The 2010 Formula One season is just around the corner and promises to be a very interesting season. A number of new or rebadged teams and some interesting driver moves, not to mention the return of the great Michael Schumacher has positioned me, well... lets say closer to the edge of my seat. Continuing on from last season are the stalwarts of Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, and Williams, along with the relatively much younger teams of Red Bull, Force India and Torro Rosso. But the highlight of the returning teams is the Mercedes works entry which is in fact last years Championship winning team Brawn. Three new teams join in 2010 including Team Lotus, Virgin F1, and HRT. I can only hope that this season delivers all that it promises.
Mercedes
Mercedes has been an engine supplier for many years to various Formula One teams but did enter as a works competitor (i.e. chassis and engine) once before in 1954 amd 1955 taking out the Championship in both years with the great Fangio at the wheel. The biggest coup for Mercedes however is the signing of the great Michael Schumacher coming out of retirement to resume his relationship with head engineer Ross Brawn. Shumacher is accompanied by the up and coming Nico Rosberg who showed signs of breaking through into the top echelon in 2009. This will truly be a team to be reckoned with. Ferrari
The Ferrari team will be out to hit back after a disappointing 2009. Felippe Massa is joined by dual world champion Fernando Alonso who will also be looking at returning to the winners circle more regularly after three years of limited success. Ferrari should be competitive. McLaren
After a rough start to 2009, the McLaren team showed good signs towards the end of the season finishing third in the constructors championship. And how about that driver line up? None other than the last two world champions in Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Renault
The Renault team will be keen to recover from the highly tumultuous 2009 season which saw the departure of boss Flavio Briatore over the Piquet crash conspiracy at Singapore in 2008. Renault have a promising signing in Robert Kubica as number one driver. Kubica had a great 2008 but fell victim to BMWs demise in 2009. May continue to struggle in 2010. Williams
The once great Williams team has been in the wilderness for a number of years now. The team has changed their engine to Cosworth for the 2010 season. Rubens Barrichello is the number one driver for the team this year and is joined by promising rookie Nick Hulkenberg. I don't expect Williams to trouble the major teams in 2010. Red Bull
The Red Bull team finished second in 2009 which saw great results for both Sebastion Vettel and Mark Webber. No team changes here. Can the team continue its success in 2010? I think the team will continue to be competitive in 2010 and this will be primarily driven by the battle between Vettel and Webber trying to claim supremacy in the team. As an Aussie, I would like to see Webber win that battle, but my head says Vettel will be more consistent. I am unsure that the team will reach the dizzy heights of 2009 again. Force India
The Force India team showed good signs in 2009 breaking through for a podium in Belgium. Will be hoping to continue its progress as a competitive team in 2010. Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi form the driver line up for 2010. A genuine dark horse for the season. Toro Rosso
The 2009 last placed team looks largely unchanged for the 2010 season. I think the teams position at the end of 2010 will also be largely unchanged although they will probably be challenged for that last spot by the HRT team. Lotus
Although the new Lotus team is unrelated to the Lotus team of years gone by the great Lotus name boasts a great history in Formula One. During the 1960s and 1970s Team Lotus won seven Championships with drivers such as Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti at the helm. And although Lotus failed to win any further championships during its remaining years in Formula One, it still made a major contribution during its latter years helping to propel such drivers as the great Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen. Team Lotus exited Formula One at the end of the 1994 season. The 2010 entry is funded in part by Proton, the current owner of Lotus Cars. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will be driving for Lotus in 2010. US F1 - Withdrawn from 2010 season (that's disappointing)
The US F1 team is keen to show that American technology can match it with the best from Europe. Formula One history is spattered with relativily well known American entries such as Shadow and Penske in the 1970s and Lola in the 1980s but these teams were for the most part unsuccesful. All the talk surrounding the team indicates that the US F1 team has come to play; it will be interesting to see if they can walk the walk. Virgin F1
Yes, Richard Branson is at it again. After success in Formula Renault and Formula 3, the Manor Motorsport team was granted entry to the 2010 season and promptly received major backing from Virgin. Manor Motorsport boasts past drivers such as Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton in its history. Timo Glock has the number one drivers seat. This could be another dark horse. HRT
The new Spanish team that was granted entry in June 2009 was primarily formed from Campos Racing which races in F3. But the team has been dogged with financial troubles and has only seemingly been rescued as recently as last week by majority shareholder Jose Ramon Carabante. The team has signed Bruno Senna, the nephew of the great Ayrton Senna as their number one driver.
My picks for 2010
Drivers Championship: 1. Schumacher 2. Hamilton 3. Alonso 4. Button 5. Vettel
Constructors Championship: 1. McLaren 2. Mercedes 3. Ferrari 4. Red Bull 5. Renault |
