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.

In the past 2 seasons, with Heikki Kovalainen as his team mate, all the smart money has been on Lewis Hamilton to bring the lion’s share of the points home for McLaren and that has proved right. Now Kovalainen has been replaced by Jenson Button, the current world drivers champion, does that mean Lewis Hamilton’s position as the number 1 driver at McLaren is under threat and will he win more points than Hamilton next season?

It’s official at last – McLaren has confirmed that Jenson Button will be leaving the team with which he won the 2010 drivers championship to drive alongside fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton next year.

And the Woking outfit describes its new driver line-up, which now consists of the two most recent world champions, as “sensational” – the very thing with which to tackle Fernando Alonso at Ferrari.

It should also be a dream team for British fans – but everything depends on how well Button will adapt to the psychological demands of being the new boy in a very firmly established set-up.

And there are also questions about the direction of development of the MP4-25, which Hamilton has stated that he wishes to be heavily involved in after the previous model was found to be so badly lacking at the start of the 2009 season.

Hamilton’s adventurous driving style, which thrives on understeer and an unruly car, is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Button’s smooth, orderly approach to the racetrack. The latter’s anguish when faced with a setup that didn’t suit him was audible on the Brawn GP team radio on several occasions this season.

Before his arrival at Honda and subsequently Brawn GP, Button’s career was blighted by contract problems and unwise decisions about which team to drive for. With his success at Brawn, it appeared that he had finally he had finally found a winning formula.

The decision to move to McLaren is therefore a surprising one, and perhaps rings alarm bells for his long-time fans. But, there again, his career was written off by some following the exit of Honda. And look how accurate that prediction was.

Of course, Button will have the upper hand in one crucial respect. As drivers’ champion, he gets to have the number 1 on his car. Hamilton, as his team-mate, gets 2. And the Silver Arrows drivers will have to start at 3.

However these concerns are presently down the road. For the moment, everyone is celebrating.

Button: challenging himself

Button said in the team’s press release: “It’s always a difficult decision to leave a team when you’ve been there for so long. But life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it’s about challenging yourself.

“So, although I won the World Championship with Brawn GP last year, and I’ll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges. That’s why I’ve decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

“You can’t help but be affected by this team’s phenomenal history. McLaren is one of the greats of world sport, and its achievements and list of past champions read like a Who’s Who of Formula 1… I’ve followed the McLaren team ever since I was a small boy, and it feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it.”

He said that his visit to the McLaren Technology Centre had helped him make the decision after being struck by the strength of the team’s ambition and motivation.

“And then there’s the team’s epic history: put it this way, the trophy cabinets seem to stretch for miles. From a personal point of view, it’s also a great pleasure to be joining a fellow British World Champion.

“Lewis has achieved an incredible level of success in a very short period of time, and he’s a wonderfully gifted driver who has earned the respect of every Formula 1 driver. I’m sure there’s plenty that we can learn from each other, and I’m really looking forward to using our combined knowledge to push the team forward.

“Also, I think it’s fantastic that we’ll be forming an all-British line-up. I know that we both fly the flag with pride, and I sincerely hope we can make the whole of the United Kingdom, as well as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes fans across the world, proud. Nothing means more to me than to be able to represent my country, and I’m looking forward to both of us painting Formula 1’s circuits red, white and blue for many years to come.”

Good stuff, Jense. Let’s just hope Silverstone is on the list.

“While I’m fully aware that there’s a tremendous amount of hard work ahead, I’m absolutely certain that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes will be able to deliver where it matters: on track.

“I’m already looking forward to starting work with the engineers at the McLaren Technology Centre as we begin our preparations for the 2010 season – and the defence of my world championship. “This is a team that always goes racing to win, and I’m looking forward to being part of that.”

He ended his statement with thanks to everyone at Brawn GP and Mercedes High-Performance engines for working so hard to achieve the double world championship win, saying the 2009 season would always have a special place in his heart.

“So I wish all my old Brawn GP mates well in their new Mercedes Grand Prix adventure, just as I hope they’ll wish me well in my new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes adventure.”

Hamilton: Bring it on

Lewis Hamilton has welcomed his new team-mate by greeting his signing as “fantastic news” and saying he was looking forward to racing him in a car that is competitive enough to win the championship.

