The New 2010 Season Guide

8/14/2019 The New 2010 Season Guide

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BADGERS GUIDE TO

GRAND PRIX2010

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Wow, well here we are - 2010, the start of a new decade and the start of another grand prix season.With a couple more rule changes, some new teams and a total of four champions amongst the drivers,were all pretty sure here at F1 Badger that 2010 stands a ruddy good chance of delivering the goods andfollowing up on where the quite epic 2009 season left off.

This is our guide to all things Grand Prix for the 2010 season - learn about the teams, the drivers, the

contenders for the title and the race tracks ahead of the season opener in Bahrain on March 14th.

Throughout the season, you can follow the latest news and developments by having a read of F1Badger.com - where Formula One isnt boring. We dont take ourselves too seriously and like to enjoy the sportwe all love in a chatty, light-hearted and entertaining style. We hope you like it too.

If you think you know your Barrichello from your Button and your McLarens from your Red Bulls then whynot take part in our Fantasy Grand Prix game where you can get more involved in the action, right fromyour armchair. www.f1badger.com/fantasygp

All the best and heres to a great season,

Adam Milleneuve

Editor - F1 Badger


3/28

McLaren, one of the most famous names in Formula 1,have history coming out from their side pods. Indeed, morerecent times havent disappointed either. In a tumultuouslast few years weve had: Hamilton, Alonso, spying, lying, anal corner championship win, Ron Dennis exit, HamiltonsDad dressing in the same way all the time, Mercedes moveto run their own team and far more besides. This preview

will simply try to provide a snapshot of the team over thelast three seasons, including some of its key personnel andtheir chances for the forthcoming season.

The McLaren team was founded by, yes, you guessedit, Bruce McLaren, and made its rst race appearance atthe Monaco Grand Prix in 1966. With the teams rst racewin coming in 1968, its clear were dealing with a teamthat has a pretty comprehensive heritage, although, yourcorrespondent imagines that hes not the only person towish the team was simply called Bruce. Even thoughthey chose to call themselves the quite clearly inferior

McLaren, theyve managed to do ok, winning 164 GrandsPrix with 145 pole positions and 136 fastest laps, includinga not to be sniffed at 8 world championships.

Last season saw the team get horribly confused by the newregulations and produce an absolute dog of a car which,given it was also the rst season with Martin Whitmarsh asteam principal, cant have made for many relaxing nightssleep. The year started badly, with Hamilton accusedof, and being punished for giving false evidence to theFIA stewards at the Australian Grand Prix. Cue muchhand-wringing and a tearful press conference. What joy.

However, over the course of the season the team managedto nd about two and a half seconds in a truly remarkableeffort to turn the car around, even winning Grands Prix inHungary and Singapore. They also managed to crawl overthe line third in the constructors table, beating Ferrari byjust one point.

For the forthcoming season the team will truly hope tohave produced a car able to compete at the top end of thegrid. Testing appears to have gone well and, although itsvery hard to rank the teams in any sort of order, McLarencertainly seem to be up there. The big pre-season newsis, of course, Jenson Buttons move from Brawn, meaningMcLaren have the two previous (both British) world

champions driving for them this season. Given Hamiltonsinteresting time with the last world champion he drovewith, lets see how it goes, eh? De La Rosas departure forSauber means Gary Paffett will have more responsibilityas test driver this season, so itll also be interesting to seehow he performs. McLaren for the title? Well see, but if itsonly half as exciting as the previous three years then weresurely in for quite a ride

Minimum target: Competing for the title until the last

race

Ambitious target: Winning everything and maintainingdriver harmony

Benson Jamichellos prediction: Hamilton to beat

Button, but not by much, as well as lots of passive-

aggressive behaviour.

3

MCLAREN

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4/28

Tyrrell now thats a name synonymous with Grand Prix a name that was around for 30years until during a lowpoint in the teams otherwise impressive history whereBAR came in with some nancial muscle and massivepromise. BAR did well, at one point Jenson Button nishedthe championship 3rd behind the all too dominant Ferrari.Things went a bit wrong and then the team became Honda.

They did pretty well and then that too went pretty wronguntil the magic happened in 2009 under the Brawn nameand they blew the rest of the eld away. Now, with theteam on a high, they have become Mercedes Grand Prix but will this squads second year pick up from where therst left off?

One person certainly hopes so and his name is MichaelSchumacher. The every fact that hes back in the sport issaid to be worth $30m to the value of the Mercedes brand,and as for Schumacher well were all pretty sure hell bemaking a sweet penny or two out of his comeback. There

isnt much to be said that hasnt been said already, theman is the modern grand prix legend loved and loathedequally for his racing and his tactics respectively. As forhis teammate Nico Rosberg, well hes almost an unknownquantity after spending the last few years at Williams withsome steller performances and some not he has hardlyset the world on re, but at the same time hes never beencriticised.. sounds a bit like Barrichello, who also partneredthe mighty Schumacher. Rubens even said to the pressafter the line up was announced that hed advise Nico toget out while he can.

Whatever happens, the return of Michael Schumacherhas given the new season another level of interest.Schumacher wont want to be in F1 trundling around in12th, hell only be interested in winning, so it will be veryinteresting to see what happens when the lights go outin Bahrain. Rosberg on the other hand will be doingeverything he can to ensure he isnt eclipsed by theseven times world champion, especially at the start of the

season the last thing he needs is to ll the role previouslyoccupied by Irvine, Barrichello and Massa.As for the car, it looks ok, sure its not the prettiest thingout there, but nonetheless it looks as though it could do thebusiness. Throughout winter testing there have been somecontradicting statements where one day Ross Brawn hassaid hes excited by the promising pace to head to Bahrain

and win only to then say the next day that McLaren arestrong and then Ferrari are the team to beat. Its all justtalk. Either way, there is a rumour gathering pace that theteam and secret Super Diffuser and its so good thatthey havent used it in testing to avoid other teams copyingit. Whether this is true or not, well nd out in a little over aweeks time here at Badger we just hope it doesnt sparkoff another season-opening court battle like last yearsGreat Diffuser Confusion

Minimum target: regular podium nishes

Abitious target: repeating 2009 with both titles

Adam Milleneuves prediction: Schumacher in the title

ght, Rosberg to become Barrichello and a close ght

to the end for constructors title, nishing 3rd.

4

MERCEDES GP

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5/28

September 2004, Ford could no longer justify its brandinvolvement in Formula One. With budgets reaching theinsane limits of 300m throughout the paddock, its starmarque Jaguar was removed immediately and withoutapology from the glittering world of international motorsport. Enter the Bull.

Yet it wasnt the Austrian energy drink giants rst forayinto competitive motor racing. Back in the nineties, the Bullhad been a prominent backer of Peter Saubers gloriousSwiss outt and truthfully, to understand the real story ofRed Bulls zero to hero impact on the F1-scene; its humblebeginnings with Sauber cannot be understated. But comeon, this is F1 Badger and theres a time and a place for allthat, its called wikipedia.

