#234 picspammy Challenge #13, Something Different: Formula 1 (2009)
I just wanted to do a picspam, and seeing that picspammy's previous challenge is still up, I thought I might as well post this up. And this has been pretty much all I've obsessing about during the last few months - the last race on November 1st. For some reason I didn't really catch on the 2008 season hype - I read the results, watched the highlights, but was never excited much that I had to watch it live (it was strange considering I was hooked from 2005-2007). As much as I think Hamilton is a great driver - it's pure headache to listen to the British commentary when that’s pretty much ALL they talk about. This year was easier because firstly, we're back to the BBC broadcast so that means no adverts/interruptions, plus, if you're normally a Ferrari/McLaren fan they were behind on development, so you had support new drivers and teams for the championship. There weren’t too many memorable races, my favourite would probably be Brazil, though Spa and Suzuka never disappoint, Melbourne's always a good one just because it's after the winter break. The rather boring ones were those newer/street circuits (i.e Valenia, Singapore, Abu Dhabi) and Monaco was, again, a disappointment. I think the only Monaco race I've enjoyed recently was back in 2005. As always, give time for the images to all show up.
Formula 1 (2009) : The Teams and Drivers
(from l-r, by team) Brawn GP: Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello | Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber | Ferrari: Kimi Räikkönen, Giancarlo Fisichella | McLaren: Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen | Williams: Nico Rosberg, Kazuki Nakajima | BMW: Rovert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld | Toyota: Timo Glock, Kamui Kobayashi | Renault: Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean | Force India: Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi | Toro Rosso: Jaime Alguersuari, Sébastien Buemi | Off the Grid: Sébastien Bourdais, Felipe Massa, Luca Badoer, Nelson Piquet Jr and Timo Glock
This is what the drivers table looks like at the end of the year, there were more than a few change-overs and swaps. (1) Sébastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso team was replaced with Jaime Alguersuari (2) Ferrari's Felipe Massa was injured and had to sit out for the rest the season, Luca Badoer was in his seat first, but because he was so bad they then stole Giancarlo Fisichella off (3) Force India who in turn had to fill his seat with Vitantonio Liuzzi (4) Nelson Piquet, Jr. was fired and replaced with Romain Grosjean and (5) Kamui Kobayashi sat in for Timo Glock during Suzuka's Friday practice and the two races afterwards.
The Beginning of the Brawn Fairytale (Melbourne Circuit, Australia)
The new team (formally known as Honda), lead by Ross Brawn, get their first points, podium, and race win, all in their first outing. Jenson Button was on the top step and Rubens Barrichello ends up second after Vettel and Kubica crash out at the last laps. Jenson's winning streak continues on until Turkey.
It's A Storm (Sepang Circuit, Malaysia)
Do commence the "Felipe baby!" and Kimi/Icecream/Magnum/Coke/(Vodka) jokes.
Maiden Win's for Red Bull (Shanghai Circuit, China; Nürburgring, Germany)
Red Bull get their first win - also one/two - in China with Sebastian Vettel (who's already had his maiden win with Toro Rosso) and Mark Webber. Mark also finally wins, after more than 130 starts in Germany - another one/two. They both go on to win more races, including Silverstone, Suzuka, Abu Dhabi (Seb) and Brazil (Mark).
Felipe Massa (Hungaroring, Hungary)
Massa has been told to keep out of the cockpit and that fueled rumours of a Schumi comeback. And then it was confirmed. And then the dream was shattered when his neck injury was too severe to drive the duration of a Formula 1 race. Thus the slowest Ferrari driver came about. I think it's the first time Ferrari have been the slowest/last in qualifying.
Are You On Pole? (Hungaroring, Hungary)
For a sport that’s worth bajillons, you'd think they'd have a timing system which works. Apparently not. At the end of the session, the drivers parked and Alonso basically went around and asked everyone what times they did. Alonso: (to Jenson) "I don't know where I am." (to Mark) "I don't know which position I am!" (to anyone) "Are you on pole? (to Lewis) "What time did you do? You know you're position?" (to his team) "We are what?" Answer: We don't know yet, haven't heard anything off the radio.
Rubens is a Winner... and it's not for Ferrari (Valencia Street Circuit, Europe)
Because it's been five years, and there isn't a person who isn't happy for him. And more importantly, it's his only win out of the Ferrari cockpit. His first was also one of the longest maiden wins back at the Nürburgring in 2000, starting 17th and ended up 1st.
