So the 2010 Formula 1 season is almost upon us, Personally I can't wait to see how everyone gets on. Especially the England (Mclaren) V Germany (Mercedes) battle goes, just don't mention the war :).In a season where the Constructors title could go to anyone of four teams( Mclaren, Ferrari, Mercedes & Red Bull), some new teams, some old names return (Sauber, Lotus and Senna) It's shaping up to be a fantastic season.

Add to that the ban on refuelling , which I believe is a fantastic thing, there should be more over taking because teams can't just wait for the pit stop. When cars do stop the crews now have only 3 or 4 seconds to change the wheels rather than the 7 or 8 before, it may not sound like much but it may mean the difference between winning the title and not.

There are once again a new circuit too, this time in South Korea. While i'm not a fan of many of the new circuits which are not good for racing i will reserve judgement until after the race there in October. Abu Dhabi last year was the best of the new circuits by an absolute country mile. Another worry is the changes to Silverstone which is once again home of the British grand prix after a few months of the honour belonging to Donnington. There has been changes at Silverstone too but more about that in my preview of the circuits. Onto the teams involved:

1 & 2 - Mclaren

2009 was a season to forget for McLaren, Caught cheating…again in the first part of the season and a car which was about as fast as Jens old Cinquecento. The car was a lot more competitive in the second half of the season but by then Brawn and Redbull were over the hill and far away.


2010's car looks a lot better on the face of it and once again they will be carrying the Number 1 only this time with Jenson Button at the helm. I'm sure the only part of being number 2 Lewis Hamilton sees is the paint number on the car and Hamilton will be going all guns blazing trying to win the title himself.

It will be interesting to see how they get on with being a customer team to Mercedes now rather than fully backed.

3 & 4 Mercedes

Brawn was a short lived name for the ex BAR/Honda Team and now they're a "German" team called Mercedes. A German team with German Drivers who have British engineers, mostly British pit crew and British team management who are based in Britain. Personally they are no more German than Lotus is Malaysian or than they were a debut team last season.

They have a lot to prove this season , That last season wasn't just a fluke catching their competitors cold, That they can deliver now they are a Works team and not a customer team and Has Schumacher still got it.

Schumacher has a lot of pressure, he won't want to be beaten by his team mate. I really hope ist a fair fight but I'm wary of the Brawn/Schumacher link up and Schumacher not allowing his team mates to compete with him which for me taints some of his 7 Titles. He's a phenomenal driver, or was anyway, he shouldn't need to make his team mate be a definite number 2.

5 & 6 Red Bull

Adrian Newey once again proved himself to be a fantastic F1 designer and had they had a double diffuser they might have clinched both titles. 2010 is a whole new ball game they wont expect Mclaren and Ferrari to be slow off the mark and from the testing times they won't be.


In Vetteland Webber they have 2 race winning quick drivers and I don't think they will be far off the pace this season. I don't think they will win the title but race wins are a very strong possibility if they remain reliable.

7 & 8 Ferrari

Much like McLaren 2009 was a year to forget for the team from Maranello. They stopped development early to concentrate on the 2010 car, from the testing times they will be very competitive and maybe the team to beat. Alonso has joined the team this year and has been a lot more involved than Raikkonen was in driving the team on. Massa returns from his accident and looks no slower for it, I guess it will be sometime on Saturday in Qualifying or Sunday when he's properly put to the test.

I am looking forward to the Massa V Alonso battle and how it pans out, much like Mercedes I hope that they are given equal treatment as Ferrari have a history of favouring one driver over the other.

9 & 10 Williams

Despite finishing 7th in 2009 it was actually a decent year for Williams, they were competitive early on and have a good mix of Youth and Experience in Barrichello and Hulkenberg.Barrichello is the most experienced driver on the grid and will want to do well in his new team. Hulkenberg is the current GP2 champion and has a big reputation as being very quick.

