2009 Formula 1 Season Guide

Kuali Baba SG

The free guide is here once again!

This year sees some of the most drastic changes to the regulations governing the appearance, performance and development of the cars, and from the little that can be evaluated in pre-season testing, the recent Ferrari-McLaren-BMW-Renault applecart might get upset.

But first, here is the calendar for the 60th edition of the world championship:

March 29 Australia - Melbourne
April 5 Malaysia - Sepang
April 19 China - Shanghai
April 26 Bahrain - Sakhir
May 10 Spain - Barcelona
May 24 Monaco - Monte Carlo (street circuit)
June 7 Turkey - Istanbul
June 21 Great Britain - Silverstone (last British GP to be held here)
July 12 Germany - Nuerburgring (alternates with Hockenheim)
July 26 Hungary - Budapest
Aug. 23 Europe - Valencia (street circuit)
Aug. 30 Belgium - Spa-Francorchamps
Sept. 13 Italy - Monza
Sept. 27 Singapore - Marina Bay (street circuit)
Oct. 4 Japan - Suzuka (alternates with Fuji)
Oct. 18 Brazil - Sao Paolo
Nov. 1 Abu Dhabi - Yas Island

No French or Canadian Grand Prix will be run this year. For the first time since 1958 there will be no race in North America.

The next post will be about the 10 teams that will start in Melbourne.

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Team: Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes
Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (1), GBR; Heikki Kovalainen (2), FIN; Pedro de la Rosa (R), ESP
Car: MP4-24
Engine: Mercedes Benz FO 108W
Team Principal: Martin Whitmarsh

Team: Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Drivers: Felipe Massa (3), BRA; Kimi Räikkönen (4), FIN; Luca Badoer (R), ITA
Car: F60
Engine: Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Stefano Domenicali

Team: BMW-Sauber F1
Drivers: Robert Kubica (5), POL; Nick Heidfeld (6), GER; Christian Klien (R), AUT
Car: F1.09
Engine: BMW P86/9
Team Principal: Dr Mario Theissen

Team: ING Renault F1
Drivers: Fernando Alonso (7), ESP; Nelson Piquet (8), BRA; Romain Grosjean (R), FRA
Car: R29
Engine: Renault RS27
Team Principal: Flavio Briatore

Team: Panasonic Toyota Racing
Drivers: Jarno Trulli (9), ITA; Timo Glock (10), GER; Kamui Kobayashi (R) JAP
Car: TF109
Engine: Toyota RVX-09
Team Principal: John Howett

Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Drivers: Sebastien Bourdais (11), FRA; Sebastien Buemi (12), CH; Brendon Hartley (R), NZL
Car: STR4
Engine: Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Franz Tost

Team: Red Bull Racing
Drivers: Mark Webber (14); AUS; Sebastian Vettel (15), GER; David Coulthard (R), GBR
Car: RBR5
Engine: Renault RS27
Team Principal: Christian Horner

Team: AT&T Williams F1
Drivers: Nico Rosberg (16), GER; Kazuki Nakajima (17), JAP; Nicolas Hülkenburg (R), GER
Car: FW31
Engine: Toyota RVX-09
Team Principal: Frank Williams

Team: Force India F1
Drivers: Adrian Sutil (20), GER; Giancarlo Fisichella (21), ITA; Vitantonio Liuzzi (R), ITA
Car: VJM02
Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO 108W
Team Principal: Vijay Mallya

Team: Brawn Grand Prix
Drivers: Jenson Button (22), GBR; Rubens Barrichello (23), BRA; Alexander Wurz (R), AUT
Car: BGP001
Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO 108W
Team Principal: Ross Brawn

Hamilton and Ferrari are the defending driver's and constructor's champions.

Buemi is the only rookie participating in this years championship. Barrichello holds the records for most Grand Prix participated and started in the history of Formula 1. He drives for Brawn, the reincarnated Honda Racing team.

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NEW RULES

The following is a summary of the changes that have been introduced to make overtaking theoretically easier:

- All the cars will run slick Bridgestone dry weather tyres. In previous years there used to be 4 vertical grooves. Slick tyres increase the area of contact with the tarmac and what is called 'mechanical grip'.

- 2 dry weather compounds and 2 wet weather types will be available. No less than 2 different kinds must be used at least once during the race as with last year. The difference between the dry compounds is now greater, e.g. super-soft and medium, soft and hard, etc. A green band on the tyre wall denotes the softer.

- Front wings are now bigger and lower, and rear wings narrower and taller. The underbody diffuser is also shorter lengthwise, and save for a small area around the cockpit, no aerodynamic appendages (flip-ups, fins, vents, chimneys, bargeboards) are allowed and all bodywork must be flush.

- The use of Kinetic Energy Restoration Systems (KERS) is allowed. Energy that is otherwise lost as heat during braking is stored in capacitors, and then converted to boost power when the driver demands it at the press of a button. Some teams may choose not to use it at certain races due to its weight (30 - 40 out of the 605kg limit)

- The front wing angle may now be remotely adjusted twice a lap by the driver. This, KERS and the new bodywork are designed to allow cars to follow one another more closely and reduce the effects of turbulence.

- All testing is banned from the end of this week's Jerez test until the end of December 2009, except for new drivers with no grand prix experience.

- Each driver may use only 8 engines over the entire season, plus 4 more which may be used only for practice and qualifying. Penalties are imposed once at the race where the 9th engine is first used, once again when the 10th is used, and so on. Each engine is limited to 18,000 RPM.

- Cars may now be refuelled when the safety car is deployed. However, they must not enter the pits earlier than a stipulated minimum time, which is calculated by a new software based on their position on the track. Thus there will be no advantage or penalty gained by refuelling under a full-course caution.

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LATEST - DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP CHANGES POSTPONED

Wins to decide 2009 (now 2010) world title

The world champion will now be the driver who scores the most victories during the season, with any tie between two or more drivers only then decided by their respective overall season points total based on the existing 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 system.

All other positions in the standings will continue to be determined by the current points arrangement, as will the constructors' championship.

Full article: http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=45278

Fan-friendly initiatives pushed through

All drivers must now attend autograph signing sessions in their respective team’s pit areas on grand prix Fridays.

In addition, the weight of all cars will be published for public consumption after each qualifying session – thus revealing which cars are carrying more, or less fuel, in the crucial Q3 segment.

To improve the media’s access to the sport’s top stars, drivers eliminated before the end of qualifying, and retiring before the end of the race, must be available for interviews on their return to the paddock. Drivers who finish outside of the top three must also be on hand for media requests while teams must make at least one senior spokesperson available for interviews during the race.

And in a further move to simplify aspects of the sport, wet tyres will revert to being referred to as ‘intermediates’ with the extreme-wet rubber to be renamed 'wet'.

Full article: http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=45279

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Car numbers 18 and 19 will not be used, after Force India appealed to retain their old numbers.

Full story