Forumla One 2009

[Mike]

Jenson Button has been denied a change to race at Torro Rosso. . . . since Honda quit F1 late in 2008 he has been looking less and less likely to race. The only hope for him now is a rescue package for the old Honda team. He was never one of the best drivers in F1 but it is always a shame to see someone leave their sport under a cloud!

[Mike]

Renault have lost one of their major sponsors ING. Their partnership will end at the close of this season. It will put quite a hole in their finances but the team boss remains optimistic.

[stimpsonslostson]

Ferrari show true extent of credit crunch on their F1 programme.

as do renault and bmw

[Mike]

Those are genius!

[Mike]

Ross Brawn as become the team principle of what was the Honda team. The article mentions Brawn GP as the team name but I seriously hope they came up with something better than that! Management buyout has secured a driving place for Button and Barrichello. Shame about Honda leaving. I was under the impression that the experts were tipping the 2009 Honda car to be one of the best as it was the first car that Brawn was able to have full control over designing.

[Mike]

McLaren Mercedes are slowest in the testing at Barcalona. . . oh dear. I don't think they are going to be up to scratch for the 26th Start in Melborne! Brawn GP (crap name) is currently faster and they have only existed (officially) for 1 week. Strange statistic as they are actually the Honda Team and will have been developing their car for about 12-15 months!

Brawn GP first interviews (that I have seen!)

[Mike]

BBC Report on the new F1 rules for 2009. The drivers championship will now be decided on by the number of wins that an individual gets. NOT the number of points accumulated. Interesting, I wonder how that will shape things up. Alonso would have been much further up the ratings last year with this rule. Will have to see how it pans out!

[mr_e]

I'm not able to view that video, but is this going to mean more "team orders" shenanigans? Overall it should mean some decent all-or-nothing racing.

[Mike]

I will mean more all or nothing racing - it could be quite dangerous! There will inevitably be team orders and it may be a couple of shockers if the obvious number 1 driver is eclipsed!

[Mike]

Bernie Ecclestone thinks that Jenson Button may be a surprise contender for the 2009 championship based on the new rules and the hopeful impressive form of Brawn GP (crap name Brawn! - but okay - nice livery!).

Apparently teams are likely to complain who ever wins the first few races. The FIA have approved all the cars but each team has interpreted the rules slightly differently. This has caused some tenderness between teams (they need to grow up) we don't want to see the sport descend into a legal wrangle at every turn. It is a SPORT, you need to challenge and sometimes things just don't go your way. Trust needs to be placed in the governing body to approve each vehicle.

[Mike]

Well this number of wins rule has been squashed! How strange that the drivers association objected after all this time and only nine days before the start of the season.

[mr_e]

Maybe they feel they haven't had enought time to prepare for the new rules? I'm sure they were informed well in advance of the announcement though. Ho hum.

The other option was to increase the points gap between first and second, which is a nicer balance between rewarding wins and rewarding consistency.

[Mike]

Couthard is the Red Bull reserve driver for the Racing Start in Melbourne on 29 March 2009. Apparently Mark Webber broke his leg in a cycling accident in November 2008 and is not yet able to recover. The person who is supposed to be standing in for him, Brendan Hartley, has not managed to acquire the super license that enables drivers to compete.

In other news the super license reported increases are being relaxed from the 2010 season to help drivers cope with the global downturn.

[Mike]

Jenson Button has managed to secure a Pole Position for the Australian Grand Prix in Melboure! That is amazing for a team first season in Formula 1.

Brawn GP managed to get a one - two in the same qualifing sessions. That is amazing too and the best performance from a new team since 1970! Thanks for that one BBC. The fuel was also quite high and more than all the close rivals so other can't even blame their good performance on low fuel levels and weights. Of course Brawn GP is benifiting from years of high budgets from the Honda manufacturer who must be seriously kicking themselves about blinking before this season. They should have trusted Brawn in hindsight they probably rolling their eyes in disgust! Not good advert for Honda efficiency and gusto.

Virgin media are supporting Brawn GP now too.

[Mike]

Brawn Mercedees managed a spectacular 1 - 2 in the Australian GP! It was a spectular race with lots of overtaking and racing right to the end. The only problem with the racing to the wire is when Vettel and (?) I can't remember who. How embarrasing! It did mean that with timo being penalized 25 seconds an amazing race lead Lewis Hamilton to score a podium third as well. Quite an interesting start to the season and I hope it continues. Ps does anyone like the new Brawn GP livery? It looks good.