With the 2010 Formula One season fast-approaching, Fingertips Sport expert Simon Wright takes a look at the championship contenders

The 2009 Formula One World Championship may have only reached its conclusion a month ago, under the glittering Abu Dhabi floodlights, but in this glamorous sport news happens 365 days a year and there has been plenty already in this off-season.

New world champion Jensen Button has dumped Brawn GP to link up with Lewis Hamilton in the British dream team at McLaren Mercedes. For this British hotshot, it became all about money and not loyalty – something which isn’t new to him (the on/off move to Williams in 2004-2005).

Jenson should have learned his lessons from this switch, but that does not appear to be the case. He should be prepared for a big shock at McLaren, where he will not be as molly-cuddled as he was in his BAR/Honda/Brawn days.

His move might be more of a mistake following Mercedes’ recent decision to buy a 75% stake in the Brawn team and rename it Mercedes GP. If Button had stayed, he would have likely had the full backing over Nico Rosberg (confirmed by the team this week).

No offence to Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld, but it must worry them that Mercedes would prefer to sign a 40-year-old who hasn’t raced competitively since 2006.

Though racing is still in his blood, whether a certain Michael Schumacher can still cut it in the age of Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel et al remains to be seen. What does that say about Germany’s F1 drivers? With Vettel tied down long-term at Red Bull Racing, is Michael going to make the fairytale dream a reality?

Toyota has departed from the sport and so has Kimi Raikkonen. Will either be missed? Not a bit. Toyota has invested millions of pounds into a spectacular failure with no wins and a general lack of direction. Raikkonen may have been champion in 2007, but in this day and age, you can’t just turn up, drive the car, go home and expect millions for it.

Kimi will do well in rallying, but his demise, plus the serious possibility that Heikki Kovalainen won’t be on the grid next year could prove that Finnish drivers are just not that fast.

Robert Kubica must have thought back in October that his career was back on track, with number one status at Renault and a say in his team-mate for next year. Now, he is waiting anxiously on the team’s short-term future. A lack of 100% commitment suggests the French team are thinking about pastures new.

Finally, it’s good to hear the progress of the new teams heading for the F1 journey next season. Manor have snapped up Toyota refugee Timo Glock, Lotus are looking well prepared and the name Senna will return to F1 racing next season with Bruno joining Campos.

Half the grid is full; still plenty can happen before Bahrain 2010.

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BMW has just announced that it has sold its Formula 1 team back to Peter Sauber, from whom it originally purchased the squad half a decade ago. The contract, however, remains subject to the team being granted a starting place on the 2010 F1 grid, a factor which is still in some debate as the legal position of Toyota following its withdrawal from the sport remains in question.

Dr Klaus Draeger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG with responsibility for Development, stated this morning: “We are very happy with this solution. 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 himself was clearly delighted to have resolved the situation, with BMW’s original plan to sell to the Qadbak outfit having experienced a number of hurdles.

“I am very relieved that we have found this solution,” he said. “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.”

The BMW statement this morning also confirmed that an agreement had been reached which would see personnel cuts from the current level of 388 to around 250 employees, in line with future FIA frameworks.

The announcement draws to a close the links with Qadbak and Russell King, and there will be many in the sport breathing a large sigh of relief. Qadbak had been in the media spotlight in 2009 as its purchase of the Notts County Football Club in England had caused much controversy. The group, however, was judged by the Football League to be “fit and proper” as owners of the club, despite alleged financial irregularities.

Qadbak’s plans to takeover the BMW F1 team however hit the rocks when it became clear the group did not have the funds to complete the purchase, and did not have a bank guarantee. Bahrain Capital International, whom it was understood to be the guarantor, turned out to be a shell company of Russel King with no assets.

It remains unclear where Sauber has found the funds to secure the purchase of his old team back from BMW, with rumours linking an unnamed US investor with the buyout. Sauber was initially known to have been trying to convince Malaysian oil partner Petronas to help him purchase the team, when BMW first made their plans to withdraw from F1 public, although with Lotus’ entry being backed by the Malaysian government, it seems likely that Petronas will end up as a backer for the Norfolk-based team.

No sé pas si en Jaume Alguersuari deu conèixer aquest video però no és difícil que conegui la cançó que l’acompanya: SUMMERCAT.

El que potser no sàpiga, o potser si, és que qui canta aquesta cançó també estava relacionat amb l’esport, en aquest cas el fútbol, però que ho va deixar per l’homofòbia que regnava.

Aprofito aquest enèssim post sobre Alguersuari per dir que em sembla que Alguersuari és al nostre país el que és Beckham a Anglaterra. Evidentment tot just començant per la seva joventut però estic convençut que cada dia serà més reconegut al llarg del tot planeta.

Us deixo amb una foto molt maca de Marc Arias que va sortir aquest 23 de novembre a LA VANGUARDIA:

La veritat és que tinc curiositat en saber si alguna marca de moda o de perfums voldria tenir a Alguersuari promocionant-los. A mi em sembla que hi guanyaríem molt.

Question: What would you do if you were an ambitious emir with a pocket full of petrodollars to spend?

The answer is obvious: Grab a desert island, open up a Ferrari theme park and start gunning the engines.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi has a lot more on his mind than Ferrari fantasies in the desert. There are water theme parks to build, art museums to raise, golf courses to design, marinas to construct, polo clubs, villas and shopping malls to be created. All this is taking place at a pulsing pace on the scenic eco-reserve of Yas Island, 30 minutes west of Abu Dhabi by 10-lane expressway in the United Arab Emirates.