But he also paid fulsome tribute to the departing Heikki Kovalainen: “I want to send my best wishes for the future to my 2008-09 team-mate and now good friend, who is one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met.”

He continued: “I already know Jenson, and we get on very well together. We both really want our team to succeed. Although we’ll be pushing each other hard, I’m sure we’ll very quickly establish a great working relationship.

“He’s an exceptional driver: very controlled and very smooth, and he has a real depth of knowledge and experience. I think we’ll complement each other very well, and our collaboration will make the team stronger as a result.

“Also, I’m delighted to be racing alongside a fellow British World Champion, and I believe we can pull together to make Vodafone McLaren Mercedes the best team on the grid.”

He characterised McLaren as like one big happy family and said that Button could look forward to a warm welcome from day one.

“Obviously, as a British driver, I’m also thrilled that we’ll be flying the flag for the United Kingdom, and I think today’s announcement is fantastic news for all British sports fans. I hope they’ll be giving us their full support when the season kicks off next March. I’m already looking forward to Silverstone – it’ll be massive!”

Hang on. Does he know something that the rest of us don’t? Or is he just a natural optimist?

“Looking ahead, I think the results from the second half of 2009 speak for themselves, and I’m convinced we can carry that momentum through the winter and into the new season.

“I’ve been closely following the development of our 2010 challenger, the MP4-25, and I think it’s going to be a state-of-the-art car that will enable both of us to consistently fight for victories.”

Whitmarsh: Simply the best

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal, said that signing Button was simply the continuation of McLaren’s policy of recruiting the best drivers available.

“In Jenson and Lewis, we feel we not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid, but also the two most complete, professional and dedicated drivers in Formula 1.

“Moreover, I’m confident that we’ll be able to successfully balance and harness Jenson’s and Lewis’s complementary skill-sets. Our engineers are already looking forward to working with Jenson, and I’m convinced that such a strong and dynamic driver line-up will make us an even more complete and competitive operation. Now we have to provide Jenson and Lewis with race-winning machinery.”

He dismissed the notion that Button had signed up on the promise of a big salary: “I want to make clear that Jenson’s decision to join us was in no way motivated by money. We’ll be paying him no more than he could be getting elsewhere, and that fact is a reflection of not only Jenson’s belief in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but also his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season.

“I also want to thank Heikki for his selfless contribution over the past two years. As well as being very quick, Heikki was and remains a great character whom we’ll all miss considerably. It goes without saying that we wish him all the best for next season, and would be very pleased if he were to secure a good drive for 2010.

“We’re ambitious, we’re motivated and we’re hungrier than ever. We make no secret of our ambition for next year: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes wants to win both World Championships – and, with Jenson and Lewis, we believe we’re better equipped than any other team in the pitlane to do exactly that.”

O pelotão da principal categoria do automobilismo, por enquanto, terá 26 lugares quando a FIA confirmar uma nova equipa para o lugar da Toyota

Com a saída da Toyota, a Fórmula 1 tem 12 equipas confirmadas na temporada 2010. Dos 24 lugares no pelotão, porém, apenas 11 já têm donos – três deles são de brasileiros: Felipe Massa na Ferrari, Rubens Barrichello na Williams e Bruno Senna na Campos.

As 13 vagas ainda abertas são um alento para os agora desempregados Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock e Kamui Kobayashi, que ocuparam o cockpit da equipa japonesa este ano. Eles passaram a fazer parte do grupo de 24 pilotos que estão disponíveis no “mercado”.

A lista de “candidatos” inclui, também, o actual campeão, Jenson Button, que ainda não renovou com a Brawn GP. E corre o risco ficar ainda maior caso a Renault também saia da categoria. A categoria terá 26 vagas em 2010, assim que a FIA confirme uma equipa no lugar da Toyota.

A Toyota foi a segunda equipa a deixar a F1 esta temporada – a BMW Sauber também saiu. Além de Trulli, Glock e Kobayashi, um outro piloto fica em situação diícil. Kazuki Nakajima, que defendia a Williams, era um dos nomes cotados para a vaga na equipa em 2010.

Há, ainda, uma esperança para os pilotos. A Sauber – comprada pelo grupo de investimentos árabe Qadbak – ainda aguarda aprovação da Federação Internacional de Automobilismo (FIA) e das equipas.

Lucas di Grassi, Antonio Pizzonia e Nelsinho Piquet lutam por vagas, principalmente nas quatro (ou cinco) equipas estreantes.

