Formula 1 2009

I always thought that Alonso was the problem when he was at McLaren, and I don't think he deserves number 1 status at Ferrari.
 
Not the most exciting of races today, though Kovalainen putting one over on Fisichella out of the pit was a fun moment.
 
At least qualifying wasn't boring.

And I can't believe that Brawn is dumping Barrichello after he helped them so much to win the Constructors' Championship.
 
Congrats to Jenson Button and Brawn for winning their respective championships. I was rooting for Rubens to snatch the drivers championship from Jenson. But it was not to be, even though he did get the pole under miserable wet conditions. Button finally drove an inspired race again to go from 14th on the grid to fifth, although first-lap carnage certainly helped matters.

Lewis Hamilton also fared quite well going from 16th to 3rd.

Both drivers apparently gambled on dry setups during qualifying, but it certainly paid off during the race. Things probably would have been quite different if it had rained on Sunday.
 
Did you realise?


Did you realise that an English driver, in a Mercedes-engined car bearing the number 22, beat a Brazilian to the World Championship by finishing in fifth place in Interlagos - for the second year running?

Hell of a coincidence...
 
Yes, well done Button, got there in the end and deservedly so! He pulled off some really nice passes to come up the field which was good, you have to say that despite his qualifying troubles in the second half of the year he has driven some good races.

Honestly, I would have liked to see Rubens get it, but I'm happy for Jenson as well. It's also a fantastic result for Brawn, winning the constructors after coming so close to not racing at all this season.
 
It turns out Sebastien Loeb is a natural after all, that is if you define a natural as someone who is 25th out of 25 drivers after a GP2 test...

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08102009/13/loeb-tests-gp2-car-spain.html

Five-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb was at the wheel of a GP2 series car on Thursday, test driving the single-seater in case he manages to secure a Formula One race seat in time for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Loeb's test took place in southern Spain where GP2 teams concluded a three-day session at the Jerez circuit, a venue also used for F1 winter testing.

At the wheel of a David Price Racing car, the Frenchman set the 18th best time in wet conditions during the morning runs, a result 2.6 seconds off the quickest lap. In dry weather during the afternoon he signed the 25th fastest lap, but diminished the gap to 2.1 seconds.

The World Rally Championship season ends one week before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is scheduled for November 1st. Loeb's Citroen Racing boss has already cleared him to race at F1's season finale if his star driver can arrange it.

Loeb used the GP2 test to familiarise himself with the handling and feeling of a car somewhat similar to what can be found in Formula One, where in-season testing is banned.

The 35-year-old is aiming for a guest drive with Toro Rosso, which is owned by Red Bull, his WRC team's main sponsor.
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:lol:

That could turn out to be quite a prophetic T-shirt. Button had better be careful. Nowadays, it is the car and the team which are far more important than the relative ability of the driver. He could be easily replaced.

More info about the salary dispute:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...dangerous-game-with-Brawn-over-contracts.html

Kevin Garside: Jenson Button plays a dangerous game with Brawn over contracts
Jenson Button wants to stay. Brawn want to keep him. The coming days will tell us how much each party means to the other.

By Kevin Garside
Published: 6:03PM BST 24 Oct 2009


Hot property: Jenson Button, Brawn GP's Briton, celebrates winning the Formula One world drivers' championship Photo: REUTERS Lewis Hamilton warned Jenson Button to expect the unexpected as world champion. That ball started to roll before the week was out with Button volunteered as Hamilton’s team-mate at McLaren next season. Button has also been linked to Toyota.

All of this suggests a lively welcome when Button arrives in Abu Dhabi next week for the inaugural grand prix in the United Arab Emirates. Not least from a Brawn management team shocked to discover Button’s dirty linen being given a public airing.

Brawn acknowledge that there is a gap to make up with the driver boasting a No1 against his name next season, but deny any suggestion that the disquiet extends further than Button’s private concerns.

Morale is, they say, as high as one would expect at a team that has just won the world championship. The party at Brackley HQ last week supports that view.

A game of cat and mouse over Button’s salary developed across late summer. His world championship victory in Brazil last week gave the issue fresh impetus. Button wants a salary commensurate with his status and in line with his remuneration under the old Honda regime. Brawn have to balance their desire to keep him with the need to balance the books.