With a host of very excellent drivers destined to race thecar throughout its life, it was considered only right and justthat behind the scenes, similar levels of commitment were

shown and for 2006, Red Bull bigwig Dietrich Mateschitz(try saying that with a gob full of the stuff) lured the servicesof F1 starchitect, Adrian Newey for a reported $10million.Wowza! Now, if youre rolling that Newey with a hint ofintonation, lets just call him the anti-Brawn. But was heworth the money? More than half the grids designerswould pronounce a resounding yes following near-identicalinterpretations of the RB5 popping up across car launchesthis month and last. That being said, hes yet to bring achampionship to the Milton Keynes mecca, somethingmanaged with astonishing ease at McLaren and Williams.The jurys still out.

So it took a while, but less than a year after its little sisterScuderia Toro Rosso took its rst win with the peerlessSebastian Vettel at a waterlogged Monza in 2008, the littlefella managed it again (in the wet) at the Chinese GrandPrix. In just three and a bit seasons, the Bull were beingconsidered as serious championship contenders, albeitagainst a team that almost became extinct over the winter

break.But to abandon the facts for a moment, just look at them,theyre style-makers! OK were not talking levels of EddieJordan-style making, but the brand-synergy and tie-inswith extreme sports like BMW BMX and snowboarding hashelped recapture some of the youthfulness and risk-takingassociated with F1 of old. Certainly Vettel and his beanie

have helped develop the informal character of a team thatis rarely far from the centre of a party, but with the strong-willed Webber, Red Bull have hit upon a pairing that hasthe potential to win championships. Last year was morethan evidence for this.

Now, 2010 should be interesting. With more than halfthe eld copying their car design, theres a chance theyllhave lost their competitive advantage But if the Badgerknows Newey, and lets just say, theres history, then2010s challenger will be every bit the charger its provingto be in testing. This year will be a four-way battle, its a

fact that has been reinforced by returning giant MichaelSchumacher, but whilst we know who one of the teamswill be, just who else will be running with the bulls comeBahrain?

And yes, this journo will be sporting a rather ill-tting RedBull T over yet to be tackled Christmas cheer for 2010.Mon the Bull!

Minimum target: After last season, the minimum will be

a repeat performance

Ambitious target: Both Constructors and Drivers WorldChampionship titles

Ciaran Buttonhams prediction: RBR to be in the

thick of the constructors title to the end and Vettel in

contention of the Drivers crown at the nal showdown

in Abu Dhabi (yes, I am denitely on the fence)

5

RED BULL

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6/28

Ferrari a team thats bigger than Formula One itselfor so theyd have you believe. The team has beenaround since ever and is largely loved by everyone fortheir relentless passion, style and heritage. It would beimpossible to sum up their history in a single preview,so instead heres a list of driver names: Wolfgang vonTrips, Alberto Ascari, Phil Hill, Mike Hawthorn, John

Surtees, Jacky Ickx, Ernesto Brambilla, Niki Lauda, GillesVilleneuve, Gerhard Berger, Jean Alesi, Alain Prost, NigelMansell, Carlos Reutemann as well as Barrichello, Irvine,Schumacher, Raikkonen these are all names that aresynonymous with the sport of Grand Prix and they are alsoall Ferrari drivers, by all all means not all of them, but asyou can see their history books are packed with the namesof F1s elite.

This year they have Felipe Massa, back from injury andhungry to make up for losing the championship in 2008and hes alongside Fernando Alonso the man often

referred to as the most complete F1 driver on the currentgrid. Hes also the only driver on the 2010 grid to havebeaten Michael Schumacher in the world championship inthe past. We can only expect 2010 to be a far cry from theembarrassing 2009 performance slump.

Throughout the pre-season testing they have been quitearrogant, agreeing that they are the fastest and the generalconsensus is that the red car is the car to beat. That said,Ferrari are never the sort of team to play things down they where their heart on their sleeve, if they are not happywe all know about it and likewise when things are going

well. Therefore the recent self-promotion cant be takentoo seriously, but at the same time dont expect a repeat ofthe 2009 Bahrain performance in a weeks time.

Felipe will want the title this year he proved many wrongin 2008 with him looking to have made it to number 1 untilthe very last corner of the last lap in Brazil where Hamiltoncrucially took Glocks 6th place and Massas chances of thechampionship crown. He didnt stand a chance to makeamends in 2009 with the Ferrari being rightly described as

a prancing pony rather than a horse and then of coursehe was lucky to escape his high-speed crash in Hungary.Crucially after all these years in Ferrari he has good teamaround him and a very good (and public) relationship withRob Smedley, because in 2010 hes going to need everybit of help he can get to stamp any authority on FernandoAlonso.

Minimum target: regular podiums and a couple of wins

Ambitious target: drivers and constructors world

championship

Adam Milleneuves prediction: multiple wins, Fernando

to shine, but titles to be far from a walk in the park

6

FERRARI

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7/28

Williams, theyve been around forever havent they? Well,since 1978 anyway. For some of us, thats longer than wevebeen alive, so it feels a bit like forever. From the teams heydayduring the eighties and nineties, the last decade really hasntbeen as kind (Ralf Schumacher pitched up, for a start). Thatsaid, the team keep lining up on the grid year after year,recently without major manufacturer backing and still having

a moderate degree of success. More than any other teampreviewed thus far, the history of the Williams team couldll the space allocated to this article many times over, so itsprobably worthwhile saying now that this preview will stick(mostly!) to the teams recent history and future prospects.

Think of the Williams team and your mind isnt going to spendtoo long whirring before it turns to the teams two stalwarts Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head. Theyve both beenaround for ages and, although their involvement in the teamhas changed over time, theyre still very large inuences.Frank Williams travels far less than he used to and Patrick

Head handed over his duties as Technical Director to SamMichael in 2004, although he remains very much involvedwith the team as the Engineering Director. Sadly, yourcorrespondents abiding memory of Frank Williams is hisditching of Damon Hill immediately after hed won the WorldChampionship in 1996 so, although the team is British, basedin Britain and has had a number of British drivers, theyvealways proven somewhat hard to love.

The team nished last season in seventh place with 34.5points, just one and half points behind BMW Sauber andeight and a half ahead of Renault. A key factor of this result

being that just one driver scored points in the championship,hinting at why Kazuki Nakagima found himself without a seatat the end of last season. As a team they picked up pointsthroughout enjoying a particularly purple patch in the middleof the season, scoring at every race between Spain in Mayand Belgium in August. This increased their total from 3.5 to30.5 in the process. It could have been even better too, hadRosberg converted his good position at the Singapore Grand

Prix instead of crossing the white line while exiting the pit lane.Regardless, Williams were doubtless heartened by the factthey could have nished above their former partner, BMW, andnearer to the works team of their engine supplier, Toyota, hadthey had a driver capable of scoring 10-20 additional points.

