Australian Grand Prix Review

Well what an opening race! Excellent new BBC coverage. Although the pit girl was pretty monosyllabic and bordering on curt with the drivers. Not to mention asking the bleeding obvious. They would have been better off having Louise Goodman take the role.
As for the new commentator, Jonathon Legard, he was fairly well informed and seemed pretty good. Except from over describing what was going on and making a couple of simple mistakes. However that probably stems from his nervousness and previously being the five live radio commentator.
The most abysmall person on the team though has to be David Coulthard... God that guy is dull. He may be Mr nice guy but he dosen't bring anything to the broadcast... Just as he never brought anything to F1. I can only think and hope he is more interesting in real life.
Here are some thoughts on the teams and their drivers:

Williams
They had the pace in practice but as they always seem to do they failed to convert that into qualifying or the race. Nakajima had his customary accident all on his own in the race. Rosberg tried hard and had some limited success… Like fathers like sons.

McLaren
Quite simply they got their heads down and did the best they could. As Ron would say ‘damage limitation’. That’s exactly what they did.
If it hadn’t of been for a gearbox failure for Hamilton in qualifying they would of faired even better. Hamilton would of probably been just outside the top ten in qualifying. His excellent drive in the race went largely unnoticed from 18th on the grid. However if it hadn’t been for the crazy antics in front of him he would of come sixth. Look out for the FIA ruling on April the 14th. If the Brawns are deemed illegal he could even take the race win!
Heikki Kovalainen didn’t get very far with his first corner shunt and subsequent retirement. Barrichello firmly believes he was pushed by Kovalainen on the first corner but the TV pictures failed to show that clearly. Either way he stuffed it.

Renault
Fernando Alonso did well but was not as high up as anticipated and certainly didn’t shine as well as expected. However I think this is more to do with the car than anything else. It never looked quick and Alonso was doing the best he could with what he had. All in all I don’t think he can be too disappointed with a 5th place. But deep down he must realise he won’t be getting that position in a normal race and will be fighting for the last couple of points at races unless the Renault improves.
Nelson Piquet might as well of not turned up. Poor qualifying and a spin early on. The race is on to see how quickly he gets kicked out of his Renault race seat. Especially if the Renault improves and he is still putting in awful performances… Perhaps Bruno Senna is already eyeing up the seat.

Brawn
Simply fairy tale stuff. What can you say? Jenson Button was almost faultless and Rubens Barrichello did his usual best to throw away his opportunity. He selected anti stall at the beginning of the race and then went on to tangle with any car within striking distance. But through luck he managed to get his still deserved second place.
Jenson did his bit almost faultlessly. There was a moment in the pits when it looked like it was going to go all horribly wrong with a stuck tyre but he got out just in time to re take first. It would have been a fascinating last couple of laps had Kubica got past Vettel and challenged for the lead but alas it was not to be so we don’t know if Kubica could have done the biz. No doubt Brawn is the car to beat. However will they be deemed illegal at the FIA meeting on the 14th of April? We will have to wait and see.

Ferrari
Nothing seems to change in a year. Ferrari had almost the same race they had the year previously. Kimi Raikkonen’s spin was due to a broken differential and Massa went out with suspected hydraulic failure. There is no doubt they have the pace however. With Kimi looking quite ominous until his spin and retirement. He would of taken second and maybe pushed for the win. But we will never know.
Massa seemed solid but not quite the ‘on it’. The class act we saw at the end of last year was absent. It will probably be a race or two before we see the Brazillian back to himself as he seemed to struggle a little with the Ferrari. He would of maybe scrapped a podium if it hadn’t been for the mechanical fault.

Red Bull
Oh Mark Webber! At your home grand prix… How sad. Trailing nowhere. Not a good day and as always no luck for the plucky Australian.
Sebastien Vettel did an amazing job in the other Red Bull. Fighting hard and consistently. Apparently consistently the only person in any sort of contention with the Brawn. However unable to not tangle with Kubica. But the Kubica incident was not his fault in my opinion and why he was apologising for it I don’t know! It was a 50/50 racing accident the pair of them were to blame. The fact he got a 10 place grid penalty for Malaysia begs belief. As a friend of mine said “I thought they were encouraging racing this season!” This is exactly how I felt. It’s stupid to improve the overtaking opportunities and then to punish them for trying to overtake. Kubica was just as much at fault as Vettel yet he doesn’t receive any punishment. Red Bull also received a £35000 fine for instructing Vettel to drive around with three wheels to try and pick up some
points. That is fair enough… dangerous and pointless. It did remind me of Villeneuve (Gilles) however. This put a smile on my face.

BMW Sauber
Did a good solid job and seemed to pick up where they left off. Nick Heidfeld did his usual uninspiring drive to tenth. The sort of drive which usually puts him in one of the last few points scoring places had it not been for being a little unlucky on his strategy.
Kubica on the other hand did a sterling job as we have grown to expect. Although he should of given Vettel more room to avoid the accident. He could of got third or fourth had he not chucked it off at the following corner too. No doubt Kubica must be annoyed as he would of definitely pushed for the win in the last couple of laps against Button.

Toyota
Toyota were demoted to the pit lane for their rear wing infringement (it was too flexible). However they did well with their strategy and with Trulli driving brilliantly to work his way up through the grid. It was only what appears to be a miss understanding between Trulli and Hamilton which caused Trulli to get a 25 second penalty which demoted him to 12th from his excellent 3rd. Handing Hamilton the 3rd place instead.
Glock did an excellent job to snatch a 4th place too. Putting behind him his serious accident in Australia last year. No doubt we will see more of the Toyotas this season and Glock as they seem to of improved With their budget hopefully they will be able to develop the car to such an extent as to not drop behind the others as they have in other years.

Force India
They did far better than anticipated and didn’t trail around the back of the pack. It will be left to see if they continue to improve but seem to of taken a first step up the field.

Toro Rosso
With the two Sebastiens, Bourdais and Buemi respectively putting in a good performance They must fancy their chances for more points this season quite regularly. Also it would seem that Buemi is a man to watch. Putting in an excellent drive on his debut taking 7th and beating his team mate in 8th.


I hope we have more of the same in the season to come and we don’t have to wait long to find out with Malaysia this coming weekend. It is an interesting fact that in the previous three years the person who has won the opening round in Australia has gone on to win the world championship. A lot of British fans will be hoping this is the case this year. I don’t see it happening myself but it looks like it’s going to be fun seeing if it does.

