Peter Sauber has announced that he has purchased his old Formula One team back from BMW.

The businessman sold his successful team to the German car manfuacturer at the end of 2005, and the team achieved some success with Sauber staying on board.  His name stayed on the cars too.  However with BMW pulling out of the sport, the future of the team remained uncertain.

Qadback Investments Group wanted to buy the team, but their financial dealings are under scrutiny, and Peter Sauber stepped in to get his old team back.

The whole deal is built on whether or not they get the final grid slot, which is yet to be decided, as Toyota have pulled out of the sport.

“We are very happy with this solution,” said Dr Klaus Draeger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “This fulfils the most important requirement for a successful future for the team.

“Our relationship with Peter Sauber has always been excellent and marked by absolute respect. We would like to express our thanks to Peter Sauber and the whole team for the excellent cooperation during the recent four years.”

Peter Sauber added; “I am very relieved that we have found this solution. It means we can keep the Hinwil location and the majority of workplaces. I am convinced that the new team has a very good future in Formula One, whose current transformation with new framework conditions will benefit the private teams.

“Our staff here are highly competent and motivated, and I look forward to taking on this new challenge together with them. I would like to thank BMW for four shared years that have in the main been very successful.”

We at The F1 Fanatics Blog are really happy about this, Sauber were a great team and we can just hope they make the 2010 grid!

On 28 April 2007, Nick Heidfeld drove a BMW Sauber F1.06 Formula One car around the Nordschleife, on a BMW publicity day in combination with a VLN 4h endurance race. For safety reasons, BMW announced that the car was slowed with hard demonstration tires, maximum ride height, and 275 km/h top speed limited by the transmission. Heidfeld drove three laps on the combined Nordschleife and short GP-track, as used in VLN races, with a track length of 24.433 km (so comparison with older records is difficult). The official lap time released by BMW Sauber was declared to be 8:34 (thus ca. 30 secs slower than the fastest Porsche 996 turbo in VLN). The German press duly reported this lap time, yet criticized BMW. In each lap, Heidfeld slowed down once to pose for a slow video truck, at Schwedenkreuz on the first lap 1, Kesselchen in lap 2, and Döttinger Höhe in the last lap. The two time spans in between the three passes of Heidfeld were clocked by some fans around the track, first Wehrseifen to Wehrseifen in about 7:28, then 7:22 from Klostertal to Klostertal, which is over 50 secs quicker than the fastest current Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in VLN. This translates to an average of about 200 km/h, similar to Bellof’s record, but considering the slow GP section; Heidfeld probably was faster on the Nordschleife, close to 6 minutes. Fans who respect the official record of the late Stefan Bellof settle for an “estimated 6:12″.

Road & Track magazine reported Heidfeld’s lap was a 5:57 or 5:58 (for the Nordschleife only), breaking the track’s six-minute barrier for the first time in history. However, their times were done by measuring the speed in some corners, and then calculating a lap time, and not timing a full lap. A BMW video montage with onboard, track side and helicopter camera views gives a better estimate of 6 minutes 40 seconds to the last corner.

Heidfeld has since expressed his desire to repeat the experience with less restriction.

According to F1 Racing magazine of June 2006, BMW engineers had estimated that a BMW-Sauber F1.06 could lap in under 5:15.8,  which equals to an average of 237 km/h.

Cadê o carro?

E o tal grupo misterioso que adquiriu a BMW-Sauber, chamado Qadbak, parece estar subindo no telhado. De acordo com reportagem do jornal suíço “Sonntagszeitung”, o Qadbak não possui a grana que se imaginava, tampouco é apoiado por magnatas do Oriente Médio. Pelo contrário, o principal nome por trás da companhia é um tal de Russell King, que já passou um tempo na prisão por fraude no fisco e possui bens congelados pela Justiça. Ainda de acordo com a publicação, o acordo da venda pode melar nos próximos dias.

A BMW, como eu já disse várias vezes, fez uma enorme cagada e agora o time está virtualmente sem tempo para qualquer coisa. É uma lástima que a oferta de Peter Sauber não tenha sido aceita pelos alemães há meses atrás. Uma vergonha.