For next season, after Rosbergs departure to Brawn just in

time to be Michael Schumachers tea boy and Nakagimasinevitable exit, the team have a completely new driver line-up.Rubens Barrichello comes in from Brawn and Nico Hulkenbergarrives fresh from being only the second driver to win the GP2title in his rst season. This mixture of massive experience andhuge potential will surely set Williams in good stead, assumingthey provide a half decent car. The team must be hoping thatBarrichellos development skills and Hulkenbergs raw pacewill allow them to improve on their showing last season.

Due to their rather unfortunate and frustrating habit of doingwell at some circuits and less well at others, this years car

has been substantially redesigned, especially taking accountof the large degree of design consistency from last season.Given the difference in fuel tank size, a change in engine fromToyota to Cosworth, subsequent gearbox changes as wellas revisions due to Rubens braking style, and Williams willhope to have a car that can provide the consistency they werelacking last season. Heres hoping they have a good season Williams is a proper independent racing team that deserves tomix it with the big boys.

Minimum target: After last season, consistency is very

much king. Williams will want a car that can be developed

throughout the season from a good starting point.

Ambitious target: Challenging for the odd podium.

Benson Jamichellos prediction: Scrapping for positions

6-10 on a regular basis.

7

WILLIAMS

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8/28

Much has changed in the Renault team over the last season. Aquick rundown includes the departure of Nelson Piquet and hisreplacement by the possibly even more disappointing RomanGrosjean, the subsequent crashgate scandal, the departureof Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds (and Flavios court action),Fernando Alonsos exit to Ferrari, the sale of the team to aLuxembourg-based venture capital rm, the appointment of

a new team principal with no previous F1 experience and theemployment of a Russian driver who just happens to comewith an enormous sum of money. All of these things would befairly noteworthy individually, but for one team to have beeninvolved in all of them is, quite frankly, bonkers. Where onearth to start!?

Last seasons eighth place nish constitutes a fairly remarkablefall for a team who, only three seasons earlier, were on the wayto winning back-to-back driver and constructor championships.Its also their worst result since the Renault name returned toF1 in 2002. All 26 points the team accumulated were due to

Alonso, with both Piquet Jr and Grosjean failing to score ornish higher than tenth. Oh dear doesnt even begin to coverit, does it? That said, the team actually managed a lower totalin 2002, accumulating only 23 points but somehow managingto nish fourth in the constructors championship (the teamsbelow them accumulated the grand total of 41 points betweenthem, a remarkable 19% of Ferraris total for that season!)Anyway, enough of Renaults on-track failings, as their reallybig event of the season wasnt even from 2009

For those who were a) hiding under a rock during August andSeptember last year or b) not F1 fans at that point in time,heres a brief reminder. During the 2008 Singapore GrandPrix, the only thing that enlivened the race was this accident byNelson Piquet, followed by Fernando Alonso taking advantageof the situation to win the race after starting fteenth. Fairenough, you might think, Piquets just utterly pants andFernando got lucky indeed, thats what most, if not all, of theF1 world thought. Then, when Piquets results (or lack thereof)became intolerable and Renault nally performed a mercy-

sacking, he accused the team of asking him to crash in orderto x the race for Alonso. After an FIA investigation and somelegal shilly-shallying, Renault announced they would not becontesting the charges and that Briatore and Symonds had leftthe team. The team was given a suspended disqualicationfor two years, Briatore was banned indenitely and Symondsbanned for ve years. Incidentally, both these bans have

now been overturned by a French court,, even awardingcompensation to Briatore and Symonds. Money for cheating good, eh?

After that rather large mess, there was talk at the end oflast season that Renault would pull out of F1 entirely, or justcontinue to supply engines, but thankfully in a world whereHonda, Toyota and BMWt have all pulled out in recent history,Renault remain (at least in part). New for this season is thefact that Genii Capital, a Luxembourg-based investmentcompany, have bought a 75% stake in the team, with Renaultretaining 25%. It remains to be seen how this will impact the

team, but signing Russian driver Vitaly Petrov with massivenancial backing alongside the established (and quite good)Robert Kubica is probably an indicator of whats to come. Bypartnering Kubica with the untried Russian, the team will hopeto secure themselves some points nishes, even if the Russianturns out to be, well, slower than Piquet. This seasons car wasunveiled at the end of January sporting a retro colour scheme,which, it has to be said, your colour-blind correspondentreally likes. Apart from that, predicting how good the car willbe is always a lottery, but what with all the palaver at Renaultover the last year, itd be truly remarkable if it were eitherchampionship or race winning material.

Minimum target: Consistent lower points nishes.

Ambitious target: Challenging for podiums regularly.

Benson Jamichellos prediction: Consistent lower points

nishes.

8

RENAULT

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9/28

The teams recent history is marked by a whirlwind of differentownership. Without getting too far into it, the chain goessomething like this: Jordan (we all remember that one) toMidland (eminently forgettable, competed in 2006) to Spyker(possibly even more forgettable competed in 2007), endingneatly with Force India, who rst arrived on the scene intime for the 2008 season. With such rapid turnover, there

comes a point where you just give up trying to keep trackand accept therell always be one team on the grid whosename/ownership really arent worth bothering with. Thankfully,however, it looks like Force India has good nancial backingand is here to stay.

With that in mind, lets have a look at the man whos broughtstability to the team: Vijay Mallya, an Indian billionaire. As wesaw in the Toro Rosso preview (if you havent read it, youreally should), its not uncommon for F1 teams to be partof a wider business strategy and Force Indias certainly nodifferent. Mallyas interest in F1 appears to involve his passion

for promoting his own brands (obviously!) as well as Indianculture, across the world. This hobby has included, in veryJames Bond style, proffering winning bids for items of Indiancultural heritage at auction including a famous sword (nifty,eh?) and the belongings of Mahatma Gandhi. He also ownsboth the Bangalore Royal Challengers (an Indian PremierLeague cricket team) and East Bengal FC (an Indian footballteam). It has to be said that Force India is the only one of histhree sporting teams to have a distinct global appeal, so itsvalue in promoting India to the rest of the world is clear.

The teams debut season in F1 didnt go fantastically well.With a grand total of zero points, they nished tenth in the2008 championship. Even more galling, and probably mostnoteworthy of their escapades during the season, was theMonaco Grand Prix. Just in case your memory doesnt stretchback that far, on lap 68, Adrian Sutil, running a very creditablefourth having made his way through the eld, exited the tunneland on the way down to the chicane was booted up the rear byan out-of-control Kimi Raikkonen.

