Formula 1 2010 Season Thread

[Sinister]

Thought Button would have him at the end.Well done Seb, deserved winner.

[Guest Swiftie]

Woy. Shame Lewis had to go out like that. As we all know his perfomance from Fri was exceptional. This season was good still in the terms of an underdog coming through. Got a bit boring when Brawn were just wiping the tracks for fun at the begining. Can't wait till next season with the new set of rules. So 19 weeks and counting.

[Lenny]

• Button signs for Mclaren
• Brawn GP is bought out by Mercedes and will be rebranded Mercedes GP
• Kimi doesnt have a drive for next season i've been told (someone confirm)

[The King]

Kimi doesnt have a drive atm

[Lenny]

Sky Sports are saying hes going to miss the season completely because he hasnt secured a drive in time

[The King]

Him & McLaren couldnt agree a deal and the new teams are "too much of a gamble for a former world champion." Hes got offers for rallying and a few other things though.

[kahuna]

button to drive for mclaren, hmmmmm sounds like its gonna be the lewis v alonso situation all over again

[Badman]

^^ nah they will get onButton is gonna be bait number 2 to Lewis anyways

[MrJibbles]

It's a great PR move having 2 British drivers for a British team both World Champions over the past 2 years.Will they get on? Yeah course but this could well end up like son (Lewis) vs son-in-law (Button). All in all 2010 is looking great.Glock racing for Manor.

[Lenny]

Just aslong as theres no favouritism going on i reckon Lewis & Jenson will work out fine

[Guest Jetz]

Hope this partnership works out well. This year was beyond sh*t though watching the brawns and the red bulls fighting for the win is just not the one.Hope ferrari and mclaren step up there game for 2010 season and the rest are as competitive.

[MrJibbles]

Button, meanwhile, explained the reasons for his move to McLaren. “It was 100 per cent my choice,” he said. “For me, the move is because it’s going to be a huge challenge to go up against Lewis in his environment. My goal since I was eight years old has been to win the world title and I’ve done that now. Now I feel I need a new challenge.”Button confirmed that McLaren will pay him less per season than Mercedes Grand Prix were offering — unconfirmed reports suggest he will earn £6 million next year, but could have received £8 million if he had stayed at his former team.“I’m earning less than I would have at Brawn,” Button said. “I didn’t move for the money and everyone knows it. It’s something new for me. I’ll have to work very hard in the situation I’ve put myself in and I intend to do it. Of course, it’s not going to be easy, but I’m very excited about the challenge.”

Plus Bernie & co might take out the British GP next season which is a real shame!http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6924188.ece

[Guest Swiftie]

Really going to be interesting considering the two different driving styles of both drivers. Don't really know how McLaren are going to cater for that.Who heard about Schuey possibly coming back as a driver for Mercedes. If the Schumacher deal does not come off, fellow German Nick Heidfeld is considered most likely to get the second Mercedes seat alongside Nico Rosberg, another German, whose contract has been signed but not officially announced. Schuey is being deemed as a stop gap before they can lure Vettel from Red Bull if it all goes through. But at the mo it's just pure speculation.

[Bacardi_Up]

If Ferrari have a competitive car for next season Alonso will be world Champ.Although I will be backing the Brits next season.

[Guest Swiftie]

If Ferrari have a competitive car for next season Alonso will be world Champ.Although I will be backing the Brits next season.

Don't forget that there will be no refueling next year. So we could end up with another Brawn kind of scenario.

[The King]

