[Tournament] Formula One 2009 World Championship

It's that time again! After an epic 2008 season, which saw Felipe Massa lose the drivers title to Lewis Hamilton in the final race's last turn (and by a single point!), the 2009 championship is kicking off this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne.

Even though the drivers line-up has remained the same for the most part (Sebastian Vettel moved over to Red Bull to replace veteran David Coulthard, and was replaced at Toro Rosso by Swiss rookie Sebastien Buemi), odds are this season will be different from the last few years in a lot of ways. In an attempt to make overtaking easier and to help cut the costs, the FIA has introduced dramatic regulation changes, among which:
- slick tyres
- less downforce (wider and driver-adjustable front wings)
- the possibility to use a Kinetic Energy Recovering System (KERS)

What the 2009 races will look like under these new regulations is anyone's guess at this point. However, based on the times from winter testing and the first two practise sessions at Albert Park circuit, it seems that last year's strongest title contenders (Ferrari, BMW and especially McLaren) are struggling to catch up while teams such as Williams, Brawn GP (formerly Honda) and Toyota surprisingly have hogged the top of the timesheets. But we'll only know for sure after tomorrow's qualifying session.



So, is anyone as excited as I am? Will you guys be following this championship? Who do you expect will win? And who will you be cheering for?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

What an exciting first race! As the practise sessions had foreshadowed, Melbourne saw big guns struggle to score points while outsiders set the pace.

So it's a one-two for Brawn GP on their first Grand Prix (Button first, Barrichello second). It was to be expected after they dominated the qualifying session, but remained highly uncertain until four laps to the end, when Vettel (2nd at the time) and a faster and impatient Kubica collided and subsequently crashed and retired.

3rd place goes to an outstanding Jarno Trulli, who started the race from the pits in 20th position! World champion Hamilton, despite McLaren's obvious performance shortfall, had a great race and scored some significant points finishing 4th. And Timo Glock, 5th, who had also started from the back, confirmed Toyota's top form. Alonso 6th, Rosberg 7th, and a very promising Sebastien Buemi for 8th, scoring a point after a very consistent first formula one race.


As for the new regulations, it does seem to even out. Vettel and Kubica were able to keep Button's pace for most of the race without the controversial rear wing diffuser, and Hamilton and Alonso were apparently able to put their KERS to a good use.

As for the tyres however, it seems that the difference between soft and hard tyres is going to play a very important part in race strategy from now on (you have to use both types at least once during each race). The soft tyres are fast but really don't hold for more than 8-10 laps, and become an enormous handicap after that (you lose up to 5 seconds a lap to someone using harder tyres). From today's results it seems that the two options are either to begin the race with them and pit very early, or to use them on your last stint, praying to God that they'll hold until the end.

Also, I didn't even think that was possible, but the safety car regulations seem to suck even more than ever before. I understand the plan was to make it fair, but it's all become very intricate and, ironically enough, rather unsafe. Oh well.


EDIT: after a bit of confusion regarding what went on between Trulli and Hamilton behind the Safety Car, Trulli was given a penalty which was later cancelled when it turned out McLaren and Hamilton had lied to the stewards during the post-race investigations. Trulli was subsequently confirmed as 3rd, and Hamilton was disqualified from the race.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Nobody cares but, once again, what a Grand Prix at Sepang last Sunday! Amidst much confusion, polesitter Jenson Button clinched his second victory in a row when the red flag came out on lap 32. Up to that point, the race had been little short of breathtaking, with numerous and splendid overtaking maneuvers, weather going from best to worst in a matter of minutes and tremendous pit stop action.

This is the final ranking:

1. Button
2. Heidfeld
3. Glock
4. Trulli
5. Barrichello
6. Webber
7. Hamilton
8. Rosberg

Since less than 75% of the race distance was covered, only half points were awarded. Nonetheless, these results confirmed what we saw at Albert Park: this year's most competitive teams are Brawn, Toyota, BMW and Red Bull, and McLaren, Ferrari and Renault are struggling for pace. This might change depending on how the diffuser controversy will be settled, but it will definitely be interesting to see how the big guns will attempt to breach the gap in the next races. In any case we have a very unique and open championship to look forward to.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

The race was good, pretty exciting.

I liked how Heidfeld and Glock switched positions due to mathematical issues like five minutes before the award ceremony.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Somehow I doubt it made a big difference to the German F1 enthusiasts.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I'm questioning the new rules. The downside to the races being more exciting is that these rules make the game a threat to the lives of everyone racing. Someone is going to get killed this year.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I'm not sure I see your point here. Which specific part of the new regulations do you think makes F1 racing more dangerous than it used to be?