Pilotos “disponíveis”: Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, Nick Heidfeld, Kamui Kobayashi, Timo Glock, Heikki Kovalainen, Kazuki Nakajima, Lucas di Grassi, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Giancarlo Fisichella, Pedro de la Rosa, Nelsinho Piquet, Pastor Maldonado, Anthony Davidson, Jacques Villeneuve, Jonathan Summerton, Antonio Pizzonia, Adam Carroll, Jarno Trulli, Takuma Sato, Alex Yoong, Fairuz Fauzy e Christian Klien, Vitaly Petrov

(Fonte: portalf1.com)

Mercedes Benz have today bought a 75% stake in the Brawn GP team.

On the official Brawn GP website they explained the details of the transaction:

Daimler AG together with Aabar Investments PJSC will take over 75.1 per cent of the Brawn GP team, with Daimler taking 45.1 per cent and Aabar 30 per cent. The rest of the 24.9 per cent will remain with the current stakeholders. With 9.1 per cent, Aabar is the biggest single shareholder of Daimler AG. This transaction is subject to the approval of the EU and the Swiss cartel authorities.

Despite head of Mercedes motorsport and the McLaren team boss saying a while ago that McLaren and Mercedes were to remain partners in the sport for the forseeable future, it seems that this move from Mercedes will change the Mercedes and McLaren partnership quite significantly, with the McLaren group planning to buy back the 40% the Daimler group currently hold by 2011, although Mercedes could well supply engines to McLaren up to 2015.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars said on the matter:

“I want to thank McLaren for a successful collaboration over the last decade and a half. For the benefit of both Mercedes and McLaren, we will continue our partnership cooperation in future. We will be rivals on-track but, off-track, we will cooperate with McLaren and the other teams in order to create the best possible product for spectators worldwide.”

And Norbert Haug head of Mercedes motorsport said:

“We look back on 15 successful years of great collaboration with McLaren; in that time, we won four world-championship titles and finished ten times as runner-up in the drivers’ and constructors’ rankings. Since the first victory in the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, the modern Silver Arrows have achieved a total of 60 victories in 223 races to ensure that our brand symbol, the star, stands for the greatest successes in Formula 1. We thank our partner and will continue to work with McLaren based on an excellent partnership.”

It is our target to develop a model for our Formula 1 activities which will initially be run with significantly reduced budgets by Mercedes-Benz and which, in the foreseeable future, will be self-financing. Furthermore, we naturally want to inspire our faithful spectators and TV viewers worldwide and maximize media coverage for our brand. With Formula 1, Mercedes-Benz can continue to clearly demonstrate its willingness to compete and win on the most important motor sports competition stage in the world.”

Boss of Brawn GP Ross Brawn said:

“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. 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.”

How will this change the drivers market?

Many are speculating that Mercedes will want two German drivers on their team, meaning Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld are likely candidates for the drive with the new team.

This would likely mean that Heikki Kovalainen will leave McLaren, paving the way for Jenson Button to make up an all British, all world championship winning team.

Kimi Raikkonen has previously said that his only option to stay in F1 is with McLaren, but if they opt to go with Button, it will leave Raikkonen without a team, so we could quite possibly see the 2007 world champion without a drive in 2010.

It has been a rumour spreading for a while, especially after Raikkonen himself said:

“If I want to drive [F1] cars, then McLaren in the only option.”

But today it seems that rumour of Raikkonen rejoining the team he competed for from 2002 to 2006 may be one step closer to reality after the Finn’s management team were spotted at McLaren’s base in Woking.

McLaren have already confirmed Lewis Hamilton will drive for them in 2010 but that second seat is still up for grabs with Raikkonen and new world champ Jenson Button possibilities for the drive, as well as the chance Heikki Kovalainen may have of continuing with the British team he has been with for the last 2 years.

Começa a altura das recuperações do tempo perdido. Depois de não me ter corrido lá muito bem os últimos dias, aproveito para dizer duas coisas: irei começar a recuperação com uma média de um post por dia, e aproveitarei a calma pré-temporada ao anuário.

Enfim, comecemos. Notem que as análises que vou fazer serão feitas como se fossem dadas no momento, ou seja, nesta análise falarei como se a corrida não tivesse sido já disputada.