The King of Spa: Kimi (Spa-Francorchamps, Belguim)
Crazy qualifying ended with a totally backwards grid - Force India on pole and a Ferrari at the back. Kimi's fourth win (out of five) makes him the only driver on the current grid to be a Spa winner (depending on how you see last years Hamilton/Chicanes/Massa). This was Ferrari's first/only race win in 2009, but was slightly overshadowed by Fisi's first Force India's points/podium. We also say bye, bye to Luca Badoer - probably Ferrari's worst driver, but hey, you really can't blame him, especially after they replaced him and there still weren't any points. Don't you love how Fisi was singing along to the Italian anthem and is so happy, you'd have thought he actually won it.
New Circuit: Pretty, But That's It (Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi)
The place looks amazing. Even on the TV screen. I hate the blue colored tarmac, it's supposed to be the color of the sea, but I find it rather "disjointed" from the rest of track - not to mention it just looks horrible. The pitlane wasn't really worth all that hype, it would have been more exciting to have it as an overpass instead of underground. Interlagos should definitely be given back the place as last on the calendar - it has always produced a much more exciting finale race.
Rookie of the Year: Kamui Kobayashi
He was seriously the highlight of the last two races, most notably Abu Dhabi which was super boring. Supposedly holding up the WC, weaving (which comes into question because if he was, why wasn't he punished?), clashing with Nakajima, overtaking in the last few laps - I hope we see more of him. It's a shame Toyota has left the sport because I really hope to see more of him.
The (Always) Runner-Up: Rubens Barrichello
Rubens has the worst luck EVER on his home track - seriously, a puncture in the last few laps? I was so hoping and cheering that Rubens could finally add World Championship to his CV. It's something like out of his 17 starts he's only finished a handful of them and only once has it been on a podium, third place. Plus it would have been interesting to see the driver situation if Rubens became WC.
The Runner-Up: Sebastian Vettel
Youngest ever runner-up. And he could actually still steal the title of "youngest world champion" if he wins next year (though highly unlikely with the super teams stepping up). He's definitely a raw talent and I'm sure he's eventually going to win a championship - I remember people saying that about Kimi back in 2002 and it took him five years - but he only seems to do well when starting at the front of the grid. That’s his main problem. He's fast and can put in crazy lap times, perfect qualifying laps, but he doesn’t seem to overtaking and making up ground when starting lower down. But I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt because we didn’t get much action anywhere from anyone. So next year will probably be his biggest challenge without refueling, he'll need to get a lot of the work done on the track, and if he proves he can, then he's going to be classified as one of the top tier drivers.
The Champion: Jenson Button
So there are debates he's not deserving, he shouldn't have won, he's the worst champion, etc. But it comes down to who has the most points at the end of the season, and Button has shown flashes of brilliance before in his years - think back to, what, I think it was 2005 when the team was still BAR Honda. I also believe he's very lucky, after a rather bland second half of the season he still manages to keep a huge points gap throughout, and no one else could capitalise on his misfortunes. But lucky also needs finishes, points and reliability, he only had the one DNF, and it was a race incident. As for him moving to McLaren, on a sentimental value, I’m surprised considering they’ve been through so much together, the bad and the good. However I would also understand that he wants a long term winning team.
The Last of Kimi Räikkönen?
I guess it seems fitting he started F1 at the beginning of the decade an decides to leave take a break at the start of a new one. Driving for McLaren pretty much all his career he came close to the title twice but only finally made it in 2007 in his first year with Ferrari, only to be kicked out and replaced with Alonso - and I thought the tifosi quite liked him. Its a shame to see one of my favourite drivers leave but it seems F1 isn't really his thing anymore, whether its motivation problems, lack of actual racing nowadays, or the PR duties, it seems he hasn't changed one little bit from since he first started racing, it's necessarily bad, but it doesn't help in a sport which is making it's big change. What surprised me is that he actually looks rather small in real life when I went to the Ferrari store opening in Regents St earlier in the year (and that’s coming from a rather short person of 5.6ft) - so I can't imagine Massa when onscreen everyone towers over him.
We Wait for 2010... (and because everyone's friends!)
It has seriously taken ages this year for the final (important) driver seats to be announced, but seeing as it's confirmed that Kimi will be taking a "sabbatical" (we all know how well that went for Mika) and that McLaren will have it's British world champions line-up as well as Brawn being bought by Mercedes who are interested in a mainly German team - we have a clearer idea whats happening next year. Personally not too happy about how this turned out mainly for two reasons a) an all British team at McLaren is going to be a national broadcasting/newspaper headache for me and b) I was looking forward to a Lewis/Kimi vs. Felipe/Fernando. Looking at it this way, as long as Ferrari provides a decent car and the drivers don't kill each other, they should at least be getting the Constructors title.