Então cruzem os dedos, fufeiros, porque a chance de mais uma equipe bem estabelecida sumir do mapa é grande, muito grande, enquanto teremos de aturar as sandices da Lotus malaia e da USF1. Afff

++++

Nico: segredo mais mal guardado do ano

A Cometa GP (aka Ross Racing, aka Mercedes GP) confirmou nesta segunda-feira o que todos já sabíamos. O alemão Nico Rosberg será um dos pilotos da escuderia anglo-alemã em 2010. Seu companheiro de equipe ainda não foi revelado, mas o rotundo Norbert Haug prometeu que o nome será visto como “uma surpresa”.

Estou apostando em Koba-San, hein! Sonhar, afinal, não é crime.

Aliás, estou também considerando manter o nome Ross Racing em 2010, uma vez que já se tornou tradicional aqui no blog e o velho Ross seguirá no comando. O que acham? Não é a coisa lógica a ser feita?

++++

Este escriba está distribuindo dois invites para o GoogleWave, a nova ferramenta do Google que ainda não foi lançada oficialmente e que promete abalar as estruturas da forma como nos comunicamos online. Se você não sabe o que é GoogleWave, provavelmente pode esperar até o lançamento oficial. Mas se você, como eu, é um freak por novidades e está à procura de um convite para o Wave, a hora é agora.

Tudo que você precisa fazer para ganhar um é me escrever um email com “Eu quero!” no título. Só tenho dois sobrando, portanto, apressem-se. Não há pódio para o terceiro colocado.

Beijundas, e uma ótima semana para todos!

Mercedes-Benz has announced that it has taken over the Brawn Formula 1 team and re-named it Mercedes Grand Prix after buying a 75.1 per cent stake in the squad.

The German car giant will retain its role as McLaren’s engine supplier until at least 2015, but will sell its 40 per cent stake in the squad back to the team over the next two years.

“Mercedes will compete in the F1 world championship next year starting with its own factory team,” said head of Mercedes cars, Dr Dieter Zetsche.

“This is possible by the agreed acquisition of 75.1 per cent of Brawn GP, 45.1 per cent from Daimler and 30 per cent from our partner Aabar Investments. The rest will be with the current share – Ross Brawn, Nick Fry and other members. The interests of Daimler are aligned therefore it will be a true Mercedes-Benz team.

“Ross Brawn will continue to be the team principal and thereby we are maintaining his strength. Just like the engine team at Mercedes Benz High Performance Engines, the new Mercedes Benz grand prix team will be co-ordinated by Mercedes Benz Motorsport which is as everybody knows headed by Norbert Haug.”

The team will be run out of Brawn’s current headquarters in Brackley, rather than from a new facility.

Team principal Brawn said that he could not have imagined such a partnership happening 11 months ago when Honda announced it was pulling out of F1, leading to a winter of uncertainty for the squad that was soon to become Brawn.

“Both I and my fellow directors at Brawn GP are incredibly proud of our staff, drivers and everyone associated with our team and thank them for their commitment, outstanding teamwork and their focus on achieving results in sometimes difficult circumstances,” he said.

“The senior management group will remain in place to lead our team and on behalf of everyone at Brawn GP, we are honoured to be representing such a prestigious brand as Mercedes-Benz in Formula One next year and will be working together to do our best to reward their faith in our team.”

The deal means that Mercedes will compete in Formula 1 as a full factory team for the first time since Juan Manuel Fangio won the world title in 1955.

Neither driver has yet been announced for the new squad. 2009 driver Rubens Barrichello has already joined Williams for next season while Jenson Button has yet to decide on his future.

AUTOSPORT understands that Nico Rosberg will be one of Mercedes’ drivers, while the company’s motorsport chief Norbert Haug said on Sunday that discussions have taken place with former BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld.

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference: Autosport.com

Complete and comprehensive listing of all teams F1 chassis usage during the grand prix season

The following is a list of all chassis used in the 2009 Formula 1 season. All teams and all cars.

Brawn GP (Honda) RA109 / BGP001
RA109-01 – never built into a car
BGP001-01* – Car 23 (Barrichello) raced
Melbourne-Monza
BGP001-02* – Car 22 (Button) all races
BGP001-03 – Car 23 (Barrichello) replaced chassis 001
at Singapore

Williams F1 FW31

FW31-01 – Testing only

FW31-02 – Car 17 (Nakajima) raced Barcelona & Monaco

FW31-03 – Car 18 (Rosberg) all races

FW31-04 – Car 17 (Nakajima) raced Melbourne to Sakhir and Istanbul to Yas Marina

Engines Car 16

1. H450 – Melbourne, Sepang
2. H453 – Shanghai, Silverstone
3. H454 – Sakhir, Monaco, Istanbul
4. H457 – Barcelona
5. H470 – Nurburgring, Hungaroring
6. H475 – Monza, Singapore, Yas Marina
7. H483 – Valencia, Spa
8. H484 – Interlagos, Suzuka