Hamilton com pole fácil

Depois da qualificação é óbvio que o alvo a abater na pista do Abu Dhabi é Lewis. O britânico misturou uma condução soberba com um carro demolidor e conseguiu a pole position.

Apesar de estar com uma estratégia de paragem mais curta que Vettel, acredita-se que o conjunto de Hamilton com o MP4-24 poderá valer perto de meio segundo por volta!

Numa qualificação em que os dois Ferrari ficaram bem para trás, a McLaren tem tudo para permanecer na frente da Scuderia no campeonato, apesar dos problemas de Kovalainen o terem deixado na Q2…

Título bem entregue

Quando dei uma boa vista de olhos à tabela classificativa e conjuguei com o que estava a ver no ecrã, pensei para mim mesmo: foi justo!

Em retrospectiva e pelas performances mostradas por Red Bull e Brawn durante o treino, fiquei contente com o desenrolar dos acontecimentos. Nada melhor que variar um pouco uma vez por outra…

Estou-me a desviar do tema! Apesar de estar logo atrás de Hamilton, Vettel não pareceu contar em tê-lo lá. E Webber tinha obrigação de bater o alemão, pois tinha combustível a menos.

Já a Brawn mostrou um pouco como foi a sua performance durante a 2ª metade da época: longe do domínio inicial, mas bastante aceitável andamento para quem luta pelo título.

Resumir o ano numa qualificação…

Foi por demais óbvio que a Renault resumiu nesta tarde (Sábado) exactamente o ritmo que os caracterizou durante a temporada inteira, ou seja: muito, mas mesmo muito, mau.

Para além das dúvidas sobre a possível saída da Renault no final do ano, teremos agora ainda a dúvida de Grosjean. A não ser que o francês faça uma grande performance na corrida está absolutamente tramado para garantir o lugar em 2010…

Quem não gostou da sua aquisição para o próximo ano deve ter sido Montezemolo que foi apanhado pelas câmaras em flagrante enquanto olhava para o falhanço do espanhol em ir à Q2. A juntar ao péssimo andamento da Scuderia, imagino o seu humor!

É fantochada, mas Bernie gosta…

É esta a minha visão sobre a iluminação deste GP. Apesar de ser giro ver carros a andarem às voltinhas enquanto começa a anoitecer, e de vermos um hotel a mudar de cores, não há nada de especial nisto.

Temo que durante a corrida se veja mais interesse no artificial no que naquilo que realmente interessa: a competição…

Resultados da qualificação

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

Sauber

Retired from 2010 season brought by Peter Sauber

Mercedes GP

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

Ferrari

1. Fernando Alonso
2. Felipe Massa

Force India

1. Adrian Sutil
2. 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. 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)

Available unattached drivers

• Heidfeld
• Fisichella
• Kovalainen
• Montagny
• Trulli
• Kobayashi
• Villeneuve
• Summerton
• Petrov
• Maldonado
• de la Rosa
• Piquet Jr
• di Resta
• Davidson
• Carroll
• Raikkonen
• Paffett
• Nakajima
• Wurz
• Chandhok
• A. Rossi
• V. Rossi
• Gutierrez
• Bianchi
• Baguette
• Hildebrand
• Jose Maria Lopez (*subject to sponsorship / superlicence)
• Sato

LEWIS: TRACK WOE A BOOST @ Mirror.co.uk Sport
Thursday 5th November 2009
Lewis Hamilton insists he is pleased his soaring career hit the buffers at the start of the year.

And he claims those tough times will make him and his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team even harder to beat in 2010.

Hamilton ends the season as the highest points scorer in the final seven Grands Prix, meeting the demands from new boss Martin Whitmarsh to restore some team pride. (read more…)

Button, Hamilton think 2010 is going to be toughest ever @ sifysports Formula 1
Tuesday 3rd November 2009
Formula One Champion Jenson Button and his immediate predecessor Lewis Hamilton have said that next season’s F1 title battle will be the toughest ever.

Both the British drivers believe eight people will be gunning for glory in 2010.

New champion Button fears Hamilton’s McLaren team, Ferrari and Red Bull will get their act together after missing out this year. (read more…)

Hamilton Snr eyes Raikkonen for McLaren seat @ Motorsport.com
Tuesday 3rd November 2009
Lewis Hamilton would welcome Kimi Raikkonen as his new McLaren teammate, the British driver’s father and manager Anthony Hamilton has confirmed.

