The 2010 Formula One season won't look like this

We found out the other day as Mercedes announced that they had signed a deal with Malaysian National Oil and Gas Company Petronas, to be the title sponsor of the new Mercedes Formula One team. This means that the name on the Mercedes car next year will be Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One team.

At the same time Mercedes announced that the car they would be racing next year would be taken through initial tests in Valencia on February 1^st. This is going to be an exciting day for all involved and the fans watching who are expecting Mercedes to field a competitive and fast car for 2010. They’ll need a little time to get the car figured out, but expect them to have a fast car that’s competitive through most of the year.

The rules and regulations of Formula One will make for a competitive year for all of the teams and racers and hopefully this year we’ll get to see some great racing. There are quite a few racers and teams that could figure in on the final standings of the 2010 Formula One season and the final racer that emerges to win the championship is going to be an interesting affair to predict and watch.

Lewis Hamilton should have a bounce back year and Sebastian Vettel is a hungry racer who has the talent to win the championship. Throw the current world champion Jenson Button into the middle of the fray and the 2010 Formula One season is shaping up to be one hell of a race. We can never ignore the chance that one of the teams or drivers could surprise the field and challenge for the championship, but this would be a good thing.

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Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team

Testing for 2010 will begin at Jerez on December 1st

The 2009 Formula One season is over but the fun is just beginning anew as the teams and drivers are already testing their cars for the up coming 2010 season. There will be three new teams on the grid next year, along with the perennial teams that have been competing for years. Lewis Hamilton will be someone to watch, along with Sebastian Vettel and of course the 2009 Formula One World Champion Jenson Button.

Force India has been busy this week setting up their VJM02 race car to be driven by new drivers’ British driver Paul di Resta and the present Indy lights champion American JR Hildebrand. These two up and coming drivers will be competing in next week’s young driver test being held at Jerez in Spain. These two drivers were the lucky racers chosen for their strong performances in Force India’s simulator last month and one of these two drivers will land a spot as a full time test driver and will act as a backup for Force India’s regular drivers.
Dr Resta hails from West Lothian, Scotland, and drives in the German DTM touring car series; he finished third in the series last year and had one win. He did win the 2006 Formula 3 Euroseries against Sebastian Vettel and in 2004 was hailed as the McLaren Autosport BRDC young driver of the year.

JR Hildebrand comes from the sunny state of California. He has climbed the racing ladder quickly in America, with impressive showings in the junior circuits, and is the current Indy Lights champion, which is the runner up series to the American premier racing series. In 2006 he won the Formula Ford 2000 title and in 2007 was the top new racer in the Atlantic championship series.

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India’s chairman and team principal was on hand to greet these two young drivers and he welcomed them to the Force India young driver test. If they perform well they’ll set themselves up for a chance at a Formula One career and maybe a few wins or a championship if they have what it takes.

The testing at Jerez will involve a few teams and will begin on Tuesday December 1^st and run until December 3^rd. Force India will test both drivers on separate days and then they’ll have to wait to see what they think.

Good luck to these two young gentlemen during their tests.

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2010 Formula One Testing at Jerez

Bruno Senna will be thrilling the girls next season

Lewis Hamilton knows how hard it’s to repeat and you can bet that he’s hungry to get back to the top, but are these two champions as hungry as a racer who hasn’t won his first title. I would say no, just because of the way such things work. Of course there can be exceptions to such things and it will be fun to watch and see what happens in 2010.

Sebastian Vettel will be one of the really hungry and talented racers on the track next year. He hasn’t tasted a championship, yet, and I expect him to be hungrier than Hamilton or Button. He showed a lot of skill and grit during the 2009 Formula One season and I expect him to have learned from his mistakes and the races he took part in. Can Vettel win the title? He has the talent, but it takes more than talent to win a Formula One title. Everything has to come together at the right time, the team, the car, the tracks, the weather and the driver, but expect him and his team to lay their life down trying.

There will be a new racer, with an old racing name, on the Formula One circuit next year driving for the new Spanish team Campos Meta, as Bruno Senna will make his debut behind a Formula One car. This nephew of three-time Formula One World Champion, Aryton Senna, is a 26-year old racer who grew up racing karts and hearing stories about his uncle, who was tragically killed in a accident in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

After the death of his uncle and his father in a motorcycle accident, Senna decided to go away from racing and concentrated on other parts of life, before deciding a few years ago that racing was in his blood and returning to the industry. He’ll be on the track next year, but will the ghost of his famous uncle be with him on the track to help to guide him? We never really know but it’s a nice thing to wish for and think about.

