And to make it 3 in a row...

They are considering a new idea for Quali which could be the best idea the FIA have ever come up with! (Well not the FIA and more the FOTA but if the FIA approve it'll be a good thing). Basically all the cars are out on track at the start of the session with the same fuel and they all power round and the slowest gets eliminated each time. Up until the last 6 who are left to power out an order.

Also pole position gets a championship point which I reckon should have happened years ago.

Honda to quit F1!

Button looking likely to lose a drive for next year...

Oh and you could buy Honda for a £1 apparently!

And sell it on eBay?

Very exciting Formula 1 season coming up in a few weeks!

The line up for this season looks something like this...

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Heikki Kovalainen

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
3. Kimi Raikkonen
4. Felipe Massa

BMW Sauber F1 Team
5. Robert Kubica
6. Nick Heidfeld

ING Renault F1 Team
7. Fernando Alonso
8. Nelson Piquet Jr.

Panasonic Toyota Racing
9. Jarno Trulli
10. Timo Glock

Scuderia Toro Rosso
11. Sebastien Buemi
12. Sebastien Bourdais

Red Bull Racing
14. Mark Webber
15. Sebastien Vettel

AT&T Williams
16. Nico Rosberg
17. Kazuki Nakajima

The Former Honda Team
18. TBA (if buyer is found)
19. TBA (if buyer is found)

Force India F1 Team
20. Adrian Sutil
21. Giancarlo Fisicella

The Calendar... (Or the race to (near) Dubai as most other sports seem to be doing now as well...)
01 2009 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne) 27 - 29 Mar
02 2009 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur) 03 - 05 Apr
03 2009 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai) 17 - 19 Apr
04 2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Sakhir) 24 - 26 Apr
05 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2009 (Catalunya) 08 - 10 May
06 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2009 (Monte Carlo) 21 - 24 May
07 2009 FORMULA 1 ING TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul) 05 - 07 Jun
08 2009 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Silverstone) 19 - 21 Jun
09 FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON DEUTSCHLAND 2009 (Nürburgring) 10 - 12 Jul
10 FORMULA 1 ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2009 (Budapest) 24 - 26 Jul
11 2009 FORMULA 1 TELEFONICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia) 21 - 23 Aug
12 2009 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps) 28 - 30 Aug
13 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 (Monza) 11 - 13 Sep
14 2009 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore) 25 - 27 Sep
15 2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka) 02 - 04 Oct
16 FORMULA 1 GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL 2009 (Sao Paulo) 16 - 18 Oct
17 2009 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Yas Marina Circuit)30 Oct - 1 Nov

One of the reasons this season is going to be a real jump into the unknown is the numerous rule changes... which are...

- Slick Tyres (Bridgestone only and drivers have to use both compounds during a race.)
- Aerodynamics ( Front wings lower and wider, back wings higher, all additional bits have been outlawed... the dumbo wings, barge boards, chimneys and the like. Drivers are against this saying it'll cause more accidents at the start of the race and when overtaking... GOOD!)
- Driver adjustable bodywork (Adjustable flaps on the front wing which the drivers can move while driving, just saves doing it in the pits, only two adjustments a lap though.)
- KERS - Kinetic Energy Recovery System (Why this wasn't put in years ago is beyond me... basically when they brake the energy that is dis-patted as heat is recycled back and is then nicely put into use as a BOOOOOST button on the steering wheel! Basically an extra 80 horsepower for 7 seconds... magic for overtaking!)
- Budgets - (They were pushing for a budget cap but this was never agreed so instead they just banned all testing during the season, limited wind tunnel use, sharing data during the weekend and doubling the minimum engine life span...)
- Engines - (Basically they have been cut from 19,000 RPM to 18,000RPM to increase reliability but then each driver is limited to only 8 engines through the season! If all engines get used up before the end of the season a driver will incur a 10-place grid drop. So if any driver blows up all 8 engines in the first 8 races then for the remaining 9 races he will start 10 places back...)
- Safety Car (The pit lane will no longer be closed when the safety car is out... software will be developed to stop any problems.)

Also for us the big news is that the BBC have it back!
Match of the day/Football Focus/Euro 2008/Olympics host Jake Humphreys will present from every race with DC (he is still officially listed as a Red Bull test driver as well) and Eddie Jordan as pundits. Johnathan Legard will commentate alongside Martin Brundle (who hopefully will still do a grid walk at the start of each race). Pit lane reporters will be Ted Kravitz and Lee McKenzie.

