F1 Bahrain Race

Here we go for the first race of the 2010 season and anticipation is very high for the first race as well as all the excitement to come. The new Mercedes SLS course car looks a mean machine and I have no doubt we shall hear the roar of this beast many times during the season.

It is great to have Ayrton's nephew, Bruno Senna on the grid and what an evocative name back in the sport along with Lotus and didn't it look spooky as he opened his visa when he broke down, I am sure we all wish them well. It was also nice to see the line up of F1 previous world champions and Martin spoke to Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti on the grid and Damon was seen many times over the weekend. Names like Nicki Lauda, John Surtees, Jacques Villeneuve, Michael Schumacher are evocative names in the world of F1.

At the second longest circuit of the season at 3.94 miles, the full tanks will mean the cars go faster as the race develops over the 49 laps. The lap record of 1.33.43 from 2009 will stand after this race due to the changes to the circuit and with a track temperature of 39 and air temperature of 36 it is going to be a hot race for all concerned.

The flag dropped and Sebastian shot into the lead from pole but Fernando passed Felipe at turn 2 in a classic overtaking move, Nico passed Lewis as he made a mistake running wide and mayhem happened behind at the back of the grid. It appears to me the plumes of smoke that, for some reason appeared from the back of Mark's Red Bull put off the followers and apart from dropping him back it also lost Robert many places.

Unfortunately then it became somewhat of a procession and it appears to me the drivers appeared to be driving very conservatively to protect their tyres and fuel loads. I sincerely hope this is not the case or this season could become a Fernando benefit.

So Sebastian held his lead followed by Fernando, Felipe, Nico, Lewis, Michael, Jenson and Mark but not particularly close and not really competing with each other. At the first tyre stop Lewis nipped in front of Nico and that was that done for Lewis but he never really got on terms with Felipe.

At the back we lost the unfortunate Karun Chandruk (HRT Cosworth) after only 1 lap with an accident across the bump, then Lucas di Grassi (Virgin Cosworth) went next. Then came a rash of failures including Kamui 11 Laps (Sauber Ferrari), Vitaly Petrov 13 Laps (Renault), Timo 16 Laps (Virgin Cosworth), Bruno Senna 17 Laps and finally Pedro de la Rosa 28 Laps (Sauber Ferrari).

However, Lotus did a fantastic job in their first GP for many years with both cars there at the finish so well done Heikki and Jarno. Williams also did a great job with Rubens in 10th and Nico Hulkenberg finishing 14th. It is fair to suggest there was more swapping and changing amongst the last 10 on the grid and at times, although we didn't see that much of it, it was quite exciting.

So back to the front and all seemed well but all of a sudden Sebastian started to slow slightly dropping a couple of seconds and it became apparent he had a broken exhaust. So, Fernando pounced into the lead that he was never to lose. Felipe kept in contention as he also passed Sebastian who forlornly pressed on.

I must pay tribute to Felipe as it is fantastic for us all to see him back and to come 2nd in his first race since his tragic accident can only be called fantastic for him, his fans, for us and Ferrari. Well done Felipe and we wish you all the best for the future and in your fight with Fernando.

Then Lewis passed the lonely Sebastian and that was basically the end of the race really albeit Nico was closing fast on Sebastian but all in vain as he failed by a short margin.

All the talk prior to the start was obviously about the comeback king Michael Schumacher and I suppose by his standards he didn't have a good weekend. In this sport the first thing you must do is beat your team mate and he was .5 secs behind Nico Rosberg all weekend.

So the final grid was Fernando (25), Felipe (18), Lewis (15), Sebastian (12), Nico (10), Michael (8), Jenson (6), Mark (4), Vitantonio (2) and last in the top 10 and points scorer Rubens (1).

So what have we learnt from today:

In the top team mate war: Fernando and Felipe very close, Lewis well in front of Jenson, Nico well in front of Michael, Sebastian far in front Mark.

Concern must be expressed about the new tyre and refuelling regulations as it could bring boring racing as the drivers have no alternative but to protect the cars. Engines now have to last 3 races, tyres are more restricted through race day and fuel has obviously to be conserved or the cars wouldn't reach the flag.

So congratulations to Fernando and Felipe and the Ferrari team but let us hope this is not the start of a procession as has happened in the past with Ferrari in Michael's hands!

F1 Driver Line up 2010

Well here we go and only 5 days before the weekends are again full of our favourite sport. The circus starts in Bahrain for a change this season with Australia coming second. Below is the final line-up of drivers teams as of Monday 8 March 2010.