Australian Grand Prix Official Results

2009 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 58 1:34:15.784 1 10
2 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 58 +0.8 secs 2 8
3 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 +2.9 secs 18 6
4 10 Timo Glock Toyota 58 +4.4 secs 19 5
5 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +4.8 secs 10 4
6 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +5.7 secs 5 3
7 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 58 +6.0 secs 13 2
8 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 58 +6.2 secs 17 1
9 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 58 +6.3 secs 16
10 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 58 +7.0 secs 9
11 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 58 +7.3 secs 15
12 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 58 +26.6 secs 20
13 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 57 +1 Lap 8
14 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 56 Accident 3
15 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 55 Accident 4
16 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 55 Differential 7
Ret 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 45 Suspension 6
Ret 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 24 Spin 14
Ret 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 17 Accident 11
Ret 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 0 Accident damage 12


Penalties etc:

Trulli was originally classified third but had 25s added to his race time for passing under the safety car. Sebastian Vettel has recieved a 10 place grid penalty for Malaysia for the accident with Robert Kubica.

Also on April the 14th the FIA will meet and decide if the rear diffusers of several cars are legal. The cars in question include the Brawn so Lewis Hamilton may yet still be classified the winner at Australia.

Latest Podcasts

F1 Rejects have released a weekend of podcasts for the Australian Grand Prix as the those lovely Australian gents were actually there. Highlights include an interview with Zsolt “HWNSNBM” Baumgartner!

Melbourne Sunday Edition - 29th March, 2009
Pit Straight Walk / Getting To Know You: F1 Rejects Listeners Interviewed (Tim, Michael) / Rocking With “The Who” / Discussion of Australian GP / Interview with Zsolt “HWNSNBM” Baumgartner (MP3 format, 11.4mb, 49 mins)

Melbourne Saturday Edition - 28th March, 2009
Discussion of Saturday 3rd Practice / Merchandise Round-Up / Discussion of Qualifying / Getting To Know You: F1 Rejects Listeners Interviewed (Mischa, Jason, Dane) / Announcement of F1 Rejects Forum (MP3 format, 9.2mb, 39 mins)

Melbourne Friday Edition - 27th March, 2009
Discussion of Friday 1st Practice / F1 Talking Points / Top 3 Favourite Jordan Moments / Discussion of Friday 2nd Practice (MP3 format, 6.6mb, 28 mins)

The F1 Rejects feed URL is:
http://www.f1rejects.com/podcasts/f1rejects.xml

Also the BBC have released their usual podcast the ‘chequered flag’ from radio five live.

Jarno Trulli Gets 25 Second Penalty

Jarno Trulli who finished third in the Australian Grand Prix is being demoted 25 seconds for overtaking Lewis Hamilton under the safety car. Jarno Trulli was infront of Lewis Hamilton when the safety car was deployed but slid off the track letting Hamilton through. He then subsequently re took his place.

This action was deemed to be an infringement by the stewards and he was given a stop go penalty but as it was too late in the race 25 seconds has been added to his race time, placing him in 12th.

Trulli stated "I can't say how disappointed I am to finish third but have the result questioned. When the safety car came out towards the end of the race Lewis passed me but soon after he suddenly slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. I thought he had a problem so I overtook him as there was nothing else I could do."

It would seem that this is a fair decision, if a little harsh. However with all the chaos going on during the safety car periods it isn't surprising miss understandings like this occur. It's a shame the cameras didn't catch it as we will probably never know exactly what went on.

Vettel Receives 10 Place Penalty For Malaysia

Sebastian Vettel has been given a penalty of being demoted 10 grid places for next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix after his late crash with Robert Kubica in Melbourne. The Red Bull team have also received a £35,000 penalty for telling Vettel to continue after his accident.

This is simply crazy in my mind. The two drivers were racing hard but fair and it was a fifty fifty racing incident. Vettel could of been less aggressive but was racing for position. Kubica should of given Vettel more room too which would of also avoided an accident.

The bottom line is however why is the FIA investing so much time and effort into improving the racing and the opportunity to overtake if you are going to be penalased if you race and have overtaking? It seems like a catch 22 to me.

However I do agree with the fine for Red Bull for telling him to carry on. It was dangerous and pointless.

Sunday Race Press Conference

For the post race press conference made available by the FIA click here.

Saturday Qualifying Press Conference

The press conference for Saturdays qualifying is available here.

Friday Press Conference

The Friday press conference with Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi, Lewis Hamilton and Mark webber is availble here.

Friday Practice

At the first day of practice all the drivers went out to try and post times and get to grips with the Melbourne track. Most of the drivers went off at some point but all were small spins as they got used to the new aero packages and slick tyres. At the end of Second Practice the times are:

01. ROSBERG Williams 1m26.053s
02. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m26.157s
03. TRULLI Toyota 1m26.350s
04. WEBBER Red Bull 1m26.370s
05. BUTTON Brawn 1m26.374s
06. GLOCK Toyota 1m26.443s
07. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m26.560s
08. VETTEL Red Bull 1m26.740s
09. SUTIL Force India 1m27.040s
10. MASSA Ferrari 1m27.064s
11. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m27.204s
12. ALONSO Renault 1m27.232s
13. FISICHELLA Force India 1m27.282s
14. HEIDFELD BMW 1m27.317s
15. KUBICA BMW 1m27.398s
16. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m27.479s
17. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m27.802s
18. HAMILTON McLaren 1m27.813s
19. PIQUET Renault 1m27.828s
20. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m28.076s

Kimi Raikkonen was fastest for most of the two sessions but didn't go out at the end of session two. At the end of the first session both the Williams were quickest with the Brawns close behind in 3rd and 5th.

It would seem that the McLarens were struggling for pace with Hamilton having several offs and getting into the top ten only briefly. This is early days however and no doubt Renault, Ferrari and McLaren will be stronger at the end of Saturday's practice ready for qualifying.

Diffuser Decision Goes To FIA

The decision on if the diffusers are legal or not has been deferred to the FIA. Who will have a meeting and discuss the legality of the diffusers being used by Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams. However the stewards at Melbourne have deemed them suitable for racing so they will be used during the weekend as they will at Malaysia before the FIA meeting takes place. If it is deemed that the diffusers are illegal all points will be taken away that they have scored in the first two races.

