Rubens Barrichello has had an illustrious formula one career, Wikipedia tells me that he is the eight highest point scorer ever in formula one. Now that is a big deal. I still remember his feisty driving in his early days with Jordan and Stewart.

He then moved to the Ferrari formula one team. He had a successful stint at Ferrari but was essentially the number 2 driver for the team, always shadowing Michael Schumacher.

How can we ever forget the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, his number 2 status was confirmed when he was asked to hold off on the throttle to let Michael Schumacher go past and win the race. Ofcourse this move was criticized very heavily and Michael himself handed over the winner trophy and podium position to Rubens Barrichello who was in tears.

After his stint in Ferrari, Barrichello moved to Honda  becoming teammates with then novice Jenson Button. He was however outpaced by Button at most races in his seasons at the Honda formula one team. He was never really able to find his footing in the team and soon the Honda formula one team shut shop and the team was bought over by Ross Brawn and rechristened Brawn GP.

This would be Barrichello’s phoenix moment, using some clever rule interpretations, Brawn GP was able to secure the fastest car on the grid, but still Barrichello was behind Button and couldn’t outpace him for most of the season. He however finished third in the championship forcing critics to think that he may still have something in him. But that feeling was shortlived.

Its been downhill since then, he joined the Williams F1 team after Brawn and was a dud. And now the Williams formula one team has decided to replace him with Bruno Senna leaving Rubens Barrichello without a formula one seat for the 1st time in many many years.

There were rumours of Barrichello looking around at other formula one teams but then news reports came out confirming that he would be testing in Indy. Most probably this is the end of the road for the Brazilian, much like Juan Pablo Montoya who joined NASCAR after his formula one stint never to come back.

The Manchester based Force India formula one team has announced the latest addition to their driver lineup for the 2012 formula one season. French driver Jules Bianchi gets the coveted seat ahead of other contenders (some even rumour that Karun Chandhok was in the running, totally unconfirmed though).

Before this Jules Bianchi has valuable experience racing in the GP2 Asia and world series. He has also driven in the Formula 3 championships. However his latest assignment was with the Ferrari formula one team for whom he was a reserve driver as of the 2011 season. Its interesting that he sees a brighter future at Force India than at Ferrari. Maybe its recognizing which team would realistically promote him to a raceday driver ?

Interesting part is that both Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg were reserve drivers before graduating to the real race day driving, maybe Bianchi hopes for that. That beside the Frenchman would get to ride the Force India car for testing and during Friday practice sessions. The Force India formula one team confirmed that Bianchi would get a minimum of nine Friday practice sessions.

Reactions :

Jules Bianchi: “I’m obviously excited to join Sahara Force India and the chance to get track time during race weekends is an important step for me. Being regularly in a current car is the best way to learn quickly and I hope it will put me in a strong position to one day move into a race seat. The next few months will be really exciting as I get to know the team, see how they work, and prepare for my time in the car. I would like to thank everyone for believing in me and especially Sahara Force India for giving me this great opportunity.”

Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: “I am delighted to welcome Jules into the Sahara Force India family. We always keep an eye on young, talented drivers and his performance in GP2 certainly impressed us all. By giving Jules the opportunity to be part of our 2012 campaign, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to young drivers. We are proud of our track record in this regard and I have no doubt that Jules will quickly settle into the team and make a valuable contribution to our efforts on track this season.”

Photos: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

Formula one’s blue eyed boy Kimi Raikkonen is all set for a return to formula one. the Finn would be driving for the renamed Lotus formula one team in the year 2012. After competing in the world rally championship for 3 years, he is expected to be a bit rusty, but how rusty ?

Kimi was able to win the formula one championship in his first year with Ferrari in 2007, but then that was a Ferrari, and let us not kid ourselves, Lotus are no Ferrari, heck they aren’t even a Sauber at this stage , the team with which Kimi started his career.

So the big question is how would be his performance, expecting a podium from him would be too much in my opinion, in fact I would be surprised if he manages top 10 finishes for majority of the season. His big test would be his rivalry with Swiss teammate Romain Grosjean.

