Any Formula 1 racing fans out there?

[KimT]

2009 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Calendar:

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 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 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 (Abu Dhabi) 30 Oct - 01 Nov

Not so long now.

Just a few more months of darkness and the race is on again.

Slicks and KERS will certainly make the next season very interesting right from the beginning.

[pr0visorak]

2009 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Calendar:

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 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 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 (Abu Dhabi) 30 Oct - 01 Nov

Not so long now.

Just a few more months of darkness and the race is on again.

Slicks and KERS will certainly make the next season very interesting right from the beginning.

Looking forward to the singapore one!

[KimT]

Arw nuts.

Honda has decided to sell their team.

Suzuki and Honda gone in one year.

I guess adding an 11th teams wasn't such a great idea.

[5150 Lego]

I'd love to see Porche get in on F1. Or even Audi for that matter.

[KimT]

I'd love to see Porche get in on F1. Or even Audi for that matter.

I guess you're right.

Honda hasn't ever had that much luck or skill within F1.

Just don't let Jaguar buy a team again

[5150 Lego]

I guess you're right.

Honda hasn't ever had that much luck or skill within F1.

Just don't let Jaguar buy a team again

So what does this mean for Button? I know Barrichello didn't have a contract signed, but i thought they had Button locked in? Will he drive for the new team owners?

[KimT]

So what does this mean for Button? I know Barrichello didn't have a contract signed, but i thought they had Button locked in? Will he drive for the new team owners?

From what I could find out, then the team has got a few interested investors, who might buy the team and the drivers.

But as usual we'll just have to wait and see.

Also I've read an article in which Alonso states that if the new engine rule (one manufaturer from 2010) becomes reality then he'll leave the sport and apparently a lot of drivers feel the same way. Massa has come with a similar comment a few weeks back.

Is this the beginning of the end for Formula1 racing?

[KimT]

Is this a mean ride or what?

On the 19th we get to see Renault's new ride, the R29

[fugglewyg]

Is it just the angle the photo was taken or does that rear wing look stupidly small.

I know they were going to make the smaller but that looks awful.

Roll on the first race !!

[Lord Of Pies]

Thanks for the great pic Kimt! Its just a shame the ferrari looks awful form every other angle. I'm personally looking forward to the Force India launch! Roll on early March!

@fugglewyg, the rear wing actually is tiny from which ever way you look at it.

[KimT]

I can't wait for the season to start.

It's going to be interesting to see how and what KERS will mean, when the race is on.

I can't even imagine the duels we'll be seeing.

[5150 Lego]

Very nice! Finaly some new news in F1! I'm kinda liking Ferrari's new ride. Wing does look small,but the rest of the car just looks This is going to be a very interesting season!

[KimT]

Yehaaa!

From Formula1.com

Renault officially launched its 2009 season on Monday as the new R29 was unveiled to the world's media at the Algarve Motor Park near Portimao in the south of Portugal. Both the team's race drivers, Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet, were on hand in the morning to take the covers off their new challenger as they joined Managing Director Flavio Briatore for a photo call with the R29 in front of the team's pit garage.

They were joined by young Frenchman, Romain Grosjean, who was announced as the team's third driver for 2009, and the latest recruits from Renault's Driver Development Programme: Davide Valsecchi from Italy, Charles Pic from France and Marco Sorensen from Denmark.

With radical revisions to the sport's technical regulations introduced this year, the R29 incorporates a new design philosophy and looks very different from its predecessor. Great attention has been paid to maximizing the new rules and the team is optimistic about its chances for the year ahead.

"We began our preparations for the R29 project early and I am proud of what the team has achieved,” explained Briatore. “There are lots of new things to deal with this year, which could shake things up, but we intend to continue fighting at the front. We will now concentrate on our final preparations for the start of the season so that we can arrive in Australia hopefully fighting for the podium."

Both Alonso and Piquet were delighted to get their hands on the R29 so early in the year. Having followed the car's progress closely over the winter, they paid tribute to the work done by the staff in the factories in Enstone and Viry.