It seemed to me that the first two races were rather calm, as far as accidents go. What made them exciting was that every team was running brand new cars with a brand new set of regulations, and that last year's leaders apparently didn't adapt as well as Brawn or Toyota. Also the weather in Sepang, but you can't really put the blame for that on the new rules.

However I'm not sure I agree with starting the Asian races later in the afternoon so that Western audiences catch them more easily. As we have seen in Malaysia, bad weather at that time means early nightfall and horrendous visibility. As I've said before, the new Safety Car rules also suck.

FELIPE NO

Just a quick note: after much controversy, the rear-wing diffusers used by Brawn, Toyota and Williams have been ruled legal by the FIA. As they are believed to be worth as much as half a second per lap, it is likely that the other teams will follow suit as soon as they can.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I believe McLaren have already tested with them and are already up to speed with the Brawn cars although a lot of that could be to do with Lewis Hamilton being a much better driver than that idiot Button.

Edit: Yep, Button and Hamilton fastest in practice in China. Formula 1 has to be one of the only sports in the world that Britain really dominates at (Yachting being one of the others) and yet sadly none of the British drivers are particularly likeable. Hamilton would be ok if he smiled once in a while I guess and none of the exceptional engineers get much publicity so they could all be really nice guys.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Anybody got the chance to watch today's race? Vettel and Webber seem to have clinched an epic maiden one-two for Red Bull, outpacing the Brawn cars in the wet without KERS or a fancy diffuser, and I missed that.

McLaren seem to be doing better (5th and 6th for Kovalainen and Hamilton) but Ferrari's still out of the loop (electronical problem for Massa and just plain performance shortfall for Raikkonen). Not a great weekend for BMW or Renault either.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I dunno about today.

A race without a start (which is the most exciting part about it anyway, guess what many people switch off the TV after the start) is not a good race. The racing conditions were even worse than in Malaysia.

Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, demonstrated another good performance. He's gonna be the next Michael Schumacher, that's for sure.

I guess Vettel prays that there will be more rainy races in the upcoming weeks.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I watched a bit of it but the safety car was out for most of what I watched and it was pretty dull so I turned it off. It's a bad sign where the FA cup semi-final pre-match coverage is more interesting than an F1 race.

Does anyone else think the cars look stupid with the new, thinner rear spoilers on them? I think it's a shame they keep trying to restrict the speed of the things all the time. They shoudl just allow the teams to put whatever the fuck they want on the cars and see just how fast they can make a car go round a circuit. It could be kept competitive by putting a budget cap on the teams so that everyone had the same amount of money each season, so if you spent a load of cash on the best drivers, you'd have less for the engine and so on. It would make the sport far more competitive and exciting in my opinion and the added risk would perhaps justify the millions of pounds the drivers earn every year in wages and endorcements.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Shin

It's a bad sign where the FA cup semi-final pre-match coverage is more interesting than an F1 race.

Are you kidding? Nowadays, generally a Bromwich Albion vs. Bolton Wanderers match is more exciting than a F1 race. The last two races had a least a little bit of potential because of all that rain and stuff.

I was speaking idiomatically.

The Brawn cars aren't unbeatable any longer! After Red Bull's phenomenal one-two in the wet last weekend, Toyota managed to hog the front row of the Bahrain GP's starting grid, with Trulli in pole position and Glock second. Vettel's 3rd, and the Brawn cars only 4th and 6th! Looks like we have another interesting and unpredictable race to look forward to.

The big teams are still playing catch-up, by the way. Hamilton 5th, Alonso 7th, the Ferraris 8th and 10th, and Kovalainen, the BMWs and Piquet not even making it past Q2.

How ya doing, buddy?

I have been keeping a slight eye on the F1 season and have noticed that things might be looking up in terms of the racing there. I might have to catch a race or two before the season is over to see how much better it actually has become. I have heard some positive reviews from friends around here.

FELIPE NO

Well the race today was a bit of a letdown. The start and first few laps were very exciting, with a lot of tension and some bold overtaking maneuvers, but it soon turned into a fuel/tyre strategy race which saw most position changes happen in the pits.

Still, kudos to Button for yet another flawless win and to Vettel for his 2nd place finish. A disappointing race for the Toyota team, with Trulli 3rd and Glock only 7th, when both of them started from the front row. Hamilton managed a splendid 4th, and Räikkönen scored the season's first points for Ferrari finishing 6th. As for BMW, yet another weekend to forget, with Kubica 18th and Heidfeld 19th!

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Can anyone tell me what's up with Ferrari. What the heck are they doing. Three points in four races. Second to last place, this is going to be a disaster season, I know it already.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Musharraf

Can anyone tell me what's up with Ferrari. What the heck are they doing. Three points in four races. Second to last place, this is going to be a disaster season, I know it already.

I think it's pretty obvious what happened isn't it? Ross Brawn left.