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2010 Formula One Season Begins

Jenson Button is the 2009 FIA Formula One World Champion

Sebastian Vettel would win four times during 2009 and emerge as the runner up to Jenson Button and his first FIA Formula One World Championship title. Bubens Barrichello finished third for Brawn, while Mark Webber would finish the 2009 Formula One campaign in fourth place in the standings, with two wins in the bank. Kimi Raikkonen had a steady but unremarkable 2009 Formula One season for Ferrari, he looked strong at points but never really looked like he could win it all at any point and finished sixth. Nico Rosberg had a good 2009 campaign for Toyota but was in tough company and finished seventh. It isn’t going to get any easier in the years ahead for Rosberg. Nico has talent but is over shadowed by racers of world championship calibre and world championships could be a stretch for him. Jarno Trulli showed tremendous promise at points during the season, but wasn’t able to get a win, which is probably a burr sticking in his rear. It’s only a matter of time in my opinion that Jarno breaks through and has a great season. Will the 2010 campaign be the year for Jarno? Only time will tell, but expect big things from Jarno Trulli in the years ahead. Spanish driver Fernando Alonso had an unremarkable year for Renault that left him in ninth place in the standings. Fernando has a lot more talent than his results would suggest though and if he ever gets behind the wheel of a car with the power and performance, he’ll be hard to beat on a race track. German Timo Glock finished the 2009 Formula One season in the unfortunate position of being the driver that completes the top ten. No Formula One driver wants to finish tenth in the standings.

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Final 2009 FIA Formula One Standings

Jenson Button celebrates his victory in style

The overall race was won by Red Bull’s Mark Webber, just ahead of BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, last year’s Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in fourth, just ahead of Button. Raikkonen had to make a few crucial changes to his car and strategy during the race but was still able to finish sixth, Sebastien Buemi finished seventh ahead of a dejected Barrichello in eighth, Heikki Kovalainen finished ninth, but this could change once the investigations are finished, while Kobayashi had a great first showing for Toyota with a tenth place finish.

The race from the start was a chaotic affair as heading into the first corner we had our first indication of what was to come as Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil touched wheels. Coming out of the bend in the track Sebastian Vettel collided with Heikki Kovalainen, which forced Kovalainen to spin into Giancarlo Fisichella way and force him onto the grass to avoid a full speed collision. A little further down the track Jarno Trulli lost control of his car in the straight stretch and took Adrian Sutil off his racing line with him. Sutil lost control of his car and as it came back onto the track after spinning off, he appeared in front of Fernando Alonzo, who had no where to go but into Sutil. The safety car had to be brought onto the track as the debris left on the track by the crash was removed. Jenson was able to make his way through all of this and the remainder of the chaos on this day and finish fifth, a remarkable achievement considering the facts.

Jenson’s fifth place finish is also notable for three other reasons. First, besides guaranteeing him the 2009 Formula One drivers crown and Brawn the constructors crown, his fifth place finish also makes him the tenth British Formula One champion. Second, it makes him in combination with Lewis Hamilton the first back to back British Formula One champions in history. Third, it makes Brawn a truly historical team by winning the Formula One constructors championship on their first try.

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Button clinches Formula One Championship

Sebastian Vettel wins the Japanese Grand Prix

Vettel seemed to know this as he came out onto the track because with the drop of the start flag he leaped into the lead and never looked back on his way to victory in the Japanese Grand Prix. Behind him Lewis Hamilton and Jarno Trulli were startled to see Vettel so fast off the start and settled in for along race of seeing if they could catch him. Nicky Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen were behind them battling for their own positions on the track, while Button was struggling to get his car up to speed.

It looked like it was going to be written in stone until Jaime Alguersuari lost control of his Toro Rosso coming out of 130R on lap 44. His problems resulted in the safety car coming out onto the track for five laps and allowed the field to pull a little closer to Vettel and the leaders. It looked like Hamilton and Trulli might get to take another shot at passing Vettel, but the chance never materialized as Hamilton lost space to the leaders and was soon feeling pressure from Rosberg Heidfeld behind him.

In the end Vettel crossed the line 4.8s ahead of Jarno Trulli for the victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton was a further 1.5s behind in third place due to a slower pit stop. Kimi Raikkonen came home in fourth, Nico Rosberg finished fifth for Williams, while Nick Heidfeld held on for sixth for BMW Sauber. This win allows Vettel to keep his hopes for the 2009 Formula One drivers’ championship alive, as he’s now just 16 points behind Button for the championship with two races left. He still has to content with Sebastian Barrichello who is only 14 points behind Button, but both Barrichello and Vettel need help to win. In fact, Button holds his own future in his hands, as long as he can continue to handle the pressure. He only needs to grab seven points in two races to capture the Formula One Championship but they might be the hardest points in his life to capture.

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Vettel Pulls Closer to Button

The Japanese Grand Prix is this weekend

Kovalainen actually had the best time before his McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton supplanted him when the rain was at its worst. Eventually Nakajima would take over for Williams before eventually being passed by Kovalainen later in the practice session. Force India’s Adrian Sutil had the third best time of the practice session, just ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella in the first Ferrari and Buemi for Toro Rosso.