Michael Schumacher’s comeback wasn’t dogged as much by his lackluster performances but by the fact that he was regularly beaten by teammate Nico Rosberg. Like Rosberg, Grosjean is no small fish, he is the current GP2 and GP2 Asia champ, one of the few drivers to hold both the titles.

Kimi packs in a wealth of formula one experience compared to Grosjean’s limited test driver experience with the Renault team in 2009. However, he has been in a different form of racing for quite some time now, rally sport is very different from formula one racing. He could take a good amount of time allowing the young Grosjean to take the lead, and once as an experienced driver you see the young ones leaving you behind, things can infact slip very fast.

What exactly happens, we would know only once the season starts, but Kimi Raikkonen surely has an uphill task ahead of himself.

Apologies that we don’t have a Sebastian Vettel image for you there, the prudes at Red Bull media feel we don’t deserve access to their media section.

As the race telecast began, the atmosphere was electric, there were people with their faces painted, there were dancers dancing bhangra and there were the who’s who of bollywood and even hollywood (atleast Lady Gaga ) at the track. There were murmurs all around of the ticket pricing though. Everyone seemed discontent with the high ticket pricing. And most of these were the ones who had paid Rs.2.5k , imagine the light of those who had paid Rs.35000 for the 3 day pass. The feeling though was still upbeat, India was finally hosting it and with minimal government intervention. Suresh Kalmadi thankfully had nothing to do with this event and the private consortium Jaypee Sports was able to pull it off.

As the warm-up lap started, the newly converted formula one fan crowd started to applause, don’t ask me why. The noise obviously was deafening, those without earplugs were the unluckiest and would most probably lose some hearing ability. I couldn’t secure media access , partly due to my laziness, so I don’t know what the atmosphere was in the media room.

I wouldn’t review whole of the race, you can find that anywhere else, we usually talk about the race and other stuff around the races and it usually isnt coherent also. The post is peppered with a few photos of the Indian Grand Prix I know you would enjoy. Heading into the race Red Bull is easily the team to beat, Sebastian Vettel is breaking record after record. His comparison once was done with Michael Schumacher, but now those are moving to Ayrton Senna. I somehow disagree with those comparisons. Both Schumacher and Senna have proven themselves with average cars, Vettel on the other hand is blessed with a car that beats the rest of the grid. Same way that Brawn GP had beat almost everyone else last season and Button was the hero of heroes.

As the five red lights went out and the Indian GP was go, there was a first corner incident, nothing like Spa though. Button tried to make moves on Vettel, but to no avail.  Most of the race wasn’t very interesting though, Vettel lead from start to finish.

The bigger highlight was Sachin Tendulkar waving the chequered flag for the formula one cars. There were some interesting bits on Lap 24, Lewis Hamilton tried to take the inside line on Felipe Massa, Massa tried to block and hit Hamilton. Seeing it on High Definition on ESPN later , it does seem to be Massa’s fault, but I read somewhere that Hamilton’s been told to reduce the bad blood with Felipe Massa on the track. Like that would go any good. Ask Ron Dennis what happens when you are Lewis Hamilton to do anything. Looking at Rowan Atkinson during the incident just made by day. No Mr.Bean face could have said it better.

The ending was perfect, with Vettel sipping champagne and telling everyone that Indian girls are good looking. Quite a few social networking jokes on that. Overall it was pulled off without a hitch and the Indianess usually expected from huge events held at India. Sure traffic was a mess, but you cant have your cake and eat it too.

It was an action packed qualifying session, the traffic snarls at the venue were legendary with the snarls extending to late evening when I was passing by the track. Spotted a few team folks in various cars Team Lotus prefers the Renault Fluence to travel in style.

Sebastian Vettel grabbed another pole position showing the dominance of his Red Bull, he is just three wins shy of Michael Schumacher’s record of most wins in a formula one season and looks all set to equal that if he continues his current form.