Things in 2009 improved markedly, which may or may nothave been due to their deal with Mercedes for engines,gearboxes and lots of other good stuff. Usually youd expecta team towards the bottom of the grid to pick up points inones or twos throughout the season but, towards the endof the campaign, Force India managed their only scoringperformances with a second place in Belgium (Fisichella, after

qualifying rst) and fourth place in Italy (Sutil, after qualifyingsecond). In other news, there was also a reprise of the Sutiland Raikkonen show in Germany, with both cars sufferingdamage yet again. Combined with some other impressivequalifying performances towards the end of the season, theserace performances reect the vast improvement made by theteam, hopefully standing them in good stead for the upcomingseason.

Force India is one of only three teams to start the 2010 seasonwith the same drivers that raced in the last GP of 2009, soyoull get to see everyones favourite quick but crashy German,

Adrian Sutil and his erstwhile Italian teammate, Antonio Liuzzi.Both have something to prove; Sutil that he can be trustedto bring the car home in one piece on a regular basis andLiuzzi that hes, well, quick enough to deserve a race seat inF1. Paul di Resta will be the teams third driver, coming inwith Mercedes backing. The teams new car was revealedtoday (February 9th) during an internet launch (theres a creditcrunch, dont you know). See here for more photos. Lets justhope they can carry forward the momentum achieved at theback end of last season into their testing programme (due tostart at Jerez on February 10th), as well as into the seasonproper.

Minimum target: Regular nishes within the mideld.

Amitious target: Consistent qualifying to the standard of

the end of last season, with nishes to match.

Benson Jamichellos prediction: A good season for Force

India, including some surprising performances.

9

FORCE INDIA

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10/28

Over the last few years Red Bull have started to ex theirnancial muscle, hoovering up and rebranding sporting teamsaround the world with the wanton abandon of a drug dealerwhos tasted too much of the merchandise. At last count theirstash included four football teams, a stock car racing team,and an Austrian ice hockey team. To a certain extent thoseare all by-the-by though, because what we at F1 Badger really

care about is the fact they own not one, but two Formula 1teams. How very greedy.

After their main team had been in F1 for a year, RedBull bought Paul Stoddarts Minardi team in late 2005,immediately renaming it Toro Rosso (no prizes for guessingwhat that means in Italian*). Continuing Minardis traditionof giving young drivers a chance in F1 (theyd had suchluminaries as Alonso, Trulli, Fisichella, and Webber drive forthem previously), Toro Rossos function is not to win worldchampionships or even races, but rather to operate as a sisterand feeder team for the main Red Bull team. Theyre a bit

like a nishing school for Formula 1 drivers but, rather thanwandering round with books on their heads, the team allowstheir pupils to drive rather quickly round and round in circles.Thus far only Sebastian Vettels really proven to be the realdeal; Bourdais, Liuzzi, and Speed all came and went from theteam without troubling anyones memory unduly.

Last season marked a distinct backwards step for the team.Having only scored one point in their rst season but notnished last (Super-Aguri swept in and came to their rescue),eight points in their second season to nish seventh, and thena whopping thirty nine points to nish sixth in 2008 (includinga race victory for Sebastian Vettel), last seasons performancewas presumably not greeted with great joy anywhereapart from the garage of fellow back-markers Force India.Although the season started well enough, with both Buemiand Bourdais nishing in the points in Australia (seventh andeighth respectively), it was to prove their biggest single racepoints haul of the season, so its probably fair to say thingswent downhill from there. After a couple of subsequent single

point outings in the rst half of the season a barren spell ofnine races followed, but in the last two races things improvedsomewhat, picking up a couple of points in Brazil and onein Abu Dhabi, nishing the season, if not in style, with somevestige of respectability.

So, how will they do this season? They unveiled their car on

Monday in Valencia and also took part in the rst round of pre-season testing. While this doesnt mean the car is any good,it does mean that theyre one-up on some of the new teamsin, you know, actually having a track ready car. Prior to thetest, their preparations will have differed signicantly from theirother seasons in F1, purely down to the fact that under thenew Concorde Agreement regulations on so-called customercars have been tightened (the proposed sale of the teamdue to the rule change hasnt materialised). No longer ableto share design work with the main Red Bull team, this yearscar will be their own creation, so itll be very interesting to seehow similar the two cars look. Their driver line-up remains the

same as last year, with Buemi and Alguersuari (despite hisstrangely prolonged non-conrmation) sitting behind the wheel.This will obviously be good for consistency within the team, butthis year really will be make-or-break for both drivers. Red Bullhave shown in the past they dont hang around if they thinktheir drivers are under-performing, so the pressure will be on tomake sure things go well.

Now comes the time for some predictions. Let us know whatyou think agree or disagree, we really dont care; just makesure you get involved!

Minimum target: Being comfortably ahead of the new

teams.

Ambitious target: Consistently nishing within the points.

Benson Jamichellos prediction: Lower mideld, with

occasional forays upwards.

10

TORO ROSSO

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11/28

Finally, eh? For the rst time since 1994, Lotus cars willline up on the gridor will they? This Lotus team is notthe Lotus of old, but rather a famous name tagged onto ateam with Malaysian backing. The team will have a slightlybigger budget than Virgin 55 million versus less than40 million but, as they were only granted a place whenBMW withdrew, development work started late.

Last Friday saw an announcement that the team werea week ahead of schedule and looking to be at the thirdofcial test at Jerez on February 17th. However, bearingin mind that thats likely to be the rst time they test thecars and the rst Grand Prixs on 14th March, its clear thattheyll have achieved a good deal just to be lining up withsomething resembling four wheels and an engine.

The rather strange and eclectic mix of people andorganisations that form Lotus include the boss of AirAsiaTony Fernandes as Team Principal, the Malaysian

government, that well-known purveyor of sexy cars(Proton) and the old warhorse Mike the rottweilerGascoyne (are there any teams left he hasnt worked for?)The Malaysian government says it has no equity withinthe team, but given the teams driver announcement pressconference was given by the Malaysian Prime Minister, itobviously has an interest in the team doing well.

As for the drivers, in Jarno Trulli and Heikki KovalainenLotus have nabbed two of the most established, and, asthings stand, they certainly make up the strongest line up(in terms of reputation, at least) of any of the new teams.Although both can be very fast on their day and are usedto running towards the front of the eld, itll doubtless bethe experience in developing a car that Lotus will be mostinterested in. In that sense, although their delayed startmight affect the rst few races, theyll then be looking forthe experienced duo to make the difference and push themahead of the other new teams.

Out of all the new teams, they seem the most convincedthat theyll succeed

One thing thats sure to spice up the rivalry with Virgin isthe bet between Richard Branson and Tony Fernandes thatwhichever team does least well will earn their respectivebigwig the forfeit of dressing up as a stewardess from

their rivals airline. Indeed, the Lotus website has alreadyposted some interesting looking shots of Richard Bransonin full regalia. This news comes just as F1 Badger thoughtthe time of middle-aged men in Formula One dressing ininappropriate clothing had passed

11

LOTUS

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12/28

A commitment to be much more than a racing team. Acommitment to be a platform for prosperity and sustainabledevelopment. To transform a sports competition and aglobal event into a tool for change, for global development,for human growth.

