Rediscover Formula One

Apologies for no photo of the winning driver, apparently Red Bull’s media department is not approving our application to use their photos for editorial purposes.

Red Bull really did give Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber wings with the duo grabbing a 1-2 at the 2010 formula one Malaysian Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg was third for the Mercedes GP formula one team (erstwhile Brawn GP) while his teammate Michael Schumacher was unlucky yet again as a nut came off his car’s wheel and he was forced to retire. Before that Michael Schumacher in a strong start had made up 2 places.

Sebastien Vettel proved that if you are good enough and if you drive good enough, victory will come and luck factor will diminish. After 2 unlucky races, Malaysia proved to be third time lucky.

Lewis Hamilton was another the start performer of the day though, the Briton made his way up from 20th on the grid to sixth place. His teammate Jenson Button was 8th at the finish line.

Meanwhile Spaniard and Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso called the Malaysian Grand Prix the toughest race of his life. He suffered a gearbox problem and apparently no clutch in the race.

“Right from the start things went wrong. On the formation lap, my gearbox broke, and I had no clutch during the race,” Fernando Alonso said.

“So I had to brake in a weird way. I had to first gear down and then push the throttle hard so it would engage the gear for that corner.

“So it was probably the hardest race of my whole life in terms of driving, because I had to improvise for every corner.

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The German Red Bull F1 driver Sebastien Vettel edged Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso to grab the first pole of the 2010 season. Seven time formula one world champion Michael Schumacher who is returning to the track after a sabbatical was seventh in the qualifying with his team-mate Nice Rosberg doing better at 5th place. Vettel’s team-mate was 6th.

Ferrari were the team with most consistent performance in practice and qualifying alike, it seems that this season they might very well be the team to beat, but its still to early to tell.

Newcomer teams like Lotus F1 and HRT F1 (Campos Meta) struggled to make their mark. Some of their times were beyond 2 minutes with Indian rookie Karun Chandhok bringing up the rear for the grid in his HRT F1 car.

Sorry for no qualifying review, but tomorrow, I have an interview with the one of the best schools in India and I wish to get in

Fernando Alonso in Ferrari attire !

The 3 new Ferrari drivers including the newly signed Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella made their debut in Red on 11th January 2010 at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy. They made the appearance for the 20th edition of the Wrooom event.

Felipe Massa gives the thumbs up to fans at Madonna di Campiglio.

This season, Ferrari seem to have a very strong driver lineup with all 3 drivers being seasoned pros and add Alonso’s driver championships to the equation and we see a potential winner in Ferrari. While Felipe Massa is the experienced Ferrari campaigner, Giancarlo Fisichella comes fresh from an awesome season with Force India where he outshone his partner Adrian Sutil in a large number of races.

Third Driver for the Ferrari Team Giancarlo Fisichella in Ferrari Overalls

Ofcourse there is still a lot to be done at the machine end. Last year saw Ferrari struggle to keep up with smaller and much less experienced teams like Brawn GP and the Red Bull formula one team. This difference in power could be attributed to the smart interpretation of rules by these teams and the subsequent controversy that followed but that doesn’t change the fact that they struggled to give a competitive car to their drivers.

Its official now, Giancarlo Fisichella has dumped the Force India formula one team for a shot with the Ferrari formula one team. He will replace Luca Badoer who was filling in for the injured Felipe Massa. His recent podium finish for Force India (their 1st) and Luca Badoer’s pathetic performances acted as catalyst to the switch. The announcement of the switch wasn’t really a surprise, rumours in the paddocks were alive about the switch for around 1.5 weeks now with Vijay Mallya doing every bit to reject them until now.

Its often said that the dream of every formula one driver is to drive for the Ferrari formula one team, but its even more true for Italians, who probably dream of driving for the Ferrari formula one team even if they aren’t formula one drivers.

The move ofcourse is a big loss for the Force India formula one team and there are rumours that Ferrari did waive off the money Force India owed to them. Vijay Mallya insisted that there were no financial transactions which secured Fisichella’s release from contract.

Meanwhile Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo praised Fisichella in a press release on the Ferrari Media website. He hinted that Fisichella would be the third driver when  He was quoted as saying :

“I chose Fisichella for several reasons, starting with the fact he deserves it, that he’s on great form and that he is an expert driver. On top of that, we all wanted to have an Italian driver in our car for Monza and lastly, because it takes the long term view, as he will be our third driver.”

“It is an important moment, coming off the back of a great win with Kimi Raikkonen,” added the Ferrari President. “We also have the good and important news that Felipe Massa is recovering well and will be more than ready for the first race of next season.

“I wish to thank Luca Badoer who, once again has been so amenable towards Ferrari. Therefore, I look forward to Monza with confidence and especially with great pleasure at having Fisichella in the team.”

“the good news that Felipe will race again, that he is recovering and that he will be very ready to race next season is a further plus, after what was a terrible August for us, what with his accident, all the uncertainties and, unfortunately, Michael Schumacher’s fitness difficulties, when we would have liked to see him in our car. However, bit by bit, we are putting everything right again. Victory is the best medicine.”

Toyota had their rear wings marked illegal by F1 Stewards due to too much flexibility

Who in their right minds would have bet their money on Brawn GP, a team which until a few weeks ago didnt exist, the erstwhile Honda team whose fate was uncertain after a disastrous season and on Jenson Button who has often been called just another British driver and has been thoroughly overshadowed by McLaren’s own Brit Lewis Hamilton.

Wee this Saturday at Melbourne was not the place to make informed guesses and preditctions, because things didnt go as expected. The McLarens and the Ferraris werent the forces to be reckoned with, but it was the Brawn GP car of Jenson Button which took the pole position. And as if that wasnt enough, forgotten Brazillian driver and Jenson Button’s teammate at Brawn GP Rubens Barrichello was 2nd and will accompany Button in the front row.

Sebastien Vettel was a cool third in his Red Bull Racing car. While Robert Kubica (whom i had considered a favorite) was only 4th fastest. The Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Raikkonen were 7th and 9th respectively. The McLarens were even more pathetic in 15th and 16th place with world champion Lewis Hamilton 16th.

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