2008 world champion Hamilton has until now stated his desire to keep Heikki Kovalainen alongside him, raising suggestions he does not want to be challenged by the occupant of the sister car.

“First, I want to say that neither Lewis nor myself have any influence on the decision,” Hamilton Snr told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat. (read more…)

Hamilton Determined to Get Back on Top @ New York Times Sports
Tuesday 3rd November 2009
LONDON (Reuters): Lewis Hamilton will be pushing McLaren harder than ever over the next few months to make sure he does not have to endure another ‘character-building’ season like the one just finished.

The 2008 world champion started the Formula One campaign with a disqualification, battered by a storm over lying to stewards in Australia and struggling with a car that was painfully off the pace.

He ended it in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with the first mechanical retirement of his career after leading from pole position, but with everything to look forward to.(read more…)

Courtesy of Mercedes Benz, this is what Martin Whitmarsh had to say about next year’s car:

Work on MP4-25 is already going very encouragingly – it’s already quicker than MP4-24.

There’s every reason for us to be confident that we’ll be able to continue to develop and improve it significantly between now and the beginning of the 2010 season.

That’s very encouraging news as the MP4-24, from the middle of the season, got more competitive with every race. In Abu Dhabi Lewis Hamilton was spectacularly dominant in Free Practice and Qualifying, and it was clear that the MP4-24 we were seeing at the end of the season was worlds apart from the under-performing car we saw in Australia.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 of Heikki Kovalainen in Abu Dhabi

With all teams, including McLaren, FOTA having agreed to scrap KERS for the 2010, Whitmarsh saying that the MP4-25 is already faster than the KERS enabled MP4-24 is very impressive, so much so that I’m thinking really? Could this just be hyperbole or have the McLaren engineers really made that much progress already? As a McLaren fan I’m obviously hoping for the latter, I guess we won’t really know until testing commences in February 2010.

Lewis Hamilton would welcome Kimi Raikkonen as his new McLaren Mercedes team-mate, the British driver’s father Anthony Hamilton has confirmed.

2008 world champion Hamilton has until now stated his desire to keep Heikki Kovalainen alongside him, raising suggestions he does not want to be challenged by the occupant of the sister car.

“First, I want to say that neither Lewis nor myself have any influence on the decision,” Hamilton Snr told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

“But if I was deciding between Kimi and Heikki, I would go for Kimi,” he added, “even if I have nothing against Heikki.
We’ve always like him; he’s a great team-mate and does his job well.

“Kimi is a cool guy,” Anthony Hamilton added. “I think he is the prime candidate and the best driver to be at Lewis’ side in this team; they would push each other on.”

Reference: planetf1.com

Thanks to the fantastic service offered by PicApp, we can now bring you a decent number of good photos from Grand Prix races, starting with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from last weekend.

However, before we get to those, McLaren has had an F1 car in Abu Dhabi before, as this photo of Fernando Alonso from the 2007 F1 Festival shows:

Click the arrow on the right of the photo to actually see Alonso!

Lewis Hamilton on the new Yas Marina circuit for the first time during Free Practice 1 on Friday 30th October.

Lewis Hamilton experiences racing at dusk during Free Practice 2 on Friday 30th October – wonder if they have any shots of Heikki Kovalainen?

Found one! Heikki Kovalainen during Free Practice 2 on Friday 30th October.

Lewis Hamilton exits the pit lane tunnel during Final Practice 3 on Saturday 31st October.

Lewis Hamilton sets out for Qualifying on Saturday 31st October

Heikki Kovalienen during Qualifying – it’s pretty dark out there!

Lewis Hamilton celebrates getting Pole Position for the very first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton flies off from pole to lead the race on Sunday 1st November.

Heikki Kovalainen racing as the sun sets in Abu Dhabi.

That’s the pick of the bunch – there are far more photos from the practice and qualifying sessions, maybe because of Lewis retiring Heikki not being in a great deal of action during the race. Still, there’s some fantastic photos and while the race may not have been very interesting, it’s a visually stunning racetrack and location.

With the 2009 Formula 1 season over, next on the agenda is for McLaren is confirming who their second driver will be, the man who will be Lewis Hamilton’s team mate next season. At the moment there are three possible contenders, so let’s go through those three options.