Yas Island, otherwise known as Bani Yas for the area’s original local tribes, spreads for about 33 square miles inside the Gulf of Oman. Once a full-fledged wildlife and nature reserve with an active conservation and breeding program, a little more than half the land is morphing into a $39 billion steroidal pleasure center, residential spot and business park promising to be nothing short of everything money can buy.

First there was the mad rush to complete the $40 million Yas Marina Circuit, by November 1 for the venue’s first Formula One event aptly named the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Aldar is also facilitating the building of roller coasters, a Ferrari Theater, a 900,000-square-foot retail mall, a 12–acre water park, four polo fields, a Warner Brothers theme park, an equestrian center, championship golf courses, a marina and floating harbor, beaches and beach clubs, an exhibition hall, a signature hotel overlooking the race track, drag race, rally driving, dune buggy and go-kart tracks, villas, apartments and lots of beach hotels. And that does not include the prince’s all-encompassing plans for a cultural district on nearby Saadiyat Island, where some of the world’s best-known design makers (think Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando) are building the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a branch of the Louvre, a maritime museum and a performing arts centre for world-class theatre and opera. A general completion date offered aims for 2014 with an overall infrastructure scheme for the city of the future that culminates in 2030.

For now guests of the new 500-room Yas Marina Hotel get a private window on the action as the 3.4 mile race course sporting 21 white knuckle turns runs right through the property, engines gunning at 200 mph.

But the park is meant to be a family attraction, too, offering not just top class racing events. Thrill-seekers won’t miss a G on the 210-foot twin rollercoaster drops that allow riders to race against each other to the bottom. Or they can get close to the real thing by test-driving the circuit with skilled instructors in the only Ferrari driving school in the world beyond the barriers of the Ferrari Maranello base.

Softer excitement can be found through go-kart racing, rally driving and dune buggying in the theme park. The Water Park in Yas Island provides refreshing action between the races but not without some gasps of its own. The Giant Maelstrom, Velkoma water bomber, Master Blaster and “hurricane” rides get the blood pumping. Other activities include cable water skiing, scuba diving and sand lounging.  Horse buffs can test their mettle on the polo fields or in the equestrian centre.

As more than 400 extinct-in-the-wild Arabian Oryx look on, joined by an odd assortment of African transplants from giraffes and hyenas to cheetahs, the quiet of this island preserve has also given way to an assortment of clean energy initiatives to power the new development: wind turbines, solar complexes, desalinization plants. The wildlife park was created more than a quarter century ago on the island to ensure the survival of Arabia’s endangered species. Archeological sites, too, have been discovered on Yas Island — the oldest to date being a pre-Islamic monastery dating back to 600 AD.

The Desert Islands Resort & Spa on Yas Island offers an assortment of rooms, suites and villas on the beach and provides access to the island’s natural preserves for rates starting at $400 per night. (971-0-2801-5400; desertislands.anantara.com)

Plans for Yas Island have brought a string of new hotel development activity now putting a shape on the island’s skyline. But a little luxury at the Kempinski Emirates Palace on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi may be the perfect complement to a Ferrari-focused holiday. Oversized rooms and suites pullout all the stops in “palace”-themed décor and come equipped with laptops, room controls, 52-62” plasmas, private terraces and private check-in/check-out. A dozen cafes and restaurants, a Moroccan-inspired Anantara Spa, a worldclass art exhibition gallery, fitness programs and a bevy of private beaches and pool areas make up the rest of the experience. Rates start at $585 per night. (971-2-6909-000; www.emiratespalace.com or www.kempinski.com).

Information:

• Visit Abu Dhabi
• 971-2-444-0444
• www.abudhabitourism.ae

Fiona Clason

By Cara Sulieman

 

FRIENDS have paid touching tributes to a young woman who died after being hit by a car at the weekend.

Fiona Clason died at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh on Monday, the day after she was struck by a car on the capital’s waterfront.

The family of the 24-year-old were too upset to speak yesterday (Thurs) but friends of Ms Clason left touching messages on her social networking profile.

The University of Dundee graduate described herself as a fan of Hibs, Formula 1 racing and American Wrestling on her Facebook page.

“Love you”

Friends left messages praising Ms Clason, saying that she had been taken “too soon” and that “the world has become a darker place without you”.

Claire Sharkie wrote: “Love you Fi. So many amazing times and memories. Truly a great friend. Miss you so much.”

And another friend, Philip McKinstrey, added: “You always knew what to do and say to cheer up the whole room. I’ll miss you always.”

Police said Ms Clason was hit by a silver Volkswagen Golf on Waterfront Avenue at around 8pm on Sunday night.

Witness appeal

A 20-year-old was arrested and charged in connection with the incident, but has since been released pending further inquiries.

Lothian and Borders Police said that “further lines of inquiry” were being pursued and appealed for witnesses.

In particular, they are asking for passengers who were travelling on a Lothian number 38 bus which was in Waterfront Avenue at the time of the accident.

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

1 Malaysia F1 Team Principal, OK let’s just call it Lotus from here on in, Tony Fernandes has revelead that four drivers remain in the running for two seats at the team in 2010. The news comes in spite of Fernandes’ own admission that Lotus had signed its first driver a few weeks ago.

“Arrived in london. New york to london on virgin. One day. AirAsia fron kl to london to new york. Have to decide on 4 drivers for 2 seats,” he reported on his twitter feed late last night.

The news that two seats remain thus raises an interesting question…

1.) Did Fernandes’ initial quote refer to the signing of a test driver?

2.) Did Fernandes’ initial quote refer to a race driver, and the two remaining seats include the position of test driver?

3.) Has the initial deal Fernandes reported collapsed, thus opening two vacant race seats?

