McLaren Heroes Past And Present

This is a pretty cool video released by McLaren of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton going through an old warehouse looking at all of the McLarens from the past.

McLaren amd Vodafone have been releasing these types of videos for at least a couple of years now the first one I can remember seeing was for the 2008 Singapore GP. When you consider that it is Red Bull that has the reputation of being the really cool F1 team and that McLaren is supposed to have such a serious reputation it sort of turns that theory on its head. (Especially when the videos that Red Bull have released have been so serious!)

In a time where F1 drivers are said to have little personailty and be robot-like it’s good to see this sort of thing.

2009 Malaysian Grand Prix Preview

I am a little late posting this Malaysian Grand Prix preview. The first two practice sessions have been completed with both Williams and Ferrari coming out on top. Brawn has been the next fastest, although the biggest talking point has been about Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix because he mislead stewards about the Jarno Trulli incident. Yawn!!! The FIAs constant bias against Hamilton and McLaren has become so tiresome. The full details of the incident can be found here.

 

As there is the possibility of Hamilton being suspended for a number of weeks over this incident I guess I should make some comment. I won’t try to second guess the FIA or their stewards and will only say that they will probably make the decision that will be the most bewildering and is the most detrimental to the sport, which is exactly what they have always done. The FIA and their race stewards are not exactly known for their common sense, but I think that what should be done is that Hamilton should be reinstated in fourth place and that this incident should be allowed to just blow over.

 

Now to Malaysia… even though the Brawns have been the third fastest team in practice so far I expect either Jenson Button or Rubens Barrichello to win at Sepang. It’s good to see the Ferrari show some pace but… I don’t expect it to last through qualifying and the race. Williams have shown they too can be quick but I also expect their pace to drop off during the weekend. I do expect both BMW Sauber, Toyota and Red Bull to be the main challengers to Brawn. If it’s wet (and it looks like it may be), Vettel and the Toyotas will do very well and I would not discount Webber from getting a good placing either.

 

My Predictions

 

1. Jenson Button – Brawn Mercedes
2. Rubens Barrichello – Brawn Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull Renault
4. Jarno Trulli – Toyota
5. Felipe Massa – Ferrari
6. Robert Kubica – BMW Sauber
7. Mark Webber – Red Bull Renault
8. Timo Glock – Toyota

2009 Formula 1 Season Preview

The opening practice session for the first race of the 2009 Formula 1 season is just three days away and I am very excited. There are new aerodynamic and technical rules that will hopefully make this season the most unpredictable ever. Having said that, I am going to do a season preview and try to make some pretty vague predictions.

Lewis Hamilton deservedly won the World Driver’s Championship last year, despite what Ferrari fans tell you, but after looking at their testing form in the pre-season, they have a lot of work to do for Lewis to even be a contender. The new McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 has been one of the slowest cars and has struggled to find rear grip. They have so far been outshone by the other two Mercedes powered teams, Force India and Brawn GP. While I am sure that McLaren will have improved greatly by the time the car hits the Albert Park track, I am not sure that they will have improved enough to challenge for victory.

I expect that by mid-season the McLaren will be amongst the front running teams and Lewis Hamilton will be challenging for wins. He was criticized a lot last year for his unnecessarily aggressive driving and some rookie type mistakes. He should be a more mature driver this year but the team probably will have lost too much ground at the start of 2009 for him to be considering back to back World Driver’s titles.

Heikki Kovalainen was a huge disappointment in 2008. Whilst he did score his maiden victory in Hungary, he was much slower than his team mate. His most disappointing race for me was the Italian Grand Prix where he took second place, but did not even look like challenging the victor Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso.

 

I predict that Ferrari will take the World Driver’s Championship/Constructors Championship double in 2009. In testing they have consistently been in the top three all pre-season, while they have the resources to keep the team up front for the entire season.

