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It’s that time again where I bore everyone to tears with my ridiculously long preview of the new F1 season. 2009, while maybe not as tense as 2008, was engaging as a story of a team that almost didn’t exist to World Champions and back to back British Drivers Champions. In this preview, I will run through some changes for the new season, have a look at the teams and drivers for 2010, make some predictions and see how I did with my predictions for last year. Beware: IT’S LONG!!
2010 will see Formula 1 cars go around race tracks around the world. They are:
Bahrain – 14th March
Australia – 28th March
Malaysia – 4th April
China – 18th April
Spain – 9th May
Monaco – 16th May
Turkey – 30th May
Canada – 13th June
Europe – 27th June
Britain – 11th July
Germany – 25th July
Hungary – 1st August
Belgium – 29th August
Italy – 12th September
Singapore – 26th September
Japan – 10th October
Korea – 24th October
Brazil – 7th November
Abu Dhabi – 14th November
Did you spot the changes? Well, here they are if you didn’t. First up, there are 19 races on the schedule, although it should be mentioned that Korea is still subject to approval at this point. The season kicks off 2 weeks earlier than last year and Bahrain, with a new longer track, is the opening race of the season instead of Australia, which is still back to back with Malaysia.
Spain and Monaco are now on back to back weekends as the calendar needed opening up for the return of Canada. The scorching temperatures in Valencia will hopefully be a thing of the past as the European GP moves to late June from late August.
The British GP is saved and should feature the new track layout, which means the end of Bridge corner. It is also run on the same day as the World Cup final. Germany and Hungary are back to back weekends so the F1 teams have most of August off. The season ends with Brazil and Abu Dhabi on consecutive weekends, finishing 2 weeks later than 2009.
With a new season comes new rules and 2010 is no exception. Here is a rundown of what is changing for the new season.
Refuelling during a race is now no longer allowed. This will mean that cars will have to carry all the fuel it needs to complete the race. They will still be forced to pit as the 2 compound rule still stands, so drivers must use both tyre compounds during the race. This poses a problem for teams and drivers as larger fuel tanks have to be accommodated and heavier cars will be tougher to drive.
Another major change is to the points system. The winner of the race will now receive 25 points. 2nd place will get 18, 3rd 15, 4th 12, 5th 10, 6th 8, 7th 6, 8th 4, 9th 2 and 10th 1 point. 10 places get paid with points instead of the previous 8 because the number of teams has increased and I will go into that in more detail later.
Onto some more minor changes, the minimum weight of the car has been raised to 620kg from 605kg. This was to reduce the penalty of being a taller, heavier driver when using the KERS device but seeing as the teams have agreed to not use KERS, it is of minor significance but we may see a team or 2 caught out early.
Gone are the ridiculous wheel rim covers that I thought were terrible. It is a good thing too as pit crews will have to change tyres as quick as possible. Back in 1993, a good tyre change was around 4 seconds. Also changing are the size of the front tyres, they are getting narrower which should give a better grip balance.
Lastly, some testing changes. Substitute drivers that have not raced in 2 seasons are allowed one day of testing on a track not on the Grand Prix calendar. The teams will have only 6 straight line aero test days compared to 8 of last season. They can switch these days for 4 hours of full scale wind tunnel testing, so the teams will have decisions to make.
It is now time to look at the teams and drivers competing in this year’s Championship. If you can remember to last year, I also made some predictions of the 2009 season and we shall see how I did and make some new ones for 2010.
McLaren
2009 was a strange season for McLaren. The car was just awful at the start of the season and they didn’t help themselves when McLaren and Hamilton got involved in lying to race stewards and were staring potential expulsion from the Championship in the face.
Things picked up as the team started challenging at the front and winning races. They also had the best KERS unit, although that won’t help them this season. Testing times seem to indicate that they have a good car and they should be considered title challengers, if their car is legal. McLaren say they have a 2nd package should the first one be found illegal. They have also had their partner with Mercedes dissolved so McLaren are on their own once again.
Button
So, Button finally gets hold of title challenging car and, although he had some end of season jitters, he took his first World Championship. His dominating form at the beginning of 2009 was Button at his very best.
Now he has a different kind of pressure. He is defending Champion but in a new team and up against a formidable challenge in Lewis Hamilton. The majority seem to be of the opinion that Hamilton will have the upper hand so, although he’ll say he doesn’t have anything to prove, he could find the pressure building if Hamilton starts beating him consistently.
Hamilton
2009 was a learning experience for Lewis. Liegate, he admitted, almost made him walk away from Formula 1 and the struggles he went through with an awful McLaren took away some of his mojo. Despite all that, he was beating Kovalainen consistently and dragging everything he could out of that McLaren. It is testament to his ability that he finished 5th behind the Brawn and Red Bull drivers and helped McLaren to a 3rd place finish in the Constructors Championship.
2010 is going to be an interesting season on a number of levels. He has another World Champion teammate but perhaps the relationship will be better with Button than Alonso. The McLaren looks like a good car so perhaps a title push is on the cards. He is also going head to head with Schumacher, something a lot of people wanted to see after Hamilton showed his ability in 2007.
Mercedes
It is a crazy timeline for this team. 2008, they were the Honda team. At the start of 2009, they pretty much didn’t exist. Ross Brawn picked the team up and won both Championships in a fairytale year. Now they have been bought by Mercedes as they strike out on their own after a long partnership with McLaren.
It didn’t take long for them to make waves as they sign Michael Schumacher out of retirement to reunite with Ross Brawn. So, while almost everything has changed, they have a Constructors title to defend and expectation is high. Title chances have been downplayed already but we don’t really know for sure where they will be until wheels turn in anger. Early signs seem to indicate they are 4th fastest at the moment but they have a super diffuser secret weapon that will no doubt become a talking point.
Rosberg
Rosberg finally gets his shot at a title contending team but he has already been overshadowed by the media spectacle of Schumacher. We don’t know how much pace Schumacher has lost due to age but Rosberg has to now prove he is capable of living with the best.
So, what does Rosberg have to do? I don’t think the title is on the cards but there will be races available to win and that surely has to be a goal. The head to head battle with Schumacher is almost as interesting as the potential battles going on through the field.
Schumacher
Arguably, the greatest F1 driver of all time has returned. When he was linked with replacing Massa in 2009 and that ultimately falling through, it seemed like it reignited the fire. However, there was no room at the Ferrari inn.
So, the team of Schumacher and Brawn are back together and although the colour of the team has changed, they still have to be considered dangerous as Brawn can get the best out of Schumacher and see his tactics give them the best chance to win. Will it be an 8th World title? Probably not but it’ll be fun finding out.
Red Bull
I think Red Bull will be secretly kicking themselves as they seemed to have the best car for most of the season but the Renault engines blowing up and scoring points off each other meant they came up short.
Now that Red Bull are at the front, they will be looking to stay there and although they are defending the Renault engines, they could be the Achilles heel once again. There will be no question about it though, that car will be good.
Vettel
Vettel grew up a lot in the 2009 season. He made some mistakes early that ultimately put him out of contention but he is quickly becoming the complete package and will be a contender for titles for many years.
Vettel has already said he wants the title in 2010 and that is all he is gunning for. It won’t be easy as there seems to be more challengers than last season. Will this be his season?
Webber
Webber does seem to be one of the unlucky ones. He started 2009 with a leg injury that hampered him for a long time and then he finally got his breakthrough win in Germany.
Vettel had the upper hand on him most of the season but he pounced on Vettel’s failures which led to neither driver being favoured for the title until it was too late. He has admitted he is the underdog for the title but that won’t stop him trying to prove everyone wrong.
Ferrari
2009 was a pretty miserable season for Ferrari. They abandoned the season early on to focus on 2010 and only took 1 win. They also lost Massa in that freak accident in Hungary where they replaced him with Luca Badoer, who struggled, and then Fisichella, who didn’t fare much better.
Testing for 2010 was promising. Ferrari are downplaying their pace but they seem to be back at the front once again. With Massa back behind the wheel and Alonso now alongside him, Ferrari have an intimidating driver lineup.
Alonso
A season of frustration had to be endured before he got his chance at Ferrari. His Renault car was cumbersome but still dragged 26 points out of it, which are also the only points Renault scored in 2009.
And now Alonso is at Ferrari and with a good car. That makes him a serious contender and could be considered the favourite in this early stage. His recent struggles will no doubt make him more determined to win it all this season.
Massa
I think it is safe to say that everyone is glad to see Massa is fine and back in Formula 1. Whether he has lost any of his edge will be seen when he starts competing but I don’t think it will be an issue.
He resumes his career with perhaps his toughest challenge yet. While Raikkonen was no pushover, Alonso is far more determined to win and matching Alonso is a tough task for anyone but it is achievable. I do fear that he will be seeing the back of Alonso’s car most of the season though.
Williams
Williams do what they do with the minimum of fuss and while they lose out in the development race, you have to admire the staying power of the team. They have benefitted from the demise of Toyota and BMW and have moved to 5th in the F1 pecking order.
Williams will not be considered title contenders again this season and I doubt they will be in the near future but they have a blend of youth and experience in their driver lineup, which could benefit the development side of things.
Barrichello
Barrichello is approaching the end of his career and although he won’t admit it, his chances of winning a title are pretty much over. His best chance was last season but he could not overcome Button’s early dominance despite a late renaissance.
He’ll be looking to be best of the rest and looking to teach his rookie teammate along the way by beating him in the head to head battle in the team. Other than that, there isn’t really much expected as I don’t think Williams can break the top 4 teams up.
Hulkenberg
This is Hulkenberg’s rookie season. He has an impressive list of achievements, particularly in rookie seasons. He is a former Formula BMW champion, helped Germany win the A1GP title, champion in his 2nd season of Formula 3 after a 3rd place finish the season before and is the current GP2 champion after winning that at his first attempt. He has been Williams’ test driver since 2008.
Barrichello is a good guide to see how well he is doing and he could be dicing with a few teams for the odd point here and there in what is looking like a close midfield once again.
Renault
It may say Renault as the team name but Renault are only a minor stakeholder in the team now. They sold 75% of the team to Genii Capital, which is a Luxembourg investment firm. Renault also got hit pretty hard despite being seemingly innocent in the Briatore/Symonds/Piquet Jr Crashgate scandal with sponsors pulling out.