"The team has had a very busy development programme to allow us to be ready for the first January test with the new car," said Alonso. "Now we are all looking forward to seeing the result of all that effort on the racetrack."

After the photo call, the R29 made its track debut as Piquet kicked off the team's winter development programme at the Algarve Motor Park. "It feels great to be in the R29, even though the weather was not great," said the Brazilian afterwards.

"Today was all about adding miles to the car, collecting data and learning as much as we could. Hopefully the rest of the week will allow us to build on the progress we have made today."

Renault will remain in the Algarve until Thursday to continue with their testing programme. Piquet will be in the R29 for a second day on Tuesday before handing it over to Alonso for the final two days.

[Lord Of Pies]

Arghh, my eyes they burn!!

Well that was my initial reaction, but since then the R29 seems to look better and better the more I see of it. Who cares if people think it is the ugly duckling, because I reckon it is gonna be a quick duckling!

Not to sure on the colours though, I liked the nice blue colour scheme they used from 02-06.

[KimT]

Yeah me too.

But since ING came in as a sponsor the colour changed.

For now we'll have to live with the orange/white/yellow and puny tail-wing.

[5150 Lego]

All right peeps. The 09' Formula 1 racing season is officaly on! Lets here those predictions for the Australian GP. I only saw the first half hour of Practice, and the only one that seemed to be consistant was Toyota. But we all know that we've seen the big teams do so so in practice and then come back and take the front line in qualifing.

Go Lewis! Go McLaren!

[KimT]

Looks like the 'big' teams are in for a beating

McLaren have openly said that they've got problems with getting enough speed, Ferrari have stated that they've got problems as well.

Meanwhile Williams, Brawn and Toyota are ripping the asphalt with their rear diffusers working perfectly.

I can't wait for the last practice and qualify session tomorrow.

Then we'll see if McLaren and Ferrari tried to play a hoax on everyone.

Eventhough speculation is that Ron Dennis spend everything on winning last season, since he'd already decided that he was leaving and thus the team has had a hard time developing the new racer in no time.

I am confident in Renault (fingers crossed), eventhoug Picquet still looks a little rook'ish in his driving

Good luck to all teams and drivers - Australia usually is a hard GP, being the first of the season and everyone wants to win.

Furthermore the KERS, new aerodynamic rules and rear diffusers might be sending a lot of cars prematurely in the pit

[5150 Lego]

Wow. Hamiltion just squeezed by into P2 at 15th! Looks like those diffusers are really working. Both Hondas were 1rst and 2nd going into P2.

Edit: With 3 minutes left in P2, Hamilton isn't even in the car and won't even be making a pass. Alonso is 12th due to going off track.

My guess is that McLaren seeing how well the underdogs rear diffusers are working, are just going to write off this race.

My guess is your going to see the two Brawn cars and redbull in the top 3 grid spots.

Either way, i'm still routing for McLaren!

2nd Edit: There saying that Hamilton had a gearbox problem and that is the reason he did not make a pass in P2. NO word yet if it will warrant a change whitch will of course cause a penatly.

3rd Edit then i'm off to bed :D ! :

Qualifing is over....

Jenson Button- 1rst

Rubens Barrichello -2nd

Sabstian Vettel -3rd.

I have to hand it to the Brawn team. Day bewt team, first race in a new car with new engine and take first and second grid spots. Well done boys. Well done. :)

Edited March 28, 2009 by 5150 Lego

[KimT]

Agreed.

This looks like a 'write-off' for the top teams.

A shame Alonso went off in the last corner with such tremendous sector times - stuff happens

My guess is that Hamilton skipped the Q, in order to save the engine and gearbox.

They have to make them last soooo much longer this season.

Also the engines have been limited to a max of 18000 RPMs this year versus 21000 last year.

An interesting race tomorrow, but I am sure that when the appeal on the rear diffusers is over, then all teams will have the same one as Brawn GP. - and thus pushing the top teams into the first positions again.

[KimT]

Allow me to correct myself.

Hamilton had a gear-box issue and was placed at the rear of the field because he switched to a new one.

The RPM limit has indeed been lowered, but only from 19000 to 18000 RPMs

So today the first GP of this season took place.