My hunch is that Fernandes’ initial report that the team had signed a driver was a signal that the squad had bitten the bullet and done a deal with Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy to act in the predominantly artificial role of test / reserve driver for 2010. Given that current testing regulations will give Fauzy all of about six miles in an F1 car, it would be an easy appointment for the team to make and would please the team’s major backer, the Malaysian government.

The two remaining seats, therefore, would be the race seats.

Jarno Trulli is known to have been high on the team’s list since Day 1. The Italian recently tested NASCAR and enjoyed himself, but I don’t believe he is ready or willing to walk away from F1 if a chance to race still exists. While he is still quick and would be a worthy addition to any young squad, I’m not sure how much personal backing he has. The team however would probably be willing to bring Trulli in if for nothing other than his vast experience.

Takuma Sato is also in discussions with Lotus, and to my mind is by far the team’s most sensible option. He proved at Super Aguri what he could do with a young team, and the maturity which he showed in leading the team has marked him out as a man that Lotus cannot afford to simply ignore. With most new teams looking for around US $8 million, Sato’s personal backing may fall short of the required amount, but what he brings in marketing value in Asia and in his experience with a start-up team is, to my mind, far more valuable.

So who are the other two drivers? An educated guess says that Kamui Kobayashi is still in there. We know he’s been talking to Lotus and we know he has backing from a few old Toyota backers. He impressed in his two outings for Toyota and a renewed partnership of him and Trulli would be a nice mix of youth and experience. But the question remains as to whether as a new team you can take a chance on youth or whether you should put your eggs in a more experienced basket?

Finally, then, you’d probably have to say that Kovalainen is in the mix of the final four. A line-up of him and Trulli would be one of total F1 underachievement but of two men who have much to prove. It could prove potent, but it could equally prove to be high risk as if both fail to shine, Lotus’ much vaunted return could be a tremendous flop.

What is interesting is that Lotus seems close to making its decision. Another large piece of the driver market puzzle could be about to fall into place.

When Juan Pablo Montoya arrived for his first Indy 500, the story is that he took a tour bus around the track.

10 years later, the Colombian is probably the only driver to have raced at Indy in two different directions and three kinds of machinery.  Montoya won the Indy 500 in 2000, has competed in F1 races at the Brickyard (driving clockwise), and now competes in the Brickyard 400 as a Nascar driver.

Bus tours not included.

Name any other driver who can claim such a feat.  For good measure, throw in wins at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.  Say what you want about Jimmie Johnson and his four titles, Montoya is the most versatile and talented driver on the grid.  There is no arguing with Johnson’s dominance, nor that of his crew chief, Chad Knaus.  But for sheer talent and the raw ability to get into a race car–any kind of car–no one beats Montoya.

In Nascar, success begets success.  This goes a long way towards explaining the Hendrick team’s dominance in the sport (although it does not explain why Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continues to flail on the same team as a four-time champion).  Johnson is at the peak of his abilities right now, and his team is right there with him.  He finds a way to win, and he has learned to be consistent week in and week out (something Kyle Busch hasn’t grasped).  The Chase, contrived as it is, rewards consistency.

Montoya finished 8th in the Chase this year, but this year he delivered the goods.  Many thought Montoya was foolish to trade the rarefied air conditioning of F1 for the cold beer and corndogs of Nascar.  Why would anyone making tens of millions of dollars in F1 trade that for a grueling 36-race calendar?  Racers, that’s who.

This is a driver who won the Indy 500 in 2000, and was “traded” to the Williams F1 team for 2001.  In the Brazilian Grand Prix that year, Montoya forced world champion Michael Schumacher onto the grass in an overtaking maneuver that shocked and thrilled the paddock.  Wheel-to-wheel with one of the best racers in history, and no backing down.  Yet, after a few seasons, Montoya lost patience with Williams, with the utter Englishness of it all.  He joined McLaren.

McLaren was a terrible fit for Montoya, and many wondered what Ron Dennis was thinking with that move.  It was hard imagining Montoya in the cool calm collective that is McLaren.  It did not help Montoya’s case with the team that he also injured himself off track, under circumstances that probably involved reckless behavior.

At the US Grand Prix in 2006, Montoya collided with his teammate.  There are many forms of sin in racing, but the most unforgiveable sin is to take out your own teammate.  Montoya’s F1 career–his driving career–seemed done.

After a telephone chat with Chip Ganassi, Montoya announced a shock switch to Nascar for 2007.  He was ridiculed by those in F1 who said that Nascar was beneath his talents, and others who said he was beneath Nascar.  Yet, to his credit, Montoya produced a road win at Sonoma in his first year (although, in fairness, he took out his teammate for the win.  La plus ca change….)   He even joined Ganassi drivers for a win at the 24 hour race at Daytona.  Fast in any kind of machinery indeed…..

This year Montoya reached the next level and was competitive in the Chase up to the bitter end.  Perhaps Ganassi’s tie-up with the DEI organization made the difference, maybe it’s just maturity and experience finally showing through.  His driving remains aggressive, but he is showing more patience in races.

Montoya has won the Monaco Grand Prix in F1, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, and the Indianapolis 500.  He’s won twice in Nascar and regularly finishes in the top five.  Find me a more complete racer.

Juan Pablo Montoya is always on the limit.  And that’s why he’s a racer we like.

Force India have confirmed reports that Scottish DTM star Paul di Resta will be one of their drivers at the F1 young driver tests in Jerez in early December.

The Silverstone-based team will pair the 23-year-old with California’s Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand after both performed well in race simulations last month.

Paul di Resta and Timo Scheider on the Hockenheim DTM podium

Neither of the drivers Force India finished 2009 with, Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi, are confirmed with the team for next year but it would surprise no-one in the F1 paddock if both were retained.