So, the team is now in transition and with rumours of Renault eventually pulling out completely, times are going to be tough as they try to find their place. The pace of the new car seems promising though, which might keep Kubica happy for a while.
Kubica
After the frustration of BMW giving up on his title chances in 2008, he was frustrated by the BMW’s poor performance in 2009. Then BMW pull out and leaves Kubica searching for a drive. He signs for Renault, who then say they are meeting to decide whether to stay in Formula 1. Kubica has been through some tough times.
A driver of his talent probably deserves better and once again he has to endure another potential season of fighting for minor points places. Good performances will not go unnoticed though and beating his rookie teammate is essential.
Petrov
Petrov is another driver making his debut in Formula 1. He isn’t as successful as Hulkenberg with his only titles coming in his home country of Russia. He made steady progress in GP2 since 2006, finishing 2nd in the Championship last year.
He has possession of a seat in Formula 1 now and maybe less is expected as he has a tough teammate and a solid if unspectacular car to drive. A season of learning perhaps but this isn’t the place to take your time to get up to speed. Pressure will appear quickly if results disappoint.
Force India
Force India started off towards the back but made steady progress on the car. Then all of a sudden, they take pole position in Belgium and come close to a victory. While they didn’t see quite the dizzy heights after that, they got a step closer to being a regular midfield team.
Their aim is still that – to be a regular midfield team and I think they are certainly capable. They should be 1 of a number of teams fighting it out for some of the minor points finishes and it should be a good battle.
Sutil
Sutil will be glad to see Raikkonen depart Formula 1. Raikkonen had a habit of costing Sutil valuable points finishes. Sutil starts 2010 on the back of only 1 points finish, a 4th place in Italy.
The signs are there though. He showed some good performances at times and now needs to be more consistent if other teams are to consider him seriously. He has had a taste of driving at the front so now he has to apply that knowledge to better performances in 2010.
Liuzzi
Liuzzi replaced Fisichella after he was poached by Ferrari late on in 2009. He seemed to be immediately comfortable in the car and was giving lots of technical feedback in practice on the radio at his first Grand Prix back, which impressed me at least.
Liuzzi gets a full season now to prove his worth and has a good challenge ahead of him in the midfield and from Sutil. It is difficult to know what a good season is for Force India in general so maybe just moving Force India closer to the front will be enough.
Toro Rosso
They are officially out on their own now as they are no longer allowed to borrow the Red Bull chassis anymore. I believe they are still looking to sell but this team has to be seen more as a training ground rather than a serious contender. They finished last in points in 2009 and sacked Bourdais halfway through the season. Buemi looked bright on his debut season though.
They will probably be considered the worst of the established teams and all it will be is useful experience for the 2 drivers that finished last season – Buemi and Alguersuari.
Buemi
Despite being the worst team, Buemi impressed, beating Bourdais consistently and scoring the bulk of Toro Rosso’s points for the season. He’ll have to be content with another season at the back but he might be snapped up if he continues to impress.
Alguersuari
He was thrown into the car after the sacking of Bourdais and it was a steep learning curve. He also had a big crash in Japan but he keeps his spot in the team and he has youth on his side. I didn’t really notice a great deal of talent creeping through but a full season might benefit him in his development.
Lotus
Lotus returns to Formula 1 and they are certainly trying to learn and move forward quickly with the help of experienced Mike Gascoyne and a strong driver lineup in Kovalainen and Trulli. With Malaysian backers, they plan to move their base to Malaysia from Britain and they certainly look like they have a solid base with which to progress.
Trulli
I must admit, I’m not a Trulli fan. At least he won’t be at the front anymore to hold up drivers that could potentially win races. He’ll just be holding them up while they are being lapped.
Anyway, there should be 3 battles - the teams at the front, the midfield and then the new teams. With experience on their side, Lotus will be confident of taking the battle at the back.
Kovalainen
Kovalainen trades a McLaren for a Lotus. He was apparently offered a BMW Sauber and Renault drive but he chose Lotus because he considered them more stable. Hamilton destroyed Kovalainen in the head to head battle at McLaren but I don’t think Kovalainen is currently a title contending driver. He seems to be a decent member of any team he drives for.
He now has the job of taking Lotus to the next level. There is a lot of work to do but he seems like the kind of driver that works hard. I think it is going to be a good fight at the back.
Hispania
It wasn’t looking good at one point. Originally going under the name Campos, it became clear that all was not well. They continually promised a car would be ready but they were on financially shaky ground.
They were eventually saved by Jose Ramon Carabante and renamed. Despite not turning a wheel in anger and no testing, they are convinced that they are at least a second faster than Lotus and Virgin.
Chandhok
Looking at his career, it doesn’t inspire much confidence. He has won a few minor championships but has not had a great deal of success in recent years in GP2. It does seem to me then that this drive is all about the money he brings to the team. He is the 2nd Indian driver to drive in Formula 1 so he probably has some influential backers.
Senna
The Senna name returns to Formula 1 with Bruno Senna. He looked like he was going to break into Formula 1 in 2009 after finishing runner up in GP2. That didn’t materialise but was quickly snapped up when Hispania were given a spot on the grid. He should be the better of the 2 drivers and probably feels he has something to prove after being passed up numerous times over the years.
BMW Sauber
The BMW name remains but BMW have no involvement. They lost their place as BMW didn’t sign the Concorde Agreement and had to reapply after Peter Sauber bought the team back. That doesn’t mean the car is going to be bad as this is effectively a BMW backed design before the pullout.
The expectation will be to race competitively with the midfield pack but they are currently without a major sponsor and they’ll want to do well to woo potential sponsors their way.
De La Rosa
De La Rosa has had the odd chance here and there and has generally been a better test driver than race driver. The experience he has in the field of developing cars must certainly be a key factor to the signing. He hasn’t driven a Grand Prix since 2006 so he will have to get used to the heat of battle once again.
Kobayashi
Alongside the experience is youth and Kobayashi showed some talent in the last couple of races when he replaced the injured Glock at Toyota. While he was a little rough around the edges, he showed some good pace and just that little glimpse was enough for Sauber to take a punt. I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on.
Virgin
The Brawn/Branson partnership lasted 1 season as Branson strikes out on his own and buys into the Manor team, renaming it Virgin. Always looking to be different, the car has been completely designed using computational fluid dynamics. Also, I believe that the head technical guy has a habit of building cars at the early stages with deficiencies in the wings. I also remember hearing of a rear wing failure in what was a tough time in preseason testing. They are confident of being best of the new teams though.
Glock
I like Glock, mainly because he showed up Trulli at Toyota. He was injured for the last 2 rounds of 2009 but had a good season with 2 podium finishes. Unfortunately, he is back at the back of the pack as he signed for Virgin after Toyota’s withdrawal. Not much will be expected in terms of results but he’ll be expected to beat Di Grassi.
Di Grassi
Di Grassi has been a GP2 regular for the last 4 years. The last 3 seasons he has been 2nd, 3rd and 3rd in the final standings and now has a chance in Formula 1. He has a teammate who is a good benchmark at the Formula 1 level and he’ll be looking to match him in his first season.
They are all the teams and drivers competing in the Championship this season. I should mention USF1. They were to be the 13th team but major sponsors pulled out and a car was not being finished. They have asked to race in 2011 but will have to go through a selection process.
Also interested in entering for 2010 was Stefan GP. They bought what remained of the Toyota team and were confident of being competitive. They couldn’t find a way to be accepted onto the 2010 grid and will have to wait for 2011.
Onto the final part of the preview, prediction time. I’m looking back at what I predicted in 2009 and make some predictions for 2010. Let’s start with my 2009 predictions:
2009 Constructors Championship
1st Ferrari – finished 4th
2nd Brawn GP – finished 1st
3rd BMW – finished 6th
4th Red Bull – finished 2nd
5th Renault – finished 8th
6th McLaren – finished 3rd
7th Toyota – finished 5th
8th Williams – finished 7th
9th Toro Rosso – finished 10th
10th Force India – finished 9th
Okay, moving on quickly....
Urgh, my team prediction last year was horrific. I didn’t get one right although I was close with a few. I like to think that everything was so crazy last season that predicting it all was impossible. It makes me sleep better at night. Onto the drivers predictions:
1st Massa – finished 11th
2nd Button – finished 1st
3rd Alonso – finished 9th
4th Raikkonen – finished 6th
5th Webber – finished 4th
Once again, I failed miserably. I couldn’t have foreseen Massa’s injury but he was never going to win the title. I underestimated some teams and drivers big time.
After my abject display, it is my chance to redeem myself by predicting what will happen in 2010. Here is where I think the teams will finish:
1st Ferrari
2nd McLaren
3rd Red Bull
4th Mercedes
5th Renault
6th Williams
7th BMW Sauber
8th Force India
9th Toro Rosso
10th Virgin
11th Lotus
12th Hispania
I think it is going to be close at the top. Ferrari and McLaren look strongest to me at this time but that could change quickly. Red Bull are strong and Mercedes have secret weapons.
Renault look like they have the car to be best of the rest, Williams are pretty solid usually but it could be close with them, BMW Sauber and Force India. Toro Rosso should be the weakest of the established teams. I think Virgin will win the battle of the new teams with Hispania being the last place team.
Now onto my top 5 driver prediction:
1st Hamilton
2nd Alonso
3rd Massa
4th Vettel
5th Schumacher
This is really quite tricky. I have a feeling Hamilton will win the title but I’m not convinced that Button will even make the top 5. Schumacher will probably pick off a couple of wins but won’t win the title. The problem I’m having is placing Red Bull and their drivers. I’m really looking forward to the battle though.
That concludes this mammoth preview of the 2010 season. Feel free to take issue with any of this. If you want to make your own predictions, feel free and maybe I’ll review them next year.
Until next time, I’ve been Grandprix and thanks for reading.
