Post by Paul on Jan 1, 2010 15:20:21 GMT 1
After a thrilling season of Formula 1 both on and off track, 2010 promises to be even better. We may have said goodbye to big names in the sport in 2009 (Kimi Raikkonen, BMW, Toyota, Flavio Briatore, Ron Dennis and Max Moseley) but 2010 welcomes four new teams (Lotus, Campos Meta, USF1 and Virgin), Mercedes taking control of the championship winning Brawn GP team and marks the return of Sauber, the Canadian GP and Michael Schumacher. World champion Jenson Button defends his crown with McLaren along side 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton.
After the major rule changes last year there are more modest adjustments for 2010. Refuelling during races is banned this year which will reward those who can manage their tyres. With 26 drivers on the grid, qualifying will see 8 drivers knocked out in each of Q1 and Q2, while Q3 will take place with low fuel for the first time ever. Front tyres will be narrowed to aid better grip balance. The scoring system changes with points down to 10th place (25-20-15-10-8-6-5-3-2-1).
2010 Calendar:
March 14 - Sakhir, Bahrain (12pm start)
March 28 - Albert Park, Australia (8am)
April 4 - Sepang, Malaysia (9am)
April 18 - Shanghai, China (8am)
May 9 - Circuit de Cataluyna, Spain (1pm)
May 16 - Monte Carlo, Monaco (1pm)
May 30 - Istanbul Park, Turkey (1pm)
June 13 - Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, Canada (5pm)
June 27 - Valencia Street Circuit, Europe (1pm)
July 11 - Silverstone, Great Britain (1pm)
July 25 - Hockenheim, Germany (1pm)
August 1 - Hungaroring, Hungary (1pm)
August 29 - Spa Francochamps, Belgium (1pm)
September 12 - Monza, Italy (1pm)
September 26 - Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore (1pm)
October 10 - Suzuka, Japan (7am)
October 24 - Korean International Circuit, Korea (7am)
November 7 - Interlagos, Brazil (4pm)
November 14 - Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi (1pm)
The driver line-ups are taking shape (confirmed drivers in bold, possibles in italics, confirmed test drivers in brackets):
McLaren: Button, Hamilton
Mercedes GP: Rosberg, M. Schumacher
Red Bull: Vettel, Webber
Ferrari: Massa, Alonso (Fisichella)
Williams: Barrichello, Hulkenberg
Renault: Kubica, Villeneuve, Heidfeld, Grosjean
Force India: Sutil, Liuzzi
Toro Rosso: Buemi, Alguersuari, R. Schumacher
Lotus: Trulli, Kovalainen (Fauzy)
Campos Meta: Senna, de la Rosa, Petrov, Maldonado
US F1: Wurz, de la Rosa, Davidson, Lopez, Summerton
Virgin: Glock, di Grassi (Parente, Razia)
Sauber: Kobayashi, de la Rosa, Heidfeld, Klien, Fisichella
I'll refrain from making any predictions at this stage - I got it horribly wrong with my predictions last year that Hamilton and McLaren would win both titles. Besides, there hasn't been any meaningful testing of the 2010 spec cars at this stage. I expect though that the top 4 teams - Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari - will remain the top 4 this year in some order and will all win races.
After the major rule changes last year there are more modest adjustments for 2010. Refuelling during races is banned this year which will reward those who can manage their tyres. With 26 drivers on the grid, qualifying will see 8 drivers knocked out in each of Q1 and Q2, while Q3 will take place with low fuel for the first time ever. Front tyres will be narrowed to aid better grip balance. The scoring system changes with points down to 10th place (25-20-15-10-8-6-5-3-2-1).
2010 Calendar:
March 14 - Sakhir, Bahrain (12pm start)
March 28 - Albert Park, Australia (8am)
April 4 - Sepang, Malaysia (9am)
April 18 - Shanghai, China (8am)
May 9 - Circuit de Cataluyna, Spain (1pm)
May 16 - Monte Carlo, Monaco (1pm)
May 30 - Istanbul Park, Turkey (1pm)
June 13 - Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, Canada (5pm)
June 27 - Valencia Street Circuit, Europe (1pm)
July 11 - Silverstone, Great Britain (1pm)
July 25 - Hockenheim, Germany (1pm)
August 1 - Hungaroring, Hungary (1pm)
August 29 - Spa Francochamps, Belgium (1pm)
September 12 - Monza, Italy (1pm)
September 26 - Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore (1pm)
October 10 - Suzuka, Japan (7am)
October 24 - Korean International Circuit, Korea (7am)
November 7 - Interlagos, Brazil (4pm)
November 14 - Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi (1pm)
The driver line-ups are taking shape (confirmed drivers in bold, possibles in italics, confirmed test drivers in brackets):
McLaren: Button, Hamilton
Mercedes GP: Rosberg, M. Schumacher
Red Bull: Vettel, Webber
Ferrari: Massa, Alonso (Fisichella)
Williams: Barrichello, Hulkenberg
Renault: Kubica, Villeneuve, Heidfeld, Grosjean
Force India: Sutil, Liuzzi
Toro Rosso: Buemi, Alguersuari, R. Schumacher
Lotus: Trulli, Kovalainen (Fauzy)
Campos Meta: Senna, de la Rosa, Petrov, Maldonado
US F1: Wurz, de la Rosa, Davidson, Lopez, Summerton
Virgin: Glock, di Grassi (Parente, Razia)
Sauber: Kobayashi, de la Rosa, Heidfeld, Klien, Fisichella
I'll refrain from making any predictions at this stage - I got it horribly wrong with my predictions last year that Hamilton and McLaren would win both titles. Besides, there hasn't been any meaningful testing of the 2010 spec cars at this stage. I expect though that the top 4 teams - Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari - will remain the top 4 this year in some order and will all win races.
. I could understand if it was Campos or USF1 but Sauber?!