Driver Line Up 2010 (Confirmed)
Mercedes (Brawn) GP: TBA, TBA (we all know it's Nico Rosberg) | Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber | Ferrari: Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso | McLaren: Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button | Williams: Rubens Barrichello, Nicolas Hülkenberg | Renault: Robert Kubica, TBA | Force India: TBA, TBA | Toro Rosso: Sébastien Buemi, TBA | Campos: Bruno Senna, TBA | Manor: Timo Glock, TBA | USF1: TBA, TBA
Formula 1 (2009) : The Teams and Drivers
(from l-r, by team) Brawn GP: Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello | Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber | Ferrari: Kimi Räikkönen, Giancarlo Fisichella | McLaren: Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen | Williams: Nico Rosberg, Kazuki Nakajima | BMW: Rovert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld | Toyota: Timo Glock, Kamui Kobayashi | Renault: Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean | Force India: Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi | Toro Rosso: Jaime Alguersuari, Sébastien Buemi | Off the Grid: Sébastien Bourdais, Felipe Massa, Luca Badoer, Nelson Piquet Jr and Timo Glock
This is what the drivers table looks like at the end of the year, there were more than a few change-overs and swaps. (1) Sébastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso team was replaced with Jaime Alguersuari (2) Ferrari's Felipe Massa was injured and had to sit out for the rest the season, Luca Badoer was in his seat first, but because he was so bad they then stole Giancarlo Fisichella off (3) Force India who in turn had to fill his seat with Vitantonio Liuzzi (4) Nelson Piquet, Jr. was fired and replaced with Romain Grosjean and (5) Kamui Kobayashi sat in for Timo Glock during Suzuka's Friday practice and the two races afterwards.
The Beginning of the Brawn Fairytale (Melbourne Circuit, Australia)
The new team (formally known as Honda), lead by Ross Brawn, get their first points, podium, and race win, all in their first outing. Jenson Button was on the top step and Rubens Barrichello ends up second after Vettel and Kubica crash out at the last laps. Jenson's winning streak continues on until Turkey.
It's A Storm (Sepang Circuit, Malaysia)
Do commence the "Felipe baby!" and Kimi/Icecream/Magnum/Coke/(Vodka) jokes.
Maiden Win's for Red Bull (Shanghai Circuit, China; Nürburgring, Germany)
Red Bull get their first win - also one/two - in China with Sebastian Vettel (who's already had his maiden win with Toro Rosso) and Mark Webber. Mark also finally wins, after more than 130 starts in Germany - another one/two. They both go on to win more races, including Silverstone, Suzuka, Abu Dhabi (Seb) and Brazil (Mark).
Felipe Massa (Hungaroring, Hungary)
Massa has been told to keep out of the cockpit and that fueled rumours of a Schumi comeback. And then it was confirmed. And then the dream was shattered when his neck injury was too severe to drive the duration of a Formula 1 race. Thus the slowest Ferrari driver came about. I think it's the first time Ferrari have been the slowest/last in qualifying.
Are You On Pole? (Hungaroring, Hungary)
For a sport that’s worth bajillons, you'd think they'd have a timing system which works. Apparently not. At the end of the session, the drivers parked and Alonso basically went around and asked everyone what times they did. Alonso: (to Jenson) "I don't know where I am." (to Mark) "I don't know which position I am!" (to anyone) "Are you on pole? (to Lewis) "What time did you do? You know you're position?" (to his team) "We are what?" Answer: We don't know yet, haven't heard anything off the radio.
Rubens is a Winner... and it's not for Ferrari (Valencia Street Circuit, Europe)
Because it's been five years, and there isn't a person who isn't happy for him. And more importantly, it's his only win out of the Ferrari cockpit. His first was also one of the longest maiden wins back at the Nürburgring in 2000, starting 17th and ended up 1st.
The King of Spa: Kimi (Spa-Francorchamps, Belguim)
Crazy qualifying ended with a totally backwards grid - Force India on pole and a Ferrari at the back. Kimi's fourth win (out of five) makes him the only driver on the current grid to be a Spa winner (depending on how you see last years Hamilton/Chicanes/Massa). This was Ferrari's first/only race win in 2009, but was slightly overshadowed by Fisi's first Force India's points/podium. We also say bye, bye to Luca Badoer - probably Ferrari's worst driver, but hey, you really can't blame him, especially after they replaced him and there still weren't any points. Don't you love how Fisi was singing along to the Italian anthem and is so happy, you'd have thought he actually won it.
