renault for a mid-field position. In all likelihood Force India should be faster than STR during the 1st half of the season.
Toro Rosso – It will be the first time the team will be building its own chassis and though the 2010 design will not be radical, it will be more of an extension of the 2010 design and in Buemi along with Alguersuari, the team has a pretty good young line-up which will finish well ahead of the new teams while it will be hoping to finish ahead of its immediate rival Force India.
Lotus – The iconic name is back on the grid but this team has no links to the Chapman led Lotus team. Among the new teams this team looks the best and it could be the 1st to score points. Having Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen in the line-up makes it a pretty decent outfit and by the middle of the season, Lotus would want to emerge from the new team pack.
Virgin Racing – Richard Branson has branded the Manor outfit as Virgin and last year he spent the least among sponsors but got the most visibility due to Brawn’s Cinderella season while this season looking for a new challenge he is backing Manor GP which is designing the 1st car in F1 history without the use of wind tunnel. The drivers will be former Toyota driver Timo Glock and joining him will be Renault test driver Lucas Di Grassi who has been very consistent in GP2. Unlike last season, this season Virgin will be happy if the team managed to just score points.
Campos – Campos was considered to be the strongest among the new teams a few months back but now the team is cash strapped and it would be something for the team just to be on the grid at Bahrain. Bruno Senna is the only announced driver while the 2nd driver is bound to be a driver who can bring in a lot of sponsorship along with him and as of now Andy Soucek, the Spanish driver who won the FIA F2 Championship along with Pastor Maldonado are the favorites to get a drive.
USF1 – The team again like Campos is struggling to be on the grid but USF1 was the first to announce its intentions of joining the grid and though some of the top open wheel drivers in US like Danica Patrick, Ryan Briscoe, Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti have all been linked to the team along with some F1 veterans like Alexander Wurz and Jacques Villeneuve. Though the team has confirmed José María López, the identity of the other driver is unknown and like López, the team may surprise once again.
2010 Constructor Championship Predictions:
1. Ferrari
2. Red Bull
3. Mercedes
4. McLaren
5. Sauber
6. Williams
7. Renault
8. Toro Rosso
9. Force India
10. Lotus
2010 Driver’s Championship Predictions:
1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Fernando Alonso
4. Felipe Massa
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Jenson Button
7. Mark Webber
8. Nico Rosberg
9. Kamui Kobayashi
10. Nico Hulkenberg
Monday, January 18, 2010
2010 Season: The New Era Begins!
The year 2010 should be the most exciting year for Formula One as the sport will see one of the strongest grids it has seen since the start of the 90s. There will be as many as 4 World Champions on the grid and ofcourse the return of 7 times Champion Michael Schumacher after a span of 3 years at the age of 41 is one of the biggest comebacks in all of sports. He will be joined by the man who beat him twice on route to the World Championship, Fernando Alonso who now will be driving for Schumacher’s old team Ferrari while McLaren will field the all British World Championship team of Lewis Hamilton and the reigning Champion Jenson Button.
They will be joined on the grid by drivers of immense calibre like Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica and Mark Webber. All given a right car have the potential to win World Championships while the oldest man on the grid for the 2009 season Rubens Barrichello will no longer be the oldest man as he was superseded by his onetime team Schumacher will be joined by a mix of veterans, youngsters and first-timers on the grid for the coming season.
Schumacher is not the name which is making a comeback, Mercedes though through Sauber first and then McLaren has been involved in the sport for a long-time now as an engine supplier will be returning as a factory run team after more than 50 years. Mercedes by taking over the Brawn team has brought back the Silver Arrow once again to the sport. Apart from these 2 names, Cosworth the most successful engine manufacturer after Ferrari is back while though apart from the name, the team has no connection to the Colin Chapman led Lotus team, the name is back while the Senna name is also back due to Bruno Senna, the nephew of the legendary driver late Ayrton Senna.
The season will also see some new rules and regulations with the ban on refuelling during the race being the biggest while KERS which was such a disappointment during the 2009 season has been scrapped for this year by FOTA. There are other various technical changes while the engine freeze continues to remain. The points system will see changes and it is expected to benefit the driver who wins the most rather than a driver who is consistently on the podium.
