Mistakes are costly in Macau ...

It is less than 2 weeks to go to 2009 Macau Grand Prix. The highlight of the weekend has been since 1983 the Formula 3 race often featuring future F1 drivers. The list of former Macau GP winners includes names such as Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, Takuma Sato. Several drivers on 2009 F1 grid raced in Macau in the past – Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil, Kamui Kobayashi, Robert Kubica, Kazuki Nakajima, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Nelson Piquet jr, Jenson Button, Sebastien Bourdais, Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld, Jarno Trulli, Giancarlo Fisichella, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastien Buemi, Romain Grosjean and as recently as last year also Jaime Alguersuari. We can also add the 2010 F1 rookies Bruno Senna (Campos META) and Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) – both raced in Macau in 2007.

So, let’s have a look and the provisional entry list for 2009 Macau GP Formula 3 race:

(Driver, Nationality, Team, Car, Engine, 2009 Season Result)

1. Marcus ERICSSON – SWE – Tom’s – Dallara – Toyota-Tom’s – 1st Japan F3
2. Takuto IGUCHI – JPN – Tom’s – Dallara – Toyota-Tom’s – 2nd Japan F3
3. Jules BIANCHI – FRA – ART Grand Prix – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 1st F3 Euro Series
4. Valtteri BOTTAS – FIN – ART Grand Prix – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 3rd F3 Euro Series
5. Sam BIRD – GBR – ART Grand Prix – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 6th F3 Euro Series
6. Daniel RICCIARDO – AUS – Carlin – Dallara – Volkswagen – 1st British F3
7. Brendon HARTLEY – NZL – Carlin – Dallara – Volkswagen – 11th F3 Euro Series
8. Max CHILTON – GBR – Carlin – Dallara – Volkswagen – 4th British F3
9. Henry ARUNDEL – GBR – Carlin – Dallara – Volkswagen – 9th British F3
10. Kei COZZOLINO – ITA – Toda Racing – Dallara – Honda-Toda – 4th Japan F3
11. Mika MAKI – FIN – Hitech Racing – Dallara – Volkswagen – 6th F3 Euro Series
12. Wayne BOYD – GBR – Hitech Racing – Dallara – Volkswagen – 12th British F3
14. Jean-Karl VERNAY – FRA – Signature – Dallara – Volkswagen – 5th F3 Euro Series
15. Laurens VANTHOOR – BEL – Signature – Dallara – Volkswagen – 1st ATS Formel 3
16. Edoardo MORTARA – ITA – Signature – Dallara – Volkswagen – 14th GP2 Series
17. Renger van der ZANDE – NED – Räikkönen Robertson – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 3rd British F3
18. Alexander SIMS – GBR – Räikkönen Robertson – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 4th F3 Euro Series
19. Kevin CHEN – TPE – Räikkönen Robertson – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 20th British F3
20. Michael HO – MAC – Manor Motorsport – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 5th Formula V6 Asia
21. Carlos HUERTAS – COL – Manor Motorsport – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 7th British F3
22. Roberto MERHI – ESP – Manor Motorsport – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 7th F3 Euro Series
23. Yuji KUNIMOTO – JPN – NOW Motor Sports – Dallara – Toyota-Tom’s – 3rd Japan F3
24. Koki SAGA – JPN – Le Beausset Motorsports – Dallara – Toyota- Tom’s – 6th Japan F3
25. Victor GARCIA – ESP – Fortec Motorsport – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 14th British F3
26. Daniel MCKENZIE – GBR – Fortec Motorsport – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 1st British F3 National Class
27. Jake ROSENZWEIG – USA – Fortec Motorsport – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 18th F3 Euro Series
28. Stefano COLETTI – MON – Prema Powerteam – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 10th F3 Euro Series
29. Daniel ZAMPIERI – ITA – Prema Powerteam – Dallara – Mercedes-HWA – 1st Italian F3
30. Stef DUSSELDORP – NED – Kolles & Heinz Union – Dallara – Volkswagen – 2nd ATS Formel 3 Cup
31. Alexandre IMPERATORI – SUI – Kolles & Heinz Union – Dallara – Volkswagen – 3rd Japan F3 National Class

Edoardo Mortara and Stefano Colleti raced in the main GP2 series this season while several other drivers listed above are competing in the current GP2 Asia series – Max Chilton, Sam Bird, Marcus Ericsson, Jules Bianchi …

Besides the Formula 3 race the 56th Macau GP program includes FIA WTTC race (featuring Yvan Muller, Andy Priaulx, Tiago Monteiro, Alex Zanardi etc), Formula BMW Pacific, GT Cup (featuring among others also the former Minardi F1 driver Alex Yoong) as well as the Macau Motorcycle GP.