This looks a very interesting line up with new cars, new teams and new stars which should be a very interesting season. Competition will run rife amongst team mates with the likes of partnerships such as Lewis/Jenson, Michael/Nico, Felipe/Fernando, Mark/Sebastian and the other top starts such as Rubens & Robert there to prove points make prizes.

Great also to see Peter Sauber back where he belongs on the pit wall with a strong driver line up including the star of the last 2 races in 2009, Kamui Kobayashi. Let us hope they have a great yet safe season and we wll wish them well.

The F1 Drivers and Teams:

Jenson Button

Lewis Hamilton

Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes

Nico Rosberg

Michael Schumacher

Brawn GP F1 Team Mercedes

Sebastian Vettel

Mark Webber

Red Bull Racing Renault

Felipe Massa

Fernando Alonso

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

Rubens Barrichello

Nico Hulkenberg

AT & T Williams Cosworth

Robert Kubica

Vitaly Petrov

Renault F1 Team

Adrian Sutil

Vitantonio Liuzzi

Force Indai F1 Team Mercedes

Sebastian Buemi

Jamie Alguersuari

Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari - TBA

Jarno Trulli

Heikki Kovalainen

TBA Lotus F1 Racing Cosworth

Pedro De La Rosa

Kamui Kobayashi

Sauber

Karun Chandhok

Bruno Senna

Campos Meta

Timo Glock

Lucas Di Grassi

Virgin Racing - Manor Grand Prix Cosworth

Sir Stirling Moss

Sir Stirling Moss, our very own F1 legend has broken his ankles falling down a lift shaft.

Sir Stirling has broken both ankles when falling three floors down a lift shaft in his home Saturday, 6 March. It appears that his special lift doors opened in error and as he reached in to turn on the light the lift cage wasn't there but on the floor above.

When Paramedics arrived at his home in Mayfair they whisked him to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.He also broke four bones in a foot, chipped four vertebrae and suffered skin damage, the website said. His family said he was recovering well.

  "Very unfortunate"

The website said: "He remained conscious throughout. With the assistance of Professor Sid Watkins he was moved on Sunday to a hospital closer to his home where he underwent surgery on both his ankles, which were plated and pinned.

"The door to the lift, that should have remained locked if the lift was not on the floor that it was called from, opened in error.

"He stepped into the narrow open shaft in the expectation that the lift would be present for him to walk into, as it should have been."

Lady Moss, Sir Stirling's wife, said: "This was a very unfortunate accident, it could have just as easily been another member of the family stepping into where the lift should have been."

His family said he was comfortable after a good night's rest and they expected the recovery to take up to six weeks.

Sir Stirling is known in the racing community as the greatest driver never to have won the Formula One championship.

He won 16 Grand Prix races between 1951 and 1961 and retired after crashing at Goodwood in 1962.

F1 News

May I take this opportunity of wishing the Teams, Drivers, Fans, Marshall's and all those connected with Motor Racing generally all over the world a very  

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous 2010.

Updates and General News
Silverstone has at last been granted an extended license for an unspecified period (albeit 17 years has been mentioned) to host the British Grand Prix at its rightful home. This will give Damon and his team the opportunity to make the required investment in the circuit with guaranteed return. Well done the BRDC and about time too.

Points System for 2010
Changes to the points scoring for drivers and constructor championships come into operation for the new season as follows: 

1st - 25, 2nd - 20, 3rd - 15, 4th - 10, 5th - 8, 6th - 6, 7th - 5, 8th - 3, 9th - 2, 10th - 1.

That will make a big difference to the spread of points across the drivers and teams. Points for 
 9th and 10th will make a difference to the lower places as they are still achieving points for their efforts.

New Rules 
New rules come into force relating to race day incidents. There will be a permanent panel of stewards who iwll go to each GP along with an additional local steward for each circuit. These 4 stewards will also be accompanied by an experienced former F1 driver to add to the decision making process. These may well help iron out some of the anomalies which have hindered drivers and teams over the past couple of seasons.

New Driver Appointments 
The appointment of drivers is now changing by the day and once the places are all filled I will publish the full driver/team line up. This will finally update the last one I published a few weeks ago. News from this last 2 weeks.

I am pleased to hear Kobayashi has been given a drive with BMW Sauber for 2010 and we all wait their place on the grid to replace Toyota. Kobayashi sprung into the limelight for the last 2 races in 2009 replacing the injured Timo Glock at Toyota. He drove 2 fantastic races in both Brazil and Abu Dhabi and is without doubt a talent for the future.