2010 will see Formula 1 cars go around race tracks around the world. They are:
Bahrain – 14th March
Australia – 28th March
Malaysia – 4th April
China – 18th April
Spain – 9th May
Monaco – 16th May
Turkey – 30th May
Canada – 13th June
Europe – 27th June
Britain – 11th July
Germany – 25th July
Hungary – 1st August
Belgium – 29th August
Italy – 12th September
Singapore – 26th September
Japan – 10th October
Korea – 24th October
Brazil – 7th November
Abu Dhabi – 14th November
Did you spot the changes? Well, here they are if you didn’t. First up, there are 19 races on the schedule, although it should be mentioned that Korea is still subject to approval at this point. The season kicks off 2 weeks earlier than last year and Bahrain, with a new longer track, is the opening race of the season instead of Australia, which is still back to back with Malaysia.
Spain and Monaco are now on back to back weekends as the calendar needed opening up for the return of Canada. The scorching temperatures in Valencia will hopefully be a thing of the past as the European GP moves to late June from late August.
The British GP is saved and should feature the new track layout, which means the end of Bridge corner. It is also run on the same day as the World Cup final. Germany and Hungary are back to back weekends so the F1 teams have most of August off. The season ends with Brazil and Abu Dhabi on consecutive weekends, finishing 2 weeks later than 2009.
With a new season comes new rules and 2010 is no exception. Here is a rundown of what is changing for the new season.
Refuelling during a race is now no longer allowed. This will mean that cars will have to carry all the fuel it needs to complete the race. They will still be forced to pit as the 2 compound rule still stands, so drivers must use both tyre compounds during the race. This poses a problem for teams and drivers as larger fuel tanks have to be accommodated and heavier cars will be tougher to drive.
Another major change is to the points system. The winner of the race will now receive 25 points. 2nd place will get 18, 3rd 15, 4th 12, 5th 10, 6th 8, 7th 6, 8th 4, 9th 2 and 10th 1 point. 10 places get paid with points instead of the previous 8 because the number of teams has increased and I will go into that in more detail later.
Onto some more minor changes, the minimum weight of the car has been raised to 620kg from 605kg. This was to reduce the penalty of being a taller, heavier driver when using the KERS device but seeing as the teams have agreed to not use KERS, it is of minor significance but we may see a team or 2 caught out early.
Gone are the ridiculous wheel rim covers that I thought were terrible. It is a good thing too as pit crews will have to change tyres as quick as possible. Back in 1993, a good tyre change was around 4 seconds. Also changing are the size of the front tyres, they are getting narrower which should give a better grip balance.
Lastly, some testing changes. Substitute drivers that have not raced in 2 seasons are allowed one day of testing on a track not on the Grand Prix calendar. The teams will have only 6 straight line aero test days compared to 8 of last season. They can switch these days for 4 hours of full scale wind tunnel testing, so the teams will have decisions to make.
It is now time to look at the teams and drivers competing in this year’s Championship. If you can remember to last year, I also made some predictions of the 2009 season and we shall see how I did and make some new ones for 2010.
McLaren
2009 was a strange season for McLaren. The car was just awful at the start of the season and they didn’t help themselves when McLaren and Hamilton got involved in lying to race stewards and were staring potential expulsion from the Championship in the face.
Things picked up as the team started challenging at the front and winning races. They also had the best KERS unit, although that won’t help them this season. Testing times seem to indicate that they have a good car and they should be considered title challengers, if their car is legal. McLaren say they have a 2nd package should the first one be found illegal. They have also had their partner with Mercedes dissolved so McLaren are on their own once again.
Button
So, Button finally gets hold of title challenging car and, although he had some end of season jitters, he took his first World Championship. His dominating form at the beginning of 2009 was Button at his very best.
Now he has a different kind of pressure. He is defending Champion but in a new team and up against a formidable challenge in Lewis Hamilton. The majority seem to be of the opinion that Hamilton will have the upper hand so, although he’ll say he doesn’t have anything to prove, he could find the pressure building if Hamilton starts beating him consistently.
Hamilton
2009 was a learning experience for Lewis. Liegate, he admitted, almost made him walk away from Formula 1 and the struggles he went through with an awful McLaren took away some of his mojo. Despite all that, he was beating Kovalainen consistently and dragging everything he could out of that McLaren. It is testament to his ability that he finished 5th behind the Brawn and Red Bull drivers and helped McLaren to a 3rd place finish in the Constructors Championship.
2010 is going to be an interesting season on a number of levels. He has another World Champion teammate but perhaps the relationship will be better with Button than Alonso. The McLaren looks like a good car so perhaps a title push is on the cards. He is also going head to head with Schumacher, something a lot of people wanted to see after Hamilton showed his ability in 2007.
Mercedes
It is a crazy timeline for this team. 2008, they were the Honda team. At the start of 2009, they pretty much didn’t exist. Ross Brawn picked the team up and won both Championships in a fairytale year. Now they have been bought by Mercedes as they strike out on their own after a long partnership with McLaren.
It didn’t take long for them to make waves as they sign Michael Schumacher out of retirement to reunite with Ross Brawn. So, while almost everything has changed, they have a Constructors title to defend and expectation is high. Title chances have been downplayed already but we don’t really know for sure where they will be until wheels turn in anger. Early signs seem to indicate they are 4th fastest at the moment but they have a super diffuser secret weapon that will no doubt become a talking point.
Rosberg
Rosberg finally gets his shot at a title contending team but he has already been overshadowed by the media spectacle of Schumacher. We don’t know how much pace Schumacher has lost due to age but Rosberg has to now prove he is capable of living with the best.
So, what does Rosberg have to do? I don’t think the title is on the cards but there will be races available to win and that surely has to be a goal. The head to head battle with Schumacher is almost as interesting as the potential battles going on through the field.
Schumacher
Arguably, the greatest F1 driver of all time has returned. When he was linked with replacing Massa in 2009 and that ultimately falling through, it seemed like it reignited the fire. However, there was no room at the Ferrari inn.
So, the team of Schumacher and Brawn are back together and although the colour of the team has changed, they still have to be considered dangerous as Brawn can get the best out of Schumacher and see his tactics give them the best chance to win. Will it be an 8th World title? Probably not but it’ll be fun finding out.
Red Bull
I think Red Bull will be secretly kicking themselves as they seemed to have the best car for most of the season but the Renault engines blowing up and scoring points off each other meant they came up short.
Now that Red Bull are at the front, they will be looking to stay there and although they are defending the Renault engines, they could be the Achilles heel once again. There will be no question about it though, that car will be good.
Vettel
Vettel grew up a lot in the 2009 season. He made some mistakes early that ultimately put him out of contention but he is quickly becoming the complete package and will be a contender for titles for many years.
Vettel has already said he wants the title in 2010 and that is all he is gunning for. It won’t be easy as there seems to be more challengers than last season. Will this be his season?
Webber
Webber does seem to be one of the unlucky ones. He started 2009 with a leg injury that hampered him for a long time and then he finally got his breakthrough win in Germany.
Vettel had the upper hand on him most of the season but he pounced on Vettel’s failures which led to neither driver being favoured for the title until it was too late. He has admitted he is the underdog for the title but that won’t stop him trying to prove everyone wrong.
Ferrari
2009 was a pretty miserable season for Ferrari. They abandoned the season early on to focus on 2010 and only took 1 win. They also lost Massa in that freak accident in Hungary where they replaced him with Luca Badoer, who struggled, and then Fisichella, who didn’t fare much better.
Testing for 2010 was promising. Ferrari are downplaying their pace but they seem to be back at the front once again. With Massa back behind the wheel and Alonso now alongside him, Ferrari have an intimidating driver lineup.
Alonso
A season of frustration had to be endured before he got his chance at Ferrari. His Renault car was cumbersome but still dragged 26 points out of it, which are also the only points Renault scored in 2009.
And now Alonso is at Ferrari and with a good car. That makes him a serious contender and could be considered the favourite in this early stage. His recent struggles will no doubt make him more determined to win it all this season.
Massa
I think it is safe to say that everyone is glad to see Massa is fine and back in Formula 1. Whether he has lost any of his edge will be seen when he starts competing but I don’t think it will be an issue.
He resumes his career with perhaps his toughest challenge yet. While Raikkonen was no pushover, Alonso is far more determined to win and matching Alonso is a tough task for anyone but it is achievable. I do fear that he will be seeing the back of Alonso’s car most of the season though.
Williams
Williams do what they do with the minimum of fuss and while they lose out in the development race, you have to admire the staying power of the team. They have benefitted from the demise of Toyota and BMW and have moved to 5th in the F1 pecking order.
Williams will not be considered title contenders again this season and I doubt they will be in the near future but they have a blend of youth and experience in their driver lineup, which could benefit the development side of things.
Barrichello
Barrichello is approaching the end of his career and although he won’t admit it, his chances of winning a title are pretty much over. His best chance was last season but he could not overcome Button’s early dominance despite a late renaissance.
He’ll be looking to be best of the rest and looking to teach his rookie teammate along the way by beating him in the head to head battle in the team. Other than that, there isn’t really much expected as I don’t think Williams can break the top 4 teams up.
Hulkenberg
This is Hulkenberg’s rookie season. He has an impressive list of achievements, particularly in rookie seasons. He is a former Formula BMW champion, helped Germany win the A1GP title, champion in his 2nd season of Formula 3 after a 3rd place finish the season before and is the current GP2 champion after winning that at his first attempt. He has been Williams’ test driver since 2008.
Barrichello is a good guide to see how well he is doing and he could be dicing with a few teams for the odd point here and there in what is looking like a close midfield once again.
Renault
It may say Renault as the team name but Renault are only a minor stakeholder in the team now. They sold 75% of the team to Genii Capital, which is a Luxembourg investment firm. Renault also got hit pretty hard despite being seemingly innocent in the Briatore/Symonds/Piquet Jr Crashgate scandal with sponsors pulling out.
So, the team is now in transition and with rumours of Renault eventually pulling out completely, times are going to be tough as they try to find their place. The pace of the new car seems promising though, which might keep Kubica happy for a while.
Kubica
After the frustration of BMW giving up on his title chances in 2008, he was frustrated by the BMW’s poor performance in 2009. Then BMW pull out and leaves Kubica searching for a drive. He signs for Renault, who then say they are meeting to decide whether to stay in Formula 1. Kubica has been through some tough times.
