2010 Australian Grand Prix

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8591390.stm
This is a picture from the BBC, I do not own it. See the URL for the picture.

Ok, the race in Bahrain was boring. Many F1 fans and some of the drivers as well were concerned that the Australian Grand Prix might not produce good racing. I have to admit I was one of these people. Well I have to say, that it was one of the most entertaining races I've seen. In Qualifying, Sebastian Vettel was on pole again with his teammate Mark Webber right behind him. Surely this was going to be Red Bull's race. Well it looked like that for half the race. Despite Mark Webber being in the thick of the acton, Sebastian Vettel was leaving all the other cars behind. He stormed off just like he did in Bahrain. A minor collision on the first lap resulted in Fernando Alonso pointing the wrong way and Michael Schumacher having to replace his front wing. The two of them had different fortunes from then on. While Fernando Alonso was moving quicker than Cristiano Ronaldo to a full length mirror, Michael Schumacher was being hassled by the rookies. Schumacher passed Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi, only to be re-taken moments later. Then Michael Schumacher was jousting for 11th place with none other than Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari. At the front The suprise was the Renault of Robert Kubica holding his own. Then came the race winning decision. Jenson Button decided that a couple of laps in was a good time to switch tyres. This was a decision questioned by Martin Brundle and David Coulthard. Why was Jenson Button doing this? Moments after he got out of the pits, Jenson Button went off the track. Things weren't looking good for the regining world champion. A couple of laps later nearly the entire grid came in for pit stops. I'm not exaggerating. Renault released Robert Kubica only to have Vitaly Petrov arrive 1 second later. all of a sudden Jenson Button finds himself in second place behind the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel who was flying. If only the unrelibility of the Red Bull struck again... Well it did. Sebastian Vettel was out and Button was in the lead. He was followed by Robert Kubica, Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, and Fernando Alonso. Nico Rosberg was also edging into the picture. McLaren called Hamilton in for another pit stop. This dropped Hamilton down behind Rosberg. However Hamilton was now moving faster than a cheetah on crack cocaine. He caught up to Rosberg and to the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso with Mark Webber right behind him. I would now like to reveal the quote of the race. Ferrari team tell Fernando Alonso that Hamilton is only 2.5 seconds behind him and he just says "I don't want to know." Despite all the numbers being on his side Hamilton was unable to pass the Ferrari and eventually got tangled up in Mark Webber. He ended up finishing 6th in front of Webber. When Jenson Button was called into the pits, nobody thought it was a good idea. Everybody's mind was changed when John Travolta waved the Checkerd Flag and Jenson Button was the first to pass. Kubbica finished 2nd for Renault while Felipe Massa led a Ferrari 3-4. Nico Rosberg was 5th followed by Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber. 8th place was taken by Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello of Williams took 9th. Michael Schumacher eventually did get passed Jaime Alguersuari and finished 10th. The one Lotus that did start made it to the finish line as did Hispania's Karun Chandhok. If this is what Australia gives us, let's bring on Malaysia!

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8566770.stm
This is a picture from the BBC, I do not own it. See the URL for the picture.

First I apologize, I know it's a bit late.

At last! Formula One is back. This season is the most anticipated for a long time. So many things returned. Seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, his Mercedes team, The Senna name and the Lotus name. Mercedes returned after buying a 75% stake of the Brawn Team which won last years world championship. the Senna name returns in the form of Bruno Senna, nephew of the late three time world champion Ayrton Senna. This is hyped all the more by Ayrton's quote "If you think I'm fast, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno". Hopefully he will not turn out to be a Nelson Piquet Junior. Lotus returns thanks to the Malaysian government and Tony Fernandes. Mike Gascoyne who accquired the rights to the Lotus name received their backing and has put 2 cars on the grid. Now there's the hype of the top four teams. First there's McLaren. They have the two previous world champions driving their cars. Namely 2009 world champion Jenson Button and 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton. This coupled with the fact that both drivers are British makes it especially exciting for the Brits like me who love a good race. Now the biggest sporting rival to England is without a doubt is the Germans. What would be great would be if there was a German team similar to the British McLaren team. Well, there is. Mercedes Grand Prix joined the grid after buying a 75% stake of Brawn GP. They have signed Nico Rosberg, a consistant point scorer and son of 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg. Despite his father being Finnish, Nico decided to race under the German flag. Then comes the man I mentioned earlier. Seven time world champion Mr. Michael Schumacher felt the racing driver inside of him come back to life and now he joined his fellow countryman at Germany's Mercedes team. Then there's the 2009 constructor's runners up. The Red Bull team have remained unchanged. Same drivers: Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Same engine suppiler in Renault. However they are now a bit fast, particulary Mr. Vettel. Finally there's the Scuderia. Ferrari gave up on 2009 half way through the season. the result is the F10. A car which flies around any track. They also brought double world champion Fernando Alonso to join the party. A move which everyone knew was going to happen.

So the grid looks like this:

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: 1. Jenson Button (GBR) 2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR)

Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team: 3. Michael Schumacher (GER) 4. Nico Rosberg (GER)

Red Bull Racing: 5. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 6. Mark Webber (AUS)

Scuderia Ferrari: 7. Felipe Massa (BRA) 8. Fernando Alonso (SPA)

AT&T Williams: 9. Rubens Barrichello (BRA) 10. Nico Hülkenberg (GER)

Renault F1 Team: 11. Robert Kubica (POL) 12. Vitaly Petrov (RUS)

Force India Formula One Team: 14. Adrian Sutil (GER) 15. Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)

Scuderia Toro Rosso: 16. Sebastien Buemi (SUI) 17. Jaime Alguersuari (SPA)

Lotus Racing: 18. Jarno Trulli (ITA) 19. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)

Hispania Racing F1 Team: 20. Karun Chandhok (IND) 21. Bruno Senna (BRA)

BMW Sauber F1 Team: 22. Pedro de la Rosa (SPA) 23. Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)

Virgin Racing: 24. Timo Glock (GER) 25. Lucas di Grassi (BRA)

Moving onto the race. Sebastian Vettel took pole position in qualifying snatching it away from Fernando Alonso at the last minute. This made Vettel the favourite to win the race. Fernando Alonso lead a Ferrari one-two with Lewis Hamilton taking 3rd. The race wasn't particulary entertaining and failed to live up to the hype of the season. It was basically a precession, but then again the Bahrain Grand Prix generally is. Sebastian Vettel was flying away from everyone and would have won the race were it not for an issue with his spark plug. The Red Bull car last season was known for 2 things: Its speed and its unrelibility, nothing seems to have changed this year. He ended up finishing 4th. Mercedes had a 5-6 with Rosberg geting the better of the greatest driver in F1 history. Jenson Button beat the second Red Bull of Mark Webber for 7th place while Vitantonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello finished 9th and 10th respectively. Lotus started as the best of the new teams with Kovalainen finishing the race and Trulli not finishing but getting classified. No other new team driver finished the race. McLaren have a whole new car compared to the horse and carriage they had at the beginning of last season. The big suprise for me was the improvment of the Force India team picking up 2 points with a 9th place. Williams continue their average performance with another small point gain. Bring on Australia.