Not even one of the Ferraris made it to the end.

Kovalainen DNF'ed as well, along with Picquet.

Hamilton drove a great race ending in top5.

Kubica tried to overtake Vettel and both ended up with destroyed racers only 4 rounds before the race was over.

(dumb move for sure).

So the winners were 2 x Brawn GP racers and Jarno Trulli in his Toyota - which is fantastic since he (and Glock) started in the pit due to the Toyota Team being punished for using an illegal rear wing.

This season looks very interesting

[Lord Of Pies]

Yes! Hamilton promoted to 3rd, as Trulli overtook under yellow flags!

And Force India came 9th!! Sutil was sooo close to getting a point.

This looks like it is going to be a very interesting season, and it was good to see a British driver on the top step of the podium. The first race was chaotic, both Ferraris failing, penalties and protests here, there and everywhere! ...And of course BBC back!

[KimT]

They've sold the license for showing formula1 in Denmark to that pesky ViaSat company out of England.

Now we get commercials during the race - what's up with that?

This is not American Football where commercials are an integrated part of the show.

Dammit

I hate commercials...

Back on topic:

Yeah this looks like a season to enjoy.

It's all been flipped upside down.

The top dogs are fighting hard just to follow the inferior teams.

A shame that Trulli was punished with a post-race stop and go penalty.

But that's the way it is.

All those complaints and rule fighting really takes the enjoyment out of it.

I hope the rear-diffuser issue is solved fast, so that we can get back to enjoying the races instead.

Go go go Renault - get the speed back in that racer

[5150 Lego]

Wow. What a race. Were to start....

Well,first,congrats should bein order for the Brawn team. First time out with a new car, and not only did they TQ, but they also finished 1rst and 2nd. Well done! Though i have to say it will be very interesting to see how they fair once all the teams have the same diffuser design. Then it will be an equal playing field.

My man Lewis! Starting from 18th, and finishing 4th (and bumped to third after Jarno's penalty). Like him or not, that says a hell of alot! Great job!!

So sad for Vettel. Ran a great race and then was taken out with only a couple laps to go. Sucks, but hey,... Thats racing. Although this proves that he will defenatly be a force to be reconed with this season. .

Ferrari??? Has anyone found out what happed to them? I know niether finished, but do we know why? If its engine or transmission failure and they need to be replaced, won't that mean penalties for the next race?

Ahh yes, this is going to be an interesting season indeed!

[KimT]

My man Lewis! Starting from 18th, and finishing 4th (and bumped to third after Jarno's penalty). Like him or not, that says a hell of alot! Great job!!

So sad for Vettel. Ran a great race and then was taken out with only a couple laps to go. Sucks, but hey,... Thats racing. Although this proves that he will defenatly be a force to be reconed with this season. .

Ferrari??? Has anyone found out what happed to them? I know niether finished, but do we know why? If its engine or transmission failure and they need to be replaced, won't that mean penalties for the next race?

Ahh yes, this is going to be an interesting season indeed!

Yup Lewis drove one helluva race that day.

Vettel has also been punished and blamed for the accident - which is unfair the way I see it. He'll be given a 10 spot drop penalty next GP and the team has been given a 50000 USD fine for driving a damaged car 1½ lap.

No idea what happened to Ferrari. - must have been gearbox or engine blow-out which is expensive with only 8 engines per racer per season now. - I hope they'll fix it and return fit for fight next time.

[5150 Lego]

Yup Lewis drove one helluva race that day.

Vettel has also been punished and blamed for the accident - which is unfair the way I see it. He'll be given a 10 spot drop penalty next GP and the team has been given a 50000 USD fine for driving a damaged car 1½ lap.

No idea what happened to Ferrari. - must have been gearbox or engine blow-out which is expensive with only 8 engines per racer per season now. - I hope they'll fix it and return fit for fight next time.

Vettel was punished???? Lame! Thats was clearly Hietfields faut! And even so,a 10 grid penalty seems a bit harsh. Oh man,i really hope this isn't a sign of things to come from this season. Nothing worse than the stewarts deciding the outcome of the races intill after the race.