“The car was fantastic since yesterday and throughout qualifying,” said Sebastian Vettel. “In the end there was a little bit left in the first sector.

“I’m extremely happy and it’s good to be here. It will be a very interesting race on a challenging circuit.

“You have to really make sure you stay on the line and the circuit here is not forgiving mistakes. It’s not easy but I enjoy what I do and I was excited when I came here.”

Lewis Hamilton was second fastest in qualifying however due to a penalty he was given on Friday, he got thrown back three places and will start fifth on the grid. Fernando Alonso who will start third on the grid and seemed pleased with Hamilton’s penalty :

“With Hamilton’s penalty, starting third will be even better,” The Spaniard said

Teammate Brazilian Felipe Massa could manage only sixth position in contrast. He has been quite a press favorite with certain Indian tabloids going gaga over his resemblance to his brother whatshisname Massa.

Meanwhile Narain Karthikeyan would have entered the bad books of Michael Schumacher. Narain impeded the German champion in his hot lap and was penalized five places. Needless to say that generally means Narain Karthikeyan would be starting last on the grid. However since Timo Glock is approved to race despite being too slow, Narain wont be last on the grid.

Adrian Sutil of Force India qualified in eight position impressing new boss Subrata Roy (in photo with Nico Hulkenberg). Force India fans will remember Sahara bought stake in the team rechristening it the Sahara Force India formula one team.

It seemed to be straight out of a Hollywood movie depicting India, after the embarrassment with Rubens Barrichello’s press conference which was marred by a power cut. Practice today was delayed by a stray dog incident wherein practice had to be delayed due to a stray dog entering on the track. It was chased out by a safety car. There are also reports of a bat entering the media room which newspapers reported being chased out by a man with a broom .

In racing related news, Lewis Hamilton was fastest in P1. Sebatien Vettel was second while Mark Webber finished the top 3 in the practice session. But needless to say, that wasn’t the highlight of the day with the dog taking the honours.

I write this post as the latest game in the series ‘F1 2011’ is launched and yes it includes the new Buddh International circuit at Noida. Its coded by codemasters and is marketed by Zapak in India.

The game has a number of new gameplay options, one of which is the much awaited co-op mode, you and your friend compete as formula one racing partners for a team. I have just got my review copy and cant wait to play it out. If you are looking for features, they are all listed here. You can also view the release trailer here, the graphics look simply awesome ! Am awaiting my Xbox copy to really see the HD graphics

The game is available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

F1 2011™ is the sequel to the BAFTA winning FORMULA ONE™ videogame from Codemasters®, the developer and publisher of award-winning racing games. Developed under Codemasters’ exclusive worldwide agreement with Formula One   World Championship Limited, F1 2011 will come complete with all the official drivers, teams and circuits featuring in the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE World Championship™. Zapak Games, the licensing & merchandising arm of Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd. will distribute the title in India.

Developed using Codemasters’ EGO Game Technology Platform F1 2011 will deliver an unrivalled FORMULA ONE experience that puts players into the heart of the world’s most exciting sport, powered by cutting edge graphics, advanced physics systems and integrated network play.

· Go Compete!  F1 2011 builds extensively on the multiplayer options from F1 2010. Split-screen racing is included for the first time in a high-definition FORMULA ONE title. Competitive online racing is extended with 16 players going head-to-head in GRAND PRIX™ with up to 8 AI drivers added to simulate the full grid of 24 drivers. An innovative new co-op Championship enables two players to lead their favourite FORMULA ONE team to Driver and Constructor glory across the course of a FORMULA ONE season. These enhancements are complimented by additional quick fire modes including Time Attack.

· New Circuits for 2011. Two stunning new additions to the race calendar extend the number of circuits to feature in F1 2011 to 19. Players will be able to debut ahead of the drivers on the Buddh International Circuit, the home of the first FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF INDIA and players will be able to test themselves on the iconic Nürburging circuit for the first time in High Definition, as this legendary track returns for the 2011 season.