Well, I say. Campos Meta, Hispanic Racing Team (HRT for

short) certainly isnt backward in coming forward. You mayhave thought theyd just be racing cars, but oh no: theyllbe working to save humanity at the same time. Its all in adays work

Avoiding their laudable but rather portentous statementsfor the moment, lets look at how the team is shapingup. Launched in 1998 as Campos Racing (by formerF1 driver Adrin Campos), the team tasted success inlower formulas including GP2, Euro F3 and World Seriesby Renault, even having a young Fernando Alonso aschampion in 1999. In an agreement presumably similar to

Virgins collaboration with Manor GP, theyve struck a dealwith Spanish-based sports management and marketingcompany Meta Image to administer the commercial sideof the team. If youve never heard of them, you wouldntbe alone. They manage the careers of elite athletes, onlyone of whom the writer of this article had ever heard of anda number of whom appear to be retired. No doubt theyrebig in the Spanish-speaking world.

Campos HRT are collaborating with a couple of externalsuppliers Italian company Dallara Automobili todesign and build the cars and Berkshire-based Xtrac fortransmission work. Dallaras credits include producingchassis for a number of series around the world, includingFormula 3, IndyCar, GP2 and GP3. As both are well-established companies they should, if given the rightresources, be able to put something half decent onto thegrid. Indeed, reports that the car passed its nal mandatoryFIA crash test are sure to boost hopes that theyre makingreal progress.

Conrmed to drive for the team is Bruno Senna andKarun Chandhok. Coming with such a famous surname,expectations of Bruno will be high, quite apart from UncleAyrtons famous quote If you think Im fast, you should seemy nephew! Bruno stopped racing after the deaths of hisuncle and father and returned comparatively late aged 20

in 2004, competing in a few Formula BMW races beforemoving onto Formula Three, then GP2, and nally into F1.He also likes Duffy. Werent expecting that, were you? Asfor the other one, Chandhok becomes the second Indianto race in F1, following Narian Karthikeyans unspectacularyear at Jordan in 2005. Karun is 26 years-old, hails fromthe city of Chennai and claims to have had 1558 contactson his phone at the last count. So at least no one willaccuse Badger of dishing out superuous information...

Lets just hope when the talking stops and the racing starts,Campos HRT is there to enjoy the fun. After all, theyve got

a world to save.

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Peter Sauber is back in business. After selling an 80%stake in his eponymous team to BMW in 2005, the Swissmelded seamlessly into the background in an advisoryrole. However, after BMWs relatively brief irtation withrunning their own team nished at the end of last season,he negotiated a deal to take outright control. This was aftera proposed sale to Qadbak Investments fell through; given

that they are the jokers who also purchased Notts CountyFootball Club, perhaps its for the best that the deal didnt gothrough. As an aside for those of a non-football persuasion,after Qadbaks purchase Notts County spent lots of moneythey later realised they didnt have, which was really rathercareless of them dont you think? Needless to say theyrenow facing large debts and a struggle to survive. Therefore,regardless of afliation, all F1 fans can be truly relievedQadbak didnt get their grubby mitts on Sauber.

Although your correspondent is quite unrealistically excitedby the prospect of Sauber properly returning to the F1 fold,

it seems the man himself is rather less made up. A randomselection of quotes from the car launch includes: I wouldhave preferred for it to have stayed the way it was. It wasnice, as well as the clearly delighted I had a nice, easy timeover the last four years, and this is now a big challenge forme to be back, closely followed by When I realised I hadto start all over again the feeling was very bad. It seemsthe return of Sauber, much like the return of Schumacher,shouldnt be expected to go on for too long: After 36 very,very hard years in motorsport, that life was okay for me. Idont plan to stay for another ve years, but at the momentIm also not looking to sell the team. Stay as long as youlike, Pete, were just glad to have you back.

BMWs last season in control of the team wasnt great.Finishing with 36 points in sixth place, the team narrowlybeat former collaborators Williams and were along waybehind fth place nishers, Toyota (23.5 points, if you wantto get specic). That said, their results over the course ofthe season do show a distinct improvement; in fact, by

the time the European Grand Prix was over (11th out of17 races) they only had nine points. After that, somethingrather strange occurred between the next race at Spa andthe last race of the season in Abu Dhabi the team scored27 points, or two thirds of its overall total. If youre going tohave a dreadful season, thats the way round youd wantit: improvement towards the end should give hope for the

future

But what of that future? Well, lets start with getting the caron the grid. Powered by a Ferrari engine it is remarkablybereft of sponsorship. For those who appreciate thetechnical details, see here. Peter Sauber has previously saidthe budget for this year is OK, but future years will obviouslyrequire more investment. Hopefully the fact that Saubers awell-known F1 name will entice some companies to part withtheir cash; although, as Brawn found last season, it can betricky to convince companies to back a team with turbulencein its recent past. Driving for the team will be Krazy Kamui

Kobayashi and former McLaren test driver Pedro De LaRosa. With a mixture of youth and experience, Sauber willdoubtless be hoping Kobayashi will provide some explosiverace performances (all other drivers, youve been warned)and that De La Rosa will help develop the car, as well asputting in some solid race performances. The team will alsobe sponsoring eighteen-year-old Esteban Gutierrez, whichessentially seems to translate as watching a lot and doingsome training. The team appears to be happy with howtesting has gone and how many miles theyve managed todo in the car, and will doubtless be looking forward to gettingstarted in Bahrain.

Minimum target: Scrapping for places below the big

four.

Ambitious target: Getting in amongst the big four.

Benson Jamichellos prediction: Kobayashi to be mental

and De La Rosa to be slow.

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Virgin Racing, a joint production between Richard Bransonand his quite luxuriant owing locks. For those of youwhove only just awoken from hibernation over the winter,Bransons involvement comes courtesy of an arrangementwith the Manor GP team, which launched ofcially as VirginRacing in the middle of December and, like many Bransonschemes, its sure to involve a combination of business

acumen, razzmatazz, and sheer lunacy. There might evenbe some racing involved too.

Not only does Branson claim the team will have thesmallest budget in F1 , but the car is notable forhaving been wholly designed using something calledComputational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). In plain Englishthis means its done on a computer without the need for aridiculously expensive wind tunnel, so is sure to cut costsdramatically. While cutting your cloth is very much in F1vogue at the moment, the exclusive use of CFD coulddemonstrate quite hilariously that, in terms of car design,

you get what you pay for. Watch this space. The teamsTechnical Director and CFDs prime adherent, Nick Wirth,formerly worked on such notable F1 ventures as Simtekand March Engineering with none other than former FIAcommandant Max Mosley. It really is remarkable theymanaged to get a slot on the grid, isnt it?