However the test and reserve role vacated by Liuzzi when Giancarlo Fisichella left to join Ferrari is up for grabs, and team boss Vijay Mallya indicated either di Resta or Hildebrand could earn it in Jerez.

He said: “We will be looking at their performance on track very closely and should they perform well, as we are confident they will, we will look at a permanent role for one within the team in 2010, potentially as a test and reserve driver.

“As a young team we are looking for drivers who can grow with us. As we’ve always said, nationality isn’t the primary selection criteria – it’s talent and dedication to the cause and we have seen enough to know that these two have both.”

Neither India’s GP2 driver Karun Chandhok nor the Swiss-Indian A1GP champion Neel Jani are expected to be testing, despite some reports suggesting otherwise.

Di Resta is well-regarded at Force India’s engine supplier Mercedes following three successful seasons driving their cars in DTM, the last two years as a works driver. He has twice previously tested with McLaren, including once as his prize for winning the 2004 McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year title.

He said: “It’s been a while since I last tested an F1 car but I’ve been working hard in the simulator and giving it my all in the DTM so I’m confident I’ll be up to speed quickly. It’s an exciting opportunity for me as F1 has always been my dream and I feel this is taking me one step closer to achieving it.

“I’m realistic that I’ve got a lot to prove and that I need a bit more experience of the cars and the F1 environment before getting a permanent seat but this is just the beginning of what I hope will be a very bright future with Force India.

2009 Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand

Hildebrand won this year’s Indy Lights title with a race to spare and is perhaps the best of the young Americans pushing for an F1 drive at the moment. Countryman Alexander Rossi will also test at Jerez, with the outgoing BMW team.

He said he was “ecstatic” about the opportunity: “I’ve heard so much about the performance of the cars and know this is going to be quicker and more responsive than anything I’ve ever sat in before. As an American we don’t necessarily have the culture of F1 but anything that’s so impressive and cutting-edge demands respect.”

This page will be updated weekly

Driver Resume

Awards

Trophy Cabinet

No trophy’s here at the moment

Lap Records

Layout of menu’s

The setup of the first profile was nice and quick. It asks you for the following:

1. First Name,
2. Surname,
3. Short Name,
4. Country,
5. Helmet,
6. Then to confirm.

It only takes a couple of minutes.

Then you are given the following options:

• Quick Start,
• Single Player,
• Multi Player,
• Options,
• Records Room.

Quick Start

Quick start is good for an arcade style quick race.

Single Player

Career

This lasts for three years and you start with either BMW or STR. You are given a target number of Championship points to get for the year. If you complete this target, you can either re-sign or move to a better team. I guess you become a test driver if you do not.

Challenge

The Challenge mode is lots of fun. I have completed level one and nearly level two.

Here is a list of all the different types of challenges:

• Burning Lap – Complete a flying lap in the shortest time possible,
• Race – Win the race,
• Overtake – Pass as many cars as you can,
• Checkpoint Race – Pass as many checkpoints as you can before the time runs out,
• Cornering – Corner to score! Take each corner as fast as you can without leaving the track.

On level one, there are six challenges:

1. Checkpoint Race – Spain,
2. Checkpoint Race – Bahrain,
3. Race – China,
4. Race – Italy,
5. Burning Lap – Brazil,
6. Overtake – Spa.

When you have completed a challenge, you are given a grade from A to D. I have completed Level one with everyone A bar Brazil Burning lap where I got a C.

Before you get to level, two you complete a special challenge called the “Heavens Have Opened” at Spa. You are leading the race and it is raining very hard. You are in a Renault and you have to complete the last two laps of the race and try to score, as may points as you can. I got a C grade and finished fifth. It is very hard.

Next to, level two:

1. Overtake – Brazil
2. Race – Melbourne
3. Cornering – Bahrain
4. Burning Lap – Spain
5. Checkpoint Race – Brazil
6. Burning Lap – Spa

I will add the special challenge between level two and three and the level three challenges when I get there.

Time Trial

In time trial, you can choose any car, driver and circuit. You can use this feature to tune car setups, go for fastest time trial metals (Bronze, Silver and Gold) or just learning/Practice tracks.

Grand Prix Weekend

I would recommend is for all hardcore simulation gamers because you run every session just like reality. During the practice sessions you can learn the circuit, tune your car. One problem I have found with this now is you cannot adjust the amount of fuel in the car during a run. Therefore, you could want to go out a do a long twelve lap run on a set of tyres but you may not have enough fuel. The tyres are marked like real life so when you are out on track or watching from the pits you can see which tyres the other drivers are using. While in the pits if you bring up the standing table and press A, you get a live timing, which is a welcome addition to the game. If there is no number in any of the sectors, there are on an out lap. The standard car setups are quite fast to. I would suggest if you are a hardcore gamer to tweak the setup because you can find lots of time. In addition, because the team upgrades where caped around Monaco even if you drive the wheels off, say the McLaren at any race you will not be as quick as the Brawns, Red Bull, etc. I would have liked it setup so you could be quick with a Force India at Monza but at other circuits Force India where slow.

Quail – Much better than in Formula One 2006, you can finish the lap your on after the session ends, etc.

Race – During the race you can get into a much better consistent rhythm than previous games with the ability to push before pit stops

Pit Stops – When you enter the pits you control the car until the limiter line then it is computer controlled, pit stops are lower than on TV.

Race Settings/Setup

You can choose a Difficulty at the top from Beginner, Advanced, Expert or Custom.