A driver of his talent probably deserves better and once again he has to endure another potential season of fighting for minor points places. Good performances will not go unnoticed though and beating his rookie teammate is essential.
Petrov
Petrov is another driver making his debut in Formula 1. He isn’t as successful as Hulkenberg with his only titles coming in his home country of Russia. He made steady progress in GP2 since 2006, finishing 2nd in the Championship last year.
He has possession of a seat in Formula 1 now and maybe less is expected as he has a tough teammate and a solid if unspectacular car to drive. A season of learning perhaps but this isn’t the place to take your time to get up to speed. Pressure will appear quickly if results disappoint.
Force India
Force India started off towards the back but made steady progress on the car. Then all of a sudden, they take pole position in Belgium and come close to a victory. While they didn’t see quite the dizzy heights after that, they got a step closer to being a regular midfield team.
Their aim is still that – to be a regular midfield team and I think they are certainly capable. They should be 1 of a number of teams fighting it out for some of the minor points finishes and it should be a good battle.
Sutil
Sutil will be glad to see Raikkonen depart Formula 1. Raikkonen had a habit of costing Sutil valuable points finishes. Sutil starts 2010 on the back of only 1 points finish, a 4th place in Italy.
The signs are there though. He showed some good performances at times and now needs to be more consistent if other teams are to consider him seriously. He has had a taste of driving at the front so now he has to apply that knowledge to better performances in 2010.
Liuzzi
Liuzzi replaced Fisichella after he was poached by Ferrari late on in 2009. He seemed to be immediately comfortable in the car and was giving lots of technical feedback in practice on the radio at his first Grand Prix back, which impressed me at least.
Liuzzi gets a full season now to prove his worth and has a good challenge ahead of him in the midfield and from Sutil. It is difficult to know what a good season is for Force India in general so maybe just moving Force India closer to the front will be enough.
Toro Rosso
They are officially out on their own now as they are no longer allowed to borrow the Red Bull chassis anymore. I believe they are still looking to sell but this team has to be seen more as a training ground rather than a serious contender. They finished last in points in 2009 and sacked Bourdais halfway through the season. Buemi looked bright on his debut season though.
They will probably be considered the worst of the established teams and all it will be is useful experience for the 2 drivers that finished last season – Buemi and Alguersuari.
Buemi
Despite being the worst team, Buemi impressed, beating Bourdais consistently and scoring the bulk of Toro Rosso’s points for the season. He’ll have to be content with another season at the back but he might be snapped up if he continues to impress.
Alguersuari
He was thrown into the car after the sacking of Bourdais and it was a steep learning curve. He also had a big crash in Japan but he keeps his spot in the team and he has youth on his side. I didn’t really notice a great deal of talent creeping through but a full season might benefit him in his development.
Lotus
Lotus returns to Formula 1 and they are certainly trying to learn and move forward quickly with the help of experienced Mike Gascoyne and a strong driver lineup in Kovalainen and Trulli. With Malaysian backers, they plan to move their base to Malaysia from Britain and they certainly look like they have a solid base with which to progress.
Trulli
I must admit, I’m not a Trulli fan. At least he won’t be at the front anymore to hold up drivers that could potentially win races. He’ll just be holding them up while they are being lapped.
Anyway, there should be 3 battles - the teams at the front, the midfield and then the new teams. With experience on their side, Lotus will be confident of taking the battle at the back.
Kovalainen
Kovalainen trades a McLaren for a Lotus. He was apparently offered a BMW Sauber and Renault drive but he chose Lotus because he considered them more stable. Hamilton destroyed Kovalainen in the head to head battle at McLaren but I don’t think Kovalainen is currently a title contending driver. He seems to be a decent member of any team he drives for.
He now has the job of taking Lotus to the next level. There is a lot of work to do but he seems like the kind of driver that works hard. I think it is going to be a good fight at the back.
Hispania
It wasn’t looking good at one point. Originally going under the name Campos, it became clear that all was not well. They continually promised a car would be ready but they were on financially shaky ground.
They were eventually saved by Jose Ramon Carabante and renamed. Despite not turning a wheel in anger and no testing, they are convinced that they are at least a second faster than Lotus and Virgin.
Chandhok
Looking at his career, it doesn’t inspire much confidence. He has won a few minor championships but has not had a great deal of success in recent years in GP2. It does seem to me then that this drive is all about the money he brings to the team. He is the 2nd Indian driver to drive in Formula 1 so he probably has some influential backers.
Senna
The Senna name returns to Formula 1 with Bruno Senna. He looked like he was going to break into Formula 1 in 2009 after finishing runner up in GP2. That didn’t materialise but was quickly snapped up when Hispania were given a spot on the grid. He should be the better of the 2 drivers and probably feels he has something to prove after being passed up numerous times over the years.
BMW Sauber
The BMW name remains but BMW have no involvement. They lost their place as BMW didn’t sign the Concorde Agreement and had to reapply after Peter Sauber bought the team back. That doesn’t mean the car is going to be bad as this is effectively a BMW backed design before the pullout.
The expectation will be to race competitively with the midfield pack but they are currently without a major sponsor and they’ll want to do well to woo potential sponsors their way.
De La Rosa
De La Rosa has had the odd chance here and there and has generally been a better test driver than race driver. The experience he has in the field of developing cars must certainly be a key factor to the signing. He hasn’t driven a Grand Prix since 2006 so he will have to get used to the heat of battle once again.
Kobayashi
Alongside the experience is youth and Kobayashi showed some talent in the last couple of races when he replaced the injured Glock at Toyota. While he was a little rough around the edges, he showed some good pace and just that little glimpse was enough for Sauber to take a punt. I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on.
Virgin
The Brawn/Branson partnership lasted 1 season as Branson strikes out on his own and buys into the Manor team, renaming it Virgin. Always looking to be different, the car has been completely designed using computational fluid dynamics. Also, I believe that the head technical guy has a habit of building cars at the early stages with deficiencies in the wings. I also remember hearing of a rear wing failure in what was a tough time in preseason testing. They are confident of being best of the new teams though.
Glock
I like Glock, mainly because he showed up Trulli at Toyota. He was injured for the last 2 rounds of 2009 but had a good season with 2 podium finishes. Unfortunately, he is back at the back of the pack as he signed for Virgin after Toyota’s withdrawal. Not much will be expected in terms of results but he’ll be expected to beat Di Grassi.
Di Grassi
Di Grassi has been a GP2 regular for the last 4 years. The last 3 seasons he has been 2nd, 3rd and 3rd in the final standings and now has a chance in Formula 1. He has a teammate who is a good benchmark at the Formula 1 level and he’ll be looking to match him in his first season.
They are all the teams and drivers competing in the Championship this season. I should mention USF1. They were to be the 13th team but major sponsors pulled out and a car was not being finished. They have asked to race in 2011 but will have to go through a selection process.
Also interested in entering for 2010 was Stefan GP. They bought what remained of the Toyota team and were confident of being competitive. They couldn’t find a way to be accepted onto the 2010 grid and will have to wait for 2011.
Onto the final part of the preview, prediction time. I’m looking back at what I predicted in 2009 and make some predictions for 2010. Let’s start with my 2009 predictions:
2009 Constructors Championship
1st Ferrari – finished 4th
2nd Brawn GP – finished 1st
3rd BMW – finished 6th
4th Red Bull – finished 2nd
5th Renault – finished 8th
6th McLaren – finished 3rd
7th Toyota – finished 5th
8th Williams – finished 7th
9th Toro Rosso – finished 10th
10th Force India – finished 9th
Okay, moving on quickly....
Urgh, my team prediction last year was horrific. I didn’t get one right although I was close with a few. I like to think that everything was so crazy last season that predicting it all was impossible. It makes me sleep better at night. Onto the drivers predictions:
1st Massa – finished 11th
2nd Button – finished 1st
3rd Alonso – finished 9th
4th Raikkonen – finished 6th
5th Webber – finished 4th
Once again, I failed miserably. I couldn’t have foreseen Massa’s injury but he was never going to win the title. I underestimated some teams and drivers big time.
After my abject display, it is my chance to redeem myself by predicting what will happen in 2010. Here is where I think the teams will finish:
1st Ferrari
2nd McLaren
3rd Red Bull
4th Mercedes
5th Renault
6th Williams
7th BMW Sauber
8th Force India
9th Toro Rosso
10th Virgin
11th Lotus
12th Hispania
I think it is going to be close at the top. Ferrari and McLaren look strongest to me at this time but that could change quickly. Red Bull are strong and Mercedes have secret weapons.
Renault look like they have the car to be best of the rest, Williams are pretty solid usually but it could be close with them, BMW Sauber and Force India. Toro Rosso should be the weakest of the established teams. I think Virgin will win the battle of the new teams with Hispania being the last place team.
Now onto my top 5 driver prediction:
1st Hamilton
2nd Alonso
3rd Massa
4th Vettel
5th Schumacher
This is really quite tricky. I have a feeling Hamilton will win the title but I’m not convinced that Button will even make the top 5. Schumacher will probably pick off a couple of wins but won’t win the title. The problem I’m having is placing Red Bull and their drivers. I’m really looking forward to the battle though.
That concludes this mammoth preview of the 2010 season. Feel free to take issue with any of this. If you want to make your own predictions, feel free and maybe I’ll review them next year.
Until next time, I’ve been Grandprix and thanks for reading.
That makes sense. Just as long as it isn't more dangerous.
I think I should have put Button higher up in my predictions. Although Schumacher is really great, I don't think he has what it takes anymore. Maybe he'll come 6th.
I think I should have put Button higher up in my predictions. Although Schumacher is really great, I don't think he has what it takes anymore. Maybe he'll come 6th.
The main reason seems to be that they don't have to carry 2 special rigs around with every team to every race, saving money.
I like to think it is because of the following equation: Less time in the pits = more time on the track. It's a winning formula in my opinion.
I like to think it is because of the following equation: Less time in the pits = more time on the track. It's a winning formula in my opinion.
GP why have they decided to change rule about refuelling?
Here are my driver predictions.
1st Hamilton
2nd Vettel
3rd Massa
4th Alonso
5th Button
Here are my driver predictions.