56th Macau GP is on from 19 – 22 November 2009.

Here are few 2008 Macau GP posts:

On board footage (GT Cup) , Formula 3 video highlights and some photos.

Photo: F1Wolf.com

2009 Macau GP – Formula 3 Entry List

Will they stay or will they go ?

Only day after Bridgestone announced their future plans do not include F1 and on the same day Toyota ended their 8 year long winless F1 adventure the story is emerging that Renault may be the next one to quit. An emergency board meeting is on today in Paris. The French car company is to discuss its F1 future. The options for Renault are to stay on with their own team, to continue as an engine supplier only or to follow the examples of Honda, BMW nad Toyota and pull the plug on F1 programme completely.

Update:

On Thursday, Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said:

“You will have to be patient. We will make an announcement on our participation in Formula 1 before the end of the year.”

What must be going on in Robert Kubica’s head following his move from ex-BMW team to Renault …

Photo: Bridgestone Motorsport

Renault to decide on F1 future before end of the year

End of the F1 adventure for Toyota

The (off-)season of announcements continues with news of another withdrawal. This time it is the rather expected news from Toyota. Toyota confirmed today they are pulling out Formula One. There goes the commitment to stay on board till 2012 …

“Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces it plans to withdraw from the FIA Formula 1 world championship at the end of the 2009 season. TMC, which had viewed its participation in F1 as contributing to the prosperity of automotive culture, remained dedicated to competing at the pinnacle of motor sports even in the face of the abrupt economic changes that started last year.

However, when considering TMC’s motorsports actitives next year and beyond from a comprehensive mid-term viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1.”

There were serious doubts about the future of Toyota in F1 for quite a while. Huge spending, lack of success and following Honda’s withdrawal also no Japanese company to compete with. Their handling of the drivers towards the end of the season only added fuel to the speculation. At the end Toyota remained for 2009 season but there were signs that only a race win will save their F1 operation from the chop. That win eluded the Cologne based team and the exciting performances of Kamui Kobayashi in final two races obviously failed to convince the mother company to keep pumping millions to F1 for years to come …

Some numbers and brief history of Toyota in F1:

2001 – prototype testing
2002 – F1 debut, 2 points (for two 6th places), drivers – McNish, Salo
2003 – 16 points, drivers – da Matta, Panis
2004 – 9 points, drivers – da Matta, Panis, Zonta, Trulli
2005 – 2 poles, 1 fastest lap, 5 podiums, 88 points, drivers – Trulli, R. Schumacher
2006 – 1 podium, 35 points, drivers – Trulli, R. Schumacher
2007 – 13 points, drivers – Trulli, R. Schumacher
2008 – 2 podiums, 56 points, drivers – Trulli, Glock
2009 – 1 pole, 2 fastest laps, 5 podiums, 59.5 points, drivers – Trulli, Glock, Kobayashi

First pole – 2005 US GP – Jarno Trulli (on fumes …)
Last pole – 2009 Bahrain GP – Jarno Trulli

First fastest lap – 2005 Belgian GP – Ralf Schumacher
Last fastest lap – 2009 European GP – Timo Glock

Best result in constructors championship – 4th in 2005
Worst result in constructors championship – 10th in 2002

Best result by their best driver in drivers championship – 6th – (R. Schumacher 2005)
Worst result by their best driver in drivers championship – 17th (Salo 2002)

Best race results – 2nd place (Trulli – 2005 Malaysia, Bahrain, 2009 Japan, Glock – 2008 Hungary, 2009 Singapore)

Total podiums – 13 – 5 second places, 8 third places
Drivers on podium – 3 – Trulli, R. Schumacher, Glock

Total points – 278.5
Drivers in points – Salo, Panis, da Matta, Trulli, R. Schumacher, Glock, Kobayashi

Tyres used: Michelin (2002 – 2005), Bridgestone (2006 – 2009)

Money wasted – huge
Best moment – signing the wrong Schumacher
Smart move: hiring of Mike Gascoyne
Silly moves: forced retirement of Ove Anderson, sacking of Mike Gascoyne

Toyota’s withdrawal from F1 opens the 2010 door for the former BMW Sauber operation. It also means that only Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault (I do not include Lotus) will fly the manufacturers flag in the sport dominated by car companies in recent years.