Under that, there are seven options to tweak to your liking:

1. Race Distance – 3 Laps, 10% of Full Race, 25% of Full Race, 50% of Full Race, 75% of Full Race or 100% of Full Race
2. Opponent Skills – Easy, Medium or Hard
3. Vehicle Damage – Off or On
4. Fuel Use & Tyre Wear – Off or On
5. Weather – Off or On
6. Component Failure – Off or On
7. Penalties – Off, Relaxed or Strict

Damage Model

The damage model is ok but could be better if you have a accident you can touch the rear and front wing, lose your wings, break a wheel (like Vettel in Melbourne 09), etc. All problems you just return to the pits and it is solved for you. You do not end the race because you have damaged your car; the damage model is not good enough for that.

Fuel use & Tyre Wear

This is very good if you are going long over 25% of full race distance but under that and there is no point.

Weather

The weather affects the cars a lot more than in previous games, you lose traction, pressures and grip. If your in a race in the wet with Slicks on it is a challenge to stay on the track (remember Hamilton and Kimi – Spa 08/Timo Brazil 08).

Component Failure

If you switch this on it means your engine, Gearbox, Kers, etc could experience faults or failures during the sessions breaking.

Penalties

This on strict is very interesting if you cut the track or hit someone within 30 sec’s the penalties will be given out. Also if you don’t let someone by with 3 blue flags in quail you are put back ten grid slots, in the race you will be given stop go’s or drive thoughts. On comparison to Formula One 2006 there has been lots of improvement in this area. The stupid rev limits have gone and better penalties are here.

Championship

There is not much difference between career and champion. The big difference is that you can choose the driver and team you want to race for.

Multi Player

In Multi player split screen you can race together, complete a complete championship or complete different challenges.

Options

Under options, you can tweak and change options for Controls, Profiles, view credits, camera settings, screen layout, audio and Driving Aids.

Records Room

Driver Resume

From here, you can see what you have achieved on the game. Awards, Total game complete, trophies, medals are all shown. In addition, there is a table show stats about your game play. Total laps completed, Top Speed, Total Distance Driven, Game Time (Hours) and Favourite Constructor are shown in the table. I will publish a post today with my Driver Resume, which I will update once a week.

Awards

The awards are stuff you have unlocked throughout the game. They are split into three sections: Easy, Medium and Hard. I will also add my awards to the Driver Resume post plus awards still locked.

Trophy Cabinet

These shows all the trophy’s you have won in the game for every race plus drivers and constructors championships. Trophy data will be to the Driver Resume post.

Versus

If you have more than one person each with there own profile you can compare them in versus mode.

Lap Records

The lap Records for each track are located here and when you pick a circuit in either Race weekend, Championship, etc your best lap time is shown on the screen also it will tell you if you have been on pole at that circuit before. My records will be on the Driver Résumé post.

Formula One Vault

In the vault, you will find three options:

1. Circuit Guides
2. Driver Biographies
3. Team Profiles

Just a note to say all Statistics in the Vault reflect the start of the 2009 session.

KERS

In this game, every car has Kers, if you are quick at a circuit you do not have to use it much. If you do not use it at all, you can still be quick. I forget to use it every lap of a race. I think it is there for overtaking more than lap time gain. Nevertheless, it works fine, I have tried to use it on the grass/grave/sand and the programming is good enough that while off the track the Kers is not usable. In addition, if you use it while sitting on the grid for example it does not work. When you get more experienced with circuits over a race weekend, you can see where it is more affective and where you could get a gain in lap times.

Racing Wheel Attachment

When I ordered the game I got the Race Wheel attachment now though I am using the Wii remote and the nunchuck. In time, I will practice with the racing wheel but there are dead spots. If you turn the wheel, too much the Wii hits the dead spots and is not as responsive.

Packaging

The packaging the game and attachment come in is very nice looking and it comes with a small book about the controller layout and buttons.

Driving Aids

Visual Aids

Racing Line – Unless you know all the lines, I would leave this on

Mechanical Aids

Steering Assist – If you use the Racing Wheel, I would leave this on until you are very experienced. With the Nunchuck and remote, you could put this on for beginners but after a few hours of experience, you will want to turn this off.

Predictive Breaking – Beginners can leave this on but this game is not like over game in that you have to try to break, you cannot just hold the power down all the time and steer. I switched this off straight away, as you will get used to breaking very quickly as an advanced or expert player

Anti-Skid & Anti Wheel Spin – In other words Traction Control and Stability Control renamed. I have left these on because without it, you cannot pull away from the grid properly and you wear the tyres quicker. Expert players only consider turning these off.

Gearbox – You can use a manual box but one I do not know what the controls are for change gears using the Nunchuck and remote or the racing wheel for that matter. Also two during a full-length race you are so busy with Racing, breaking, lines, KERS, pits stop, the gap between everyone, listening to your race engineer, etc that it is much easier to use a manual. Experts may turn this off as you can gain lap time from perfect manual gearbox changes.

Music and Race Engineer

The menu music is OK but after a while, you may want to switch it off. During other games (F1 06), you are informed about the fights all the way down the field but with F1 2009, you are only told what you need to know. For example, if someone retires, people you are racing pit, you receive a penalty, etc. It is very direct which is good because you do not care about x and y fighting for 17th for example if you are fighting for a win or podium. The engineer during Quail is fantastic; you are informed if some one does a lap quicker than yours, if you do into the drop zone, when the sessions end, etc.

Sum up

Pros

If are on the game for a while and you Wii remote is low on power it will come up and pause so you can switch with a different remote.

Race Engineer Brilliant

Handing is very good

Kers works and you can get a gain when used in the right way

Easy to navigate screens

Wii saves very quickly no need to wait for it to save (Auto-save)

Both compounds of tyre used in the race rule applies

In a race weekend the all sessions but especially Quail is split so you can complete each then close the game and complete the rest later.