Kimi Raikkonen

Currently at Ferrari where he has been for the past 3 seasons, Raikkonen has been linked with McLaren ever since it was clear that Fernando Alfonso was moving to Ferrari from Renault and even before. Though he won the Drivers Championship at Ferrari in 2007 it never seemed like he was a good fit for the Italian team, and though Felipe Massa is yet to win the World Championship, as soon as rumours of Alonso moving to Ferrari started people naturally assumed it would be Raikkonen who would be leaving.

If Raikkonen did come to McLaren it would be a return to the team that was his home from 2002 – 2006, and one where he had great success, especially the 2003 and 2005 seasons where he finished 2nd in the Championship to Schumacher and Alonso respectively. Raikkonen seemed to have much more drive and desire to win back then, maybe a return to McLaren will see that passion re-ignited for the cool Finn.

Nick Heidfeld

Nick Heidfeld is nothing if not consistent, but is that enough? At BMW he has played second fiddle to Robert Kubica, at least in the eyes of the critics who see Kubica as one of Formula 1’s future stars. Just read this opening paragraph from his Wikipedia entry:

Despite his recent success, Heidfeld is yet to win a race during his nine seasons in Formula One. This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium. Heidfeld has now started over 150 races, so if he were to eventually win a race he would break the record for most starts before a maiden victory. This is currently held by Mark Webber, who claimed his first victory on his 131st attempt. Heidfeld also currently holds three other dubious records; he is the driver who has scored the highest number of world championship points without a Grand Prix win, shares the record for the most podium finishes without a Grand Prix win with Stefan Johansson, and has the most second place finishes without a win, with 8. He also holds the record for the most consecutive race classifications with a tally of 41, as well as the most finishes in a season when he finished all 18 races in the 2008 season.

While interesting, that’s hardly a list of achievements to get you excited about a driver. However, as a 2nd driver and someone to grab a decent haul of points in support of Lewis Hamilton he could be a good fot for the team. There is also the fact that he is German and as a team that has Mercedes as a major shareholder, that can only be a good thing, especially in a sport that seems to more about the PR than ever before.

Heikki Kovalainen

When Kovalainen did a straight swap with Alonso, between Renault and McLaren, to start the 2008 season, it seemed like the young Finn was set to have a great career in Formula 1. In 2008 he ended up 7th in the Championship, while team mate Hamilton won the World Championship. If his first year was unspectacular then his second year with McLaren was even more so. McLaren didn’t have a competitive car in the first half of the season but when they came good for the last 8 races, unlike team mate Hamilton, Kovalainen didn’t seem to make the most of his opportunities and while he often qualified pretty well he couldn’t carry that form through to the actual race. In a season that Hamilton battled up to 5th place in the Championship, Kovalainen ended the year in 12th place. That quite frankly is not good enough for a driver wearing the prestigious McLaren team colours.

Looking at Kovalainen this season it seems as though he’s lost a lot of confidence, and in a team that could well be renamed at Team Hamilton, that may not be easy to get back if he were to stay where he is. However, Kovalainen is reportedly very good with all his PR commitments, something that McLaren is putting more emphasis on with every passing season. This is something that Raikkonen has always tried to steer clear of so from that respect Kovalainen is a better fit than his Finnish compatriot. If Kovalainen were to stay with McLaren he would certainly need to step up his performance, but that’s something that the team need to help with just as much as Kovalainen himself.

The Verdict

All three of these drivers have one thing in common, something that makes them a good fit within the team and a natural fit as the second driver at McLaren – they would all be happy accept their position as the number 2 driver in the team and let the lion’s share of the attention fall on Lewis Hamilton.

In my mind Kimi Raikkonen is head and shoulders above Kovalainen and Heidfeld from a racing point of view, it’s just his aversion to interacting with people that may hamper his chances, but surely that’s not worth giving up championship points for?