The second session of practice for the Japanese Grand Prix in the afternoon took awhile to get going because of the rain that just didn’t want to go away. Eventually, they did get the second session started after a delay of over an hour, and once again the faster times occurred later in the round, after the track had dried a little. All of the drivers accept for Brawns cars and Kovalainen recorded a time in the second session.

Adrian Sutil recorded the fastest time of the second session for Force India in 1m 47.261s. Just behind him was Sebastian Vettel with a time of 1m 47.923s, his team mate Tonio Liuzzi in a time of 1m 47.931s and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton in 1m 47.983s. Nakajima had another good practice session for Williams and certainly pleased his Japanese fans with a time of 1m 48.058s in his FW31. Behind him was Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Buemi in 1m 48.691s, Renault’s Fernando Alonso in 1m 48.693s and Toyota’s Jarno Trulli with a time of 1m 48.737s. Alguersuari was next with a 1m 48.802s, just ahead of BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica and his 1m 48.861s and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in 1m 48.886s.

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Japanese Grand Prix Practice Sessions

Jenson Button is trying to close the show on the 2009 Formula One Drivers Championship

The track of Suzuka is a challenging one with lots of high-speed corners and quick changes of momentum as the racers are manoeuvring on the track. The race car that is the strongest in all areas and has the best combination of braking, balance and horsepower is going to have the best chance to win. Finding the correct set up is critical on Suzuka as it’s a medium speed track where aerodynamic performance is going to be a key element for the teams. Tire selection is going to be just as important on the track of Suzuka and Bridgestone has brought hard and soft compound tires for the teams to test on the altered track of Suzuka.

Officials at the track have made a few changes that are going to give racers who have raced here a different look than their use to. This won’t be a concern for Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel because they have never raced at Suzuka before, but for those that have, they’ll have to take another look before they start the race.

Hamilton will certainly be in fine form after a victory in Singapore but with no chance of winning the 2009 Formula One Drivers Championship, he’ll be racing for the team and personal pride.

You can catch the first practice Friday at 10:00 and then stick around for Friday’s second practice session at 14:00. Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix begins Saturday and the race will kick-off at 14:00 on Sunday.

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Formula One Heads to Japan

Hamilton was able to increase his lead after a series of early fast laps but this advantage disappeared during his first pit stop for fuel on Lap 15. Sutil and Raikkonen were also on a one stop strategy and stopped on Lap 17 and Lap 19 respectively. After these three drivers pitted, the Brawn GP race cars were in front until they pitted on Lap 28 for Button and Lap 29 for Barrichello.

This was the part of the race that determined the winners and losers, with the Brazilian taking the win and the Englishman being the bride’s maid. Button was 2.1 seconds behind Barrichello before they pitted and 4.2 seconds after. Barrichello pulled away after they both pitted and went after Hamilton, Raikkonen and Sutil, who had passed them while they were in the pits, but they still had one stop scheduled.

Hamilton decided to try his luck on Lap 34, but when he emerged from the pits behind the Brawns, the writing was on the wall. Hamilton couldn’t see the writing though and he went after the win like it was his. He and Button took a large chunk out of Barrichello’s 5.4 second lead and slowly reeled him in. Button and Barrichello were under control at this point but Hamilton was riding an edge that was about to cut into him. Trying to cut a corner a little too sharply, Hamilton lost control of his McLaren and spun out, hitting the inner wall and bringing to an end his chances for a win.

Rubens Barrichello crossed the line ahead of Button for his second victory of the 2009 Formula One season and reduce Button’s lead in the championship race to 14 points.

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Barrichello Wins Italian Grand Prix

Brawn GP has a little work to do if they want to win the constructors' championship

Lewis Hamilton started the race in the lead due to his KERS, along with team mate Keikki Kovalainen, which put Rubens Barrichello in third after the first few minutes of the race. Just behind them, Kimi Raikkonen was sitting in fourth, also due to KERS assist. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel tagged along behind them for awhile, along with Brawn GP’s Jenson Button, but both soon fell off the pace set by the leaders.

Hamilton was in front until his first pit stop on Lap 16, which allowed Kovalainen to take the lead for one lap, until he was forced to pit. This was Barrichello’s moment as he was able to run for another three laps before he was forced to pit for fuel.

Hamilton had a 3.6 second lead over Barrichello as they made it to Lap 36, but when he went to pit a lap later McLaren didn’t have the right tires ready. They had to request that he stay out on the track for one more lap and this cost them considerable time. The team insists this mistake didn’t cost them the win but the delay allowed Barrichello the time he needed to get into the pit and get some fuel and tires. By the time he came out of the pits he was still ahead of Hamilton, so the pit problems with tires did cost the team some time.

Hamilton kept the pressure on Barrichello all the way through the last laps but couldn’t close the gap to more than a 2.3 second gap. Barrichello was able to back off the speed a little during the last few laps and crossed the finish line over 2 seconds ahead of Hamilton.

This win increases Brawn’s constructor’ championship lead over Red Bull and puts Barrichello into second place in the drivers standings.

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Reubens Barrichello Wins in Valencia