Virgin Racing (Manor Grand Prix) have announced Lucas Di Grassi and Timo Glock and that sounds an interesting partnership for a new team.

Lotus have also announced their driver line up with Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalinen. Let us all hope the resurgence of Lotus can match the talent of both drivers, if it can they should be up and around mid pack.

It was also nice to hear Felipe (Massa) is back in winning ways after winning the 500 Miles of Granja Viana Kart race in Cotia, near Sao Paulo. Felipe had team mates of Lucas di Grassi and Julio Campos and crossed the line first after 644 laps - or just under 11 hours of racing. Welcome back Felipe and all the best for 2010.

That's all for now and I will continue with the updates and any important news after Christmas.

F1 Calendar 2010

The 2010 F1 Race Calendar sees 19 races with the introduction of Korea. Also the great news that Silverstone is to retain the British GP for the foreseeable future. The start race for 2010 has also changed to Bahrain and replaces Australia which is now race 2.

So here goes.

12 to 14 March Bahrain GP (Sakhir)
26 to 28 March Australian GP (Melbourne)
2 to 4 April Malaysian GP (Kuala Lumpur)
16 to 18 April Chinese GP (Shanghai)
7 to 9 May Spanish GP (Catalunya)
13 to 16 May Monaco GP (Monte Carlo)
28 to 30 May Turkish GP (Istanbul)
11 to 13 June Canadian GP (Montreal)
25 to 27 June European GP (Valencia)
9 to 11 July British GP (Silverstone)
23 to 25 July German GP (Hockenheim)
20 July to 1 August Hungarian GP (Budapest)
27 to 29 August Belgian GP (Spa-Francorchamps)
10 to 12 September Italian GP (Monza)
24 to 26 September Singapore GP (Singapore)
8 to 10 October Japanese GP (Suzuki)
22 to 24 October Korean GP (Yeongam)
5 to 7 November Brasilian GP (Sau Paolo)
12 to 14 November Abu Dhabi GP (Yas Marina)

Can't wait for the start of the new season as I am bored without the adrenalin rush already.

BTCC Championship 2009

2009 BTCC Awards

By way of a change this time it is appropriate for me to mention the BTCC. This series has provided we armchair enthusiasts with thrilling racing for many a year and I have watched every race avidly. The British championship offers the thrills and excitement tin tops have provided we enthusiasts with for ever. Having been there myself I suppose I will always have an affinity with the sport.


This year has seen the emergence of Colin Turkington in his BMW 320si run by West Surrey Racing headed by Dick Bennetts. Throughout the year Colin has provided we TV viewers with some outstanding drives and none more than the last race of the season at Brands which must have been the closest and most thrilling for many a year.


I was happy to see him overcome the season long challenge from Fabrizio Giovanardi and Jason Plato who again both drove brilliantly throughout the season. I was also pleased he played down the threat from Matt Neal in the last race who was there to stop Colin winning!

So Colin won the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship and it couldn't have gone to a nicer guy or a nicer team. In all the interviews we heard through the season he was pleasant, informative and above all completely realistic. Congratulations Colin on a job well done and more of it in 2010 would be appreciated.

Behind every good driver has to be a team dedicated to achieving ultimate glory. That team was Team RAC, the West Surrey Racing ran team headed by Dick Bennetts who were confirmed as Independents Team Trophy Champions for 2009, winning 348 points.

At the recent BMW Awards 2009 staged in Munich's Kesselhaus, Saturday 7 December Colin was also recipient of the BMW Sports Trophy title, presented to him by none other than Mario Thyssen of BMW F1 fame.

2009 saw 198 drivers from 24 countries score points towards the overall Trophy standings in 29 international racing series. As in 2007, Colin's performance earned him the trophy and we should all be proud of his achievement. The last time a BMW driver won the award was 16 years ago in the hands of Joachim Winklehock.

Colin's 6 victories in 2009 culminated in the final race of the season at Brands and any 1 of Colin, Fabrizio or Jason could have won. Whilst things didn't go as well as expected he scored enough points to take the championship.






2009 Autosport Awards
Staged for the 28th time in the Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane the event was sponsored by the 2010 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

Jenson obviously took centre stage after his epic drives in 2009 in becoming our second F1 World Champion in a row after Lewis's title triumph in 2008.

The second award of the night went to Colin Turkington who was rightfully named as National Driver of the Year. Saturday in Munich and now Grosvenor House on Monday, will he ever come back down to earth ready for 2010! The award was presented to Colin by none other than Tom Kristensen and our very own Andy Priaulx.