Driving for the team will be Timo Glock and Lucas DiGrassi. While it may seem strange for Timo to be drivingfor one of the new teams given his relative successwith Toyota, hell doubtless get a signicant amount ofresponsibility and the chance properly to lead a team. Stillonly 26, this will surely put him in a very good position tomove to a bigger team in a year or two, so it may prove acase of one step back to take two steps forward. Di Grassi,runner up to Glock in the 2007 GP2 series, has mixed F1testing and GP2 over the last few seasons, and now getshis rst proper chance at F1. Glock will provide an excellentbenchmark against which to measure his progress and,for his sake, lets hope hes more Hamilton or Vettel than

Piquet or Grosjean (F1 Badger sincerely hopes Romainsbank job is still open )Given the structure of Virgins involvement in the team; noequity and loans, it seems Bransons in F1 purely for theexposure, with the racing very much a sideshow. With thisin mind, F1 Badger is driven (pun absolutely intended) toask what his specic motivation is. Could it be in any way

related to Virgins impending move into UK retail banking?For relatively little investment, it would seem a great wayto get lots of exposure around the world. In fact, Virginsreputation for maximum brand exposure is making the taskof securing sponsors tricky, that said, the rumour mill is infull swing that Lloyds Bank are on the verge of announcinga deal wit the team. Keep an eye on the livery, thats allwere saying

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WHAT WE SAID LAST YEAR:

Sand, sun, Eric Clapton, Bernies Butlins-esque red jacket no, its not BognorRegis, its the 2009 Bahrain grand prix! The sun nally put his hat on at theSahkir circuit, and Button wins at last without the safety car. Hamilton makes anastounding KERS-fuelled start, ends up an impressive 4th ahead of the far quickerBrawn of Barrichello. Luck ofcially deserts Mark Webber in the desert after gettingblocked on his qualifying hot lap. Barrichello fumes at Piquet, Button does his bestcowboy impression taking the chequered ag, Raikkonen takes home Ferraris rstpoints (thank God, err, I mean, Maranello for that), Vettel in 2nd clearly likes ridingKates sister, and the usually train-like Trulli makes it to the podium.


No adverts, new commentators, a new team, new rules, and a new order inFormula 1. No more Ferrari vs McLaren. Brawn GP assert themselves as thebrilliant, albeit budget, team of 2009. Somerset driver Button took pole, laterwinning under the safety car, while fellow team mate Barrichello ploughed throughthe rest of the eld to make it an unprecedented new team 1-2 nish. Hamiltonproved to us all that hes a great driver by dragging his useless McLaren into 3rd ,but also that hes a rubbish liar, and was later disqualied. Neither Ferrari nished,nor did Kovalainen, or Piquet (shocker). Vettel and Kubica collided. Shame. A raceworth waking up at stupid-Oclock for.


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Half a race, half points, red ags, rain, lightening, thunder, paddles, and a stormbrewing over some dodgy diffusers. Button has a poor start, but recovers underdifcult conditions to make it 2 wins out of 2 races in 2009. Rosberg looks good inthe opening, but suffers a bit towards the end from bad tyre choices. The gloomdescends further over the Ferrari garage, still no points, not good. Toyota 3rd and4th , solid stuff. Brundle and Legard tenuously struggle to ll time while the cars siton the grid waiting for the restart which never materialises, and the sun begins toset over one of the most eventful half-races weve ever seen.


Rain, more rain, post-race ponchos, Kubica mounting Trulli, Vettel winning in acar called Kates Dirty Sister. Seriously, whats not to like? Well, perhaps not thesafety car start. Red Bull nally nd their wings and y to 1st and 2nd , despiteToro Rossos Buemi crashing into the back of Vettel mid-race. More of the safetycar thanks to a crash by Sutil, tantalisingly close once again to Force Indias rstpoints. A procession it aint. Ferrari becoming like Britain at Eurovision, nil points.You simply cant make this stuff up. Williams and BMW slip dramatically towardsthe bad end of the eld. A solid sort of day for McLaren in 5th and 6th .


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Hola! Back in Europe at last, and Brawn GP use their brains to make it another1-2 nish. Barrichello has a bullet-like start off the grid on a heavier fuel load, butloses the win to Button after a not-so-great middle stint. The Trulli-train becomesa spectacular Trulli-train-crash on the rst lap, taking out both Sutil and the twoTorro Rosso Sebastiens. Blink and you missed it: Webber pulls a stellar moveon Alonso, not one to try at home. Ferrari no longer really bad, just bad. Massanearly does a Mansell and almost runs out of fuel, Kimis car gets bored of racingat the back and gives up. A good day for: BMWs Heidfeld, 13th to 7th isnt tooshabby, a podium for unluckiest man in F1 Webber, and homeboy Alonso takes5th.


Undeniably the most famous, prestigious, and challenging race of the year. Noprizes for guessing the winner, its a stunning Jenson Button again for Brawn GP.He makes it look so easy, even jogging up to receive his trophy. Ferrari resurgent in3rd and 4th , Red Bull faltering in their title challenge, formerly strong Toyota hardlynoticed at Monaco, Rosberg pulls some moves on Massa and nishes 6th, BMWstruggle helplessly on, and Force India almost get points. Flavio watches in dismayfrom his luxury yacht as Piquet Jr taken out by rookie Buemi, and Alonso only takes7th .


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Another Jensational performance in Turkey! Thats 6 wins out of 7 races for thesuperb Schumach I mean, Button. Team-mate Barrichello admits to his ploughingtactic in races: I had to force my way around. Vettel loses the lead to Button onthe rst lap, and is subject to some blatant team orders later in the race. Toyotasback on form, McLaren looking genuinely dire, and BMW in the points. Shocker.Monaco now looks like a uke for Ferrari, hauling only 3 points at Istanbul. Not agripping race at the front, but lots of excitement from the chasing pack.

The Canadian Grand Prix is regarded as one of the best by many fans and after abrief break, its back on the calendar in 2010.


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Dull, dull, dull thats what all the drivers and fans said about Valencia before theweekend. After the weekend theyre probably saying much the same with no actualovertaking during the race at all. One man who was delighted was Mr RubensBarrichello who stormed to victory, putting BrawnGP back on top of the podiumwhile Jenson Button failed to do anything like that with his motor. Lewis nearlymade it two in a row, but pit stop errors put an end to that dream.


A classic grand prix at a classic circuit. In front of a massive crowd the Britishdrivers do spectacularly badly at Silverstone: Jenson only manages 6th , andHamilton nishes 16th . Red Bull take an impressive 1-2, and Barrichello isespecially ecstatic to have beaten team-mate Button. Flavio declares his love forBernie, and also admits he may be a lunatic. Nice. The Ferrari strategist has agood day, clawing up masses of places for Massa. Force Indias Fisichella takes10th , good stuff. Plenty of great scraps, and KERS is revealed as the hilariouslyexpensive red herring of the 2009 season.