Engines Car 17

1. H452 – Melbourne, Sepang
2. H451 – Shanghai, Sakhir
3. H455 – Barcelona, Silverstone
4. H456 – Hungaroring
5. H469 – Nurburgring
6. H474 – Valencia, Spa
7. H479 – Monza, Singapore, Yas Marina
8. H480 – Suzuka, Interlagos

BMW-Sauber F1.09
F1.09-01 – Not used

F1.09-02 – pre season testing only

F1.09-03 – Car 5 (Kubica) raced at Melbourne (damaged), raced Barcelona to
Nurburgring.

F1.09-04 – Car 6 (Heidfeld) raced Melbourne to Bahrain. Car 5 (Kubica) Raced at
Hangaroring

F1.09-05 – Car 5 (Kubica) replaced chassis 03 Sepang to Bahrain

F1.09-06 – Car 6 raced Barcelona to Hungaroring

F1.09-07 – Car 6 raced Valencia to Yas Marina

F1.09-8 – Car 5 raced Valencia to Yas Marina

Renault R29
R2901 – Car 8 (Piquet) Raced Melbourne to

R2902 -

R2903 – Car 7 (Alonso) Raced Melbourne to Shanghai , Car 8 (Grosjean) raced
Valencia to Yas Marina

R2904 – Car 7 (Alonso) Raced Monaco to Yas Marina

Toyota TF109
TF109-01 – pre season testing only
TF109-02 – KERS test car, single days testing only
TF109-03 – Car 10 (Glock) raced at Melbourne
TF109-04 – Car 9 (Trulli) raced Melbourne to Shanghai,
Car 10 (Kobayashi) Raced Interlagos and Yas Marina
TF109-05 – Car 10 (Glock/Kobayashi Suzuka practice
only) replaced chassis 03 at Sepang – raced Sepang to Suzuka (damaged)
TF109-06 – Car 9 (Trulli) replaced chassis 04 at
Bahain – raced Bahrain to Yas Marina

Toro Rosso STR4
Chassis 01 – Car 12 (Buemi) Raced Melbourne to Barcelona and Raced
Interlagos and Yas Marina, Car 11 (Bourdais & Alguersuari)
Raced Silverstone and Nurburgring,

Chassis 02 – Car 11 (Bourdais & Alguersuari)
Raced Melbourne to Barcelona

Chassis 03 – Car 12 (Buemi) Raced Barcelona to Yas Marina

McLaren MP4/24
MP4-24-01 – Launch only

MP4-24-02* – Car 2 (Kovalainen) Raced Barcelona, Monaco, Silverstone. Car 1
(Hamilton) Raced Singapore to Yas Marina

MP4-24-03 – Car 2 (Kovalainen) Raced Melbourne to Sakhir and Nurburgring to Yas Marina

MP4-24-04* – Car 1 (Hamilton) Raced Melbourne to Sakhir, and Monaco to
Hungaroring, Monza
MP4-24-05 – Car 1 (Hamilton) Raced at Barcelona, Valencia and Spa

Ferrari F60
275 – Car 3 (Massa) raced Melbourne to Barcelona

276 – Car 4 (Raikkonen) raced Melbourne to Bahrain, Car 3 (Massa) raced Monaco& Istanbul
277 – Car 3 (Massa) replaced chassis 276 raced
Silverstone & Nurburgring, did not start at the Hungaroring due to driver
injury

278 – Unknown (Spare?)
279* – Car 4 (Raikkonen) replaced 276 at Barcelona raced Barcelona to Yas Marina

280- Car 3 (Badoer/Fisichella) Replaced 277 raced Valencia to Yas Marina

Force India F1 VJM02
VJM02/01 – Car 21 (Fisichella) Raced Melbourne to
Bahrain, Car 20 (Sutil) Monaco to Yas Marina

VJM02/02 – Spare

VJM02/03 – Car 20 (Sutil) Raced Melbourne to Barcelona (damaged)

VJM02/04 – Car 21 (Fisichella/Liuzzi) Raced Barcelona to Yas Marina

Red Bull RB5

Kate Chassis 1* -  Car 15 (Vettel)
Raced Melbourne to Istanbul and Spa to Yas Marina

Chassis 2* – Car 14 (Webber) Raced Melbourne to Valencia and Monza to Suzuka
(damaged)

Chassis 3 – Car 14 (Webber) Raced at Spa

Kate’s Dirty Sister
Chassis 4* – Car 15 (Vettel) Raced Silverstone to Valencia,
Car 14 (Webber) Raced Suzuka, Interlagos and Yas Marina

*Denotes race winner

Reference: racecar-engineering.com

Many of the Formula One teams have confirmed they will be testing an array of rookie talent from the world of lower formula’s at the forthcoming Jerez tests.