Dick and the WSR team are obviously very proud of their achievements in 2009 and so they should be. Colin & Stephen (Jelley) provided a formidable partnership and supported the team's car building efforts throughout the season. No DNF's is a quite remarkable achievement in what is a very strenuous event for the cars.

There were other notable award winners including:
Sarah Moore - Club Driver of the Year - Ginetta Junior Champion
Kris Meeke - Autosport Rookie of the Year
F1 in Schools - Autosport Pioneering and Innovation Award
Brawn BGP001 - Racing Car of the Year
Adrian Newey - John Bolster Award for Technical Excellence
Citroen C4 WRC - Rally Car of the Year
Mikko Hirvonen - International Rally Driver of the Year
Enzo Ferrari - Gregory Grant Award
Ron Dennis - Gregory Grant Award for Lifetime Achievement
Jenson Button - British Competition Driver of the Year
and finally and the highlight of the evening
Dean Smith - Mclaren Autosport BRDC Award Winner

Congratulations to all all the drivers, teams and marshalls during 2009 and we look forward to it all starting again 2010.

Japanese Grand Prix

So from the night race in Singapore off they all went to Japan and the Fuji circuit. Quali 1 saw the usual protaginists go out with the exception of Mark who just couldn't get it right and the same for Fernando. The other 2 were Romain and Vintonio and the luckless Timo who had a big accident and couldn't carry on after his visit to hospital.

So, Toyota were down to 1 car as Jarno progressed onward into quali 2. The usual protagonists were at the front locked in battle with maybe Sebastian (Vettel) having the edge. Quali 2 saw no real surprises as Heikki was 11th followed by Jamie, Sebastian (Buemi), Fizzi and Kazuki.

So, the top 10 shoot out commenced with an almighty battle at the front. After a great battle for top between Sebastian (Vettel), Jarno and Lewis it finished in that order followed by Nick, Kimi, Rubens, Nico, Adrian and the again out of form Jenson.

The race didn't bring out any real surprises as the top 3 on the grid finished in the same position on the grid. Kimi drove well and finished 4th followed by Nico, Nick, Rubens, a lowly Jenson and the top 10 finished with Robert and Fernando.

The result in Japan tightened the points and put Sebastian into second ahead of Rubens and now in closer touch with Jenson.

F1 2010 and the New Teams

The grid for 2010 is still not settled albeit there are now entries from the existing teams in 2009. McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota and Brawn have entered on mass as FOTA (Formula One Team Association) but the entries are subject to them lifting conditions they placed on their entries by next Friday, June 19. What those conditions are is for Max Mosley and FOTA to know.

Williams, Force India and Ferrari are not a part of that and their entries are secure. Williams have had their membership of FOTA recinded until final agreement has been reached between FOTA and F1 but I haven't heard that about Force India or Ferrari!

So, after a lot of speculation we now know we have 3 new teams on the grid for 2010 and they are Campos Grand Prix, Team US F1 and Manor F1. Accepting the current 20 cars are on the grid that will give us a full 26 car grid for 2010 and should introduce some interesting racing.

No one is sure what the full regs will be but maybe we will know after 19 June. The new teams in brief.

Manor F1 Grand Prix. Former single seater champion, John Booth established Manor in 1990 when he decided to form his own team. Their successes include 171 Race wins and 19 Championship titles in formulae such as Formula Renault and the F3 Euroseries.

Based in the UK they have 2 sites, one in Sheffield and the other in Bicester. Its technical innovation is characterised by the fact that the race cars are designed, tested and refined entirely in the digital domain using the processes originally developed by Wirth Research Limited (WRL).

As Technical Director of Manor Grand Prix Racing, Nick Wirth founded WRL (Wirth Research Limited) in 2003, a company specialising in research, development and manufacturing in the high technology sector. Their designs won both the 2004/5 Indy Racing League (IRL) championships as well as being instrumental in producing winning designs in the American Le Mans series.

Nick Wirth has an impeccable background initially with March, Simtek F1 and Chief Designed for the Benetton F1 team. To compete in 2010 an engine deal has been agreed with Cosworth and it will be great to see them back on the grid.

Campos Grand Prix. Launched in 1998 Campos was launched in 1998 by ex-Formula One driver Adrián Campos. Campos has won six driver championships, five team championships and currently holds the GP2 Series 2008 title.

Their HQ is in Madrid where the marketing and admin are run. The technical centre is based at Campos Racing’s current headquarters in Valencia, 25km from the Ricardo Tormo race track.