It will be very interesting in general to see how the Cosworth engine compares to the others on the grid. Cosworth have a championship winning history although there is no chance of that this season but a solid point scoring season and 5th in the Constructors championship might be a n outside chance.

11 & 12 Renault

Somehow Briatore managed to overturn his life ban, not sure how as someone who endangers life by asking someone to crash. Anyway that's in the past and despite Renault selling 75% of the team they are still in the championship.They have 2 new drivers and in Kubica they have a very fast driver, I hope they can give him a car he deserves, sadly I think they will be towards the back of the original teams this season. Vitaly Petrov, their second driver, finished 2nd in GP2 last season, I don't know much about him other than that but hewill have to be good to beat his team mate.

14 & 15 Force India

Force India keep the same 2 drivers they had in 2009 and will hope to build on some impressive and surprising performances in the latter half of 2009. They will want to make sure they have a car which is at home on the tighter circuits as well as the faster ones such as Spa.I like Force India and I hope theyhave a great season. 10th last season and they will want to make sure they are ahead of the new teams and hopefully move up the final standings.

16 & 17 Scuderia Toro Rosso

Probably the most under threat from the new teams, Inexperienced drivers and now required to build their own car rather than relying on Red Bull. The pressure is on for STR and their new Wind tunnel.

18 & 19 Lotus

The "Malaysian" Lotus team (based in Norfolk) have a big name to live up to but that's all it is they are Lotus in name only (well maybe the colour scheme too) I remember Team Lotus from when they were truly in F1 and i wish they had picked a different name and not risk tarnishing the good name of Lotus. the list of 79 GP wins, 107 pole positions, 6 Drivers titles, 7 Constructors titles, 491 GP's started gives a glimpse of the name they have to try and live up to. I'd love to see Lotus back on the F1 grid I just wish it was really Team Lotus not a cheap (cheap….in Formula one terms) copy.

Their main goal is Reliability apparently, if they do get that right then they might just pick up a few points as they won't be massively quick from the off. They do have 2 drivers who have some decent experience, both have a win under their belt but neither will have 2 by the end of the season unless there is a race with a very high attrition rate.

20 & 21Campos Meta Hispania

Will they make the grid this season? I hope so, Questions already need to be asked where FIA/Ecclestones priorities lay when selecting the new teams was it to put teams in areas there weren't any to try and maximise the revenue flowing into their pockets or was it to find the most viable teams. The lack of Prodrive makes me wonder if it was the former.

They have Dallara know how building the car which is one thing in their favour but I reckon they will be at the back this season. I love the fact there is a Senna name on the grid in Bruno Senna, I just hope he proves himself enough to get a good drive in the near future.

24 & 25 - Virgin Racing (Manor GP)

Based in Dinnington just a few miles from where I am typing this i hope they do Yorkshire proud. Looking at the car it does appear that the White Rose of Yorkshire logo is no longer on the cars in their Virgin livery, which is a shame. Sadly the lack of use of a wind tunnel makes me think this will not be a season challenging the more established teams. The drivers are made up to Timo Glock who has always seemed quick and Lucas de Resti who is another graduate from GP2. Their realistic goal should be to beat the other new teams.

26 & 27 Sauber

I thoroughly welcome back Sauber as a proper team rather than just a bit of the BMW team name.In Pedro de la Rosa they have a hugely experienced driver beyond his 71 GP starts he has years of F1 testing with a number of teams. Kobayashi I am very happy to see on the grid, he was a big surprise in the races he was in last season for Toyota and if he can just check the aggresion a little his speed will see him survive in F1 for many years to come.
The lack of funds may hinder how well they do but it's good to see them back in any case.

US F-Gone

Another of Ecclestones experiments gone wrong, US F1 wont appear in 2010 and may make the grid in2011, personally I'd tell them where to go and put their slot up for grabs again. Do this as soon as possible so the new team who ever they may be have plenty of development time.


So there you go Let me know what you think, I will also be doing a preview of this seasons calendar later in the weekand hopefully a preview of each race as we go through the season.