The tests take place over the dates 1st-3rd December.

Red Bull Racing will be testing British F3 champion Daniel Ricciardo, while sister team Toro Rosso will test Brendon Hartley and highly acclaimed Italian Mirko Bortolotti – the man responsible for beatingthe Fiorano lap record in the Ferrari F2008 last winter.

Ferrari themselves will be testing the cream of the talent from Italian F3, Williams take onboard a test for Andy Soucek his prize for winning the Formula 2 series.

Meanwhile BMW Sabuer will give two rookie’s their chance despite their depart from Formula One, with Alexander Rossi and Esteban Gutierrez taking the wheel.

A novel driver line-up for next month’s rare Formula One test is taking shape. General end-of-season testing is banned, but three days for the purposes of “young driver training” in December are permitted according to the 2009 Sporting Regulations.

Only drivers with less than three races of F1 experience are eligible. The teams have decided to run at Jerez between 1-3 December.

Ferrari has allocated the days to the top three finishers in the Italian F3 championship: Daniel Zampieri and Marco Zipoli, and the Mexican teenager Pablo Sanchez Lopez.

Red Bull will run the British F3 champion Daniel Ricciardo and Brendon Hartley will be at the wheel of the Toro Rosso.

Williams confirmed this week that Andy Soucek will be driving on the first day as his prize for winning the F2 title, before the team’s 2010 race driver Nico Hulkenberg takes over.

BMW Sauber will be running with Formula BMW champions Alexander Rossi and Esteban Gutierrez.

Gary Paffett will test for McLaren Mercedes; while Toyota had been expected to run Kamui Kobayashi until the carmaker announced its immediate withdrawal from F1.

Renault will run the new World Series champion Bertrand Baguette as well as team test driver Lucas di Grassi.

Force India is expected to turn out at the Spanish circuit with the Indian hopeful Karun Chandhok.

Reference: f1-live.com

This is the ultimate guide to where drivers are going in Formula 1 for 2010. The guide is split between current season (2009) teams, and new 2010 teams. This page will be constantly updated.

2009 Teams and confirmed drivers

BMW Sauber

Retired from 2010 season

Brawn GP

1. Nico Rosberg
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Michael Schumacher, Nick Heidfeld

Ferrari

1. Fernando Alonso
2. Felipe Massa

Force India

1. Unconfirmed
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Adrian Sutil, Antonio Liuzzi

McLaren

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Jenson Button

Red Bull Racing

1. Mark Webber
2. Sebastian Vettel

Renault

1. Robert Kubica
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Heikki Kovalainen, Romain Grosjean

Toro Rosso

1. Sebastien Buemi
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Jaime Alguersuari

Toyota

Retired from 2010 season

Williams

1. Rubens Barrichello
2. Nico Hülkenberg

New teams for 2010 and confirmed drivers

Campos Meta

1. Bruno Senna
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Pedro de la Rosa, Nelson Piquet Jr.

Lotus F1

1. Unconfirmed
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Jarno Trulli, Kamui Kobayashi

Manor GP

1. Timo Glock
2. Unconfirmed

US F1

1. Jose Maria Lopez
2. Unconfirmed

2009 Drivers Currently Missing a Race Seat

• Kimi Raikkonen (ex Ferrari). Confirmed as leaving in 2010.
• Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
• Kazuki Nakajima (ex Williams)
• Nick Heidfeld (ex BMW Sauber)
• Giancarlo Fisichella (ex Force India & Ferrari)
• Jarno Trulli (ex Toyota)
• Kamui Kobayashi (ex Toyota)

Well, that was some season! Yet another stunning FIA Formula One World Championship that created a fresh chapter of history.

Brawn GP, the Phoenix that rose from the ashes of Honda who sent shockwaves rippling through the sport after their sudden and unexpected withdrawal the previous December, became the first ‘new’ team ever to win their first two races (Mercedes-Benz, March and Wolf in 1954, 1970 and 1977 respectively had won their first) and go on to win both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles. They won eight races, took four one-twos and 15 podiums.