1st Hamilton
2nd Vettel
3rd Massa
4th Alonso
5th Button
It takes me about 6-8 hours to type up but I'm always trying to absorb information about F1.
Some say I'm crazy and they are right.
Some say I'm crazy and they are right.
How long did that take you GP ?,looks like there is some serious effort gone into that ?.It's very good though,I should probably do one for MotoGP but probably won't.Could just copy this,then just change the names and stats !.Agree with pb though,this should be considered for a win.People rarely put the effort in to post things like this (maybe because they never win ?).If they did win once a while might get a few more on here ?.It's going to have to be a killer F1 season to drag me,Numnut (and Chris !) away from 2 wheeled action,but if it's a good close season with some decent racing I might keep an eye on it.
Nice post, look forward to this every year.
Hopefully the staffies might consider it for today's prize too.
Hopefully the staffies might consider it for today's prize too.
It’s that time again where I bore everyone to tears with my ridiculously long preview of the new F1 season. 2009, while maybe not as tense as 2008, was engaging as a story of a team that almost didn’t exist to World Champions and back to back British Drivers Champions. In this preview, I will run through some changes for the new season, have a look at the teams and drivers for 2010, make some predictions and see how I did with my predictions for last year. Beware: IT’S LONG!!
2010 will see Formula 1 cars go around race tracks around the world. They are:
Bahrain – 14th March
Australia – 28th March
Malaysia – 4th April
China – 18th April
Spain – 9th May
Monaco – 16th May
Turkey – 30th May
Canada – 13th June
Europe – 27th June
Britain – 11th July
Germany – 25th July
Hungary – 1st August
Belgium – 29th August
Italy – 12th September
Singapore – 26th September
Japan – 10th October
Korea – 24th October
Brazil – 7th November
Abu Dhabi – 14th November
Did you spot the changes? Well, here they are if you didn’t. First up, there are 19 races on the schedule, although it should be mentioned that Korea is still subject to approval at this point. The season kicks off 2 weeks earlier than last year and Bahrain, with a new longer track, is the opening race of the season instead of Australia, which is still back to back with Malaysia.
Spain and Monaco are now on back to back weekends as the calendar needed opening up for the return of Canada. The scorching temperatures in Valencia will hopefully be a thing of the past as the European GP moves to late June from late August.
The British GP is saved and should feature the new track layout, which means the end of Bridge corner. It is also run on the same day as the World Cup final. Germany and Hungary are back to back weekends so the F1 teams have most of August off. The season ends with Brazil and Abu Dhabi on consecutive weekends, finishing 2 weeks later than 2009.
With a new season comes new rules and 2010 is no exception. Here is a rundown of what is changing for the new season.
Refuelling during a race is now no longer allowed. This will mean that cars will have to carry all the fuel it needs to complete the race. They will still be forced to pit as the 2 compound rule still stands, so drivers must use both tyre compounds during the race. This poses a problem for teams and drivers as larger fuel tanks have to be accommodated and heavier cars will be tougher to drive.
Another major change is to the points system. The winner of the race will now receive 25 points. 2nd place will get 18, 3rd 15, 4th 12, 5th 10, 6th 8, 7th 6, 8th 4, 9th 2 and 10th 1 point. 10 places get paid with points instead of the previous 8 because the number of teams has increased and I will go into that in more detail later.
Onto some more minor changes, the minimum weight of the car has been raised to 620kg from 605kg. This was to reduce the penalty of being a taller, heavier driver when using the KERS device but seeing as the teams have agreed to not use KERS, it is of minor significance but we may see a team or 2 caught out early.
Gone are the ridiculous wheel rim covers that I thought were terrible. It is a good thing too as pit crews will have to change tyres as quick as possible. Back in 1993, a good tyre change was around 4 seconds. Also changing are the size of the front tyres, they are getting narrower which should give a better grip balance.
Lastly, some testing changes. Substitute drivers that have not raced in 2 seasons are allowed one day of testing on a track not on the Grand Prix calendar. The teams will have only 6 straight line aero test days compared to 8 of last season. They can switch these days for 4 hours of full scale wind tunnel testing, so the teams will have decisions to make.
It is now time to look at the teams and drivers competing in this year’s Championship. If you can remember to last year, I also made some predictions of the 2009 season and we shall see how I did and make some new ones for 2010.
McLaren
2009 was a strange season for McLaren. The car was just awful at the start of the season and they didn’t help themselves when McLaren and Hamilton got involved in lying to race stewards and were staring potential expulsion from the Championship in the face.
Things picked up as the team started challenging at the front and winning races. They also had the best KERS unit, although that won’t help them this season. Testing times seem to indicate that they have a good car and they should be considered title challengers, if their car is legal. McLaren say they have a 2nd package should the first one be found illegal. They have also had their partner with Mercedes dissolved so McLaren are on their own once again.
Button
So, Button finally gets hold of title challenging car and, although he had some end of season jitters, he took his first World Championship. His dominating form at the beginning of 2009 was Button at his very best.
Now he has a different kind of pressure. He is defending Champion but in a new team and up against a formidable challenge in Lewis Hamilton. The majority seem to be of the opinion that Hamilton will have the upper hand so, although he’ll say he doesn’t have anything to prove, he could find the pressure building if Hamilton starts beating him consistently.
Hamilton
2009 was a learning experience for Lewis. Liegate, he admitted, almost made him walk away from Formula 1 and the struggles he went through with an awful McLaren took away some of his mojo. Despite all that, he was beating Kovalainen consistently and dragging everything he could out of that McLaren. It is testament to his ability that he finished 5th behind the Brawn and Red Bull drivers and helped McLaren to a 3rd place finish in the Constructors Championship.
2010 is going to be an interesting season on a number of levels. He has another World Champion teammate but perhaps the relationship will be better with Button than Alonso. The McLaren looks like a good car so perhaps a title push is on the cards. He is also going head to head with Schumacher, something a lot of people wanted to see after Hamilton showed his ability in 2007.
Mercedes
It is a crazy timeline for this team. 2008, they were the Honda team. At the start of 2009, they pretty much didn’t exist. Ross Brawn picked the team up and won both Championships in a fairytale year. Now they have been bought by Mercedes as they strike out on their own after a long partnership with McLaren.
It didn’t take long for them to make waves as they sign Michael Schumacher out of retirement to reunite with Ross Brawn. So, while almost everything has changed, they have a Constructors title to defend and expectation is high. Title chances have been downplayed already but we don’t really know for sure where they will be until wheels turn in anger. Early signs seem to indicate they are 4th fastest at the moment but they have a super diffuser secret weapon that will no doubt become a talking point.
Rosberg
Rosberg finally gets his shot at a title contending team but he has already been overshadowed by the media spectacle of Schumacher. We don’t know how much pace Schumacher has lost due to age but Rosberg has to now prove he is capable of living with the best.
So, what does Rosberg have to do? I don’t think the title is on the cards but there will be races available to win and that surely has to be a goal. The head to head battle with Schumacher is almost as interesting as the potential battles going on through the field.
Schumacher
Arguably, the greatest F1 driver of all time has returned. When he was linked with replacing Massa in 2009 and that ultimately falling through, it seemed like it reignited the fire. However, there was no room at the Ferrari inn.
So, the team of Schumacher and Brawn are back together and although the colour of the team has changed, they still have to be considered dangerous as Brawn can get the best out of Schumacher and see his tactics give them the best chance to win. Will it be an 8th World title? Probably not but it’ll be fun finding out.
Red Bull
I think Red Bull will be secretly kicking themselves as they seemed to have the best car for most of the season but the Renault engines blowing up and scoring points off each other meant they came up short.
Now that Red Bull are at the front, they will be looking to stay there and although they are defending the Renault engines, they could be the Achilles heel once again. There will be no question about it though, that car will be good.
Vettel
Vettel grew up a lot in the 2009 season. He made some mistakes early that ultimately put him out of contention but he is quickly becoming the complete package and will be a contender for titles for many years.
Vettel has already said he wants the title in 2010 and that is all he is gunning for. It won’t be easy as there seems to be more challengers than last season. Will this be his season?
Webber
Webber does seem to be one of the unlucky ones. He started 2009 with a leg injury that hampered him for a long time and then he finally got his breakthrough win in Germany.
Vettel had the upper hand on him most of the season but he pounced on Vettel’s failures which led to neither driver being favoured for the title until it was too late. He has admitted he is the underdog for the title but that won’t stop him trying to prove everyone wrong.
Ferrari
2009 was a pretty miserable season for Ferrari. They abandoned the season early on to focus on 2010 and only took 1 win. They also lost Massa in that freak accident in Hungary where they replaced him with Luca Badoer, who struggled, and then Fisichella, who didn’t fare much better.
Testing for 2010 was promising. Ferrari are downplaying their pace but they seem to be back at the front once again. With Massa back behind the wheel and Alonso now alongside him, Ferrari have an intimidating driver lineup.
Alonso
A season of frustration had to be endured before he got his chance at Ferrari. His Renault car was cumbersome but still dragged 26 points out of it, which are also the only points Renault scored in 2009.
And now Alonso is at Ferrari and with a good car. That makes him a serious contender and could be considered the favourite in this early stage. His recent struggles will no doubt make him more determined to win it all this season.
Massa
I think it is safe to say that everyone is glad to see Massa is fine and back in Formula 1. Whether he has lost any of his edge will be seen when he starts competing but I don’t think it will be an issue.
He resumes his career with perhaps his toughest challenge yet. While Raikkonen was no pushover, Alonso is far more determined to win and matching Alonso is a tough task for anyone but it is achievable. I do fear that he will be seeing the back of Alonso’s car most of the season though.
Williams
Williams do what they do with the minimum of fuss and while they lose out in the development race, you have to admire the staying power of the team. They have benefitted from the demise of Toyota and BMW and have moved to 5th in the F1 pecking order.
Williams will not be considered title contenders again this season and I doubt they will be in the near future but they have a blend of youth and experience in their driver lineup, which could benefit the development side of things.
Barrichello
Barrichello is approaching the end of his career and although he won’t admit it, his chances of winning a title are pretty much over. His best chance was last season but he could not overcome Button’s early dominance despite a late renaissance.