This combined with planned F1 exit by Bridgestone after 2010 season may also limit the Japanese involvement in Formula One to one GP a year. Only last season there were 3 Japanese teams (Honda, Toyota, Super Aguri) and in recent years we could see 5 Japanese drivers racing in F1 (Sato, Nakajima, Ide, Yamamoto, Kobayashi)…

Photo: Bridgestone Motorsports

Toyota pulls out of Formula One

The final race of 2009 F1 season is over and that means also the end of the 2009 Prediction Game. The final round was not very high scoring one. The main reason seems to be the fact that lots of usual suspects failed to make it to top 8 in Abu Dhabi. With McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, Renault all out of the points lots of points correctly guessed teams in top 8 were lost. Those who had BMW, Toyota and Toro Rosso drivers among their top 8 scored big …

Here are the results of the final round of the 2009 prediction game:

18 – Dank, F1Wolf
17 – Jose Arellano, psychy, bmwf1guy, Saigon56
16 – Klokan, Luis Miguel Sainz
15 – zblkhwk, velvet demon, pk_dude04
14 – Kotenok
13 – mcw3, ncngrr5, sky, Nic B 205, daniel, Blazena, Aaron Mullan
12 – Ozzi, FISHEYE, Flying Dutchman, nieuwe
11 – Queen Bee, Steve Robertson, jc
10 – Clive.Einkamerer, shaggy

Now, the final results after the the elimination of the worst score and bonus points for the correct pre-season prediction of 2009 F1 champion. Same as last year the deciding factor was the champion prediction. The bonus was only 15 points this year (rather than 25 last year). Still it was enough to catapult me to the top of the standings, 2 points clear of psychy. So after fatfish in 2007 and Steve Robertson in 2008 it was my turn this year…

The prize will of course not stay with me but will go to the second in the standings – psychy, who also recorded the highest score of the season – 27 points for the British GP round ! Congratulations ! I will need psychy to contact me by email in order to make arrangements for the delivery of the prize.

2009 Prediction Game Final Standings

Ch – 15 points bonus for correct pre-season 2009 champion prediction
De – deduction of the worst score

I want to thank everybody for joining in this season ! Prediction Game will return next year – about 1 month before the start of 2010 season.

2009 Prediction Game – Final Results

Nico Hulkenberg will race for Williams in 2010

First day of the offseason is turning into a day of announcements. As expected the AT&T Williams team today confirmed Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg will drive for the Cosworth powered team in 2010 season. The 2009 GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg is the second rookie already confirmed for 2010 season following the Campos META/Bruno Senna announcement.

“Rubens needs no introduction. He is not only the most experienced driver in Formula One, but a passionate and talented driver who fought hard for the Drivers’ Championship this year. Nico Hulkenberg won the GP2 Championship this season as a rookie and has previously won the F3 Euroseries, Formula Masters, A1 GP and Formula BMW Germany.

Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima remain our drivers until the end of 2009 and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contribution to the team. Nico and Kazuki have represented AT&T Williams and our partners with dedication, discipline and skill and we wish them every success with their future endeavours.” – Frank Williams

It is expected that Nico Rosberg will take Barrichello’s seat in Brawn GP. No one really knows what the future holds for Kazuki Nakajima, especially after Kamui Kobayashi’s strong and determined race performances in Brazil and Abu Dhabi made him favourite to land the Toyota seat for next season.

See how the 2010 seats are filling up – visit the 2010 Season page.