Throughout the design process Williams state that the FIA were consulted over certain issues pertaining to the diffuser. All of which they were told were in line with the rules. Thus they are confident that the diffuser will not be found illegal. Meanwhile Red Bull are worried that if the diffuser is found to be legal they won't be able to fit one as they have designed their car with a different type of suspension system which won't allow the fitting of a diffuser like that of the Williams.

Bernie Ecclestone thinks that the diffuser is legal as he has openly said that any car with a diffuser like the William's will be allowed to race by the stewards as the FIA think their legal and what Bernie says usually goes. However we will have to wait until the FIA make a conclusive decision.

Thursday Press Conference

THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE – March 26, 2009

DRIVERS: Jenson BUTTON (Brawn GP), Robert KUBICA (BMW Sauber), Felipe MASSA (Ferrari), Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull)


PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Gentlemen, what are your feelings going into the new season?
Jenson BUTTON: I have not slept that much this week, I must say. It is great to be here to start with for me. It is great to be here in Melbourne for the first race. That was the first goal. It is nice to be here and secondly we are in a much better position than most people thought, so it is nice to be here starting the season on a positive note.

Q: Is it a massive excitement. Your father says he is having to take tranquilizers.
JB: I think a bottle of red normally does it. My father does talk a lot. He is very excited at the moment. I don’t know, it is difficult. For everyone else they have been testing for quite a bit of the winter, but for us it has been condensed down to the last two weeks. We have been flat out with testing and simulator work, so it has all been quite busy the last couple of weeks. As I said it is good to be here and it is good to see the team with a very positive attitude. We have gone through a very hard time this winter but they have stayed strong and we’ve proved it with the reliability in testing and getting the car out.

Q: Sebastian, for you a new team as well?
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, a slightly new team. Obviously looking forward to the season. We had quite a strong winter, I’d say with a lot of work going on. I think our car looks very nice but we have to prove it is one of the best on the circuit still, but let’s see. Right now for everyone it is the same situation as you don’t know exactly where you are, it is a bit of guessing right now, but we focus on ourselves. I think we are in a good position, so we will see but definitely looking forward.

Q: Felipe, a certain amount of unfinished business, I suspect, is your way of looking at the new season.
Felipe MASSA: Well, it depends. We finished the business last year with one point behind but we finished. Now we need to start another one from zero. I hope with a very competitive car like we had last year, but maybe slightly more reliable and a very efficient team. That was what we were doing in the winter, trying to work 100 per cent in every detail, not to lose any point, so I hope.

Q: Is it excitement or anxiety?
FM: What happened in last year’s championship is finished. Everybody starts from zero now. We have 20 drivers fighting, so until the point that you see maybe you have two, three, five or more fighting for the championship. Now everybody is in the same position. For sure, some people are a bit more competitive. Some people are not, depends. But everybody starts from zero. We need to take everything we learned in the past, but we need to work very hard because we know the championship is long and everybody is in the same boat now.

Q: Robert, your feelings coming into the new season?
Robert KUBICA: As always the winter has been very important to try and analyze and to get knowledge about the new components on the car as the regulation change has been quite big. There was a lot to understand, tyres, aerodynamics, KERS. Yeah, looking forward. Finally we will get a clearer picture where we are compared to our competitors and we will see.

Q: Are you excited about the new season?
RK: Yes, as always. It is a new season and like I said it is always good after a six month break to start again. Testing is important but the races are what we like.

Q: There have been changes in the regulations with KERS and other things like slick tyres. What are the things that have affected you most as drivers, personally? Sebastian, perhaps you can start?
SV: Regarding the wide front wing we will see in turn one on Sunday. Other than that I think the biggest change was going to slick tyres and reducing the aerodynamics. Obviously driving is still very similar. If you look at the outside shape of the car you are surprised that it is that closed from the inside from a feeling’s point of view, so not a lot has changed turning left. The car still turns left, so that is important. But I think there is a bit less grip all around, a bit less stability, so you just have less grip, less stability. But I think everyone gets used to it quite quickly. As regards the slick tyres I would say we all have some knowledge, some fresher and some maybe a bit longer ago but it should not be a problem. They seemed to be quite easy to handle but it is always the tyres. They make the contact to the ground, so we will see.
JB: For me it has been the tyres. I really like the way the tyres work compared to the grooves, especially the front of the car, as obviously the surface area is more affected at the front than the rear going from grooves to slicks. I am enjoying driving the tyres. As soon as I drove them last year I found a benefit that suits my style a bit more, so I am happy with that change. Aerodynamically it is obviously different but we have gained so much grip having slick tyres in a way it balances itself out.
RK: As Jenson and Sebastian mentioned, tyres and aerodynamics. I found the grip level quite balanced. Of course through some mid-speed range corners you get more from the slick tyres and in the other corners you are a bit slower because of the aerodynamic loss. But all in all I think lap time is quite similar and as Jenson mentioned the front tyres are quite powerful. KERS was a big topic during the winter and we will see.

Q: How much are you able to notice the KERS benefit and equally the difference with the movable front wing?
RK: I think the front wing we didn’t play with at all, very little during the winter. Of course it depends from car to car as you can adjust one flap, so it will have a bigger or smaller influence depending on the cars. That’s not a big topic to really discuss.
FM: For sure it is a big change compared to last year. We have so many things to work on the car. The KERS and the front wing which it is not necessary to change, just when you are following somebody, so you can change whenever you like once a lap, so you can use it for set up as well. For sure the tyres were a big difference, aerodynamically we lost a lot of downforce compared to last year. At least we lost at Ferrari, I don’t know about the other teams. My car is like that. I feel a big difference to drive especially with the old tyres. With the new tyres you have the grip, so you can be aggressive, you can brake strong and try to bring the car, as we were doing last year. In terms of turning you can be aggressive but with the old tyres the car is sliding much more. It is a little bit different to drive and you need to be smoother than last year, at least in my car.

Q: Jenson, you have been through a roller-coaster of emotions but you always seemed to believe you had a drive. Tell us about the atmosphere within the team.
JB: First of all there was not really an option not to believe. When I found out last November it was obviously a big shock. You can get as down as you like but it doesn’t change anything, so I was keeping in contact with the team all the way through the winter. Some days were good, some days weren’t. But finally we have had a good outcome.

Q: And the atmosphere within the team?
JB: It is as good as you can imagine. But when I went there in November, the day after I found out that we might not be racing this year, the atmosphere was already good. I walked into the factory feeling a little bit down, but chatting to all the different departments expecting a few upset people and no positivity, but there was. They were all going about their business like they had been before the announcement and they knew they were building something that was good. They have done a great job and that pleases me no end. It is great to be a part of that as they have put their heart and soul into producing a car for this year.