TV Coverage - Every race and qualifying session on BBC One (except BBC Two) and a 1 hour highlights programme on BBC 3 in the evening.
Red Button - The Red button will broadcast every time there is a car on the track at any of the circuits... so Friday practice, Saturday practice, Qualifying and for the race it will be up and working. There will be an analysis programme on the red button after each race as well. Also on race day we'll be able to choose from three different video streams (The BBC one feed with different commentaries, a split screen comprising of the main feed; an in car camera feed and a leader-board and also rolling highlights.
5Live - As normal really live commentary and the Chequered Flag podcast.
Online - All TV feeds will be online. For the first time the video will be available in high quality meaning it will be near TV quality. The live text commentary also sticks around with a few added things to this. (I'd guess at automatically updating pages eliminating the need to have to replace warn out F5 buttons...). Murray Walker will have an online reviewy blog thing. Interactive circuit guides, highlights, blogs, a diary F1 mole thing and comprehensive stats. The whole site will be revamped as well.

Looking good....

Odds for the Drivers Championship this season...

1. Lewis Hamilton - 2/1
3. Kimi Raikkonen - 11/4
4. Felipe Massa - 4/1
7. Fernando Alonso - 11/2
5. Robert Kubica - 11/2
15. Sebastien Vettel - 16/1
2. Heikki Kovalainen - 18/1
6. Nick Heidfeld - 20/1
#. Rubbens Barrichello - 66/1
#. Jenson Button - 66/1
14. Mark Webber - 66/1
9. Jarno Trulli - 100/1
16. Nico Rosberg - 100/1
10. Timo Glock - 150/1
8. Nelson Piquet Jr. - 150/1
#. Bruno Senna - 150/1
20. Adrian Sutil - 200/1
21. Giancarlo Fisicella - 200/1
11. Sebastien Buemi - 250/1
12. Sebastien Bourdais - 250/1
17. Kazuki Nakajima - 500/1

Constructors Championship
Ferrari - 5/4
Mclaren Mercedes - 7/4
BMW Sauber - 7/2
Renault - 12/1
Red Bull - 33/1
Toyota - 33/1
Williams - 100/1
Former Honda - 150/1
Toro Rosso - 250/1
Force India - 500/1

Some other odds...

KERS to be excluded from the 2010 season - 5/1
Hamilton to win EVERY race - 150/1
Hamilton to win the 2009 & 2010 Championships - 6/1
Raikkonen to retire by 2010 - 11/4
Alonso to retire by 2010 - 11/4

A deal with Honda is apparently on the cards for the end of the week with the team getting ready to go back into teasting. They are months behind everyone else and will now probably spend this season right at the back of the grid... still good to have hope that Jenson is coming back soonish!

Oh and RBS have announced they are stopping sponsorhip of Williams at the end of next year due to the recession...

(I'm not sat here talking to myself...)


Nick Fry says Honda has been saved...

Indeed they now have; now known as Braun GP - good to see Button definitely going to feature in the new season now!

I am pleased to see some f1 fans when I get time I shall read all the thread
thanks for the race days.
could we possibly move acouple because people are always sitting in the way.

aha you never get people sitting in the way.

All gone completely mad...


Someone can now win the World Championship by winning just the first two races... It is nuts and just bad surely a new points system would have had the same effect...

You could win the Championship by winning the first two races but only if no-one else won more than one race.

Hahaha wahey! Theyve scrapped the new scoring system!

I wish they could scrap it forever and not just defer it for a year!!! It sounds an absolute farce. If they want to reward winners of more races then just make it 12 points for a win and keep the other positions the same!

I think the more races you win is probably the best way to go to make it more exciting at the sharp end.

Jenson Button has gone from 150/1 outsider to 5/1 favourite to win the Australian GP at the weekend... I'm sorry but what rule have they broken to be as quick as they are? Something is very suspicious here...

First practice session of the new season is underway, and both the Brawn cars are going very quickly, with Barrichelo currently quicker of the two, with Raikkonen also doing well.

Rosberg in his Williams finished the first practice session as leader with his team mate Nakajima finishing in 2nd. Bad day for Hamilton, who finished all the way down in 16th place!

Second session and Lewis finished in 18th place and Button 'only' managed 5th... McLaren need a serious rethink now. Ferrari do seem to have a tyre issue as well so looks like a major change in the world order for tomorrow and Sunday!