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Hurrah for Mark Webber! At long bloody last the unlucky Aussie gets his maidenwin. Hurrah! But boo for Rubens Barrichello for slagging off his own team after therace. If they werent deliberately favouring Button before, they may well do now!Raikkonen once again manages to ruin a good race for Sutil, but Nico PracticeExpert Rosberg takes an impressive 4th place. So its yet another 1-2 nish forRed Bull, but only 5th and 6th for Brawn GP, and with Ferrari back on the ascentno-one can start resting on their laurels anytime soon.


Alonso on pole, Massa in hospital, Renault get suspended, pit crews screw thingsup, Hamilton wins, and the rookie Alguersuari beats his team-mate Buemi (howembarrassing). Watch out Button! McLaren have turned their dog of a car into awinner! As if that wasnt shocking enough, Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen put it on 2nd!Could this race be the turning point of the season? Take a pinch of McLaren doingwell, a dash of Ferrari on good form, mix well, and then throw in a certain Mr.Schumacher and youve one hell of an end to the season.


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Earlier this year he was known as the ice cream man now hes back as the iceman with F1 with his shut up and drive attitude giving Ferrari victory around thelegendary Spa circuit. The real winners were Force India a team whove beenpromising success for the last year and half, but nally delivered with GiancarloFisichella taking 2nd place in the race. Misery for championship leader JensonButton who crashed out in lap 1 after contact with rookie Grosjean and also hisfellow brit Lewis who was taken out on the same corner, also by a rooke MrAlgursauri.


Another Brawn 1-2 nish at Monza, with Barrichello edging closer to Button as thedrivers championship goes down to the wire. Red Bull have a disastrous race:Webber crashes out and Vettel (somehow) manages to come away with a singlepoint. The Tifosi are pleased with the Ferrari of Raikkonen on the podium at theirhome grand prix, and Force India prove with Sutil in 4th that theyve really foundthe pace at last. And just when you thought it was getting boring Hamilton loses iton the last lap and the race ends under the safety car!

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F1s only night race, and youd be forgiven if you falling asleep for large parts ofit! The guaranteed safety car duly appeared after Sutil attempted a Grand TheftAuto-style 360 and took out Nick Heidfeld. Hamilton drove a faultlessly perfect racefrom pole, nishing 1st ahead of Glock (!) and Alonso. Penalties aplenty ruled outthe races of Rosberg and Webber, and Button only just made it home to 5th withsome seriously dodgy brakes. The rookies (Grosjean, Buemi and Alguersuari) wereall clearly way past their bedtimes and swiftly tucked their cars up in the garage.Still, its better than Valencia!


A welcome return for the legendary gure-of-eight Suzuka circuit! Button ounders,but Vettel pulls himself back into contention with a stunning win. Button doesmanage a single point thanks to the combined idiocy of Kovalainen and Sutil whotake each other out on lap 13 (lucky for Jenson, apparently!) No Glock-dog onrace day due to a nasty qualifying crash. Talking of crashes Alguersuaris nastycollision with an advertising board, and eventually the wall, brought out the safetycar with only 8 laps to go. Trulli took 2nd at Toyotas home race, his best result ofthe season.

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New for 2010... WHAT WE SAID LAST YEAR:

Somebody very wise once said that Formula 1 should simply put Interlagos onwheels and take it all around the world. Badger heartily agrees! Webber wonthe race, apparently? The real focus was on Jenson Buttons stellar drive forBrawn GP, and his crowning as 2009s Formula 1 world champion. We also sawKobayashis crazy debut, an impressive climb for Hamilton to nish 3rd, Kovalainensetting re to Raikkonens car in the pits, and Trulli even tried to start a st-ghtwith Sutil after they both crashed out! The facilities may be shit, but the racingcertainly isnt at Interlagos!

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Formula 1s rst day/night race at the brand new Yas Marina circuit was also thelast race of the 2009 season. Far from being the bore that many predicted, AbuDhabi had one of the most gripping last laps for ages as Button and Webber battledit out for a higher step on the podium. In the end it was a Red Bull 1-2, with Vetteltaking his 4th win of the season. The newly crowned world champion, Button,seemed happy with 3rd, and crazy Kobayashi delivered 6th place for Toyotain only his 2nd race in Formula 1. And so ends one of the greatest seasons inFormula 1 of all time

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Rarely has a Formula One season promised so much as2010. Two British world champions at McLaren; Alonso againsta t-again Massa at Ferrari; Red Bull with a strong, unchangedpairing; and the return of Michael Schumacher, alongside NicoRosberg at Mercedes.

These are the eight drivers wholl likely ght for the

championship, well Nicos a long shot Their teams arethe old guard(Ferrari and McLaren) and the new pretenders(Red Bull and Mercedes). So whos got what it takes to claimmotorsports greatest prize in 2010?

First up, McLarens driver pairing

McLaren ended 2009 very strongly, turning a pig of a carin to a race winner within the space of a few months. 2008champion Lewis Hamilton is joined by reigning king JensonButton for what promises to be a thrilling inter-team battle.

Jenson wont faze Lewis. If back-to-back champion Alonsodidnt in 2007 then why would Button? Plentys been madeof Hamiltons strong position within the team, though a recentreshufe of the engineering department should make things abit more even. And anyway, all McLaren care about is success.Yes, they love Hamilton, but more than that they love winning;theyll give equal treatment if it means taking home the titles.

Equal treatment or not its hard to see Button having theupper hand over Hamilton. Lewis is established in the team,can qualify and race with the best of them regardless of thesituation around him, and is as ruthless as Schumacher in hisheyday. He may play the polite young gent off the track, but on

it he takes no prisoners.

He grew as a racer in 2009, and without now ex-ladyfriendNicole distracting him with her nightmarish music he shouldbe more focused than ever. If McLarens car is as good as theone they nished 2009 with Hamilton will be right at the front.Cue a titanic battle with old foe Alonso.

Teammate Button proved a lot of people wrong in 2009. Hewas truly stunning in the rst third of the season, and did whatwas required to take the title over the remainder of the year,with the odd wobble.

But his switch to McLaren has people worried. Its Hamiltonsteam, so hell have the advantage, right? Ex-Ferrari star Eddie

Irvine has suggested that Button will be murdered by Hamiltonin 2010. Why he was relaying this info to journalists and notthe police isnt clear.

Seriously though, is Jenson going to get trounced by Lewisthis year? Not if he has any say in it. If he gets his headdown and works to his strengths (his super-smooth style,his killer overtaking instinct) he can compete with Hamilton.His qualifying pace fell apart a bit in 2009, and hell need tosort that if hes to beat the always-quick-in-qualy Lewis. Butif Button showed anything last year its that we shouldntunderestimate him. Hell be up there.

On to Ferrari and their two drivers

On to Ferrari, where another intriguing battle is brewing.Fernando Alonso, seen by many as the most complete driveron the grid, joins Felipe Massa at the Scuderia, replacing surly,party loving Finn Kimi Raikkonen. This promises to be ercelycompetitive, not just in terms of who can give the most Latinshrug of the shoulders when things go wrong.