He’ll be looking to be best of the rest and looking to teach his rookie teammate along the way by beating him in the head to head battle in the team. Other than that, there isn’t really much expected as I don’t think Williams can break the top 4 teams up.
Hulkenberg
This is Hulkenberg’s rookie season. He has an impressive list of achievements, particularly in rookie seasons. He is a former Formula BMW champion, helped Germany win the A1GP title, champion in his 2nd season of Formula 3 after a 3rd place finish the season before and is the current GP2 champion after winning that at his first attempt. He has been Williams’ test driver since 2008.
Barrichello is a good guide to see how well he is doing and he could be dicing with a few teams for the odd point here and there in what is looking like a close midfield once again.
Renault
It may say Renault as the team name but Renault are only a minor stakeholder in the team now. They sold 75% of the team to Genii Capital, which is a Luxembourg investment firm. Renault also got hit pretty hard despite being seemingly innocent in the Briatore/Symonds/Piquet Jr Crashgate scandal with sponsors pulling out.
So, the team is now in transition and with rumours of Renault eventually pulling out completely, times are going to be tough as they try to find their place. The pace of the new car seems promising though, which might keep Kubica happy for a while.
Kubica
After the frustration of BMW giving up on his title chances in 2008, he was frustrated by the BMW’s poor performance in 2009. Then BMW pull out and leaves Kubica searching for a drive. He signs for Renault, who then say they are meeting to decide whether to stay in Formula 1. Kubica has been through some tough times.
A driver of his talent probably deserves better and once again he has to endure another potential season of fighting for minor points places. Good performances will not go unnoticed though and beating his rookie teammate is essential.
Petrov
Petrov is another driver making his debut in Formula 1. He isn’t as successful as Hulkenberg with his only titles coming in his home country of Russia. He made steady progress in GP2 since 2006, finishing 2nd in the Championship last year.
He has possession of a seat in Formula 1 now and maybe less is expected as he has a tough teammate and a solid if unspectacular car to drive. A season of learning perhaps but this isn’t the place to take your time to get up to speed. Pressure will appear quickly if results disappoint.
Force India
Force India started off towards the back but made steady progress on the car. Then all of a sudden, they take pole position in Belgium and come close to a victory. While they didn’t see quite the dizzy heights after that, they got a step closer to being a regular midfield team.
Their aim is still that – to be a regular midfield team and I think they are certainly capable. They should be 1 of a number of teams fighting it out for some of the minor points finishes and it should be a good battle.
Sutil
Sutil will be glad to see Raikkonen depart Formula 1. Raikkonen had a habit of costing Sutil valuable points finishes. Sutil starts 2010 on the back of only 1 points finish, a 4th place in Italy.
The signs are there though. He showed some good performances at times and now needs to be more consistent if other teams are to consider him seriously. He has had a taste of driving at the front so now he has to apply that knowledge to better performances in 2010.
Liuzzi
Liuzzi replaced Fisichella after he was poached by Ferrari late on in 2009. He seemed to be immediately comfortable in the car and was giving lots of technical feedback in practice on the radio at his first Grand Prix back, which impressed me at least.
Liuzzi gets a full season now to prove his worth and has a good challenge ahead of him in the midfield and from Sutil. It is difficult to know what a good season is for Force India in general so maybe just moving Force India closer to the front will be enough.
Toro Rosso
They are officially out on their own now as they are no longer allowed to borrow the Red Bull chassis anymore. I believe they are still looking to sell but this team has to be seen more as a training ground rather than a serious contender. They finished last in points in 2009 and sacked Bourdais halfway through the season. Buemi looked bright on his debut season though.
They will probably be considered the worst of the established teams and all it will be is useful experience for the 2 drivers that finished last season – Buemi and Alguersuari.
Buemi
Despite being the worst team, Buemi impressed, beating Bourdais consistently and scoring the bulk of Toro Rosso’s points for the season. He’ll have to be content with another season at the back but he might be snapped up if he continues to impress.
Alguersuari
He was thrown into the car after the sacking of Bourdais and it was a steep learning curve. He also had a big crash in Japan but he keeps his spot in the team and he has youth on his side. I didn’t really notice a great deal of talent creeping through but a full season might benefit him in his development.
Lotus
Lotus returns to Formula 1 and they are certainly trying to learn and move forward quickly with the help of experienced Mike Gascoyne and a strong driver lineup in Kovalainen and Trulli. With Malaysian backers, they plan to move their base to Malaysia from Britain and they certainly look like they have a solid base with which to progress.
Trulli
I must admit, I’m not a Trulli fan. At least he won’t be at the front anymore to hold up drivers that could potentially win races. He’ll just be holding them up while they are being lapped.
Anyway, there should be 3 battles - the teams at the front, the midfield and then the new teams. With experience on their side, Lotus will be confident of taking the battle at the back.
Kovalainen
Kovalainen trades a McLaren for a Lotus. He was apparently offered a BMW Sauber and Renault drive but he chose Lotus because he considered them more stable. Hamilton destroyed Kovalainen in the head to head battle at McLaren but I don’t think Kovalainen is currently a title contending driver. He seems to be a decent member of any team he drives for.
He now has the job of taking Lotus to the next level. There is a lot of work to do but he seems like the kind of driver that works hard. I think it is going to be a good fight at the back.
Hispania
It wasn’t looking good at one point. Originally going under the name Campos, it became clear that all was not well. They continually promised a car would be ready but they were on financially shaky ground.
They were eventually saved by Jose Ramon Carabante and renamed. Despite not turning a wheel in anger and no testing, they are convinced that they are at least a second faster than Lotus and Virgin.
Chandhok
Looking at his career, it doesn’t inspire much confidence. He has won a few minor championships but has not had a great deal of success in recent years in GP2. It does seem to me then that this drive is all about the money he brings to the team. He is the 2nd Indian driver to drive in Formula 1 so he probably has some influential backers.
Senna
The Senna name returns to Formula 1 with Bruno Senna. He looked like he was going to break into Formula 1 in 2009 after finishing runner up in GP2. That didn’t materialise but was quickly snapped up when Hispania were given a spot on the grid. He should be the better of the 2 drivers and probably feels he has something to prove after being passed up numerous times over the years.
BMW Sauber
The BMW name remains but BMW have no involvement. They lost their place as BMW didn’t sign the Concorde Agreement and had to reapply after Peter Sauber bought the team back. That doesn’t mean the car is going to be bad as this is effectively a BMW backed design before the pullout.
The expectation will be to race competitively with the midfield pack but they are currently without a major sponsor and they’ll want to do well to woo potential sponsors their way.
De La Rosa
De La Rosa has had the odd chance here and there and has generally been a better test driver than race driver. The experience he has in the field of developing cars must certainly be a key factor to the signing. He hasn’t driven a Grand Prix since 2006 so he will have to get used to the heat of battle once again.
Kobayashi
Alongside the experience is youth and Kobayashi showed some talent in the last couple of races when he replaced the injured Glock at Toyota. While he was a little rough around the edges, he showed some good pace and just that little glimpse was enough for Sauber to take a punt. I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on.
Virgin
The Brawn/Branson partnership lasted 1 season as Branson strikes out on his own and buys into the Manor team, renaming it Virgin. Always looking to be different, the car has been completely designed using computational fluid dynamics. Also, I believe that the head technical guy has a habit of building cars at the early stages with deficiencies in the wings. I also remember hearing of a rear wing failure in what was a tough time in preseason testing. They are confident of being best of the new teams though.
Glock
I like Glock, mainly because he showed up Trulli at Toyota. He was injured for the last 2 rounds of 2009 but had a good season with 2 podium finishes. Unfortunately, he is back at the back of the pack as he signed for Virgin after Toyota’s withdrawal. Not much will be expected in terms of results but he’ll be expected to beat Di Grassi.
Di Grassi
Di Grassi has been a GP2 regular for the last 4 years. The last 3 seasons he has been 2nd, 3rd and 3rd in the final standings and now has a chance in Formula 1. He has a teammate who is a good benchmark at the Formula 1 level and he’ll be looking to match him in his first season.
They are all the teams and drivers competing in the Championship this season. I should mention USF1. They were to be the 13th team but major sponsors pulled out and a car was not being finished. They have asked to race in 2011 but will have to go through a selection process.
Also interested in entering for 2010 was Stefan GP. They bought what remained of the Toyota team and were confident of being competitive. They couldn’t find a way to be accepted onto the 2010 grid and will have to wait for 2011.
Onto the final part of the preview, prediction time. I’m looking back at what I predicted in 2009 and make some predictions for 2010. Let’s start with my 2009 predictions:
2009 Constructors Championship
1st Ferrari – finished 4th
2nd Brawn GP – finished 1st
3rd BMW – finished 6th
4th Red Bull – finished 2nd
5th Renault – finished 8th
6th McLaren – finished 3rd
7th Toyota – finished 5th
8th Williams – finished 7th
9th Toro Rosso – finished 10th
10th Force India – finished 9th
Okay, moving on quickly....
Urgh, my team prediction last year was horrific. I didn’t get one right although I was close with a few. I like to think that everything was so crazy last season that predicting it all was impossible. It makes me sleep better at night. Onto the drivers predictions:
1st Massa – finished 11th
2nd Button – finished 1st
3rd Alonso – finished 9th
4th Raikkonen – finished 6th
5th Webber – finished 4th
Once again, I failed miserably. I couldn’t have foreseen Massa’s injury but he was never going to win the title. I underestimated some teams and drivers big time.
After my abject display, it is my chance to redeem myself by predicting what will happen in 2010. Here is where I think the teams will finish:
1st Ferrari
2nd McLaren
3rd Red Bull
4th Mercedes
5th Renault
6th Williams
7th BMW Sauber
8th Force India
9th Toro Rosso
10th Virgin
11th Lotus
12th Hispania
I think it is going to be close at the top. Ferrari and McLaren look strongest to me at this time but that could change quickly. Red Bull are strong and Mercedes have secret weapons.
Renault look like they have the car to be best of the rest, Williams are pretty solid usually but it could be close with them, BMW Sauber and Force India. Toro Rosso should be the weakest of the established teams. I think Virgin will win the battle of the new teams with Hispania being the last place team.