Q: Sebastian, in a way same sort of thing. Same family but a different team. Is it very different.
SV: It is a different team, yes. We have the same parent, that is quite special, but still the team is different. I think every team has its own way and its own philosophy. It was basically the same when I came from BMW to Toro Rosso. Of course it is different and you have to adapt. Some things you like and some things you don’t like. When you don’t like something then you just open your mouth and tell them what you don’t like. You talk about it and then you see where you go. I had enough time already at the end of last year, so basically the Monday after Brazil I was already a Red Bull driver. I did all the winter tests and I got a bit more time as Mark had his accident last November. That all helped me in a way to get well known in the factory and to the car and the working procedures of the team. Hopefully we used all our tests at the beginning of this year and this winter with the new car to prepare for this season as in the season there will be no more testing, so that’s it for this year testing-wise.

Q: Now, for the two in the front row, where do you feel your cars and teams are in the hierarchy as we go into the new season?
FM: Difficult. The picture from the winter, at least, is that Brawn is better than anybody, so maybe we need to fight each other (BMW and Ferrari) for third place. I hope not.
RK: I think we have been kept waiting for an answer for quite a long time already. We’ve been asked the same question since February, so let’s keep waiting for another two days and we will see.


QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ed Gorman – The Times) Jenson, are you not worried that everything that’s been put into this car isn’t about to be wrecked by a protest which we understand is going to be filed this evening or later on today and that that could just trash the whole thing?
JB: Well, first of all, it’s not something that I have any control over personally, and secondly, I think the best person to speak to about that is Ross.

Q: (Ed Gorman – The Times) But for you personally, it would be a huge disappointment, wouldn’t it, if the car turns out to be illegal?
JB: You’ve said it yourself. It doesn’t change anything for me. I can’t do anything about it. It’s down to Ross and whoever else is involved.

Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) Speaking of the new rules, for you all, do you think we’ll see more overtaking this year?
SV: I don’t know. Let’s see. It’s difficult to say. Obviously it’s only my second full season in Formula One but I remember that at the beginning of last year people were going crazy: now, without traction control, the cars will spin off and there will be much more overtaking. I think it was more interesting than the years before. We saw the cars sliding a bit more here and there but in the end, overtaking was still difficult and I think you have to understand, at least that’s my feeling, it’s already difficult to pass another car in Formula Three because of the downforce. Well, in Formula One I think the cars have a bit more downforce than in Formula Three. Obviously, I think we made some steps to help overtaking but we have to prove it on the circuit and not prove it in winter testing, just following another car for half a lap and ‘do I get a feeling now or not?’ We have to prove it in racing, so we still have to wait and see. In testing, it’s not the case that you follow another car and you feel nothing anymore and if you’re faster you just pass. You still feel that you lose grip all around, some cars maybe more at the front, some cars more at the rear. It depends on the car, but you still lose downforce, so you still lose grip and that makes it tough to overtake. How tough? That needs to be answered in the next races.
JB: On the two circuits that we’ve tested on, there’s never been any overtaking anyway really. Barcelona and Jerez are very difficult for overtaking. I probably followed two cars in testing at Barcelona. I didn’t try and overtake… you’re on different strategies and what-have-you so… you’re not going to take the risk in practice either. I felt that I could follow a little bit closer but it wasn’t enough to make a move around Barcelona. Hopefully it’s going to be different at somewhere like this and when we go onto the next few races where there are opportunities to overtake. Hopefully there will be more of them.
RK: I think KERS can have a big influence, if you have it on board or not, so I think this is the main key. I’m not expecting more overtaking due to the aerodynamic changes, just maybe if some cars in front of you are not using KERS and you have additional power, then it might be a bit easier, but it’s still quite difficult, I think.
FM: I think the same, same feeling. As Robert said, if you have KERS and you are a couple of tenths behind the guy in front, then KERS can be a help but I don’t know how it’s going to improve the situation compared to last year. If it improves five or ten percent, that’s already a big improvement.
JB: One of the bigger problems is if you don’t have KERS and you are behind a car that does have KERS, you’re not going to be able to get past, that’s one weakness of not having KERS.

Q: (Mick Warner – Herald Sun) Jenson, do you or the other drivers have a view on racing in twilight here in Melbourne?
JB: There’s still going to be light left, isn’t there? I’m hoping. We have got a bright car. For us it doesn’t really make any difference. Dinner reservations are going to be difficult but apart from that, there’s no real difference. For us we can get up later on Sunday morning which is nice. I don’t know what difference it makes for you guys but for us it doesn’t change anything. As long as there’s still some temperature, that’s it.
FM: As long as I will have visibility it’s OK.

Q: (Ken Sparkes – Fairfax Radio News) Jenson, the big buzz is for Brawn all the way down the pits. Have you felt that pressure, that all of a sudden you could be race favourite?
JB: It’s not a pressure, definitely not, it’s a nice feeling. We’ve done seven days of testing, I’ve driven the car for three days which normally wouldn’t be enough. We’ve been reliable-ish, so we’ve been able to get quite a bit done in that time. I feel comfortable in the car, I feel that I’ve made it quite personal to myself which is good, but we’re coming here with an open mind, for sure. Testing is one thing and for sure we’ve been reasonably reliable and we’ve done some good lap times, but in 2006 we had a quick car in testing and we got to the first race and we got blown away by the Ferraris, so you never know until you turn a wheel here. I have a feeling we’re not going to be slow but how quick, we have to wait and see for that one.

Q: (Jonathan Legard – BBC) Robert, what’s going to make your mind up, or the team’s mind up, about who uses it, and if you use it what sort of difference it could make to you?
RK: I think it’s already official that I don’t run KERS here. Nick will run it here. The team will decide race-by-race in the future and driver-by-driver, so we will see.

Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Jenson, you say ‘talk to Ross’, presumably you have spoken to him. Can you just give us an insight into what he has told you about the car? You must believe from speaking with him that the car you will be driving this weekend is legal?
JB: For sure. Yup. I’ve said all I have to say on the subject.