Formula One over the last few seasons have been very exciting with Ferrari and McLaren slugging it out for the championships and taking it down to the wire during the 2007 and 2008 seasons while in 2009, Brawn GP had a Cinderella story with Button winning his first championship and though it was not as close as it was the previous 2 seasons, it was nice to see Brawn slug it out with Red Bull another independent team while the well funded teams failed to match the pace of these 2 teams.
Though 13 teams are expected to be on the grid for the Bahrain GP, only 11 are in a real position to enter and off the new teams, Lotus & Virgin Racing are well equipped to start the season while there are doubts hovering around the possibility of USF1 & Campos actually starting the season on time.
Though 2010 a lot of new things can be expected but some things will never change and don’t be too surprised to see Ferrari and McLaren fighting it out for the title while the all German team of Schumacher and Rosberg led Mercedes may take the fight to the Big 2 of the sport while Red Bull remains a dark horse and in Vettel they have a driver who can upset the established order. It is a season where as many as 4 teams will be in the running for the Championships while among the drivers as many as 6 of them do have a chance for the Championship.
Among the drivers expecting their first victory, Nico Rosberg is and could be the only one with a realistic chance of making it happen while fellow German Nick Heidfeld will be lucky to make it to the grid leave alone a win.
With the exit of Honda, Toyota, BMW and the sell-out of a major stake by Renault, F1 has only 2 manufacturer backed teams in Ferrari and Mercedes and it has gone back to its roots with a lot of independent teams led by the experienced due of McLaren and Williams. It was only a few years back that Williams was the only true independent team but now a host of other teams have followed them.
2010 is a new era for the sport and the season could be the most unpredictable for the sport. The return of Schumacher would do a great deal of good for the sport but then with a very talented gird which is a mix of seasoned professionals joined by some exciting rookies bodes well for the sport which truly is the pinnacle of motorsports.
They will be joined on the grid by drivers of immense calibre like Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica and Mark Webber. All given a right car have the potential to win World Championships while the oldest man on the grid for the 2009 season Rubens Barrichello will no longer be the oldest man as he was superseded by his onetime team Schumacher will be joined by a mix of veterans, youngsters and first-timers on the grid for the coming season.
Schumacher is not the name which is making a comeback, Mercedes though through Sauber first and then McLaren has been involved in the sport for a long-time now as an engine supplier will be returning as a factory run team after more than 50 years. Mercedes by taking over the Brawn team has brought back the Silver Arrow once again to the sport. Apart from these 2 names, Cosworth the most successful engine manufacturer after Ferrari is back while though apart from the name, the team has no connection to the Colin Chapman led Lotus team, the name is back while the Senna name is also back due to Bruno Senna, the nephew of the legendary driver late Ayrton Senna.
The season will also see some new rules and regulations with the ban on refuelling during the race being the biggest while KERS which was such a disappointment during the 2009 season has been scrapped for this year by FOTA. There are other various technical changes while the engine freeze continues to remain. The points system will see changes and it is expected to benefit the driver who wins the most rather than a driver who is consistently on the podium.
Formula One over the last few seasons have been very exciting with Ferrari and McLaren slugging it out for the championships and taking it down to the wire during the 2007 and 2008 seasons while in 2009, Brawn GP had a Cinderella story with Button winning his first championship and though it was not as close as it was the previous 2 seasons, it was nice to see Brawn slug it out with Red Bull another independent team while the well funded teams failed to match the pace of these 2 teams.
Though 13 teams are expected to be on the grid for the Bahrain GP, only 11 are in a real position to enter and off the new teams, Lotus & Virgin Racing are well equipped to start the season while there are doubts hovering around the possibility of USF1 & Campos actually starting the season on time.
Though 2010 a lot of new things can be expected but some things will never change and don’t be too surprised to see Ferrari and McLaren fighting it out for the title while the all German team of Schumacher and Rosberg led Mercedes may take the fight to the Big 2 of the sport while Red Bull remains a dark horse and in Vettel they have a driver who can upset the established order. It is a season where as many as 4 teams will be in the running for the Championships while among the drivers as many as 6 of them do have a chance for the Championship.
