In seven days time, the roaring sound of V8 engines will exit the garages; the adrenaline buzz for millions of fans will begin again as the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship kicks into life in the Middle East.
The desert area of Bahrain will stage the first race of 19, equalling the 2005 season as the longest in the World Championship’s history. The winter break has seen as many stories as a traditional Grand Prix season would, with Toyota pulling out of the sport, Renault electing to stay in F1 under new ownership and the sensational return of Michael Schumacher to Grand Prix racing. However, quite a fair bit of attention in Sakhir, will be on the three new teams and whether they will be up to speed in time for the green light.
Last summer, F1 suffered bitter fallouts, which nearly led to a disastrous breakaway by the major manufacturers. Former FIA president Max Mosley and the head of FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) Luca di Montzemolo clashed verbally on several occasions over budget caps, as the sport took desperate attempts to reduce costs in a global recession. Eventually, peace was made, with Mosley departing the scene, but it was too late for BMW & Toyota, both electing to walkaway, due to the economic crisis. Consequently, we have three new teams on the grid, boosting the number of cars up to 24.
Unfortunately, as widely anticipated, one team has failed to make it. USF1, led by Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor, both very experienced, failed to stump up the materialised costs for their team to run. This was largely down to a lack of sponsorship and staff. Though, they claim they will be ready for 2011, the team’s base in Charlotte, USA is up for sale and its only driver, Jose Maria Lopez has been released from his contract. The team looks like on the verge of collapse. The FIA then rejected Serbian team Stefan GP’s entry, because it was too late. Stefan GP had flown equipment out to Bahrain, bought Toyota’s cars which had been designed for 2010 before their pull-out and signed ex-Williams reject Kazuki Nakajima to drive. It is disappointing that this entry has been rejected, but understandably so, with Bahrain just a week away and hopefully, they will be on the grid sooner rather than later.
This leaves Lotus, Virgin F1 and Hispania F1 to make their births into the sport next weekend. Virgin F1 looks the quicker, from the winter testing, but have been plagued by reliability problems. In promising Brazilian Lucas di Grassi and former Toyota pilot, Timo Glock, the team has got the strongest potential to surprise some of the established pack this season. Especially Glock, who for many, is probably the most under-rated driver on the grid. The team is strongly backed by Richard Branson, who after minimal support with last year’s Brawn GP car makes the big step into backing Formula 1 success.
Lotus will return to the Formula One circle in Bahrain, after an exile of sixteen years. Past glories of Colin Chapman and champions in the form of Clark, Hill, Andretti and Fittipaldi may have been a long time ago, but everyone is urging the team to do a respectable and capable job. In former Tyrrell, Jordan and Toyota chief designer Mike Gascoigne, they’ve got plenty of experience in backroom staff and a strong driver-line up consisting of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, both who have failed to deliver in their careers, but can steer the team out of trouble. They may struggle initially, but an updated package for May’s Spanish Grand Prix will probably see the first sign of true competitiveness.
The final team making their bow is Hispania F1. Taking over the initial Campos entry, the team are bringing in valuable money, through Indian Karun Chandok, the second driver only in India’s history to enter Formula One and Bruno Senna, nephew of the late great Brazilian, Ayrton. Senna has been successful in most of the junior formulae and could be one of the surprise packages of the season. However, considering the team’s perilous situation over the winter, plus no winter testing, they are more likely to be the whipping boys of 2010.
The record for new teams entering F1 is not great. Simtek, Pacific, Forti, and Super Aguri all went bust within four years of existence, even Jaguar failed in their five year stint in Grand Prix racing. The new teams are definitely ready for the challenge, but I’m predicting tough times ahead on the long road to F1 glory.
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