Q: (James Allen – Financial Times) Jenson, it’s quite hard to categorise exactly where you are, because it’s an independent team with a customer engine and yet it’s got top team facilities. It’s a team that nearly didn’t make it and yet when it puts the car on the track it’s mind-blowingly fast. We all want to think of you as an underdog and yet in some ways you’re a favourite. Do you feel that kind of mixed feeling yourself and does the team feel that way?
JB: I understand what you’re saying, for sure. We should be the underdogs, for sure, being a private team with a customer engine, but looking at the testing times, we’re not, but the testing that we had – seven days – it was so valuable to us. We’re not going to plod around slowly. We have to see what the car can do and we have to get the maximum out of it, push the car to the limit, so we can find the limit. So we don’t really have a choice in the matter. I don’t know if we are the favourites or what but it’s nice knowing that we have a competitive car and as I said, we don’t know how competitive it is but for me, all I know is that it’s great to drive and I feel that I can really work with it and the changes that I make, make a difference, good or bad, so I’m happy with what we have.

Q: Felipe, McLaren are insisting that they are not as competitive as they used to be. Do you think they are sandbagging, could it be a kind of tactics?
FM: I have no idea, so you need to ask them. I work for Ferrari, I don’t work for McLaren. For sure, it is strange to see McLaren at the back. The only thing I can think for myself is that they are a respected team, so we need to respect them for what they did in the past. That’s the only idea I have, so I have no idea where they are going to be. I have no idea where I am going to be on the grid, so that’s why I cannot answer for McLaren.

Q: (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) Jenson, over this difficult winter did you know that the new car was going to be so super-quick, and do you think that this perceived level of performance is going to be sustainable from such a small team over the season and beyond this season?
JB: I knew it was going in the right direction, for sure. I spent a lot of time with the team at the end of the year, and obviously we started focusing on our car reasonably early, as you could see from our performances towards the end of last season. That’s one of the reasons why I was hanging on in there, hoping that the car would be raced in 2009, because for me it was strong and I think some of this is the reason why everyone’s kept their head strong and kept focused on the job in hand because they knew that they were going in the right direction and they knew that they had a good car or the makings of a good car.

Q: (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) Do you think you can sustain it throughout the season?
JB: It’s all guesswork, for sure, and we really don’t know what’s going to happen even in qualifying and the race on Sunday. That’s something that I hope happens, that we can sustain our performance, whatever it’s going to be. Yeah, that’s got to be the aim. We’re here this weekend, hoping that we can do the whole season. We haven’t come to Melbourne to just do the first two or three races, we’re here for the championship, so we’ve got to hope that we can complete it.

Q: (Heinz Prüller – ORF) Gentlemen, can I ask each one of you how many kilometres you tested during the winter and how much testing the team did in kilometres or miles or days?
JB: Mine’s actually quite easy. I think I did about seven…
FM: I read it somewhere but I have no idea where.
JB: I did about 1800 kilometres.

Q: (Jon McEvoy – The Daily Mail) Felipe, just wondering your response to reports this morning in England in which Lewis Hamilton said he would give thought to driving for another team. Obviously that would lead one to suspect that he might have Ferrari in mind. How would you feel about driving alongside Lewis and your thoughts about what he’s said? FM: Well, I drove alongside Michael. I drive alongside Kimi, so… I heard for many years already that Fernando will come. He’s just another one, so I don’t care. Valentino Rossi as well. Maybe my father will drive for Ferrari next year. We don’t know.

Taken from the FIA press release.

Diffuser Protest lodged

The diffuser designs on the Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams cars have been officially protested against by BMW Sauber, Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault in Melbourne. They are stating that the diffuser is too tall on the back of the car for the regulations. The teams in their defense believe they are merely using a loophole in the rules. This is all after they cleared Thursday scrutineering with the Albert Park stewards.

The stewards in Melbourne will decide if the cars are legal or not and if they can race in their current form. However if there is an appeal over this ruling then the decision will fall to the FIA, most likely at a later date.

Bernie Ecclestone has said publicly that the other teams should just copy this diffuser design and interpretation of the rules and not protest. This would indicate that if it does go to the FIA that the design will be upheld. One thing for sure is that politics, as usual are going to play their part in this season before it even starts.

Classic BBC Race Highlights

The BBC are kindly making available classic races from years gone by. These are the full 30 or 50 minute highlights (depending on the BBC coverage at the time). They can be accessed online via the following links, the BBC Formula One website or via the red button on digital television.

1986 Australian Grand Prix Highlights

1994 Australian Grand Prix Highlights

Australian Grand Prix BBC Schedule

Note All times GMT then the clocks change on Saturday night / Sunday morning to BST!

Friday 27 March
Practice (Times TBC): 0125-0305, BBC Red Button/BBC Radio 5 Live sports extra/online
0525-0705, BBC Red Button/BBC Radio 5 Live sports extra/online

Saturday 28th March
Practice: 0255-0405, BBC Red Button/BBC Radio 5 Live sports extra/online
Qualifying: 0500-0715, BBC One/BBC Red Button/Radio 5 Live sports extra/online
Re-run: 1300-1415, BBC One

Sunday 29th March All times BST
Race: 0600-0900, BBC One/BBC Red Button/Radio 5 Live/online
Interactive Forum: 0900-1000, BBC Red Button/online
Race re-run: 1300-1500, BBC One/BBC Red Button/online
Highlights: 1900-2000, BBC Three/BBC Red Button/online

Super Licence Fees Cut For 2010

After a meeting between FIA President Max Mosley and the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA), it has been agreed a proposal will be made to the World Motor Sport Council to change super licence fees for the 2010 championship.

The reduced fee was agreed it would reflect the cost cutting measures sweeping through Formula One at the moment which are also planned to be introduced in 2010.

From this you have to assume that the Formula One drivers have coughed up for their Super Licences this year. Although nothing has been officially released about which drivers have bought them. All that is known is that Bernie Ecclestone a couple of months ago stated only three drivers as yet had purchased them... Suppose were wait to see who's at Australia... Hopefully all of them.

Grand Prix Of Australia 2009

The 2009 Formula One season begins in Melbourne, Australia, at the purpose built Albert Park Circuit. The re-vamped format for 2009 will see the events commencing later in the day and finishing in the twilight hours, offering Formula One fans in Europe the opportunity to watch the action at a reasonable hour.

Widely regarded as one of the fastest circuits, Albert Park in Melbourne merges consistent placement of corners with a track design that features long straights, sweeping curves and tight chicanes, making it a tough challenge for every Formula One driver and offering plenty of action for the spectators.









This information is from the FIA website. For more information on the track go here.

"Winner Takes All" Stalls

It’s been released that there has been a complete U-turn on the new winner takes all rules. The coming season (2009) will have a points system as before... No change. However it is planned that the winner takes all system will be in place for 2010.