Cons

Damage could be better

No Safety car – maybe in 2010 game

No internet playing (like Mario Kart) – Not even internet leader boards for fastest laps, etc

Only two players can play whereas other Wii games four players can play

You cannot save more than one race weekend, etc at a time – so if you want to pause from one and start another you will lose the first one

It could feel a big more hilly on some circuits, it looks it but does not feel it.

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

The British Grand Prix should remain at Silverstone in order to secure the future well-being of the British motor sport industry, according to a group of MPs.

And they said the prospect of its disappearance from the F1 calendar would be ‘a massively damaging blow’.

Members of the House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Committee visited the circuit on Monday on a fact-finding mission, at the invitation of a local MP, where they met its managing director Richard Phillips and Brawn/Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn.

They also spoke to the owners and managers of small- and medium-sized motorsports companies and a senior professor from the Cranfield University’s School of Applied Sciences.

Committee chairman, Peter Luff MP said: “We were overwhelmed by the intensity of opinion, confirming the need to keep the Grand Prix at Silverstone.

“British motorsport without the Grand Prix could wither on the wine and that would be just as damaging to Formula One as it would be to the industry.

“I therefore call on Bernie Ecclestone, Damon Hill and Richard Phillips to recognise their mutual interest, stand up for Britain and finalise a deal which is good for Silverstone, for Formula One, for the wider motorsport industry and for our nation.”

The visit to Silverstone and Brackley is part of the committee’s major inquiry into the motorsport and aerospace sectors. Further oral evidence will be taken on 15 December and 26 January, with the final report expected in February.

The committee decided to issue a statement ahead of its final report because of the imminence of the decision on the British Grand Prix.

The driver market remains in flux.  Nico Rosberg is in at Mercedes, a great choice for the son of 1982 champion Keke Rosberg.  At least in his case, the apple did not fall far from the tree.

Although Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher were floated for the new Mercedes team, the decision to take on Rosberg makes it clear that the Kimi-Michael dream team won’t happen.  Nico is a star in his homeland of Germany, and Mercedes surely received a marketing bonus.  I’m starting to think Mercedes is going to surprise all of us with the second driver.

As much as I want to see Michael in the car, Ross Brawn’s public comments have thrown cold water on that plan.  Unless Ross is deliberately spreading disinformation (and that would not surprise me), Michael will spend the winter at home in Switzerland, eating fondue and running marathons or whatever it is that he does these days.

Speaking of famous fathers, one driver we won’t see in that Benz seat: Jacques Villeneuve.  Villeneuve is kidding himself, traipsing around the paddock 12 years after his title, hocking his skills to disinterested teams. Villeneuve has accomplished very little in his career after Williams, other than fattening his wallet.  We’d like to see Jacques give up on F1 and stop making us cringe in every interview, claiming to be “ready and fit” for a race seat.  If you were, you’d have one already. Get the message Jacques.  His father was a racer with a short but memorable career.  Like Damon Hill (another son of a more famous father), Jacques never reached the heights after his single world title.

Nico is cut strictly from the mold of his father.  Keke was always on the limit, the racer’s racer, walrus mustache and aviator shades, cigarette dangling from his mouth.  He may have seemed nonchalant, but the fire burned inside.  His son is the same way.  Even in a recalcitrant Williams, Nico’s talent was spotted early and he will be a success in F1.

By contrast, Nelson Piquet Jr. was a huge disappointment, and his name is now disgraced because of a race-fixing scandal.  Nelson is out of F1 and Nico has just landed a plum seat.  This undoubtedly had to do with the parental approach to racing.  Whereas Keke Rosberg stayed distant from his son’s career, Nelson Piquet had a firm hand in his Nelson Jr.’s development, probably too much influence.  No expense was spared, and “Nelshino” was feted by his father throughout the junior formulae.  This must have placed enormous pressure on Nelson Jr. to succeed.  When your father is a three-time world champion, great things are expected of you.

Nico was quick in an unreliable Williams, setting a fastest lap in his first race in Bahrain in 2006.  That is a huge accomplishment in the context of a maiden F1 race.  To have the presence of mind to stay out of trouble, but be quick and unfazed by all that is going on around you.  He earned the respect of his peers that day and made up for later uneven performances by being a quick study and a ballsy racer.

Nelson struggled mightily with the Renault and never seemed to get to grips.  It helped little that his teammate was a much loved, two-time world champion.  Still, Alonso could get the job done and Nelson could not.  His tantrums towards the end of his tenure at Renault seemed whiny and boorish.  Suddenly his early success seemed contrived.

Threatened with termination by team principal Flavio Briatore, Nelson caved in and agreed to stage a crash during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.  This was supposed to “help” the team score a much-needed podium, at a time when Renault’s F1 program was in doubt and Nelson’s career was on the ropes. When Briatore (also Piquet’s manager) leaned hard, Nelson cracked.  And that is why he will never again see the sharp end of the grid; because he lacked the inner strength to tell Briatore to go screw himself.  Because he should have gone out on the track and raced every lap, to hell with Flavio, even if it meant losing his seat.  Because his father never taught him that dignity and respect, for yourself and among your peers, is more important than your race seat.  Nelson Piquet Jr.’s instinct for career preservation was stronger than his instinct as a racer.  His weakness has been exposed for the entire paddock to see.

That is why next year, Nico Rosberg will drive for a world championship constructor, and Nelson will be scrounging up test days in NASCAR.

A few days ago Mercedes boss Norbert Haug told German publication Bild am Sonntag that there might be some surprises in store when the new MercedesGP team announced its driver line-up for 2010.