And by season end Jenson Button’s succession to Lewis Hamilton’s throne meant that for the first time ever two Englishmen – as opposed to two Britons – had won back-to-back titles.

Almost inevitably, 2009 began with controversies. First, there were the new regulations. Slick tyres were back. Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) were optional, and promised those who opted to pursue their multi-million dollar development in an era of cost cutting, such as McLaren, Ferrari, BMW Sauber and Renault, an extra 80bhp for six seconds a lap, and a potential gain of 0.6s in lap time.

And aerodynamic changes aimed at improving overtaking meant less bodywork ‘furniture’ such as bargeboards, smaller and higher rear wings, and wider and lower fronts which could be adjusted twice a lap through three degrees to cut down understeer while following closely in another car’s wake. Sadly, despite all the research that went into this, most drivers were sceptical about the overall effect.

It was the aero side, allied to the new rule banning testing during the season, which were to create the main talking points at the start of the season, because Brawn, Toyota and Williams all hit, through varying routes, on the idea of running a double diffuser. They had spotted the loophole in the regulations, and the FIA rejected protests from the likes of BMW Sauber, Red Bull and Renault after Button had wiped the floor with everyone in Melbourne.

The testing ban made it hard for others to catch up, though invariably they did after four or five races. By then Button had run amok. He won again in the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix (and had that race run its course the latter part of his season might have been less stressful), in Bahrain, Spain, Monaco and Turkey. Of the opening seven races, only China, the third, fell to Red Bull, as Sebastian Vettel led home Mark Webber.

Button was third there, and for the first time the Brawn’s Achilles’ heel was exposed: an inability to generate the same sort of tyre temperatures in cool conditions (or rain in this case) as the Red Bull. The Adrian Newey-designed RB5 had the best lift/drag performance of any car, and in a year that would yield the Milton Keynes-based team six wins, four one-twos and 16 podiums, fearsomely improved reliability.

As Brawn and Red Bull thus set the pace, others struggled. McLaren’s MP4-24 was initially a major disappointment, with very poor aero performance. Ferrari’s F60 was beautiful, but likewise lacked aero ‘grunt’. The two big hitters were paying the price for throwing so much technological development into their 2008 title fight, whereas Brawn had been working on their car’s concept since February 2007.

Though BMW Sauber briefly looked strong in Australia until Robert Kubica was taken out in a clash with Vettel, they and Renault would soon find that their respective F1.09 and R29 offerings were not up to scratch. Thus the cars that showed promise in the wake of the two leaders were Toyota’s TF109 and Williams’ Toyota-powered FW31.

The second controversy was born in Australia but ultimately came to light in Malaysia. Lewis Hamilton inferred to the Australian Grand Prix stewards that Jarno Trulli had refused to let him repass after Trulli had briefly slipped off the road in Melbourne when the field was running behind the safety car, but the FIA subsequently ruled that radio transmissions proved that McLaren – in their first race under new team principal Martin Whitmarsh – had told him to hold station. The suggestion that McLaren were trying to get Trulli into trouble left a bad taste and led to the departure of their sporting director, Dave Ryan.

Continued in Part Two

Reference: F1.com

With the Formula 1 season finished, BBC Sport will bring you a regular round-up of the gossip in newspapers and on specialist websites around the world.

Full story: F1-live.com

Fernando Alonso says he completely respected Renault’s decision to abandon trying to turn its 2009 car around even though it meant his final races with his long-time team were disappointing.
Full story: ITV-F1.com

Renault’s board meeting was broadly supportive of the F1 programme, for now at least. There will be no sudden pull out, it seems.
Full story: jamesallenonf1.com

Michael Schumacher has said that he would not consider a return to Formula 1 “right now” after admitting that his bid to stand in for the injured Felipe Massa this season was heavily based on emotion.
Full story: crash.net

Defeated FIA presidential candidate Ari Vatanen has hit out at the powers-that-be, saying Renault would be “right to quit” Formula 1 given the sport’s recently controversial history.
Full story: planetf1.com

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner believes Formula 1 is in good health despite Toyota becoming the third manufacturer to quit the sport in the last 12 month.
Full story: autosport.com

Lotus, as well as other F1 teams, are still in the running to capture the support of long-time BMW Sauber sponsor Petronas. Malaysian-owned Lotus F1’s new chief executive Riad Asmat said the team as well as its rivals are also vying to win the Petronas logos.
Full story: New Straits Times

Toyota will not follow Honda’s example in selling its Formula 1 team so it can continue in F1. There have been claims team boss John Howett might try to lead a Ross Brawn-style buy-out. But Howett said both of these options had already been considered by senior managers in Japan. “I think it has already been discussed and rejected,” Howett said. “Maybe these ideas can be reopened but, at the moment, it would appear not.”