Among the drivers expecting their first victory, Nico Rosberg is and could be the only one with a realistic chance of making it happen while fellow German Nick Heidfeld will be lucky to make it to the grid leave alone a win.
With the exit of Honda, Toyota, BMW and the sell-out of a major stake by Renault, F1 has only 2 manufacturer backed teams in Ferrari and Mercedes and it has gone back to its roots with a lot of independent teams led by the experienced due of McLaren and Williams. It was only a few years back that Williams was the only true independent team but now a host of other teams have followed them.
2010 is a new era for the sport and the season could be the most unpredictable for the sport. The return of Schumacher would do a great deal of good for the sport but then with a very talented gird which is a mix of seasoned professionals joined by some exciting rookies bodes well for the sport which truly is the pinnacle of motorsports.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
2009 Season Review: Jenson Button & Brawn’s Cinderella story
F1 has seen an on track resurgence in the last few years. Both 2007 & 2008’s titles were decided at the last race while 2009 was an year though it was dominated mostly by off track news, it was an year where the regular order crumbled and a new order in the sport was created. Who would have imagined the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber & Renault were nowhere near the title picture but Brawn & Red Bull not only were better than the established teams, but they dominated the season so much that barring a few races, none of the big teams could match the pace of these two teams.
Brawn GP truly had a Cinderella year as if Honda had remained patient for a few more months, all the money they have put in their F1 program would have finally raked in the benefits it deserved and they would not have pulled off F1. Instead, Ross Brawn took over the team and the team was not even sure if they would be on track at the Australian GP but once they were on, they dominated the 1st half of the season and though Red Bull did put up a stiff challenge, in the end Brawn managed to win both the titles without any major chaos.
Their title rivals Red Bull and its drivers had a breakthrough year and they managed to challenge the Brawn team till in the end. Vettel proved that he is the real deal and at one stage had all the big teams running for his contract but in the end he did decide to extend his deal with Red Bull which seem to be a very wise move as of now while teammate Webber won his 1st race and proved that given a good car, he can challenge for the title. 2010 will be an important year for the year and if Renault could provide them with stable engines, the team can once again emerge as an early favourite for the titles.
Ferrari and McLaren had a very poor season by their standards while though McLaren in the end managed to salvage something and pulled the coup of the year by signing the reigning world champion Jenson Button and to form a British super team with the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton. They could pose a very serious threat for the 2010 season while Ferrari had its moments during the season but with an injury to Massa, it was Ferrari which inspired Schumacher about the real possibilities of a comeback and in the end he signed for the Mercedes GP team. Kimi has taken a sabbatical from the sport for 2010 but no one will be too shocked of he failed to return again while Alonso finally did sign for the Ferrari team and his partnership with Massa would be a real threat for any team for the coming season.
Williams and Toyota both had a disappointing season as both were early title contenders but as the season progressed Williams had Rosberg scoring points consistently but then lack of podiums did it for the team while Toyota finally pulled out of F1 after spending close to 2 billion dollars and failing to even win a race during its tenure in the sport. Toyota ideally should have made Williams its works team but then their decision to form their own team in the end was one of the worst moves in the companies’ corporate history.
BMW Sauber after being at title contender for 2008 pulled off all of a sudden and it left the team in a disarray after the failed Quadback takeover but then they finally managed to get a spot on the grid thanks to Toyota’s pull-out and Sauber will be once again be there on the grid as an independent team.
Renault had a season to forget and the off track situation nearly made the team leave the sport in disgrace but then the team can still continue as an engine supplier due to Red Bull’s success and the phased pull out of the team with it selling a major stake of the F1 team to a investment group will still see Renault team on the grid for the next 2 years but beyond that it will be highly doubtful if we will see the Renault name as an constructor.