An interesting U-turn which demonstrates the power of FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) to still say no. Personally I think something such as the Indy Car system where the winner takes a lot more points than second would rid formula one of the boring percentage drives we have seen of late. Which was what the FOTA suggested and was rejected.

However it appears that Bernie Ecclestone still wishes to push through the rule change for 2010... So we will have to wait and see if he does or introduces something else.

2009 Formula One Preview

The teams have all launched their cars. The drivers for each team have been decided and the testing has finally finished. All that’s left is for the season to begin. But first here is a break down of what’s been going on and how it may effect the season to come.

Honda Turns Into Brawn

The sensation over winter has been the fact that Honda pulled out of Formula One. To everyone’s relief they have been bought out by Ross Brawn and his company to set up Brawn GP using Honda’s car with A McLaren engine. What is even more surprising is that in the week and a half of testing they had before flying away to Australia they were consistently the team to beat. Often posting times a whole second quicker than rivals. Although this may be an exaggerated advantage due to fuel loads and different types of testing runs they appear poised to spring a major surprise down under.

Testing

The other sensation over the winter testing has simply been how slow McLaren were. With rumors they are really off the pace we will have to wait and see. But all indicators are that they are struggling with their aero package. Especially their rear wing, which was only just introduced at the end of testing. Was it failing crash testing or breaking under stress loads? McLaren did an extra couple of days testing at the end in which they seemed to improve marginally. But I think the weather played a part in that. It waits to be seen if this improvement is enough to get them into the hunt for race wins and the championship.

Points Change

The one other thing which came out of the blue was the decision to decide the world drivers championship by who wins the most races. If tied then it's decided on points. This will no doubt have a series of knock on effects. If it will improve the racing is anyone's guess. But the world championship could be decided by mid season or several drivers could be going for the championship at the final race. Drivers will probably take bigger risks to win races and teams will no doubt have to favour one driver almost from the start of the championship.

Rule Changes

The rule changes for Formula One this season are also quite substantial. Here the main points:

* Slick tyres have been introduced so as the be able to have more mechanical grip and also allow the FIA and the tyre makers to standardise and regulate the tyres and thus speed. Tyre development in previous years has contributed to nearly two seconds a lap increase in speed. Which in Formula One terms is a lot. So this way they can controll this development and the cars speed easier.

* Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) has been introduced. KERS recovers the kinetic energy generated by the car’s stopping. This energy is stored in the car and then made available to the driver, in a set amount each lap, via a ‘button’ on the steering wheel. Currently the power gain equates to about 80 horsepower, which is available for about seven seconds a lap. This could make the lap times quicker by a couple of tenths. However this has to be off set by the extra weight the KERS is. Thus it is not known if all the teams will run the new system at some or all of the races.

* Aerodynamics have been greatly altered so as to limit air disturbance and to allow cars to get closer at high speeds. This in turn will hopefully mean more overtaking. This has been done by making the rear wing much smaller and making illegal any 'winglets'. ie the small wings on the cars and barge boards. Also the front wing is now larger and the width of the car. The wing can also be adjusted by the driver twice a lap up to an angle of 6 degrees.

* Testing rules have changed as well. Testing is not allowed during the season and is limited to 15,000 kilometres.

* Safety Car pit opening rules have changed so as to allow drivers to pit while the safety car is out. This is to stop drivers running out of petrol or pitting illegally and getting stop go penatys. The make sure drivers don't race dangerously back to the pits while there is a safety car out (as was why the banning of pitstops was originally introduced). The electronic Control Unit (ECU) onboard will now givethe driver a minimum ‘back to pit’ time based on his GPS position on track. If he arrives in the pit lane before then he will be penalised, probably through a stop go penalty.

* Race wins will now decide the drivers world championship. The title will be awarded to the driver with the most race wins. The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will be decided by the current points system. If more than one driver finishes the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points as was the system previously. The constructors’ championship will remain the same.

With so many changes taking place it is wide open as to how this Formula One season pans out. More so than I can remember in many years... I just hope it is as exciting as the last two seasons... I fear it won't be.

Testing Testing... 1, 2, 3

With the last test before Australia at Jerez in Spain all eyes were on the four teams still testing at this late stage. The last day when all four teams ran the times stood:

Unofficial final times from Jerez:
01. Jenson Button, Brawn BGP 001, 1:17.844
02. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:18.071
03. Nelson Piquet, Renault R29, 1:18.382
04. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:19.121

Again the Brawn was fasted for the umpteenth time in little over a week. With this sort of performance and only one mechanical failure they must be confident of bagging a fair few points this season maybe even a win in the opening races.

Williams and Renault seem to be consistently on the pace and will no doubt be squabbling for next best team with BMW behind Ferrari and Brawn by the looks of it.

Williams carried on running with McLaren for the next couple of days. McLaren were testing new aero parts. Noticeably they were running with ‘green goo’ which is painted on and moves so as to show the air flow. These paints are only usually used in the wind tunnel and maybe at the very beginning of testing to make sure things are running correctly. This is not the activity of a team which is fine tuning and actually ‘testing’. This has the look of desperation as they try to work out what’s happening to the air flow and why the rear wing isn’t working. After the final test they had improved but were consistently in the region of a second off the pace compared to the Brawn.

This is not a good sign for McLaren but we will have to wait and see how it all pans out in Australia. In a race situation we may well find things very different. This has been the case before when Honda looked good in testing a couple of years ago and failed to deliver at all in the season… You never can tell.

Race Wins Win The Championship!

For 2009 the FIA has changed the points system for the drivers’ championship, now the title will be awarded to the driver with the most race wins. The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will be decided by the current points system.

If more than one driver finishes the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points as was the system previously. The constructors’ championship will remain the same.

The FIA accepted the proposal for the new system from Formula One Management at a meeting in Paris on Tuesday. Another idea was to award the points to drivers finishing in first, second and third place 12, 9 and 7 points but this was rejected.

This would've meant that Felipe Massa would have won the championship last year. It also means that reliability will not be such an issue as long as you win races. Which would have aided a driver such as Kimi Raikkonen last year who could of just gone for wins in the second half of the season to clinch the championship and would not have to worry about his DNFs. It will also mean that when there are situations like Brazil again Lewis Hamilton will not be able to race for 5th place to pick up a few points he will have to go for race wins.