New Circuit: Pretty, But That's It (Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi)
The place looks amazing. Even on the TV screen. I hate the blue colored tarmac, it's supposed to be the color of the sea, but I find it rather "disjointed" from the rest of track - not to mention it just looks horrible. The pitlane wasn't really worth all that hype, it would have been more exciting to have it as an overpass instead of underground. Interlagos should definitely be given back the place as last on the calendar - it has always produced a much more exciting finale race.
Rookie of the Year: Kamui Kobayashi
He was seriously the highlight of the last two races, most notably Abu Dhabi which was super boring. Supposedly holding up the WC, weaving (which comes into question because if he was, why wasn't he punished?), clashing with Nakajima, overtaking in the last few laps - I hope we see more of him. It's a shame Toyota has left the sport because I really hope to see more of him.
The (Always) Runner-Up: Rubens Barrichello
Rubens has the worst luck EVER on his home track - seriously, a puncture in the last few laps? I was so hoping and cheering that Rubens could finally add World Championship to his CV. It's something like out of his 17 starts he's only finished a handful of them and only once has it been on a podium, third place. Plus it would have been interesting to see the driver situation if Rubens became WC.
The Runner-Up: Sebastian Vettel
Youngest ever runner-up. And he could actually still steal the title of "youngest world champion" if he wins next year (though highly unlikely with the super teams stepping up). He's definitely a raw talent and I'm sure he's eventually going to win a championship - I remember people saying that about Kimi back in 2002 and it took him five years - but he only seems to do well when starting at the front of the grid. That’s his main problem. He's fast and can put in crazy lap times, perfect qualifying laps, but he doesn’t seem to overtaking and making up ground when starting lower down. But I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt because we didn’t get much action anywhere from anyone. So next year will probably be his biggest challenge without refueling, he'll need to get a lot of the work done on the track, and if he proves he can, then he's going to be classified as one of the top tier drivers.
The Champion: Jenson Button
So there are debates he's not deserving, he shouldn't have won, he's the worst champion, etc. But it comes down to who has the most points at the end of the season, and Button has shown flashes of brilliance before in his years - think back to, what, I think it was 2005 when the team was still BAR Honda. I also believe he's very lucky, after a rather bland second half of the season he still manages to keep a huge points gap throughout, and no one else could capitalise on his misfortunes. But lucky also needs finishes, points and reliability, he only had the one DNF, and it was a race incident. As for him moving to McLaren, on a sentimental value, I’m surprised considering they’ve been through so much together, the bad and the good. However I would also understand that he wants a long term winning team.
The Last of Kimi Räikkönen?
I guess it seems fitting he started F1 at the beginning of the decade an decides to leave take a break at the start of a new one. Driving for McLaren pretty much all his career he came close to the title twice but only finally made it in 2007 in his first year with Ferrari, only to be kicked out and replaced with Alonso - and I thought the tifosi quite liked him. Its a shame to see one of my favourite drivers leave but it seems F1 isn't really his thing anymore, whether its motivation problems, lack of actual racing nowadays, or the PR duties, it seems he hasn't changed one little bit from since he first started racing, it's necessarily bad, but it doesn't help in a sport which is making it's big change. What surprised me is that he actually looks rather small in real life when I went to the Ferrari store opening in Regents St earlier in the year (and that’s coming from a rather short person of 5.6ft) - so I can't imagine Massa when onscreen everyone towers over him.
We Wait for 2010... (and because everyone's friends!)
It has seriously taken ages this year for the final (important) driver seats to be announced, but seeing as it's confirmed that Kimi will be taking a "sabbatical" (we all know how well that went for Mika) and that McLaren will have it's British world champions line-up as well as Brawn being bought by Mercedes who are interested in a mainly German team - we have a clearer idea whats happening next year. Personally not too happy about how this turned out mainly for two reasons a) an all British team at McLaren is going to be a national broadcasting/newspaper headache for me and b) I was looking forward to a Lewis/Kimi vs. Felipe/Fernando. Looking at it this way, as long as Ferrari provides a decent car and the drivers don't kill each other, they should at least be getting the Constructors title.
Driver Line Up 2010 (Confirmed)
Mercedes (Brawn) GP: TBA, TBA (we all know it's Nico Rosberg) | Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber | Ferrari: Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso | McLaren: Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button | Williams: Rubens Barrichello, Nicolas Hülkenberg | Renault: Robert Kubica, TBA | Force India: TBA, TBA | Toro Rosso: Sébastien Buemi, TBA | Campos: Bruno Senna, TBA | Manor: Timo Glock, TBA | USF1: TBA, TBA