Well yesterday’s confirmation that Nico Rosberg was joining the squad wasn’t exactly the surprise we’d been hoping for. Afterall, it had been a pretty poorly kept secret that the German was bound for Brawn, the only difference between when the news broke in hushed whsiper a few months ago and yesterday’s announcement was the departure of Button to McLaren, which made Rosberg Merc’s new team leader and left a vacant seat next to him.

The surprise therefore is over exactly who will partner Rosberg at Mercedes in 2010.

There’s been a lot of chat over Michael Schumacher making a return with the team which ran him in sportscars 20 years ago. It’s a beautifully romantic idea, but doesn’t add up. Quite apart from his health and the question marks over the strength of his neck, there’s the Ferrari contract, the protestations from Ross Brawn that it is never going to happen, and the confirmation from Michael’s own people that negotiations were never begun.

There are loud rumours that Mercedes will be a German super-team, to combat the English super-team at McLaren, and that Nick Heidfeld is the favourite to land the remaining seat at the team. While he’s hardly Michael Schumacher, Nick’s a safe and fairly quick pair of hands. He is an underwhelming choice however and hardly fulfils the promise of a shock.

Who, then, suits that description?

If Mercedes is still reeling from its failure to grab German wonder kids Vettel or Hulkenberg, they may well have their sights set on Adrian Sutil. At 26 he is still pretty young, and with the last year racing at Force India he has an understanding of the Mercedes powerplant. He’s marketable, like Rosberg, but one feels that Mercedes Grand Prix in 2010 would probably be a bit too pretty with both of them on board. They might as well rename the team Premadonna Grand Prix. No, I jest. They’re both solid, hard working guys. But are they a mega line-up? In all honesty, they are not a Hamilton / Button. Sutil still makes too many mistakes, and Rosberg still fails to get the most out of his cars.

Today’s announcement, then, that Force India will be testing Paul di Resta and JR Hildebrand in the rookie test days at Jerez could be a little more than appears at first sight.

First of all the announcement shows that Vijay Mallya’s promise to bring an Indian racing driver to F1 was worth fairly little. The team ran Hildebrand, Neel Jani and Karun Chandhok through a simulator test and promised a seat at the rookie test to the quickest driver. My sources tell me Chandhok was quickest, followed by Jani, and Hildebrand was plum last, by a fair margin. Jani (half Indian) and Chandhok (properly Indian) have both been passed over for the slower man. I’d wager it had something to do with finance. So much for your promise, Vijay.

The second driver at the test however is down to the team’s engine deal with Mercedes. Could Merc be using this test day to evaluate Paul di Resta for promotion to Formula 1? Could it be a genuine shot for the Scotsman?

Tonio Liuzzi has a deal to race for Force India next season. The team will have one spare seat, which looks likely to go to Sutil if he doesn’t go to Mercedes, and with Hildebrand and his finances looking good for the third driver seat at Force India or possibly even USF1, what are the chances that it is di Resta that ends up at Mercedes alongside Rosberg in 2010?

Don’t forget that di Resta beat Vettel to the F3 EuroSeries crown in 2006. His credentials are outstanding, but I have always questioned Mercedes’ common sense (or distinct lack of) in thrusting brilliant single-seater talent into DTM. how is one supposed to prepare for the pinnacle of single seater racing in closed wheel motorsport? Doesn’t make sense, does it?

There is one other possibility, however. Recent comments out of Renault boss Carlos Ghosn suggest all is not well chez Renault. The prospect of the team pulling out of F1 if it does not find a buyer for the team (or at least a substantial percentage investor) grows ever stronger. And if it does, that puts Robert Kubica back on the market. Could it be that Mercedes is simply playing the waiting game for the highly rated Pole? It’s not out of the realms of possibility.

So could di Resta be the shock Mercedes have promised? Will it be Sutil? Will we see the romantic return of Michael Schumacher or could Robert Kubica be with his third team in as many months?

It’s the only really big question left in this winter’s driver market. I just hope that the surprise is as big as we’re wishing.

The return of the Canadian Grand Prix to the Formula 1 calendar in 2010 appears to be all but officially confirmed, after reports in Canada suggested that Bernie Ecclestone has reached agreement with the race organisers and has given the green light to the running of the race.

The executive committee of Montreal and the Canadian Secretariat of Intergovernmental Business (SAIC) will meet on Wednesday to give the final OK which should, according to La Presse be “a formality.”

The deal will bring F1 back to Canada for five years at a combined cost of $75 million ($15 million per season). Canada’s capital city Ottawa will provide $5 million a year, with the Quebec region, in which Montreal rests, paying $4 million a year. Montreal itself will foot $1 million a year, which leaves a $5 million shortfall.

This $5 million will be raised by the introduction of a special tax on hotels over the race weekend.

The end of the negotiations have seen Ecclestone make an incredible cut in price for the hosting of the race, ultimatley settling for a figure $100 million lower than his original demand.

Fans, teams and those who follow Formula 1 will be worried by the special tax however. While Montreal is one of the most popular races of the season, hiking tax rates for the duration of the race weekend will not go down well. As Formula 1 enters a new era in which costs are intended to be brought under control, increasing costs on those attending races in order to allow nations to host those very races could prove to be a gravely misjudged error. And with the Quebecois government understood to be taking home 30% of the revenue from ticket sales, there could be little sympathy for them.

BBC Sport brings you a regular round-up of the gossip in newspapers and on specialist websites around the world.