Double champion Alonso is among the nest drivers F1 hasseen in recent years. Hes got his detractors, and fair enough;spygate and crashgate were pretty damning. But off-track

naughtiness aside hes a demon behind the wheel. A greatdevelopment driver, qualier and racer, he was wasted in lastyears woeful Renault.

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True hes only once had one teammate who could challengehim, and he came off worse in that contest. Hes also out of thecomfort zone of manager Flavio Briatores Renault team and into a Ferrari squad united behind Massa following his Hungaryinjuries. But Alonso is a ghter (insert matador pun here) and willdo his utmost to unite his side of the garage behind him. He joinsHamilton as pre-season title favourite.

Once seen as erratic and inconsistent, Felipe Massa provedhimself a racer of the highest order in 2008. Or should that bequalier? The Brazilian has a useful habit of sticking his caron the front row of the grid and winning from there. Nine of hiseleven F1 wins have come from pole, the other two from secondon the grid.

Cause for concern? Perhaps. If 2010 is going to be ascompetitive as promised regular front row spots will be hard tocome by, and Massa may have to ght his way from a bit furtherback to get wins.

Theres also a niggling worry over how hell recover fromthe injuries sustained at last years Hungarian GP. We cantspeculate (what with not being neurologists), and Felipe sayshes ne, but head injuries arent easy to predict. Hopefully hellbe his old self and ghting for wins in 2010. Unfortunately if hedoes look a bit off-colour the media may quickly jump to theassumption that the accident has blunted his edge.

Red Bull Racing a solid driver pairing

Red Bull were second only to Brawn in 2009, and will bedesperate to go one better in 2010 and secure the title. Theyre

well equipped. Since buying the team in 2004 Dietrich Mateschitzhas pumped plenty of the money hes made from his zzy, yellowenergy drinks in to F1, and Adrian Newey cars tend to be veryquick.

2009 runner-up Sebastian Vettel will be as determined asanyone to be champion. You can never rule the kid out, as

he showed with a stunning win at Monza 08 and four superbvictories last year. Hes a master in the wet, probably only rivaledby Hamilton, and can extract stellar speed in qualifying.

Weaknesses? A collision with Kubica in Australia and anunforced error at Monaco last year. He also slammed in to theback of now-teammate Mark Webber behind the safety car at

China 07. Minor criticisms though, all part the F1 learning curve.

To take the title in 2010 Vettel will need another car as goodas last years RB5. Can Adrian Newey and the boys deliver?Neweys track record suggests so, though it may be a few racesbefore we see the new cars true pace. One worry is the Renaultengine; last year it was no match for the Mercedes and prettyunreliable to boot.

But if the car and engine can match his rivals Vettel is in with agreat chance. Last year he looked a tting heir to Schumachersthrone. In 2010 hell be raring to topple the old master in the

esh.

Mark Webber overcame a broken leg to emerge as a genuinecontender in 2009. Despite many fancying Vettel to makemincemeat of his teammate the Aussie showed his grit, takingtwo race victories on his way to fourth in the championship.Webber is experienced, supremely t and, most importantly, veryfast. His no-nonsense style endears him to his mechanics andwhen the car is right he can beat anyone.

However he did have a mid-season blip in 2009, ve straightraces without points leaving him out of the championshipshowdown. He needs to avoid such slip-ups if hes to taste

victory this year.

Like Vettel hell be hoping Red Bull maintain their momentumand give him another race winning car. If they dont the youngGerman has to be favourite to emerge the better of the two.But, if Red Bull produce another quick car and he can keep theresults going Webber is capable of being champion.

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Mercedes Grand Prix new name, same brains and a

legendary driver oh and Nico

They came, they saw, they conquered. Then they weresold to Mercedes. Brawn have a new name and driverline-up for 2010, but brains of the operation Ross Brawnremains, now backed-up by Mercedes and a massive

sponsorship deal with Petronas. Oh, and theyve signed acouple of okay looking drivers too.

In November they conrmed Nico Rosberg, know asBrittney to ex-teammate Mark Webber due to his silkyblonde locks, as a Mercedes driver. After four dutiful andincreasingly impressive years with Williams Nico gets hischance to shine in 2010, nally driving what should be acar capable of victories.

Having looked set to be Mercs number one Nico now ndshimself alongside one Michael Schumacher in a team run

by Michaels old pal Ross Brawn. Tough gig.

All is not lost for Rosberg though. Hes young, quick andtechnically minded, and Mercedes know full well thatMichaels comeback can only last a few years max. Its intheir interest to help Nico develop with them if they wantlong-term success.

If the car is quick enough Nico has a great shot athis maiden win, and should be able to keep up withSchumacher, who will undoubtedly be rusty after threeyears away. If he can do that it wont be just Rosbergs hairthat shines this season.

And then theres Michael. Seven times world champion,Ferrari legend, the devise gure you either love or love tohate. Hell return with Mercedes in 2010, either fresh from athree-year rest or rusty from a three-year lay off.

Schumachers return is good for Mercedes (its a marketingdream), F1 (itll unquestionably raise viewing gures) andthe fans (Schumacher vs. Hamilton/Vettel? Brilliant!) Butwill it be good for the man himself? Yes hell make lotsmore money and enjoy racing an F1 car again, but couldhe end up looking slow and damaging his great legacy?

Hed have to be pretty bad to do that. 7 titles, 91 victoriesand 68 pole positions is a pretty difcult legacy to ruin. Weshouldnt expect him to be as quick as Hamilton, Vettel andthe other young guns, but with his experience he may beable to think his way to success this season.

His race skills must have been dulled by three years outof F1. But what wont have diminished is his racing mind,possibly the nest the sport has ever seen. Alongside RossBrawn, the mastermind of almost every victory he hastaken, you cant write him off.

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BADGERS GUIDE TO

GRAND PRIX2010

THE CHEQUERED FLAG

So thats it - our brief guide to the 2010 season. For loads moreinformation have a read of F1 Badger on the web. We cover everygrand prix as well as the news and any other stories we come acrossthat we reckon are worth covering.

As well as the obvious, look out for:

POP - Podium or Pits : the regular Thursday column where we lookat whos having a good week and whos having a bad week in theworld of F1 - its the most entertaining way to keep up to date with allthe news in Grand Prix.

SCRAPBOOK - Its good to look back, and this is our popular serieswhere we go through Badgers scrapbook and enjoy some great mo-ments from the history of grand prix.

BADGEROMETER - everyone loves lists and this is ours - where welook at the Top 5 in F1 at any point in time.

For loads more, check http://www.f1badger.com F1 Badger is:Adam Mills, Ciaran Bodenham, Tessa Jones

Riccardo Monza, Jimmy Weeks and Ben James

The New 2010 Season Guide

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