Well, that’s it. It’s all over except for the celebrating…for some anyway. This past weekend was the final race of the 2009 Formula One season, and it went out in grand, albeit boring, style in Abu Dhabi. The Yas Marina Circuit is the latest in a line of “new world” grand prix circuits in Bernie Ecclestone’s desire to go to new, and increasing more expensive, countries. This was the first time that a Formula One race had gone from day to night, in that they started the race at dusk and crossed the finish line under artificial lighting. The track itself is impressive to be sure, but I still think that the thing is just too big. When I say that, I mean that the track is too wide and has too many good runoff points. While it may seem like a wider track will allow for better passing, that would entail that there are still places to pass. And this track does have them, but they are few and far between. With a wider track, the cars are also allowed to move a bit more under braking and can weave over the track more. This allows for more blocking maneuvers and less passing. In the race itself, it turned out to be very much like Monaco, in that, the passing that was done was mostly in the pits. If it wasn’t for Hamilton breaking down like he did, I still contend that he would have won that race. But, as it was, the podium was Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Jenson Button. The rest of the points scorers were Barrichello, Heidfeld, Kobayashi, Trulli and Buemi. As far as my predictions went, I did have Button in third with Vettel second, so pretty good there. But I only got Webber and Kobayashi right on the other people to score points. Kimi couldn’t come through and neither could Kovalainen, while Rosberg was no where to be seen. Oh well. In the end, the overall results of Jenson Button being World Champion and Brawn GP being Constructor’s Champions still ring true. So now the winter months begin, and there is no testing until sometime in February I believe. However, there will certainly be more stories coming up, with drivers moving all over the place, including Barrichello and Raikkonen.

With the season now over I thought I’d resurrect the Year on Year Comparisons and see how 2009 compared to 2009. With 2008 being a Championship winning year for Lewis Hamilton and a much better year all round for McLaren I’m not expecting revelations, but inspired by Making Up The Numbers I am going to add in a few pretty graphs for your added visual pleasure!

First, let’s look at the whole season:

McLaren Season Comparison

Obviously there was one race less this year, but that aside it’s clear to see the performance difference between this season and last. Quite interesting to see that the most points scored in one race is 14 points, in both 2008 and 2009. That elusive 1-2 seems to be eluding them, in fact a less elusive 1-3 hasn’t happened in the past 2 seasons either. Let’s now see how the points per race average differ from between seasons:

Average Points Per Race

While the numbers are low compared to last season they do the second half the season an injustice, at least for Lewis Hamilton anyway. This next graph shows the accumulation of points through the season and in particular it’s worth noting the sharp increase in the second half of the season, especially by Hamilton.

Race by Race

Hamilton earned 9 points in the first 9 races and 40 in the next 8 races, If he’d have had the same form in the first part of the season he’d have ended the season with 85 points, which would have him in 2nd place behind Jenson Button. However, those extra points would no doubt have come at the expense of Button so arguably if Hamilton and McLaren had started the season how they finished then Hamilton would have retained his World Drivers Championship in 2009.

It started off as planned, with Hamilton getting the perfect start. However, Vettel was on his tail round the first turn and never let a gap of more than 1.8 seconds open up. Hamilton needed at least a 5 second gap as he was due to pit 2 laps earlier than Vettel. A mistake by Hamilton cost him 0.8 seconds and Vettel ended up being only 1.3 seconds behind when Hamilton pitted. At this point it seemed entirely possible that 3rd place Weber might leapfrog Hamilton after the pit stops too.

Vettel pitted at lap 18 and as expected came out in first place. Two laps later and the McLaren crew were seen making a space in the garage for one of the cars and soon enough Hamilton came in, his race over and a suspected right rear brake the problem. For the man who lit up free practice and qualifying this was a huge disappointment. Before this race Hamilton had earned more points than anyone else in the second half of the season and looked set to add at least 8 points to that total in Abu Dhabi.

With Hamilton out the hopes of McLaren were in the hands of probable departing driver Heikki Kovalainen, who managed to leapfrog Kimi Raikkonen after the pits stops and come home in 11th. That added no points to either his own tally or the team total.

With the 2009 season now over, Lewis Hamilton finished in 5th place with 49 points, just one point ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, while Heikki Kovalianen finished in 12th place with 22 points. McLaren finished the season 3rd in the constructors championship, one point ahead of Ferrari, with 71 points.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a largely uninteresting race with the most excitement coming in the final few laps as Jenson Button tried in vain to get past second place Mark Weber. Weber’s Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel took home the victory for his 4th race win of the season as he secured 2nd place behind 2009 champion Jenson Button.

I’ll be doing a proper season review in the coming week but this was somewhat of an anti-climax with Hamilton retiring and little race action on offer. For McLaren the next big step is who they sign up as the 2nd driver to partner Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Raikkonen is the favourite, Nick Heidfeld has been mentioned and Jenson Button is surely only fantasy booking?

Reference: F1.com