Full story: The Times

Reference: BBC Sport

A couple of days ago it was officially announced that Toyota has dropped out of Formula One. The automaker came into the sport only seven years ago and since then has produced a handful of good results and zero wins. The company was hoping to secure its first win this season, but after some hopeful qualifying results, the race results never transpired. The auto giant threw a lot of money at the sport, but could still never get the ultimate result that it wanted. This probably goes to show that racing in Formula One has a lot more to do with the people that are in and around the team, rather than simply having a ton of cash. The company has cited the economic downturn for their dropping out and now join Honda as the next big manufacturer to leave the sport.

What this means for Formula One is that there are no more Japanese manufacturers in the sport. In fact, there will be zero Japanese presence after Bridgestone leaves after 2010. This is a bad turn for a sport that prides itself on being a “World Championship” (even though there isn’t a round in the largest auto buying market in the world in the USA, but whatever Bernie). Plus, with no Japanese automakers on the grid, there will probably be zero Japanese drivers. Takuma Sato was always backed by Honda, and he is no more, Kazuki Nakajima was backed by Toyota and probably won’t have a seat and newcomer Kamui Kobayashi – though very impressive in two races – is most likely also going to be without a seat.

And at the end of next season, after Bridgestone leaves, there will really be zero Japanese contingent, other than the race at Suzuka. But the big draw for that crowd was to come out and cheer on their countrymen and the cars they drive, but they probably won’t get a chance to do that.

Luckily for the sport, Renault has decided to continue on, despite the controversies of this year. It is always good for the sport to have big names there so people can root for them against a rival team. Imagine what the sport would be like if there was no McLaren to battle Ferrari, or a… well I guess that’s kinda it now isn’t it. Of course there will be other battles, but you won’t have a Honda vs. Toyota race or a BMW vs. Mercedes race anymore. Now you will have a Campos vs. USF1 race, which though it may be entertaining, will most likely not be for any points. More stories are bound to come up over the course of this winter break, and there are only 100 days left until the first round of the 2010 season starts in Bahrain.

This week started with the news that Bridgestone will withdraw from the sport after 2010 and yesterday Toyota kissed F1 goodbye and now there is news that Renault held a meeting to discuss their future in the motorsport.

Were Renault to pull out, it will be an extraordinary year of the exit of major manufacturer teams in F1. Honda and BMW exit is not even a year old by now. Only remaining manufacturer involvement will be Mercedes and Ferrari.

Toyota’s reason to leave sport is due to falling sales of their cars. For the first time in their history since 1937 they lost money in a fiscal year. They lost $4.74b in 2008 and are expected to lose $8.3b in 2009. This is compounded by Toyota’s F1 programme’s high costs and failure to live up-to its expectations. In last 8 years of their involvement Toyota was on podium only for 8 times. Although Toyota signed concorde agreement to remain in the sport till 2012 but the numbers have played a huge part in their decision to quit.

Renault always looked like first time to leave the sport. They are already indebted by bail out package from their goverment. Along with that Carlos Ghosn isn’t F1 friendly. Numbers can play a part there too. Recently, Renault also had to suffer from ignominy of Piquet-gate. F1 is famous across the world and such incidents really tarnish the image of the whole company. Although Renault have fired the culprits but still this disgrace will be languishing at the back of their minds and can act as another factor on why they want to withdraw.

Renault can remain as a engine supplier much like 90s when they formed a formidable champion car with Williams.

The situation never looked good for manufacturers to remain in the sport in the current climate. The economic meltdown in the past 2 years have taken a toll on manufacturers and when the core business suffers, other things are bound to suffer.  F1 is all about cycles and in the current phase the number of manufacturer entries will be low.

Max Mosley already envisaged such a scenario and he was pushing for low costs but his methods were too radical and this led to famous FIA-FOTA war. His bad mouthing in the press might have already made F1 a less attractive place for manufacturers who were considering a breakaway series.

I would be upset to see Renault leave the sport. It is my second team because of Fernando Alonso. Also, a hugely talented driver in Robert Kubica’s future will be in disarray again after similar thing happened in BMW.