Now onto my top 5 driver prediction:
1st Hamilton
2nd Alonso
3rd Massa
4th Vettel
5th Schumacher
This is really quite tricky. I have a feeling Hamilton will win the title but I’m not convinced that Button will even make the top 5. Schumacher will probably pick off a couple of wins but won’t win the title. The problem I’m having is placing Red Bull and their drivers. I’m really looking forward to the battle though.
That concludes this mammoth preview of the 2010 season. Feel free to take issue with any of this. If you want to make your own predictions, feel free and maybe I’ll review them next year.
Until next time, I’ve been Grandprix and thanks for reading.
2010 will see Formula 1 cars go around race tracks around the world. They are:
Bahrain – 14th March
Australia – 28th March
Malaysia – 4th April
China – 18th April
Spain – 9th May
Monaco – 16th May
Turkey – 30th May
Canada – 13th June
Europe – 27th June
Britain – 11th July
Germany – 25th July
Hungary – 1st August
Belgium – 29th August
Italy – 12th September
Singapore – 26th September
Japan – 10th October
Korea – 24th October
Brazil – 7th November
Abu Dhabi – 14th November
Did you spot the changes? Well, here they are if you didn’t. First up, there are 19 races on the schedule, although it should be mentioned that Korea is still subject to approval at this point. The season kicks off 2 weeks earlier than last year and Bahrain, with a new longer track, is the opening race of the season instead of Australia, which is still back to back with Malaysia.
Spain and Monaco are now on back to back weekends as the calendar needed opening up for the return of Canada. The scorching temperatures in Valencia will hopefully be a thing of the past as the European GP moves to late June from late August.
The British GP is saved and should feature the new track layout, which means the end of Bridge corner. It is also run on the same day as the World Cup final. Germany and Hungary are back to back weekends so the F1 teams have most of August off. The season ends with Brazil and Abu Dhabi on consecutive weekends, finishing 2 weeks later than 2009.
With a new season comes new rules and 2010 is no exception. Here is a rundown of what is changing for the new season.
Refuelling during a race is now no longer allowed. This will mean that cars will have to carry all the fuel it needs to complete the race. They will still be forced to pit as the 2 compound rule still stands, so drivers must use both tyre compounds during the race. This poses a problem for teams and drivers as larger fuel tanks have to be accommodated and heavier cars will be tougher to drive.
Another major change is to the points system. The winner of the race will now receive 25 points. 2nd place will get 18, 3rd 15, 4th 12, 5th 10, 6th 8, 7th 6, 8th 4, 9th 2 and 10th 1 point. 10 places get paid with points instead of the previous 8 because the number of teams has increased and I will go into that in more detail later.
Onto some more minor changes, the minimum weight of the car has been raised to 620kg from 605kg. This was to reduce the penalty of being a taller, heavier driver when using the KERS device but seeing as the teams have agreed to not use KERS, it is of minor significance but we may see a team or 2 caught out early.
Gone are the ridiculous wheel rim covers that I thought were terrible. It is a good thing too as pit crews will have to change tyres as quick as possible. Back in 1993, a good tyre change was around 4 seconds. Also changing are the size of the front tyres, they are getting narrower which should give a better grip balance.
Lastly, some testing changes. Substitute drivers that have not raced in 2 seasons are allowed one day of testing on a track not on the Grand Prix calendar. The teams will have only 6 straight line aero test days compared to 8 of last season. They can switch these days for 4 hours of full scale wind tunnel testing, so the teams will have decisions to make.
It is now time to look at the teams and drivers competing in this year’s Championship. If you can remember to last year, I also made some predictions of the 2009 season and we shall see how I did and make some new ones for 2010.
McLaren
2009 was a strange season for McLaren. The car was just awful at the start of the season and they didn’t help themselves when McLaren and Hamilton got involved in lying to race stewards and were staring potential expulsion from the Championship in the face.
Things picked up as the team started challenging at the front and winning races. They also had the best KERS unit, although that won’t help them this season. Testing times seem to indicate that they have a good car and they should be considered title challengers, if their car is legal. McLaren say they have a 2nd package should the first one be found illegal. They have also had their partner with Mercedes dissolved so McLaren are on their own once again.
Button
So, Button finally gets hold of title challenging car and, although he had some end of season jitters, he took his first World Championship. His dominating form at the beginning of 2009 was Button at his very best.
Now he has a different kind of pressure. He is defending Champion but in a new team and up against a formidable challenge in Lewis Hamilton. The majority seem to be of the opinion that Hamilton will have the upper hand so, although he’ll say he doesn’t have anything to prove, he could find the pressure building if Hamilton starts beating him consistently.
Hamilton
2009 was a learning experience for Lewis. Liegate, he admitted, almost made him walk away from Formula 1 and the struggles he went through with an awful McLaren took away some of his mojo. Despite all that, he was beating Kovalainen consistently and dragging everything he could out of that McLaren. It is testament to his ability that he finished 5th behind the Brawn and Red Bull drivers and helped McLaren to a 3rd place finish in the Constructors Championship.
2010 is going to be an interesting season on a number of levels. He has another World Champion teammate but perhaps the relationship will be better with Button than Alonso. The McLaren looks like a good car so perhaps a title push is on the cards. He is also going head to head with Schumacher, something a lot of people wanted to see after Hamilton showed his ability in 2007.
Mercedes
It is a crazy timeline for this team. 2008, they were the Honda team. At the start of 2009, they pretty much didn’t exist. Ross Brawn picked the team up and won both Championships in a fairytale year. Now they have been bought by Mercedes as they strike out on their own after a long partnership with McLaren.
It didn’t take long for them to make waves as they sign Michael Schumacher out of retirement to reunite with Ross Brawn. So, while almost everything has changed, they have a Constructors title to defend and expectation is high. Title chances have been downplayed already but we don’t really know for sure where they will be until wheels turn in anger. Early signs seem to indicate they are 4th fastest at the moment but they have a super diffuser secret weapon that will no doubt become a talking point.
Rosberg
Rosberg finally gets his shot at a title contending team but he has already been overshadowed by the media spectacle of Schumacher. We don’t know how much pace Schumacher has lost due to age but Rosberg has to now prove he is capable of living with the best.
So, what does Rosberg have to do? I don’t think the title is on the cards but there will be races available to win and that surely has to be a goal. The head to head battle with Schumacher is almost as interesting as the potential battles going on through the field.
Schumacher
Arguably, the greatest F1 driver of all time has returned. When he was linked with replacing Massa in 2009 and that ultimately falling through, it seemed like it reignited the fire. However, there was no room at the Ferrari inn.
So, the team of Schumacher and Brawn are back together and although the colour of the team has changed, they still have to be considered dangerous as Brawn can get the best out of Schumacher and see his tactics give them the best chance to win. Will it be an 8th World title? Probably not but it’ll be fun finding out.
Red Bull
I think Red Bull will be secretly kicking themselves as they seemed to have the best car for most of the season but the Renault engines blowing up and scoring points off each other meant they came up short.
Now that Red Bull are at the front, they will be looking to stay there and although they are defending the Renault engines, they could be the Achilles heel once again. There will be no question about it though, that car will be good.
Vettel
Vettel grew up a lot in the 2009 season. He made some mistakes early that ultimately put him out of contention but he is quickly becoming the complete package and will be a contender for titles for many years.
Vettel has already said he wants the title in 2010 and that is all he is gunning for. It won’t be easy as there seems to be more challengers than last season. Will this be his season?
Webber
Webber does seem to be one of the unlucky ones. He started 2009 with a leg injury that hampered him for a long time and then he finally got his breakthrough win in Germany.
Vettel had the upper hand on him most of the season but he pounced on Vettel’s failures which led to neither driver being favoured for the title until it was too late. He has admitted he is the underdog for the title but that won’t stop him trying to prove everyone wrong.
Ferrari
2009 was a pretty miserable season for Ferrari. They abandoned the season early on to focus on 2010 and only took 1 win. They also lost Massa in that freak accident in Hungary where they replaced him with Luca Badoer, who struggled, and then Fisichella, who didn’t fare much better.
Testing for 2010 was promising. Ferrari are downplaying their pace but they seem to be back at the front once again. With Massa back behind the wheel and Alonso now alongside him, Ferrari have an intimidating driver lineup.
Alonso
A season of frustration had to be endured before he got his chance at Ferrari. His Renault car was cumbersome but still dragged 26 points out of it, which are also the only points Renault scored in 2009.
And now Alonso is at Ferrari and with a good car. That makes him a serious contender and could be considered the favourite in this early stage. His recent struggles will no doubt make him more determined to win it all this season.
Massa
I think it is safe to say that everyone is glad to see Massa is fine and back in Formula 1. Whether he has lost any of his edge will be seen when he starts competing but I don’t think it will be an issue.
He resumes his career with perhaps his toughest challenge yet. While Raikkonen was no pushover, Alonso is far more determined to win and matching Alonso is a tough task for anyone but it is achievable. I do fear that he will be seeing the back of Alonso’s car most of the season though.
Williams
Williams do what they do with the minimum of fuss and while they lose out in the development race, you have to admire the staying power of the team. They have benefitted from the demise of Toyota and BMW and have moved to 5th in the F1 pecking order.
Williams will not be considered title contenders again this season and I doubt they will be in the near future but they have a blend of youth and experience in their driver lineup, which could benefit the development side of things.
Barrichello
Barrichello is approaching the end of his career and although he won’t admit it, his chances of winning a title are pretty much over. His best chance was last season but he could not overcome Button’s early dominance despite a late renaissance.
He’ll be looking to be best of the rest and looking to teach his rookie teammate along the way by beating him in the head to head battle in the team. Other than that, there isn’t really much expected as I don’t think Williams can break the top 4 teams up.
Hulkenberg
This is Hulkenberg’s rookie season. He has an impressive list of achievements, particularly in rookie seasons. He is a former Formula BMW champion, helped Germany win the A1GP title, champion in his 2nd season of Formula 3 after a 3rd place finish the season before and is the current GP2 champion after winning that at his first attempt. He has been Williams’ test driver since 2008.
Barrichello is a good guide to see how well he is doing and he could be dicing with a few teams for the odd point here and there in what is looking like a close midfield once again.