The year was also good for Force India as it not only managed to convincingly outpace fellow backmarker Toro Rosso but also at different times managed to be faster than the likes of McLaren, Williams, Renault, BMW Sauber and Toyota. It was one of the best ever seasons for the former Jordan team and with four new teams coming in for the 2010 season; Force India can relive Jordan’s midfield status for the next few years.
It was a remarkable year for F1 but 2010 should be even better as Schumacher makes a comeback with the Mercedes GP team and for the first time since the early nineties we will see four World Champions on the grid. As many as four teams and 6 drivers have a realistic chance of going for the driver’s championship. We can also see the likes of gun drivers like Hamilton, Vettel & Rosberg going head to head with the greatest living driver Schumacher and though he may not win the title, but even a few wins would be the most remarkable comeback in the history of the sport.
Brawn GP truly had a Cinderella year as if Honda had remained patient for a few more months, all the money they have put in their F1 program would have finally raked in the benefits it deserved and they would not have pulled off F1. Instead, Ross Brawn took over the team and the team was not even sure if they would be on track at the Australian GP but once they were on, they dominated the 1st half of the season and though Red Bull did put up a stiff challenge, in the end Brawn managed to win both the titles without any major chaos.
Their title rivals Red Bull and its drivers had a breakthrough year and they managed to challenge the Brawn team till in the end. Vettel proved that he is the real deal and at one stage had all the big teams running for his contract but in the end he did decide to extend his deal with Red Bull which seem to be a very wise move as of now while teammate Webber won his 1st race and proved that given a good car, he can challenge for the title. 2010 will be an important year for the year and if Renault could provide them with stable engines, the team can once again emerge as an early favourite for the titles.
Ferrari and McLaren had a very poor season by their standards while though McLaren in the end managed to salvage something and pulled the coup of the year by signing the reigning world champion Jenson Button and to form a British super team with the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton. They could pose a very serious threat for the 2010 season while Ferrari had its moments during the season but with an injury to Massa, it was Ferrari which inspired Schumacher about the real possibilities of a comeback and in the end he signed for the Mercedes GP team. Kimi has taken a sabbatical from the sport for 2010 but no one will be too shocked of he failed to return again while Alonso finally did sign for the Ferrari team and his partnership with Massa would be a real threat for any team for the coming season.
Williams and Toyota both had a disappointing season as both were early title contenders but as the season progressed Williams had Rosberg scoring points consistently but then lack of podiums did it for the team while Toyota finally pulled out of F1 after spending close to 2 billion dollars and failing to even win a race during its tenure in the sport. Toyota ideally should have made Williams its works team but then their decision to form their own team in the end was one of the worst moves in the companies’ corporate history.
BMW Sauber after being at title contender for 2008 pulled off all of a sudden and it left the team in a disarray after the failed Quadback takeover but then they finally managed to get a spot on the grid thanks to Toyota’s pull-out and Sauber will be once again be there on the grid as an independent team.
Renault had a season to forget and the off track situation nearly made the team leave the sport in disgrace but then the team can still continue as an engine supplier due to Red Bull’s success and the phased pull out of the team with it selling a major stake of the F1 team to a investment group will still see Renault team on the grid for the next 2 years but beyond that it will be highly doubtful if we will see the Renault name as an constructor.
The year was also good for Force India as it not only managed to convincingly outpace fellow backmarker Toro Rosso but also at different times managed to be faster than the likes of McLaren, Williams, Renault, BMW Sauber and Toyota. It was one of the best ever seasons for the former Jordan team and with four new teams coming in for the 2010 season; Force India can relive Jordan’s midfield status for the next few years.
It was a remarkable year for F1 but 2010 should be even better as Schumacher makes a comeback with the Mercedes GP team and for the first time since the early nineties we will see four World Champions on the grid. As many as four teams and 6 drivers have a realistic chance of going for the driver’s championship. We can also see the likes of gun drivers like Hamilton, Vettel & Rosberg going head to head with the greatest living driver Schumacher and though he may not win the title, but even a few wins would be the most remarkable comeback in the history of the sport.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Red Baron returns as the Kaiser for the Silver Arrow Team
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.
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.
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.
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