 

I’d love to see Felipe Massa win the championship in 2009. He was desperately unlucky last year, let down by his team when he most needed them. Massa showed a great maturity and consistency in 2008, with only a couple of really bad races such as the debacle at Silverstone in the wet, where he spun several times.

 

Kimi Raikkonen had an awful 2008. He looked demotivated for a lot of 2008, making too many uncharacteristic mistakes. 2009 cannot be any worse, but I feel that Massa will outrace the Finn. Last year Kimi took lots of fastest race laps, but often did so when he had no chance of winning the race. He must improve this year.

BMW Sauber had a great 2008, establishing themselves as the third force in F1. I expect them to retain that form this year, and take a few more wins. Robert Kubica was very consistent last year but only took one victory in Canada. Quick Nick Heidfeld did not have the consistency of his Polish team mate, but still had some very good races. Both drivers should take lots of points and a few victories to enable their team to take second place in the Constructors World Championship.  

Renault had a terrible 2007 and were only slightly better in 2008. Fernando Alonso fluked a win in Singapore thanks to his team mate hitting the wall and causing a fortuitous safety car to be deployed. He then won again in Japan, to show that he is still the best driver in F1. His team mate Nelson Piquet endured a horrible season, and showed that he was perhaps not ready for F1. Hopefully for his sake he can do much better this year, otherwise he will be out of a job.

 

Renault’s testing form has been very up and down. When the R29 was first rolled out it lacked pace but by the end of the preseason they were occasionally topping the time sheets. I think they will struggle again this year.

 

Red Bull Renault had an OK year last year. They were very quick initially, but as the season wore on other teams soon surpassed their pace. Sebastian Vettel has joined the team and at the moment is the hottest thing in F1. Mark Webber has proved that he is a great qualifier but there are still a lot of doubts about his race pace. If Vettel thrashes him this year I think his F1 career may be over.

 

Having said all that, I think Red Bull may pinch a win this year. The new car was very fast when it first hit the track, but has struggled to maintain that pace throughout the preseason. I think that they will score a lot of points and podiums.

 

Toyota is the team who I think will be the most improved for 2009. I feel that they will establish themselves just behind Ferrari and BMW as the third force in F1. I feel that Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock will both take at least one win this year and score lots of points. They have had very good, consistent testing form.

 

Williams have had good testing form too, and Nico Rosberg is a great driver, but I am not sure where they will finish this year. Perhaps they will steal a win if the stars align, and they should take a few points, but I don’t think that they will do very well. Rosberg will be looking for a more competitive seat by seasons end.

Brawn have dominated testing this preseason, and are favourites for the Australian Grand Prix. This car has been in development ofr over a year, ever since Honda decided that last season’s car was a dog. Ross Brawn is a genius and may have a car that thrashes the pants off everyone this year, but I am not convinced. I still think that they will be very fast, but am not sure if they will be able to develop the car throughout the season as much as Ferrari, McLaren or BMW. Still, I think Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will shake the grid up a lot, and may take a few wins.

 

Force India and Toro Rosso will score a few points in what should be the most competitive season of F1 ever. However I still feel that they will be the tailenders this year.

 

My Predictions

 

World Driver’s Championship

1. Felipe Massa
2. Kimi Raikkonen
3. Nick Heidfeld
4. Timo Glock
5. Robert Kubica
6. Jenson Button
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Jarno Trulli
9. Fernando Alonso
10. Mark Webber

 

 

Constructors Championship

1. Ferrari
2. BMW Sauber
3. Toyota
4. Brawn
5. McLaren Mercedes
6. Red Bull
7. Williams
8. Renault
9. Toro Rosso
10. Force India

McLaren Mercedes MP4-24

McLaren Mercedes has unveiled their 2009 Formula 1 car that they hope will allow Lewis Hamilton to retain his World Drivers Championship.

 


In other McLaren news, their team principal Ron Denis, who has been in charge of McLaren since the 1982 season, has announced that he will step down from the team by March.