This is all no doubt to spice up the world championship and to make drivers go for race wins instead of being cautious. How much it will make people go for race wins we will have to see. However there is the possibility that a driver could wrap up the championship by race 9 of 17 it also means that we have almost gone full circle back to the old system of points dropping in the late 80s. Not to mention the fact there has been a real push for multi race engines. It begs the question now that does it matter if your engine fails every other race if your winning every other race? Also will lesser teams be running odd strategies to try and win races to get in with a shout at the championship? Will everyone be going out to win races no matter what? Will it be carnage? Either way it's not long left to wait till the lights go out and we see how the teams use this new rule change.

Performance Shortfall?

So it's official; Brawn are serious contenders... I don't care where your from - you have to admit the raw pace they obviously are getting out of that car is pretty damn good. Three days at the top of the time sheets means that they have to be seriously thinking they have a car which can get on the podium consistently - with any luck. Anyone fancy putting a fiver on a Jenson Button win this season? I'm seriously considering it. Ross Brawn had this to say:

"We are extremely pleased with the inaugural test of the BGP 001 car in Barcelona this week. The team made a very late start to our pre-season testing programme with only seven days in which to run the car before the first race in Melbourne, therefore our focus has been on reliability and achieving as much mileage as possible. Both of these aims have been successfully achieved this week. That the car has run so reliably 'out of the box' is a tribute to the strong team that we have at our factory in Brackley and they have done a great job during a very difficult period. The car is performing to our expectations and the feedback from Jenson (Button) and Rubens has been positive with both drivers completing full race distances.”

But where are McLaren? Ron Dennis just a couple of days ago was adamant that there was nothing to worry about... Well look at what team boss Martin Whitmarsh said:

"We are working hard to resolve a performance shortfall. Initial testing of the MP4-24, which first ran with an interim aero package, went in accordance with our early developmental expectations," he said. "This week the car has run in Barcelona with an updated aero package and a performance shortfall has been identified. Our Mercedes-Benz engine is strong so the MP4-24's performance shortfall is clearly chassis-centric. Ron, Norbert and I have enormous faith in the ability of our engineers and we are working as hard as they are to make the MP4-24 competitive enough to win Grands Prix."

I can only take from this that they know that the engine is good (look at Brawn!) but the aero package is literally flapping in the wind. They appear to be at a loss as to how to adapt to the new rule changes. This has been a recurring theme with McLaren. They have often been slow to adapt to new rule changes but come good by mid season. In this day and age with reliability being so good and your opposition ready to score wins from day one it may be too little too late to take this championship.

It will be interesting to see if the final test at Jerez for McLaren bares any fruit for them while for Ferrari and a couple of other teams, today is their last day of testing. It will also be interesting to see how Lewis Hamilton reacts to an uncompetitive car. Will he be able to motivate the team like Alonso or Schumacher were able to and get the team out of the "performance shortfall" as Martin Whitmarsh put it?


Unofficial Thursday times from Barcelona:

01. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:18.926
02. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:19.774
03. Timo Glock, Toyota TF109, 1:20.091
04. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB5, 1:20.576
05. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:20.664
06. Felipe Massa, Ferrari F60, 1:20.677
07. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:20.740
08. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:20.869
09. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.013
10. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India VJM02, 1:21.045
11. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.629

Button Surprise!

With the last test imminent Jenson Button slammed home an impressive fastest time at the Barcelona test on day 3. After doing a full race weekend simulation without a hitch and posting a time which would of seen him comfortably on pole for last years race.

Jenson had this to say "It's been another great day and a very positive test generally. It's so good to have achieved a full day's running, including a race distance, without any issues and it's fantastic that we clocked up so much mileage. After the challenges we have faced, to come here and get off to such an encouraging start is just what we all needed and I can't thank the team enough. All that effort has really paid off and everyone can feel very proud."

Whatever fuel load Jenson was running it is very impressive to be faster than anyone else by a whole second. It would appear that the Brawn will have the pace to be more than an also run at the back of the field. Reliability of the Brawn also seems excellent to with no faults whatsoever with the team running over 100 laps these past three days. The Mercede's engine seems to be doing the job faultlessly. Look out for Jenson Button beng the surprise of the year.

Almost as surprising is the continued lack of form for the McLaren team. Yet again languishing at the bottom of the time sheets - What is going on? I can't believe that McLaren are really struggling that much but that is what appears to be happening. They have only just started testing their 2009 aero package which the team seems to be struggling with. Coupled with the fact Lewis Hamilton spun off in testing and lost valuable testing time. With the introduction of no testing through the season this could all prove critical.


Unofficial Wednesday times from Barcelona:

01. Jenson Button, Brawn BGP 001, 1:19.127
02. Felipe Massa, Ferrari F60, 1:20.168
03. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:20.217
04. Timo Glock, Toyota TF109, 1:20.410
05. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:20.863
06. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB5, 1:21.165
07. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:21.324
08. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India VJM02, 1:21.545
09. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.569
10. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:21.657

Final Tests Day 2

With it being the last day before Kimi Raikkonen hands over his Ferrari to team mate Felipe Massa Kimi wanted to see what he could get out of the Ferrari. A time 6 tenths faster than anyone else is a good start. It'll be interesting to see what Massa can do in the last couple of days of testing. The Brawn again showed strongly doing 111 laps with Rubens Barrichello at the wheel and being 3rd. The one real anomaly of testing in Barecelona seems to be McLaren. Are they sand bagging or in trouble? Pascal Vasselon seems to think so, Toyota's design boss said "Ferrari look to be the strongest at the moment, quite significantly ahead of McLaren - at least here, McLaren appear to be in some trouble".


Unofficial Tuesday times from Barcelona:

01. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F60, 1:20.3142.
02. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams FW31, 1:20.9073.
03. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:20.9664.
04. Jarno Trulli, Toyota TF109, 1:21.1825.
05. Mark Webber, Red Bull RB5, 1:21.3476.
06. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:21.6157.
07. Adrian Sutil, Force India VJM02, 1:21.8348.
08. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:21.9379.
09. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren MP4-24, 1:21.99110.
10. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:23.03911.
11. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, no time

Final Tests

The big crunch test has come to town… Only a few days left now and most of the teams are in Barcelona making the final adjustments and testing the last few components before flying out to Australia. The day started off wet with Jenson Button fastest before slipping down the time sheet to a still impressive fourth by the afternoon. Jarno Trulli did the most laps at 120 with Kimi Raikkonen doing about 80. As the week pans out a keen eye will be on Jenson Button and team Brawn to see where the former Honda team are compared to the rest of the field. Note McLaren haven't been running their 2009 rear wing until yesterday and were subsequently bottom of the pile on Monday. Is there trouble afoot for the Woking team?