· Be the driver, live the life.  From the paddock to the track, F1 2011 takes players closer to the experience of being a FORMULA ONE driver than ever before. A new Parc Ferme area, an expanded and revamped Paddock, new Pit Lane, celebration and reaction cinematics and an enhanced media interaction system fully immerse players in the glamour, pressure and excitement of being a FORMULA ONE driver. Players progress from rookie to FIA FORMULA ONE DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPION in an extensive career mode where gamers fight to become priority driver and shape the development of the car by performing well in races and earning performance upgrades.

· All the cars, all the stars. Fully licensed, F1 2011 features all the drivers set to contest the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button. All 2011 teams are represented including Ferrari, Red Rull Racing, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Lotus Renault GP in their iconic black and gold livery.

· KERS, DRS and more! F1 2011 includes all the new rule changes set to make this year’s season the most exciting yet. F1 2011 debuts DRS (Drag Reduction System) – the new system which enables drivers to adjust the rear wing on the car to give a boost of up to 10km. KERS also returns, giving players an extra 80BHP for up to 6.67 seconds, enabling drivers to blast past rivals. Combined, these systems encourage close wheel-to-wheel racing with new options for both defence and attack. This season’s new Pirelli tyres are faithfully simulated in the game, and if players push their car too hard they may experience a range of authentic new damage failures.

· Full Day / Night Racing. The 2011 FORMULA 1 ETHIAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX comes alive with a full day/ night transition which recreates the special atmosphere at this unique track. Every one of the existing circuits from the 2010 roster has been given a complete visual overhaul. New atmospheric effects, including dynamic clouds, compliment a weather system which features an advanced rain model that affects on-track grip.  Powered by the EGO Game Technology Platforms, F1 2011 pushes forward the graphical standard of what can be achieved in a racing game.

· The world’s greatest cars, the most exciting racing. Building on the heritage of producing award-winning racing games for over a decade, Codemasters is uniquely placed to realise the spectacle and exhilaration of racing 200MPH+ FORMULA ONE cars for all fans. F1 2011 can be tuned for players from a wide range of skill levels, from the casual gamer to the hardcore simulation enthusiast and those in between, with a range of differing skill levels. A huge range of vehicle variables can be tuned to suit each player’s unique driving style, or drivers can entrust their Race Engineer to set their car up and head straight onto the track. F1 2011 will support a comprehensive range of racing wheels for the ultimate racing experience.

· Unprecedented authenticity. Codemasters has used its unprecedented access to the world of FORMULA ONE to connect the development team directly with FORMULA ONE teams and tyre manufacturers. Extensive consultancy has taken place with a range of FORMULA ONE professionals, including race engineers, mechanics and drivers. This has been combined with real world data including CAD and on-board telemetry to deliver a race experience complete with authentic handling, accurate circuits and precisely modelled racing cars.

· EGO powered FORMULA ONE. F1 2011 is being developed on the EGO Game Technology platform, evolved from the award winning EGO engine. Enabling Codemasters development talent to share tools and technology across Studios and Central Technology teams, the EGO Game Technology Platform empowers Codemasters game designers to realise their creative visions across multiple platforms featuring cutting edge graphics, powerful AI, advanced physics systems and integrated network play.

Lewis Hamilton isn’t the smartest bee in the hive, but why does he have to show it again and again via his quotes ? Was reading this piece on the Telegraph and couldn’t help but share the joy.

The Brit champion now has a problem with the length of the British National Anthem and wants a longer extended National Anthem. He ‘urged’ the UK for a longer version. Here are the quotes, straight from the horse’s mouth :

“I am massively proud to hear the national anthem.

“When you’re growing up and you see Olympians standing on the podium and you see the greats, you dream of yourself being up there and having the national anthem playing.

“The only thing is everyone else’s is much longer than ours so I would urge the UK to make our national anthem much longer.

“When I stand up there and Felipe Massa has won, theirs is like ten minutes long and when I’m there it’s less than half a minutes.”