As part of its application to compete in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, Campos has also agreed an engine supply deal with Cosworth and technical partnerships with Dallara Automobili and Xtrac.

Team US F1. With 30 years of motor sport experience, team Principal Ken Anderson including designing and constructing multiple Indy 500 and IndyCar Series-winning race cars. This is a real departure for F1 bringing an American Team into F1 as it has been proved Indy 500 and the Indy car series are a different ball park to F1.

Fellow team director Peter Windsor is known to us all having worked in F1 for over 35 years as team manager for Williams-Renault team, manager for Ferrari’s F1 chassis and suspension departments and as a consultant for F1 drivers Nigel Mansell and Carlos Reutemann.

As part of its application to compete in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, US F1 has agreed an engine supply deal with Cosworth.

Cosworth. I don't think Cosworth need any introduction to we petrol heads after 50 years in engine design for most racing teams at one time or another throughout the world. It is a name synonymous with motor racing and has been missed from the recent grids. All the new teams to F1 have opted to use Cosworth engines and I have no doubt the parterships will flourish.

I am sure we all wish the new teams every success. One has to congratulate Max Mosley on his management of this process and hopefully pre Silverstone all will be known about 2010 and beyond.

Monaco Grand Prix

Over the Monaco weekend there were many talks about the budget cap for 2010. All the teams are at least in agreement with the cap on spending but how it's done appears to be the issue. Reading between the lines it now transpires the budget cap won't be applied in full until 2011 with reductions in 2010.

The breakaway series appears to have gone away so at least we are sure of F1 continuing in its present form as all we armchair spectators want it to. My concern is all the changes are going to water down the sport and the politics are getting worse which I am sure the sport does not need.

With a further meeting, 27 May, it will be interesting to see which of the teams lodge their 2010 entry as the only team to enter at this point is Williams.

Anyway, back to the race. It was an interesting race with mixed strategies which always make it interesting. Jenson shot off pole into Ste Devote and never really got challenged from there. In the meanwhile Rubens had a great start and beat Kimi into the first corner and he never really relinquished that position either.

After a shakedown the Ferrari's gathered behind the Brawn's and again were never really challenged finishing three (Kimi) and four (Felipe). They have closed the gap on Brawn and the best showing of their season so far. The cars looked sharper, more driveable and definitely much more on the pace.

Lewis struggled all day from his lowly grid position, made even worse by a gearbox change. He finished a lowly 12th and again nil points. Heikki on the other hand had a strong start faded to 7th and then hit the wall at the swimming pool, knocked off the nose and out he went, an incident very similar to Fernando's accident during quali.

Behind the Ferrari's Mark (Webber) drove a great race to finish 5th followed by a resurgent Nico who finished in his grid position of 6th. Fernando said his car felt better as the race went on to come in 7th and the last point scorer was Sebastien (Bourdais) earning a point for Toro Rosso.

Nelson Piquet was enjoying a good race until Sebastien (Buemi) decided to push him off the circuit into the armco at Ste Devote, so both were out.

Vettel started on super softs and was soon presenting a mobile chicane for many stuck behind him. Eventually he had to come in early as the tyres were shot. A lot of the teams were surprised how quickly the super softs went off and caused some strategy changes for the teams.

Vettell eventually attacked the armco at Ste Devote and his race was run. BMW continued their bad luck season with Heidfeld complaining the car wasn't quick enough and Kubica pulled out with brake problems.

So the race finished with Jenson (First) and Rubens (Second) and another Brawn 1,2. A rather amusing finish as Jenson decided he would ignore Monaco protocol and drive into the customary pit lane rather than the Monaco scenario of driving to the finishing lane and parking in front of the royal box.

Even after 78 laps around the streets of Monaco he was seen running to the start/finish lane which caused a little hilarity but confirms his fitness level.

So a Brawn 1,2 a Ferrari 3,4 followed by Red Bull, Williams, Renault and the last point to Toro Rosso.

Can anyone catch Jenson who now leads the championship by 16 points from Rubens on 35 and then the luckless Vettel at Monaco who has only 23 points. The constructors championship is obviously led by Brawn on a massive 86 points with their nearest rival (Red Bull) on a lowly 42.5.

One has to say it is not over yet but his points lead after 6 of 17 races is huge and it will take some failures from Brawn to water down such a massive lead. The reliability of the Brawn's to date has been exemplary to date and lets hope for Jenson and Rubens that continues.

So off we go to Turkey and what a thriller that will be with Ferrari coming back, Red Bull still improving, Williams getting nearer and let us all hope Mclaren find the downforce which is so sadly lacking so far this season.