Schumacher: Confirmed for MercedesAfter playing around on motorbikes, I'm ready for the serious stuff.Michael SchumacherSeven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher will return to Formula One with Mercedes GP next season.The F1 legend has signed a one-year deal to drive for the German manufacturer in 2010, with the contract said to be worth around £6.2million.Schumacher, who turns 41 on January 3rd and who will therefore easily be the oldest driver on the grid, will partner fellow German Nico Rosberg.Explaining his decision, Schumacher, who retired at the end of the 2006 season, said: "The motivation is pretty straightforward."I got a call from Ross (Brawn, team principal) at the beginning of November asking me to race again, telling me Mercedes were going to be involved."I've never left the race track, and after three years I regained the energy I'm feeling now."After playing around on motorbikes, I'm ready for the serious stuff."TalksThe news brings an end to speculation which started when Schumacher was seen in talks with Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche and Brawn in the paddock at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in early November.Just a fortnight later, Mercedes-Benz had taken over Brawn and new World Champion Jenson Button was on his way to McLaren.Schumacher had attempted a comeback with Ferrari, with whom he won five of his world titles, back in the summer as a stand-in for Felipe Massa, who was seriously injured in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.However, after testing a 2007-spec Ferrari, he decided against the move after deciding that a neck injury, sustained in a bike test back in February, had not healed sufficiently.Schumacher, who has maintained a rigorous training regime in the time since his retirement, has confirmed the injury has healed."Before giving the final okay, I had to make sure my neck was okay," he said."It wasn't okay in the summer, but it's had the time to heal completely."Schumacher has also now severed the ties that have binded him to Ferrari since he joined the team in 1996.He often appeared at races following his retirement in an advisory role and also tested for the team - both suggesting that Schumacher's desire to race was still strong.Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo paved the way for his return earlier this month when he confirmed he would not hold Schumacher to his contract.Schumacher's return sees him again join forces with Brawn, the Mercedes GP team principal, and the man who was the mastermind behind his seven titles - two with Benetton and five with Ferrari.During his previous 16 seasons in the sport, incorporating 249 grands prix and dating back to the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher managed to break virtually every record.He has won the most world titles; most race victories (91); most pole positions (68); highest number of wins in one season (13 in 2004); number of consecutive podiums (19); wins from pole (40); fastest laps (76); hat-trick of pole, win, fastest lap (22), and most number of consecutive results in the points (24).ReputationAsked if he was worried about putting his reputation on the line by returning, Schumacher replied: "I hope they will judge me on what I've done before."Brawn is a team that won both championships last year, they now have a strong partner in Mercedes, so the only aim is to go for the championship."Schumacher revealed that he had consulted wife Corinna on his comeback."I had to sort out my personal situation before entering this new one," he said. "She could see the spark in my eyes, and so she didn't really argue."He also said that talks were already being held about a contract extension.Schumacher added: "We are talking about a three-year deal."It's not just a one-off thing. We are talking about continuation."

[Guest Sheikh]

So is the car that could give Schuey the chance?

[Sinister]

How much testing have they done on it?

Today, the new Silver Arrows Formula One works team MERCEDES GP PETRONAS was presented at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Nico Rosberg and seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher along with team management Ross Brawn, Nick Fry and Norbert Haug were introduced to guests with a presentation and press conference.

Over 600 guests, including 200 media representatives and 200 Mercedes-Benz employees, visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum, one of the biggest and most famous car museums in the world, to see the launch of the team and the unveiling of the new Silver Arrows livery. Mercedes-Benz employees from the company's manufacturing plants in Untertürkheim and Sindelfingen, 100 of whom were invited for their outstanding performances and 100 selected through a popular internal draw, also had the opportunity to take their first look at the new MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team.

The event opened with a welcome speech by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars before Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg unveiled the new Silver Arrows livery for the 2010 season on last year's car. The team's 2010 car, the MGP W01, will make its track debut at the first Formula One test in Valencia on Monday 1 February, with the 2010 Formula One season starting in Bahrain on 14 March.

The new silver and green livery creates a true marriage between the heritage of the Silver Arrows and the team's title partner PETRONAS. The legacy of the Silver Arrows goes back to the 1934 Eifel Race when, on the evening before the event, the white paint was sanded off the Mercedes W25 race car to fulfil weight regulations (750kg formula) and the silver colour of the aluminium surface of the car appeared. This season, with the return of the Silver Arrows, the MGP W01 will shine in silver combined with a flow of iridescent silver and green shading. On the nose and other parts of the car, traces of black carbon fibre visible are visible - a reminder of the first Silver Arrow of 1934.

[Guest Sheikh]

Officially, bugger all. Till 1st Feb @ Valencia

[Sinister]

Oh yeah, they only have a limited window, don't they.

EDIT:

F1 test calendar 2010

Number Date Country Circuit Results 
1. 1 Feb 2010  Valencia Valencia, Ricardo Tormo  
2. 2 Feb 2010  Valencia Valencia, Ricardo Tormo  
3. 3 Feb 2010  Valencia Valencia, Ricardo Tormo  
4. 10 Feb 2010  Jerez Circuit Permanente de Jerez  
5. 11 Feb 2010  Jerez Circuit Permanente de Jerez  
6. 12 Feb 2010  Jerez Circuit Permanente de Jerez  
7. 25 Feb 2010  Barcelona Circuit de Catalunya  
8. 26 Feb 2010  Barcelona Circuit de Catalunya  
9. 27 Feb 2010  Barcelona Circuit de Catalunya  
10. 28 Feb 2010  Barcelona Circuit de Catalunya 

[Sinister]

Testing in Catalunya.

Ferrari seem to have THE car this year, but then again it's only testing and some of the manufacturers might be running restricted setups.

[The King]

Think next season will be like the EPL this year. McLaren v Ferrari for the title but I dont think there will be dominant team.

Really excited.

[Sinister]

Looks like the US F1 team are already likely to flop before the first grid.

Campos as well, but they're claiming they'll make the first grid position. Heard a rumour they're gonna be getting an investment from a group funded by VW with the option of VW taking over in 2011.

Now that would be nuts, you'd have the engineering and R&D from VW, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi etc in one team.