Vettel Can Continue To Blaze A Trail In European Grand Prix

Despite having won six of the eight races and been second in the other two, there are many predicting that this week’s European F1 Grand Prix in Valencia will see the beginning of the end of Sebastian Vettel’s and Red Bull’s reign as the kingpins of the 2011 F1 season. This is surely nonsense!

The reason why that prediction is nonsense is simple; Vettel has a 60 point lead in the Drivers Championship while his Red Bull team are 69 points clear in the Constructors. The German world champion has qualified in pole position in every race bar one and even then he was on the front row in second place. Admittedly there are 12 more races still to go and it is possible that Jenson Button, who is nearest to Vettel in the F1 Leaderboard, and co, can win further races. Additionally there is proof to suggest that McLaren and Ferrari are getting quicker as the season unfolds, but to bridge such a gap is surely beyond them.

Even if Red Bull lose some of their early season dominance it is almost impossible to see Vettel and his team mate, Mark Webber not achieving regular podium finishes. This, at least in Vettel’s case will be more than ample to secure him and the team top spot by the season’s end.

It is agreed that the European Grand Prix could play a significant role in the long term, but it should not be forgotten that Vettel won here last year after claiming ‘pole’ and Webber started on the grid in second. It is also agreed that the Red Bull team will feel more pressure after the last three races which has seen their chief rivals take closer order. That pressure possibly led to the mistake made by Vettel two weeks ago in Montreal when he lost the race on the last lap to Jenson Button.

Qualifying will be more important than usual in this race as Valencia, traditionally, has been a very difficult track for overtaking. That said the double DRS (Drag Reduction System) which will be in use in Valencia will allow for easier overtaking, as it did in Montreal, but it will not necessarily make up for a decent position on the grid. Both McLaren and Ferrari will be happier than Red Bull with the double DRS but they will be even happier if any of their drivers can start from ‘pole’ for which the betting market makes Vettel a long odds on favourite to achieve.

If Vettel makes ‘Pole’ then Vettel takes the chequered flag on Sunday, it is as simple as that and he is favourite to do so in the latest F1 odds for this race! Besides, even f he doesn’t he will almost certainly claim a top three finish, giving him sufficient points to take a further significant step to the Championship.

Vettel Vulnerable in Malaysian Grand Prix Betting

The F1 circuit reaches Malaysia this weekend with the Red Bull team heavy favourites to repeat their achievement of 12 months ago when their two drivers, world champion, Sebastian Vettel and team mate, Mark Webber came home first and second.

Certainly there are questions that the Red Bull team will have to answer; particularly because the Sepang circuit and its long straights may not suit their aero package and also that the race will probably be run with outside temperatures of around the 40c mark and in intense humidity, which will affect the tyres.

It is almost certain therefore that Christian Horner, the Red Bull team boss, will incorporate the KERS system in both cars to aid the speed on the straight and will pay extra attention to the choice of tyres used, particularly as the extra weight of the KERS will add more pressure on them. That said Vettel in particular looked as if he needed no boost in Australia a fortnight ago, driving the quickest almost throughout the race which of course he went on to win; however he will know that Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren was a shade quicker than Vettel until the first round of pit-stops. McLaren have had a fortnight to improve on that performance which will make practice, that starts on Saturday that much more exciting.

Horner has been quoted that he believes that the McLaren cars will be a lot closer to them than most think, which is certainly the feeling of the McLaren team. Lewis finished second last week and had his team mate, Jenson Button exercised a little more patience and subtlety during his battle with Felipe Massa of Ferrari, he could have easily pulled off a podium finish himself. In the event he earned himself a penalty and finished in only sixth place in a race that he had won in 2009 when driving for Brawn.

The third place in the end went to hugely talented Russian, Vitaly Petrov in his Renault, who looks like he is about to take ‘giant strides’ in the sport now that Robert Kubica is sidelined. No-one really expected to see a Renault making such an early impression, Petrov only qualified in sixth, but he proved that the Renault car has much more about it than the so called experts imagine. It would come as no surprise this week to see him very competitive once again.

The outcome of this race could be decided by so many factors that it makes one conclude that, whilst Vettel and Red Bull justify favouritism in the latest Malaysian Grand Prix odds, the course, the weather, the humidity, and the tyres will all have an effect on the outcome, which makes betting on world champion, Vettel at around 13/10 uncertain. A better bet would be take the favourite on, with either Hamilton at 5/1 or even Button who is as long as 20/1 with some Bookmakers.

It is fair to believe that Vettel should start on pole, for which he is a heavy odds on favourite, but with McLaren expected to improve their speed too, the 9/2 against Hamilton might be worthy of consideration.