It was rumoured for a couple of days but today Toyota announced their shock withdrawal from Formula 1. It seems that F1 is a luxury Toyota can no longer afford in the global financial situation.

The Toyota boss Akio Toyoda told a press conference in Tokyo:

“This was a difficult but ultimately unavoidable decision. Since last year with the worsening economic climate, we have been struggling with the question of whether to continue in F1.

“We are pulling out of Formula One completely. I offer my deepest apologies to Toyota’s many fans for not being able to achieve the results we had targeted.”

Toyota Motorsport Chairman Tadashi Yamashina was visibly upset by this press conference and was in tears during the announcement.

There may be legal ramifications to follow also as Toyota had previously signed the Concorde Agreement which should have kept them in F1 until at least 2012.

Who replace Toyota on the grid?

It seems that the former BMW team now backed by investment company Qadbak will replace Toyota on the grid, with BMW F1 boss Mario Theissen saying he will discuss the 2010 vacancy with the FIA.

Help Kamui Kobayashi!

A lot of Kamui Kobayashi fans (including myself) are now left worried as to where the rookie will be next season. The Japanese 23 year old endeared himself to F1 fans immediately with his aggressive and fighting style in his two races.

If you are a Kamui Kobayashi fan with a twitter account then join our twitition to keep Kobayashi in the sport at http://twitition.com/zv6yf!

Pole Robert Kubica is set for his competitive debut for new employer Renault for whom he will drive in the F1 championship next season as he is set to have a go at rallying in the French rally ‘Rallye du Var’ behind the wheel of a Renault Clio.

Kubica, a one time Formula 1 race winner is moving from BMW Sauber where he spent all of his previous F1 career to Renault for next season. He is set to follow fellow F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen who entered his home rally in Finland earlier this year and despite crashing out in the final stage on day two, he described it as ‘good fun.’

On the prospect of participating in the rally, Robert Kubica said:

“It’s [the entry on du Var] not 100 percent certain yet, but there are very big chances”

“It will be only for fun – I’m not interested in times. I already asked for a video of the stages. I know some roads in this region and I realize how difficult task it will be for me.”

Reference: F1.com

Reference: f1.com

Reference: F1.com

Provisional Results blog live in a min – http://wp.me/pF7qv-dA

19 weeks until the F1 2010 session starts – 133 days that is

That concludes the 2009 season – Check back during the next few weeks for Analysis and reviews

WOW Jenson Swearing alert

If red bull had a Double diffuser at the start of the year where would we be now?????

Get in there webber Red Bull 1 – 2

Brawn 3 and 4

What a fight ohh

Webber purple S1

webber’s lead down to 0.7 to button

webber’s lead down to 1.3 to button

webber’s lead down to 2.2 to button

L47 Vett now 17secs ahead of Webb

Jenson closing on webber by half a sec a lap – gap down to 3 sec

webber’s lead down to 3.6 to button

fight possible between 4th, 5th, 6th

Vettel, Webber, Button is what the podium looks like atm

Vettel and Button pitted

Rosberg overtakes Kubica who spins fighting with Buemi

Rubens and Nick in and out, that was quick

Webber in and out of the pits – option tyres

Kubica in and out of the pits with option tyres

Rosberg in – First 2 stopper to switch to option tyres studying lap times now I think

brb before 2nd stops

Kob News: Understeer, using the front flap max 6th place is possible

Force India fighting

Speed Trap data:

Kov – 322

Rubens, Liu and Sut – 320

Fisi and Button – 317

Alonso pits – 8.2 sec puts option tyres on

Top 3 look set now to finish in them positions – Webber and button may pit on the same lap with Vettel has 1 more lap of fuel

3 wins in a row for Red Bull Japan Vet, Brazil Webber, That is looking likely

Kov, Fisi, Gro and Liuzzi in the pits

Sutil killing the bollard

Fisi to get drive though pen for speeding in the pit lane

Kob lovely stop now on the option tyres

Kimi just pitted lets see how he will take the option tyres

Fisi just pitted the only driver to have used the option tyres

All 2 stoppers now pitted 1 stoppers should pit soon

Jamie went to pit stop at the wrong pit (stopped at Red Bull not STR, easy mistake) then ran out of fuel in the next lap very slow on that lap

Lewis: Couldn’t stop the car, right rear breaks, failure maybe???

