Australian F1 GP - Guess who won?

Not Ferrari, not McLaren. It's Brawn GP !!!!

Who would have expected a team, which few months back was practically non-existent after Honda announced its withdrawal from F1 GP, would emerged winners and taking the top 2 spots on the podium.

Imagine ... with Honda pulling out, both Jenson and Ruben were practically looking at losing their job in the driver's seat. Then came Brawn GP, with their sponsor Virgin. With their new technical director, Ross Brawn at the helm, the car was blowing away its competition during the testing phase.

Despite the official protest on the Brawn's car diffuser design, Jenson Button led the race from start to finish. This was a historical win for Brawn. Its maiden F1 GP race and Brawn clinched the top 2 spot on the podium. This car is really looking to be way ahead of the rest of the field.

Ferrari clearly struggled during the race with steering problems (Massa) and tyre problems (Raikkonen).

Looks like Brawn GP will be giving Ferrari and McLaren a run for their money this 2009 season. Next stop ..... Malaysian F1 GP at Sepang.

Driver numbers for 2009 F1 season

The FIA issued a revised entry list for the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, with driver number changes at three teams.

The full entry list of constructors and drivers is as follows:

McLaren Mercedes
1 Lewis Hamilton (GB)
2 Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)

Ferrari
3 Felipe Massa (BR)
4 Kimi Raikkonen (FIN)

BMW Sauber
5 Robert Kubica (PL)
6 Nick Heidfeld (D)

Renault
7 Fernando Alonso (E)
8 Nelson Piquet (BR)

Toyota
9 Jarno Trulli (I)
10 Timo Glock (D)

STR Ferrari
11 Sebastien Bourdais (F)
12 Sebastien Buemi (CH)

Red Bull Renault
14 Mark Webber (AUS)
15 Sebastian Vettel (D)

Williams Toyota
16 Nico Rosberg (D)
17 Kazuki Nakajima (J)

Force India Mercedes
18 Adrian Sutil (D)
19 Giancarlo Fisichella (I)

Brawn Mercedes
20 Jenson Button (GB)
21 Rubens Barrichello (BR)

2009 Changes for F1 races and cars

This season, there are major changes implemented for F1 cars. Major changes are aimed at enhancing the F1 race by allowing more overtaking opportunities while at the same time reducing costs.

The most significant changes is to the aerodynamics of the F1 cars, with smaller rear wings and wider front wings which, may be adjusted by the driver, twice per lap. Another major change is the implementation of KERS, the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems which can give drivers up to an additional 85 horsepower for 6.6 seconds a lap. This is available via a steering-wheel mounted ‘boost button’. Then there is the return to slick tyres, a ban on testing once the season has started, and the requirement that engines have to cover twice the mileage that they were allowed in 2008.

KERS represents largely uncharted territory, while giving F1 a crucial green edge to its activities. While it offers a calculable performance advantage, KERS also presents significant problems with packaging, since KERS will affect a car’s crucial weight distribution. Then there is the issue of deploying KERS, which has an effect on a car’s handling and balance at critical times during each lap. With KERS the problem is exacerbated by the weight of the system, and the fact that it has to be mounted towards the rear of the car, thus complicating weight distribution.

Safety car - The pit lane will now remain open throughout any safety-car period, allowing drivers to refuel without penalty. However, to ensure that drivers are not tempted to speed back to the pit lane, a new software system which employs GPS and the cars’ standard ECU has been introduced. When the safety car is deployed, each driver is given a minimum ‘back to pit’ time based on his position on track. If he arrives in the pit lane before that time he will be penalised.

Singapore F1 Marina Bay Circuit - 3 corners named.

A contest "It's Your Turn" was held to get the public to suggest names for 3 of the corners of the Singapore F1 Marina Bay circuit. Judges had to pick the winning names from a total of 1440 entries.

Turn 1 of the Marina Bay street circuit after the start-finish straight has been named Sheares, after the Benjamin Sheares Bridge which runs over it.

Turn 7, the scene of many a thrilling overtaking manoeuvre near the War Memorial, will now be known as Memorial. Imagine you (the driver) being overtaken at this corner by your rival .... you can bet both drivers will remember that moment.

The tricky 10th corner has been christened Singapore Sling. Tackle this turn well and drivers will "slingshot" ahead of the chasing pack.

Australian F1 GP - 27-29 March 2009

Time flies .. and it is the month of March already. That means that we are coming to the start of the 2009 F1 Grand Prix season.

The 2009 season will start with the race in Australia on the 27 Mar 2009, with the actual race on 29 Mar 2009. Can't wait for it to start. I hope that the red car will triumph this season.

Season's race schedule: http://singaporef1gp.blogspot.com/2008/11/latest-2009-schedule.html