Photo: Williams/LAT

2010 F1 Drivers – Barrichello and Hulkenberg to Williams

It was a different story this year. Injuries, performances and perhaps also personal disagreements resulted in rather different line up during the photo ops in Melbourne in late March and Abu Dhabi right at the beginning of November:

2009 Formula One Drivers - March

Bourdais, Buemi, Fisichella, Sutil, Webber Vettel, Nakajima, Rosberg, Barrichello, Button, Glock, Trulli, Heidfeld, Kubica, Raikkonen, Massa, Hamilton, Kovalainen, Alonso, Piquet

2009 Formula One Drivers - November

Alguersuari, Buemi, Liuzzi, Sutil, Alonso, Grosjean, Heidfeld, Kubica, Trulli, Kobayashi, Rosberg, Nakajima, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Barrichello, Button, Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Kovalainen

How many of them will we see back next year ?

2009 F1 drivers – What a difference 8 months made

Bridgestone will quit F1 after 2010 season

We have all expected the off-season full of announcements. The first one came shortly after the end of 2009 F1 action. And it is a rather surprising one – Bridgestone announced they will not continue supplying F1 with tyres after 2010 season.

“Tokyo (November 2, 2009) – Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) today announced that it will not enter into a new tire supply contract with the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1) series; the current contract is set to expire at the end of the 2010 season.

In addressing the impact of the continuing evolution of the business environment on its decision, the company focused on the need to redirect its resources towards the further intensive development of those innovative technologies and strategic products which support the company’s goals and further enhance the company’s reputation as a technology leader.

Over the years, the company has benefited directly from its involvement in Formula One racing. The lessons learned through Bridgestone’s successful participation have translated into innovations that can be applied to the design and manufacture of tires. In addition, its collaboration with F1 has contributed to increased brand awareness and the recognition of Bridgestone as a leader in the global tire industry. Having achieved these goals, Bridgestone is now poised to take its technological and brand building efforts to the next level.

Bridgestone is committed to supporting F1 and the series’ teams through the completion of the 2010 season. The company also expressed its sincere appreciation and gratitude to the management of Formula One, the F1 teams and support staff, and the F1 fans around the world for their enthusiasm and support for Bridgestone over the last 13 years.” – Bridgestone.com

Bridgestone entered F1 in 1997 and competed with Goodyear for 2 seasons. Following Goodyear’s pull out from the sport at the end of 1998 season Bridgestone remained the sole tyre supplier until the return of Michelin in 2001. Michelin and Bridgestone competed in F1 from 2001 to 2006.

Michelin quit in 2007 and Bridgestone became a sole tyre supplier a year before its 2008 – 2010 contract kicked in.

As Bridgestone’s contract is coming to an end next year the new tender was due anyway. Now we now that Bridgestone will not be taking part.

Michelin, Goodyear, Pirelli, Avon and Bridgestone supplied F1 with tyres in past 30 years. Will one of them return or will we see a brand new name entering F1 in 2011 ?

Here are the F1 tyre suppliers between 1977 and 2010:

1977: Goodyear, Michelin, Dunlop, Bridgestone (1 race only)
1978-1980: Michelin, Goodyear
1981-1982: Michelin, Goodyear, Avon, Pirelli
1983-1984: Michelin, Goodyear, Pirelli
1985-1986: Pirelli, Goodyear
1987-1988: Goodyear
1989-1990: Pirelli, Goodyear
1991-1996: Goodyear
1997-1998: Goodyear, Bridgestone
1999-2000: Bridgestone
2001-2006: Michelin, Bridgestone
2007-2010: Bridgestone

Photo: Bridgestone Motorsports

Bridgestone to leave F1 after 2010 season

Fourth 1-2 finish of the season for Red Bull courtesy of Vettel and Webber

Sebastian Vettel won the rather dull inaugural Abu Dhabi GP and claimed second place in the drivers championship. One of few exciting parts of this GP was the final laps fight between Webber and Button for 2nd place. Webber prevailed and helped to secured fourth 1-2 finish of the season for Red Bull Racing. Rubens Barrichello finished 4th, Nick Heidfeld 5th in BMW Sauber’s final F1 race. Kamui Kobayashi scored 3 points for 6th place in only his second F1 race. The final 2 point scoring positions belong to Jarno Trulli and Sebastien Buemi.

The pole setter Lewis Hamilton retired after his first pit stop with brake problems. Both McLaren and Ferrari failed to score points, that means that McLaren holds on to 3rd place in constructors table.

The only other retirement of the race was the curious case of Jaime Alguersuari. He mistakenly aimed for Red Bull garage for his first pit stop. The Red Bull crew (expecting Vettel at that time) waived him through. Alguersuari had to go round the track for one more lap. He retired on that lap because of broken gearbox.