Red Bull 1 -2 now both of them in my FR team with Sutil and Buemi go go go !! lol

Button nearly lost it again

1 stoppers now mixing with the front runners – Kob for points???

Silly Jamie trying to stop in the Red Bull pit with problem stopped on the circuit now

Yellow flag S3 STR stopped – Turn 11

Lewis in the pit again – He is out NOOOOOOOOOOO first retirement  and he is in my Fantasy Racers team

McLaren clearing space in the pit lane

STR running slow

Lewis: Could have a right rear break problem

Webber in pits, also Truill, Buemi, Rosberg in

Hamilton and Button in the pits, all safe out of the tunnel into clear air

Ferrari not use tyres all the time because of a heat issue

Kubica and Rubens in and out of the pits staying on the prime (Medium) tyres

Button is lewis’ threat now

Red Bull 1 -2 is looking likely

Back Kob looking good for a chance of points

i will brb pit stops start in 2 laps time

2 stoppers need to be at least 1.5 sec every lap quicker than all the one stoppers otherwise they could lose position and get in traffic

Lewis lost .8 of a sec oops Now lewis has to run and overtake Vettel in the 2nd part of the race

Lewis is smashing everyone in S2 half a sec quicker

1 stoppers on good pace

Top 5 pace within 2 tenth of a sec

Lewis Radio: Vettel quicker, losing most time in S3 and a bit in S1

Lewis not doing enough, grip not there atm, also it’s tyre heat low atm

Lewis half a sec quicker than anyone thought S2

Jenson 6 sec back from the leader Lewis

Lewis needs to get the gap to Vettel to over 5 secs or he will lose the place after the pit stops

Soz about that had to set dad sat nav

Rubens has a damaged car – Confirmed

Remember the fastest lap from this race will be the lap record

Jenson jumped rubens

Kubica jumped Truill

Button Quick with lots of grip

Rubens may have lost downforce from the front wing

GRO in front of Alonso

Lewis not sprinting atm

Kubica to stop about lap 15/16

Truill and Kubica fighting

Webber and Rubens have touched

The lights are out

Fisi on the option tyres for the start

Parade Lap is go go go

I am listening to BBC during the race today not 5live, what is everyone else listening to?

The grid is clearing

Ready?

Track Temp 33 c
Air Temp: 31 c
Air speed: 3.9 mps

Is everybody set, I have blog, Live commenting and blog post Comments

If u have a question, comment, idea or if i miss something please put a comment on any of my posts

Not good for Brawn and Kubica on pit stops

YAY Ron Dennis back on the grid thats very nice to see

9 Minutes to go

Martin and DC in a 2 seater love it

Loving the tunnel

Luca on the grid lol if he was quicker maybe he would be in the car for this race

End of grid walk today loved it like normal under 15 minutes to do to lights out

JC – Look at him lol – He is quick at the Top Gear track tho

I like Mark Webber, Webber Lewis and Jenson for podium

Lewis Interview WOOP WOOP Best car on the grid today

Grid walk time with Martin and Eddie YAY

WOW I wish i was a racing driver now, I have missed my chance of f1 as u have to start karting at about 7/8

I think jake will do well

Jake racing yay

half a hour to lights out can’t wait

Ferrari – a very ruff year for them, big crash, few podiums not what they looking for

I am wearing my F1 t-shirt today, lets hope it gives jenson and lewis some luck for 2 brits on the podium

McLaren: I thought they would be mega this year, lots of charactor building i think this year for lewis

BMW – I was quoted saying last winter they were my tip for success this year race wins and a challenge for the championship

Fernando to Ferrari 2010

What a year for them

Renault Renault Renault

Here is the grid:

Lewis, Seb, Mark, Rubens, Jenson,

Alonso out in Q1 – love Quail features

Buemi is in one of my  Fantasy Racers teams so Go Go Buemi

maybe I would love for STR to get points today with Buemi

I am loving the BBC intro love that song, look at that pretty car (BGP 001)

Jenson Button – 2009 World Drivers Champion don’t forget

BBC Intro is go go go, Remember after the race the bbc do a race forum today it will not be on freeview just Sky red button, Online and Virgin media (i think). I will add live comments on the forum into this live blog

Who will crash into the tunnel on the pit lane exit first, if any?

Will Lewis run away in the first stint

From the fuel weights we see the top 10 2 stopping and the last 10 1 stopping with Renault stacking the car with fuel

Afternoon All, under 10 minutes until the BBC coverage starts!