· “So I chose to be the photographer. Jenson was happy with me being the photographer. He wanted to be the assistant because he probably thought he could be lazier but it turned out that he had to do everything. My role was having to direct where all the bits and pieces had to be, position the girls and get them to put on the expressions that I liked and then I had to get the shot done in a very short period of time. I did a pretty good job.” He Said

Jenson was quick to get to grips with the outfit selection, as well as the intricacies of lighting, composition and camera setups, while Lewis also tackled his role confidently. “I’ve done several photo shoots”, Lewis commented, “so I kind of see how photographers behave and act. And obviously I’ve seen Austin Powers so that’s where I really took my inspiration from!”

Check out the behind the scenes video and some exclusive photos :

Jenson Button filling in for the model.

The Alleged photographs by Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton set the timer for this one !

Generally fiddling around on the set for the photo shoot !

About Vodafone VIP :

The film is just one element of Vodafone VIP, which gives customers access to the best of British festival, fashion and Formula 1™ events. Whether it’s the 2011 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX, music festivals or exclusive front row seats at London Fashion Week shows, Vodafone will be supplying customers with the hottest tickets and money can’t buy experiences. All Vodafone customers can register for Vodafone VIP by going online.

The World Motor Sport council voted to get the Bahrain Grand Prix re-instated in a move that was praised by Bahrain’s prince but met with sharp criticism elsewhere.

The Bahrain Grand Prix now pushes the Inaugural Indian Grand Prix to the end of the season. The Indian Grand Prix will now be held in December andd Bahrain Grand Prix takes the 30th October slot.

The Bahrain Crown prince praised the move :

“Having the race back in Bahrain has, indeed, significantly unified the people of Bahrain in this period,” Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said

“Their love for their country and caring for its interest has motivated them in supporting efforts to bring the race back to Bahrain this year,” he added.

This is ofcourse in stark contrast to what the rest of the world feels. We had recently reported on the democracy protests in Bahrain, what we didn’t report (as we aren’t a political blog) was how the protests were crushed and citizens detained in the kingdom state. Its no wonder that the decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix has people up in anger all over the Internet.

Former FIA president Max Mosely was vocal of his criticism and hoped that the decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix would be reversed. In a piece for the Daily Telegraph, he wrote :

“Surely the line has to be drawn when a sporting event is not mere entertainment in a less-than-perfect country, but is being used by an oppressive regime to camouflage its actions” Max Mosley wrote.

“If a sport accepts this role, it becomes a tool of government. If Formula 1 allows itself to be used in this way in Bahrain, it will share the regime’s guilt as surely as if it went out and helped brutalize unarmed protesters.”

“Having carried out these horrific acts, the Bahrain government wants to clean up its image. That’s where the grand prix comes in. By running the race they hope to show the world the troubles were just a small, temporary difficulty and everything is now back to normal.

“By agreeing to race there, Formula 1 becomes complicit in what has happened. It becomes one of the Bahrain government’s instruments of repression. The decision to hold the race is a mistake which will not be forgotten and, if not reversed, will eventually cost Formula 1 dear.”

Red Bull driver Mark Webber was also critical and till now one of the only f1 drivers who seems to have come out openly against the decision, He wrote on his website :

“In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in the hope of being able to reschedule it in 2011.

“It would have sent a very clear message about F1′s position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues.”

“Like it or not, F1 and sport in general isn’t above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope F1 is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn’t the right time.

“As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country.

“I don’t understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that.”

For better or for worse, formula one is motivated by money,  of course we overlook that 30% of the McLaren formula one team is owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain.

However its (commercial interests) working in the other way also, countless petitions have been started to pressurize Red Bull and other consumer dependent companies to pull out of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

FOTA is another key player in this mess, however FOTA’s current president is from the McLaren team who are owned partially by Kingdom of Bahrain, so expectations are low from them.

At this point, it does not seem like we have seen the last of this matter. Its likely to snowball into something huge in the coming days.

Photo : Soman, under CC Attribution/Share Alike 2.5