Michael Schumacher is not interested in beginning a new career in F1 with Mercedes Grand Prix, Ross Brawn has said – as the Englishman revealed that he is looking for two experienced drivers.
Full story: crash.net

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug has re-ignited rumours of Michael Schumacher’s pending signing after refusing to deny that the German could race for Mercedes Grand Prix next season.
Full story: planet-f1.com

Mercedes DTM front-runner Paul di Resta and American JR Hildebrand will drive for Force India in Formula 1’s upcoming young driver test at Jerez on December 1-3.
Full story: autosport.com

Campos Meta 1’s car for its debut Formula 1 season has been homologated by the FIA following a series of tests last week.
Full story: autosport.com

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher were among more than 300 drivers competing at the SKUSA Supernationals karting event in Las Vegas, USA, at the weekend.

Full story: formula1.com

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

Reference Source: BBC Sport

Old-ish news but we now know that it’s highly likely that Kimi Raikkonen will be leaving F1 for at least a year with the McLaren drive no longer up to grabs thanks to Jenson Button. To many people, it seems, this is no big loss. But to me, this is a huge one.

Raikkonen started his F1 career in 2001, with the Sauber team. He only had 23 car races to his name at this point, and many believed it was dangerous letting him drive at the highest level in F1 at this stage. Nevertheless, he bypassed many of the junior Formulae by jumping into F1. And how did he silence his critics? By saying very little, and simply driving his way to a points scoring position in his first race. He didn’t succumb to the pressure. In fact, he was asleep 30 minutes before his first race. Pressure? What pressure. He’s there to drive.

But that’s been a feature of Kimi Raikkonen. He’s not a fan of the media. He just wants to drive. His interviews are almost always boring affairs with him speaking in his trademark nasal monotone, and yet he has a certain charm about him. He’s been known as lazy, in the recent 2009 season being seen in shorts and T-shirt, eating an ice cream after a red flagged race, while his mechanics work frantically, and other drivers wait to go back out.

And his dislike for the media, and his I-don’t-care personality can sometimes provide great amusement to those of us who appreciate that he isn’t just a robot, he has more personality than almost anyone else in Formula One. He doesn’t just conform to the ideals that are always being set upon the drivers.

He’s lazy, unconventional, and perhaps a little greedy with his contract negotiations.

But he’s still blisteringly quick.

2009 saw one of, if not the most awful Ferrari car of the past few decades, being used. Kimi took it to it’s first podium of the year at Monaco, and, after Massa had his horrific accident at Hungary, Kimi really stepped up to the plate, despite Ferrari stopping development of their car to focus on next year around half-way through the season. He achieved a brilliant win at Spa, and came a solid sixth in the world drivers championship, only narrowly being beaten by 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren that was being developed all season.

Let’s not forget how experienced racer Luca Badoer and solid, on the pace, proven race-winner Giancarlo Fisichella fared in the same car. Zero points between them. Yet Raikkonen hustled the car to forty-eight points in the season, all when he’d had speculation all year that his job at Ferrari was to be taken by former double world-champion Fernando Alonso.

Kimi himself is a former world champion, and was very close to winning on two other occasions where it was only the car’s reliability that could be blamed. It’s a testament to his racing ideals that he would prefer to take a sabbatical or try another form of racing if he can’t be competitive in his current series.

He has natural talent and is one of the few F1 racers of today’s era that can hustle the best out of a bad car (along with Hamilton and Alonso, amongst maybe one or two more), and isn’t afraid to push hard and make daring manoeuvres (I still remember his win at Spa 2005, where, in the wet, he pushed to retain his lead with a fastest lap at the time that was two seconds faster than the nearest time). Without him, we lose one of the true racers and champions of today’s era, and we lose one of the most unique people the sport has ever seen. I for one, will miss you Kimi. Please come back soon. I’m sure there will be a place for you somewhere, whether it’s McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari… Who knows. I guess to him it just depends who’s competitive this year. To them, it depends if they can afford him.

Relevant song lyric of the post: Racer X – Motor Man

“Speed is his lifeline
Motorman”

Closing KoLd Quote:

“Kimi Raikkonen will be missed by many, even if some aren’t comfortable with his less-than standard demeanor. People may not realise it, but without him, the racing will not quite be the same. He isn’t easily replaceable. He has cast a shadow; I hope that a major F1 team sees that by next season, or, regrettably, that will be another true racer in the vain of both Senna and Schumacher that we will have lost.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8374911.stm

… They better be. F1 see’s two back to back British champions for the first time in forty years, and also it seems that both of those British champions will be in the same British team, that’s the second oldest team in the sport. Not to mention the fact that it was an all British team (Brawn) that won both the Drivers and Constructers titles in 2009, and McLaren won the Drivers title in 2008. So it seems ridiculous to think that there may not be a British Grand Prix in 2010! Britain really is the heart of motorsport, so I hope that it all gets resolved, as the market for F1 in Britain clearly must be at a high that hasn’t been experienced for quite some time.

So in closing… Please Bernie, please don’t forget you and F1’s roots, and where it all belongs. Don’t let your ego and love for money get in the way.

Relevant song lyric of the post: Fleetwood Mac – The Chain

“Chain…keeps us together
(run into the shadows)”

Closing KoLd Quote:

“The home of motorsport is in Britain. Therefore, along with the great tracks that have such a heritage in F1, of Spa, Monza, Monaco and a few more (many not on the calendar these days, unfortunately), a British Grand Prix should be a no-brainer, a secure vote year in, year out. The majority of the true fans don’t want to see a procession around bland, Tilke-built Valencia, they don’t even want to see cars driving around a multi-million dollar Singapore or Abu-Dhabi. They want to see true, wheel to wheel racing, by the best drivers in the world, on the tracks that have proven to be the best in the world. We want to see a true battle between the best. Not a metropolis or a circus, used to distract the public from the poor racing.”