That Ferrari are doing shit without him and that his own team are winning everything would suggest to me that the man knows what the fuck he's doing. I don't know how many of the old Ferrari staff he took with him either but I know they've gone through a lot of changes and combined with starting the season on the back foot without the diffuser, they're struggling to catch up as a result to some extent of all the staff changes.

I think the one thing this season has proved so far is that the skill of the driver really is second in importance to the engineering. Hamilton is clearly a better driver than Button but can't keep up currently. I'm sure he'll be beating him by the end of the season when the McLaren team sort the car out but it might be too late to win the Championship by then.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well I think the first few races of the season have shown that Button actually happens to be a great driver, since someone as experienced as Barrichello (275 grand prix starts, nine victories) can't match his pace on the same car. It should be interesting to see how he and Hamilton compare when McLaren are up to the Brawn cars' speed.

As for Ferrari, they also lost Jean Todt. Little was left of the Scuderia's former glory when he was recruited as team principal back in 1993; with him came race wins and, eventually, seven constructor's titles and six driver's titles. It will be a while before Stefano Domenicali can say as much.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Barrichello achieved all that in the same Ferrari as Schumacher was driving though. I'm not claiming that Schumacher wasn't a great driver, clearly he was but he never proved how good he really was by driving a worse car. If he had spent a season driving for one of the lesser teams and still been up the front all the time then it would have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's an amazing driver.

Barrichello has gone from driving a car that's leagues ahead of everyone else's to a car that's a bit better than everyone else's. Also, the new regs have made it harder to drive the things in general and I'm pretty sure the current Brawn cars have less in the way of driving aids than his old rides. Button's a bit more used to driving cars like that perhaps?

Basically, I just don't like Button and refuse to believe he's any good. It's a natural English character trait, disliking smug, rich bastards and hoping they fail spectacularly. People like Hamilton because he's a likeable guy, comes from a pretty normal background and hasn't immediately started swanning around Monte Carlo all year with a supermodel on his arm (Tax haven house in Switzerland notwithstanding). People liked Coulthard because he was a bit shit (And Scottish so when he lost he was Scottish, when he won he was British), liked Eddie Jordan because he's a massive junky, liked Mark Blundel because he was a bit shit and so on. I think if Jensen Button face planted into the pit lane wall at 200mph, most people in the country would cheer.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

So it's just a country thing. Figures, you silly brits.

Meanwhile, France is still waiting for their next Prost. Bourdais's just pulling the tough luck card at every occasion, and I honestly doubt anybody can beat Panis or Alesi at that game.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Shin

Basically, I just don't like Button and refuse to believe he's any good. It's a natural English character trait, disliking smug, rich bastards and hoping they fail spectacularly. People like Hamilton because he's a likeable guy, comes from a pretty normal background and hasn't immediately started swanning around Monte Carlo all year with a supermodel on his arm (Tax haven house in Switzerland notwithstanding). People liked Coulthard because he was a bit shit (And Scottish so when he lost he was Scottish, when he won he was British), liked Eddie Jordan because he's a massive junky, liked Mark Blundel because he was a bit shit and so on. I think if Jensen Button face planted into the pit lane wall at 200mph, most people in the country would cheer.

I like him precisely because he's a rich, smug cunt. Plus he's from the South West, so a local lad.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

So we had yet another mostly uneventful race in Barcelona yesterday. Button wins, followed by Barrichello and the two Red Bull cars. Ferrari fucked up big time (what's new) on their fuel strategy, which caused Massa to head home sixth when he could have taken fourth place; McLaren just weren't fast enough to fight for points.

Most of the race saw Massa hold up an evidently faster Vettel, mostly thanks to KERS. Wasn't the system supposed to help make overtaking easier? :/ Oh well.

Can't wait for Monaco. At least that one's always eventful.

FELIPE NO

Monaco's eventful but not because any overtaking ever happens. It's basically all over by the end of qualifying, assuming nobody does anything retarded with the pitstops and there isn't a safety car, which is at least a high possibility given the lack of run-off areas.

That said, I do always enjoy Monaco, mainly because of the possibility of a massive crash (Let's be honest, what else does anyone really watch F1 racing for if not the huge crashes which is precisely why all the additional safety measures make the sport more and more boring each year).

How ya doing, buddy?

I used to think massive crashes were fun back when I was a kid, and didn't realize people get hurt and hours of hard work get blown to bits. These days I feel sorry more than anything else (especially since it always happens in the back of the field, and often strikes teams that struggle to even stay in F1).

These days I watch for the competition, mostly. I watch for the rare pleasure of seeing an underdog stick it to the big guns and get a good result against all odds. And I couldn't be happier, since that's exactly how the season has begun; but now that the Brawn cars are dominating the pack, someone else needs to put up a fight.

Jam it back in, in the dark.