Though victory in the constructor’s championship guarantees a multi-million prize, it does not come on stream until April. Nevertheless, that, a title sponsor and possible new ownership, justifies Button’s demand, at least in the eyes of the driver.

Brawn, in keeping with these straitened times, interprets the driver market differently. Brawn had pencilled in further meetings with Button after the final race of the season. The events of the past few days will have added a sense of urgency.

Button wants to stay. Brawn want to keep him. The coming days will tell us how much each party means to the other. Brawn chief executive Nick Fry said: “This team has just won the world championship. The fact that Brawn personnel are being offered jobs by other teams would come as no surprise.

"The important thing for us is that we are not a one-hit wonder. What we want to do is invest in the team and make sure that we are in contention again next year.”

The hosts won’t mind the attention. Abu Dhabi acquired the ultimate race slot hoping the championship would be decided on Arab soil. Button stole that thunder but by way of compensation offers a dollop of controversy, which is often of greater interest than the race.

A Hamilton-Button partnership is an obvious attraction, however unlikely. McLaren tried to sign Button when Hamilton was still at school, but he balked at the five-year term.

Kimi Raikkonen, managed by Button’s former representatives, the father and son team of David and Steve Robertson, was the beneficiary of that refusal.

As Hamilton’s appointment demonstrated, McLaren are not afraid to gamble. They took on Raikkonen after only one year in Formula One at Sauber and poached Juan Montoya spectacularly from Williams.

Two decades ago they paired Ayrton Senna with Alain Prost in arguably the greatest intra-team rivalry of the modern era.

Button will not be unhappy to have his name associated with F1’s traditional powers, though he would do well to avoid the contractual disputes that marred his earlier career. The switch from BAR to Williams and back again did him few favours.

The noise surrounding his contract dispute arguably reflects his desire to stay where he is. It is in effect an appeal to Brawn to pull their fingers out and end the speculation.

It would be a pity if a compromise was not reached. Button’s race to the championship is second only to flat racing’s fairytale Sea The Stars as the sports story of the year.

The prospect of a Button-Nico Rosberg pairing next season in a well-funded car spreads the glamour across four teams with Brawn, McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull boasting stellar appeal.

Significantly, only one team is in the hands of Ross Brawn, the most successful leader of men in the modern era, which ought to be reason for compromise.
Click to expand...
 
Setastien Loeb was refused a FIA superlicense after his F2 test:

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12433_5644010,00.html

World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb's dream of competing in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been dashed by the FIA.

The Frenchman was set to drive for Toro Rosso in the Middle East but world motor sport's governing body has refused to grant him the necessary superlicence to compete in Formula One.

Loeb, who is currently chasing his sixth straight World Rally Championship title, tested for Red Bull over the winter and had also been linked with new entrants USF1 for 2010.

However, the 35-year-old has admitted that the chances of him ever racing a Formula One car are now probably at an end.

"I have no regrets because I had no ambition," Loeb told his official website. "My only regret is that it would have been fun to do it."

Former world champion Alain Prost believes the FIA made the right decision in refusing to grant his countryman the necessary licence.

"It would have been unique and incredible for all fans of motor sport," Prost told the The Daily Telegraph, "but such a shame to risk his reputation.

"It would have been absolutely impossible for him to be competitive on a circuit which he doesn't know, when all he has done is rallying throughout his career.

"That is not to put him down, on the contrary, but Formula One is not just any old thing. It is a completely different mountain to climb."

Loeb, who drives for Citroen in the WRC, will be hoping to take another title at the final round of the season this weekend in Wales.
Click to expand...

Good thing he doesn't need one to compete in FIA rallying. :lol:
 
Webber and Button's fight for P2 on those last couple of laps was terrific! Though I would have preferred Button to take second, I'm glad he got a strong podium finish anyways, as it's always nice for the champ to end the season on a high note. Yas Marina looks to be a hugely impressive venue.

Kamui Kobayashi in sixth was a good result, have to say he's looked pretty decent in his two races and I'd like to see him get a full-time drive next year.
 
this year's award for originality goes to Dave Freeman from Brawn GP:



BTW, the answer was: Yes!
 