Renault
It may say Renault as the team name but Renault are only a minor stakeholder in the team now. They sold 75% of the team to Genii Capital, which is a Luxembourg investment firm. Renault also got hit pretty hard despite being seemingly innocent in the Briatore/Symonds/Piquet Jr Crashgate scandal with sponsors pulling out.
So, the team is now in transition and with rumours of Renault eventually pulling out completely, times are going to be tough as they try to find their place. The pace of the new car seems promising though, which might keep Kubica happy for a while.
Kubica
After the frustration of BMW giving up on his title chances in 2008, he was frustrated by the BMW’s poor performance in 2009. Then BMW pull out and leaves Kubica searching for a drive. He signs for Renault, who then say they are meeting to decide whether to stay in Formula 1. Kubica has been through some tough times.
A driver of his talent probably deserves better and once again he has to endure another potential season of fighting for minor points places. Good performances will not go unnoticed though and beating his rookie teammate is essential.
Petrov
Petrov is another driver making his debut in Formula 1. He isn’t as successful as Hulkenberg with his only titles coming in his home country of Russia. He made steady progress in GP2 since 2006, finishing 2nd in the Championship last year.
He has possession of a seat in Formula 1 now and maybe less is expected as he has a tough teammate and a solid if unspectacular car to drive. A season of learning perhaps but this isn’t the place to take your time to get up to speed. Pressure will appear quickly if results disappoint.
Force India
Force India started off towards the back but made steady progress on the car. Then all of a sudden, they take pole position in Belgium and come close to a victory. While they didn’t see quite the dizzy heights after that, they got a step closer to being a regular midfield team.
Their aim is still that – to be a regular midfield team and I think they are certainly capable. They should be 1 of a number of teams fighting it out for some of the minor points finishes and it should be a good battle.
Sutil
Sutil will be glad to see Raikkonen depart Formula 1. Raikkonen had a habit of costing Sutil valuable points finishes. Sutil starts 2010 on the back of only 1 points finish, a 4th place in Italy.
The signs are there though. He showed some good performances at times and now needs to be more consistent if other teams are to consider him seriously. He has had a taste of driving at the front so now he has to apply that knowledge to better performances in 2010.
Liuzzi
Liuzzi replaced Fisichella after he was poached by Ferrari late on in 2009. He seemed to be immediately comfortable in the car and was giving lots of technical feedback in practice on the radio at his first Grand Prix back, which impressed me at least.
Liuzzi gets a full season now to prove his worth and has a good challenge ahead of him in the midfield and from Sutil. It is difficult to know what a good season is for Force India in general so maybe just moving Force India closer to the front will be enough.
Toro Rosso
They are officially out on their own now as they are no longer allowed to borrow the Red Bull chassis anymore. I believe they are still looking to sell but this team has to be seen more as a training ground rather than a serious contender. They finished last in points in 2009 and sacked Bourdais halfway through the season. Buemi looked bright on his debut season though.
They will probably be considered the worst of the established teams and all it will be is useful experience for the 2 drivers that finished last season – Buemi and Alguersuari.
Buemi
Despite being the worst team, Buemi impressed, beating Bourdais consistently and scoring the bulk of Toro Rosso’s points for the season. He’ll have to be content with another season at the back but he might be snapped up if he continues to impress.
Alguersuari
He was thrown into the car after the sacking of Bourdais and it was a steep learning curve. He also had a big crash in Japan but he keeps his spot in the team and he has youth on his side. I didn’t really notice a great deal of talent creeping through but a full season might benefit him in his development.
Lotus
Lotus returns to Formula 1 and they are certainly trying to learn and move forward quickly with the help of experienced Mike Gascoyne and a strong driver lineup in Kovalainen and Trulli. With Malaysian backers, they plan to move their base to Malaysia from Britain and they certainly look like they have a solid base with which to progress.
Trulli
I must admit, I’m not a Trulli fan. At least he won’t be at the front anymore to hold up drivers that could potentially win races. He’ll just be holding them up while they are being lapped.
Anyway, there should be 3 battles - the teams at the front, the midfield and then the new teams. With experience on their side, Lotus will be confident of taking the battle at the back.
Kovalainen
Kovalainen trades a McLaren for a Lotus. He was apparently offered a BMW Sauber and Renault drive but he chose Lotus because he considered them more stable. Hamilton destroyed Kovalainen in the head to head battle at McLaren but I don’t think Kovalainen is currently a title contending driver. He seems to be a decent member of any team he drives for.
He now has the job of taking Lotus to the next level. There is a lot of work to do but he seems like the kind of driver that works hard. I think it is going to be a good fight at the back.
Hispania
It wasn’t looking good at one point. Originally going under the name Campos, it became clear that all was not well. They continually promised a car would be ready but they were on financially shaky ground.
They were eventually saved by Jose Ramon Carabante and renamed. Despite not turning a wheel in anger and no testing, they are convinced that they are at least a second faster than Lotus and Virgin.
Chandhok
Looking at his career, it doesn’t inspire much confidence. He has won a few minor championships but has not had a great deal of success in recent years in GP2. It does seem to me then that this drive is all about the money he brings to the team. He is the 2nd Indian driver to drive in Formula 1 so he probably has some influential backers.
Senna
The Senna name returns to Formula 1 with Bruno Senna. He looked like he was going to break into Formula 1 in 2009 after finishing runner up in GP2. That didn’t materialise but was quickly snapped up when Hispania were given a spot on the grid. He should be the better of the 2 drivers and probably feels he has something to prove after being passed up numerous times over the years.
BMW Sauber
The BMW name remains but BMW have no involvement. They lost their place as BMW didn’t sign the Concorde Agreement and had to reapply after Peter Sauber bought the team back. That doesn’t mean the car is going to be bad as this is effectively a BMW backed design before the pullout.
The expectation will be to race competitively with the midfield pack but they are currently without a major sponsor and they’ll want to do well to woo potential sponsors their way.
De La Rosa
De La Rosa has had the odd chance here and there and has generally been a better test driver than race driver. The experience he has in the field of developing cars must certainly be a key factor to the signing. He hasn’t driven a Grand Prix since 2006 so he will have to get used to the heat of battle once again.
Kobayashi
Alongside the experience is youth and Kobayashi showed some talent in the last couple of races when he replaced the injured Glock at Toyota. While he was a little rough around the edges, he showed some good pace and just that little glimpse was enough for Sauber to take a punt. I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on.
Virgin
The Brawn/Branson partnership lasted 1 season as Branson strikes out on his own and buys into the Manor team, renaming it Virgin. Always looking to be different, the car has been completely designed using computational fluid dynamics. Also, I believe that the head technical guy has a habit of building cars at the early stages with deficiencies in the wings. I also remember hearing of a rear wing failure in what was a tough time in preseason testing. They are confident of being best of the new teams though.
Glock
I like Glock, mainly because he showed up Trulli at Toyota. He was injured for the last 2 rounds of 2009 but had a good season with 2 podium finishes. Unfortunately, he is back at the back of the pack as he signed for Virgin after Toyota’s withdrawal. Not much will be expected in terms of results but he’ll be expected to beat Di Grassi.
Di Grassi
Di Grassi has been a GP2 regular for the last 4 years. The last 3 seasons he has been 2nd, 3rd and 3rd in the final standings and now has a chance in Formula 1. He has a teammate who is a good benchmark at the Formula 1 level and he’ll be looking to match him in his first season.
They are all the teams and drivers competing in the Championship this season. I should mention USF1. They were to be the 13th team but major sponsors pulled out and a car was not being finished. They have asked to race in 2011 but will have to go through a selection process.
Also interested in entering for 2010 was Stefan GP. They bought what remained of the Toyota team and were confident of being competitive. They couldn’t find a way to be accepted onto the 2010 grid and will have to wait for 2011.
Onto the final part of the preview, prediction time. I’m looking back at what I predicted in 2009 and make some predictions for 2010. Let’s start with my 2009 predictions:
2009 Constructors Championship
1st Ferrari – finished 4th
2nd Brawn GP – finished 1st
3rd BMW – finished 6th
4th Red Bull – finished 2nd
5th Renault – finished 8th
6th McLaren – finished 3rd
7th Toyota – finished 5th
8th Williams – finished 7th
9th Toro Rosso – finished 10th
10th Force India – finished 9th
Okay, moving on quickly....
Urgh, my team prediction last year was horrific. I didn’t get one right although I was close with a few. I like to think that everything was so crazy last season that predicting it all was impossible. It makes me sleep better at night. Onto the drivers predictions:
1st Massa – finished 11th
2nd Button – finished 1st
3rd Alonso – finished 9th
4th Raikkonen – finished 6th
5th Webber – finished 4th
Once again, I failed miserably. I couldn’t have foreseen Massa’s injury but he was never going to win the title. I underestimated some teams and drivers big time.
After my abject display, it is my chance to redeem myself by predicting what will happen in 2010. Here is where I think the teams will finish:
1st Ferrari
2nd McLaren
3rd Red Bull
4th Mercedes
5th Renault
6th Williams
7th BMW Sauber
8th Force India
9th Toro Rosso
10th Virgin
11th Lotus
12th Hispania
I think it is going to be close at the top. Ferrari and McLaren look strongest to me at this time but that could change quickly. Red Bull are strong and Mercedes have secret weapons.
Renault look like they have the car to be best of the rest, Williams are pretty solid usually but it could be close with them, BMW Sauber and Force India. Toro Rosso should be the weakest of the established teams. I think Virgin will win the battle of the new teams with Hispania being the last place team.
Now onto my top 5 driver prediction:
1st Hamilton
2nd Alonso
3rd Massa
4th Vettel
5th Schumacher
This is really quite tricky. I have a feeling Hamilton will win the title but I’m not convinced that Button will even make the top 5. Schumacher will probably pick off a couple of wins but won’t win the title. The problem I’m having is placing Red Bull and their drivers. I’m really looking forward to the battle though.
That concludes this mammoth preview of the 2010 season. Feel free to take issue with any of this. If you want to make your own predictions, feel free and maybe I’ll review them next year.
Until next time, I’ve been Grandprix and thanks for reading.