2009 Abu Dhabi GP race result

1. S. Vettel – Red Bull – 1:34:03.414
2. M. Webber – Red Bull + 17.857
3. J. Button – Brawn GP + 18.467
4. R. Barrichello – Brawn GP + 22.735
5. N. Heidfeld – BMW Sauber + 26.253
6. K. Kobayashi – Toyota + 28.343
7. J. Trulli – Toyota + 34.366
8. S. Buemi – Toro Rosso + 41.294
9. N. Rosberg – Williams + 45.941
10. R. Kubica – BMW Sauber + 48.180
11. H. Kovalainen – McLaren + 52.798
12. K. Räikkönen – Ferrari + 54.317
13. K. Nakajima – Williams + 1:59.839
14. F. Alonso – Renault + 1:09.687
15. V. Liuzzi – Force India + 1:34.450
16. G. Fisichella – Ferrari + 1 lap
17. R. Grosjean – Renault + 1 lap
18. A. Sutil – Force India + 1 lap

Did not finish

19. L. Hamilton – McLaren + 35 laps
20. J. Alguersuari – Toro Rosso + 37 laps

Fastest lap – Vettel – 1:40.279

The race may have been dull, but at least there are some nice pictures in return for those millions spent building the racing resort. Here are few courtesy of Red Bull:

Sebastian Vettel Abu Dhabi GP

Mark Webber Abu Dhabi

Sebastian Vettel - Abu Dhabi special

Photos: Red Bull/GEPA

2009 Abu Dhabi GP – Race result – Win for Vettel

Bruno Senna will make the step up to F1 next season with Campos META

Campos META and Bruno Senna ended the speculations yesterday. Both parties confirmed the deal that will see the Brazilian driver racing for the new Spanish F1 team in F1 next season.

“For Campos Meta 1, it is an extraordinary honour to be returning the name Senna to Formula 1. The deal with Senna confirms and re-enforces our prime objective of being not only the first Spanish Formula 1 team, but rather the first Iberian-American F1 team. The 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics, and three drivers in F1 – it’s clear that Brazil is coming up.” – Campos Meta CEO Enrique Rodriguez de Castro

Helmet used by Bruno Senna in GP2

“I’m absolutely delighted to fulfil a lifetime dream. Now it is time to set new targets. The project that Campos Meta 1 developed is designed to succeed both on and off the track.” – Bruno Senna

More on 2010 Formula One drivers – see 2010 Season page.

Photos: Red Bull/GEPA

2010 F1 drivers – Bruno Senna confirmed by Campos META

Top three in Abu Dhabi qualifying

The FIA has released the Abu Dhabi GP post qualifying weights. Lewis Hamilton is lighter than the 2 Red Bull cars behind him on the grid but will probably stop on the same lap as Mark Webber and perhaps only a lap earlier than Vettel. The lightest car on the grid is Robert Kubica. The heaviest among the top ten is Nico Rosberg but he still only has about 2 laps worth of fuel more than Hamilton.

There are some very heavy cars at the back of the grid, especially Kazuki Nakajima and both Renaults.

2009 Abu Dhabi GP post qualifying weights:

Lewis Hamilton – 658.5 kg
Sebastian Vettel – 663.0 kg
Mark Webber – 660.0 kg
Rubens Barrichello – 655.0 kg
Jenson Button – 657.0 kg
Jarno Trulli – 661.0 kg
Robert Kubica – 654.5 kg
Nick Heidfeld – 664.0 kg
Nico Rosberg – 665.0 kg
Sébastien Buemi – 661.5 kg
Kimi Räikkönen – 692.0 kg*
Kamui Kobayashi – 694.3 kg*
Heikki Kovalainen – 697.0 kg* (will get 5 place penalty for gear box change)
Kazuki Nakajima 704.0 kg*
Jaime Alguersuari – 696.5 kg*
Fernando Alonso – 708.3 kg*
Vitantonio Liuzzi – 695.0*
Adrian Sutil – 696.0 kg*
Romain Grosjean – 710.8 kg*
Giancarlo Fisichella – 692.5 kg*

2009 Abu Dhabi GP – Post qualifying weights