Unofficial Monday times from Barcelona:

01. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:20.3382.
02. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F60, 1:20.9083.
03. Jarno Trulli, Toyota TF109, 1:20.9374.
04. Jenson Button, Brawn BGP 001, 1:21.1405.
05. Nelson Piquet, Renault R29, 1:21.6626.
06. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:22.1587.
07. Mark Webber, Red Bull RB5, 1:22.2468.
08. Adrian Sutil, Force India VJM02, 1:22.4529.
09. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams FW31, 1:22.81310.
10. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren MP4-24, 1:22.948

Flowers To Massa With Love

It’s been reported in the Italian press, “Corriere dello Sport” that Lewis Hamilton had sent a commiserations bouquet of flowers to Felipe Massa after Hamilton clinched the world championship from Massa’s grasp at the Brazilian grand prix.

If this is true I can’t help but think that it is rubbing Massa’s nose in it. Especially when Massa was so graceful in defeat of the championship at his home grand prix. I think this sort of attitude and psychological game play by Hamilton won’t do him any favours. It is fast becoming apparent that the rest of the paddock doesn’t like Hamilton. Especially obvious when so many drivers were openly rooting for Massa over Hamilton at the final race last year.

Formula One Pundit Preview

The BBC have revamped their website including a Formula One pundit preview:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7926706.stm

Enjoy!

Brawn GP Formula One Team

It has finally been confirmed that Honda and Ross Brawn have made an agreement to sell Honda to Ross Brawn. Ross Brawn has set up his own team imaginatively titled ‘Brawn GP Formula One Team’.

Brawn GP will be supplied with Mercedes engines for the season. I can only assume that these will be last years engines with Brawns own developments. Let’s face it the engines of last years championship winning car are going to be as good or better than the development of an also run at best engine.

The drivers have been confirmed as Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The two drivers have been a driving partnership now for four years and are the most experienced driver line up on the grid with 423 grand prix starts between them. The lions share being Barrichello’s. I’m happy to see this but very surprised that Bruno Senna didn’t bring the financial backing expected to oust Barrichello? Maybe this is a good sign that Brawn is in it to develop a good team and not run a business. As no doubt Barrichello will be a better choice for stability and results. But Brawn has worked with Barrichello for many years at Ferrari as well as at Honda so perhaps it’s more of a case of better the devil you know?

Brawn said: “The past few months have been extremely challenging for the team but today’s announcement is the very pleasing conclusion to the strenuous efforts that have been made to secure its future. Firstly, it is a great shame that having worked with Honda Motor Company for so long we can no longer continue together. I would like to thank Honda for the fantastic co-operation and support we have received throughout this process - particularly those members of the senior management who were closely involved with concluding our agreement - and for the faith they have demonstrated in myself and our team. I would also like to take this opportunity to pay due credit to our staff at Brackley. The levels of motivation and commitment that I have witnessed at the factory deserve the highest praise. I am delighted that Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will form our race driver line-up for the 2009 season. The vast experience and knowledge that both drivers bring to our team will prove invaluable as we aim to get up to speed in the shortest possible time to be ready for the first race of the season in Melbourne on 29 March. In what will be their fourth season together, their experience with our team in Brackley, our systems and our engineers, will prove a real asset.”

Managing Officer of Honda, Hiroshi Oshima commented: “Since announcing our withdrawal from Formula One racing on December 5 of last year, we have conducted various studies and discussions so that the team can continue its activities as a new team. We are very pleased that we could sell the team to Ross Brawn, with whom we have been partaking in the challenges of F1 competition, and are grateful for his decision. We offer our sincerest wishes for the new team which will be led by Ross.”

Now it remains for Brawn GP to focus its efforts in the last three weeks in the remaining pre-season tests, Barcelona (March 9-12) and Jerez (March15-17).

I wish all at former Honda the best. This is great news for the sport that we haven’t lost another team. I think that if anyone can make a success of a formula one team my money would firmly be on Ross Brawn. The man has lead so many great championship challenges with Ferrari and other teams. Combined with his tactics that are second to none… Remember Barrichello stealing a podium at Silverstone? Pure Brawn.

Honda Update

The deal with Virgin seems a no go... However there are rumours in the British press that Honda will be sold to the former Honda management and partly funded by Honda. With the former Honda management finding the rest of the money through sponsorship.

Rumours are also afoot that the staff will be chopped from near on 730 to in the region of 400 and Jenson Button's salary will be halved from $10 million to $5 million. As well as the top management taking a substantial pay cut.

With 3 weeks left time is of the essence.

Tyres, Tyres, Tyres...

After changing back to slicks this coming season (the first year since 1997) tyres will play a major part in the races. As for the first time in many years time they will be the main contribution to grip. Something we haven't seen in several seasons as aerodynamics took a front seat.

Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development Hirohide Hamashima stated; “2009 looks like it should be a very exciting season with very big changes to the cars. From our perspective we have changed our allocation strategy so that we can bring non-consecutive allocations to races. The compounds will not only vary in terms of compound hardness, but also working range."

"We have tried to have one tyre which has a quick warm-up and delivers a fast lap time immediately, and the other tyre which has a higher working range, so will not deliver immediate fast times, but gives very consistent and durable performance when it is at its operating temperature," he continued. "Of course, we are subject to many variables such as different cars and drivers, not to mention the weather, which was such a big factor in 2008."

"We hope that the change in allocations gives competitors a good challenge and the fans entertaining racing. We are also proud to support the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign through our tyre markings," he concluded.

Tyre selection for first five races
Selection: Super soft, soft, Medium and Hard.
Australian Grand Prix: Super soft, Medium.
Malaysian Grand Prix: Soft, Hard.
Chinese Grand Prix: Super soft, Medium.
Bahrain Grand Prix: Super soft, Medium.
Spanish Grand Prix: Soft, Hard.

This means little until the lights go out at Australia and we see how the different tyres perform. However it will be interesting to see if the softer tyres can offer extra grip and speed to negate the effect of pitting earlier. Also will it be an advantage to run the softer on the first stint to gain an advantage in the opening laps or run them on the last stint as has become the norm?

Whatever happens I just hope Bridgestone (with a little prompting from the FIA) have the bottle to make the difference between the tyres greater to promote overtaking when people are on different compounds.