Darth_Pugwash said:
Kamui Kobayashi in sixth was a good result, have to say he's looked pretty decent in his two races and I'd like to see him get a full-time drive next year.
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Other than the completely absurd block he tried coming out of the pits last race, he has beem remarkable!

http://in.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idINIndia-43613820091102?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
LONDON (Reuters) - Kamui Kobayashi feared his career was leading more to the kitchen of his father's sushi restaurant than Formula One until Toyota gave him the break that changed everything.

The 23-year-old Japanese driver provided one of the highlights of Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when he finished sixth after earlier passing Brawn's new world champion Jenson Button.

Standing in for injured German Timo Glock since last month's Brazilian Grand Prix, Kobayashi scored points in only his second race and beat his experienced Italian team mate Jarno Trulli into the bargain.

Toyota motorsport director John Howett suggested on Sunday night that Kobayashi was now a strong candidate to race for them next year.

The Japanese, a winner in Asian GP2 but unimpressive in the European support series, said he welcomed anything that would keep him on a race track.

Without the two races to show Toyota what he could do, he would probably have had to think about sharpening his kitchen knives.

"I have no budget, no budget," the Paris-based racer told reporters. "So I cannot drive GP2 next year. I would probably go back to Japan to maybe work with my father in his sushi restaurant.

"It was like that two months ago, seriously. When I was 16 years old I worked there, making sushi."

Howett praised Kobayashi for his fighting spirit, particularly in battling Button for the second race in a row, but the driver wondered what the fuss was about.

"I don't need to be worried for me because it is not the Mafia," he said.

"I have tried to be a Toyota driver for next year but I didn't know how much I could show before. I just had to do the best at each moment and it seems to have finally worked well," added Kobayashi.

"Still I have many things to do. I have to improve qualifying and I need time. But the last two weeks have been quite good for me."
Click to expand...

It is good to finally see a Japanese driver in F1 due to talent instead of cubic dollars.
 
That is amazing. Both Japanese teams finally get to the point where they can actually win, and they quit before they can reap the rewards of that massive expenditure.
 


Mercedes livery causes widespread illness
Posted on November 16, 2009 by Red Andy
Stuttgart, Monday: Mercedes’ announcement that they are buying a 75% stake in Brawn GP and rebranding the team as a works outfit has met with mixed reactions after the German corporation made the mistake of revealing the new team’s expected livery at their headquarters today.

Disturbing: The offending Mercedes livery
Mercedes’ 2010 colour scheme is based on the unpleasant chrome livery that has characterised the McLaren cars since 2006, but this new iteration of the paint job caused serious illness in those it was exposed to this morning.
Most of the gathered reporters and motoring enthusiasts suffered only mild vomiting, but in some unfortunate individuals the symptoms were more serious. “I suffered a wave of uncontrollable spasms down my left hand side,” one journalist revealed, “and now I can’t feel my thighs.”
Several of those present also suffered temporary blindness. Unconfirmed reports suggest that one member of the crowd had to have his arm amputated after suffering a severe allergic reaction to the livery.
“Suddenly this picture came up on the slide show,” one eyewitness remembered. “It was horrible, a sort of disgusting chrome colour. I had to shield my eyes almost immediately, but I wasn’t fast enough – my body was doing all it could to try and erase the memory of the picture. I hope I never have to see one in the flesh.”
Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug was surprised by the reaction: “Yes, the colour scheme is a little extreme, but I think this is something of an overreaction,” he said. “Eventually people will just get used to it. They will see it; they will like it. There is NO CHOICE!”
Haug’s further comments were lost amongst the screams of those unfortunate enough to have been in Stuttgart this morning.
Click to expand...
 
It's being widely reported today that Button is off to McLaren for next year: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80178

Have to say I'm both surprised and disappointed - surprised because I figured all this business with McLaren and Button courting one another was just negotiating tactics with no real substance, and disappointed because I really wanted to see Raikkonen at Macca for next season.

Of all the drivers on the grid, Kimi is by far the best placed to waltz into McLaren and really push Hamilton, Button imho will just be playing number 2. Lewis vs an in-form Kimi at Macca could have been one heck of a match up, but it seems like it's not going to happen. :/
 
if it's truth, then it's the worst move of his career and maybe the end of it.
 
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