Ferrari can get off to winning start to 2011 F1 Season

The 2011 Forumla 1 season finally gets under way this weekend following the cancellation of Bahrain Grand Prix a couple of weeks back. The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne takes centre stage for the start of the new season and with both the Drivers Championship and Constructors Championship up for grabs, everyone starts with a clean slate and optimism will be high across all teams and drivers but which combination will get off to the best possible start and emerge victorious Down Under?

The obvious candidate of course is the reigning F1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, now officially the number one driver for Red Bull, whose cars it would appear are as good as ever, certainly looking the best of all teams in pre-season practices.

Vettel is without doubt full of confidence but Melbourne has not been one of his better circuits having failed to finish in his two races there so far for Red Bull. He qualified in pole position last year, but his race ended on the 25^th lap with brakes problems. In 2009 he qualified in third place but had to retire following a collision when in third place on the 56^th lap.

Vettel’s team mate at Red Bull Mark Webber will no doubt have the crowd on his side, but whether that will be enough for him to win the race is open doubt as like Vettel, the Melbourne circuit has not been the kindest to him. He was ninth last year after qualifying second and in 2009 he finished twelfth after qualifying in tenth place. In fact Webber’s best finish on home soil was his fifth places he achieved in 2002, when driving for Minardi and in 2005 when he was with Williams.

Of the current crop of drivers, Jenson Button has the best record winning the race for the last two years. Firstly in 2009 when driving for Brawn and then 12 months ago when driving a superb race for his new team of McLaren. It is anticipated that this year that tyres will be a key area and it is well known on the circuit that Button is probably just about the best driver when it comes to opting for tyre changes. Add that to his great ability to preserve tread, he would seem to be in with a big shout to win for a third consecutive time, provided that the McLaren car is up to it.

McLaren in fact have been behind the rest of the leading lights in pre-season and are still tinkering with their exhaust system amongst other things. Lewis Hamilton, team mate of Button and winner of this race in 2009 is however quite bullish about his team’s chances but realises that to win they have it all to do against the Red Bull’s and Ferrari’s. As it stands currently Hamilton can be backed in the Drivers Championship odds at around 10/1 with Button much better value at 16/1, however punters would probably be best advised to leave the McLaren team alone for this opening Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso whose only win in Australia came in 2006 when he drove for Renault is in the antepost market as the 11/4 second favourite. However, now in his second season with Ferrari, the Spaniard and the team can be expected to make significant moves this year in their bid to wrest the title off Red Bull. It is why Alonso would be a good bet to win in Australia this year. He too has had plenty of good pre-season practice sessions and confidence is very high in the team.

The Mercedes team can also be expected to improve on last year and it would surprise no-one to see their two drivers, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg to be in amongst the leaders both in qualifying and the race itself. They are both around the same 12/1 price and represent good value to at least make the podium at the end of the race.

Next on the schedule is the Malaysian Grand Prix on April 10th, before the tour heads to China, Turkey and Spain and by the time the Monaco Grand Prix betting comes around on the 29th May, one of the feature races of the season I clearer picture will known of who the best teams are likely to be for the remainder of the campaign.

Melbourne Grand Prix Prediction:

1^st F Alonso – Ferrari

2^nd S Vettel – Red Bull

3^rd N Rosberg - Mercedes

F1 : Teams to participate in 2010

he threat made by a number of Formula One teams to quit the sport appears to have receded after all existing entrants made the deadline to submit entries for the 2010 world championship.

All nine members of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) submitted a block entry on Friday, albeit under conditions dictated as a compromise is sought with the FIA over the insistence of the latter's president, Max Mosley, on a £40 million budget cap from next year.

Williams broke ranks and entered the championship earlier in the week - a move which brought about their temporary suspension from FOTA.

A statement read: "FOTA confirms all its members' long-term commitment to be involved in the FIA Formula One World Championship and has unanimously agreed further and significant actions to substantially reduce the costs of competing in the championship in the next three years, creating a mechanism that will preserve the technological competition and the sporting challenge and, at the same time, facilitate the entry in the F1 Championship for new teams.

"These measures are in line with what has already been decided in 2009 within FOTA, achieving important saving on engines and gearboxes."

"The FOTA teams have entered the 2010 championship on the basis that:

"1) The Concorde Agreement (the commercial protocol existing between teams, the FIA and the sport's commercial rights controller Bernie Ecclestone) is signed by all parties before 12th June 2009, after which all FOTA teams will commit to competing in Formula One until 2012.

"The renewal of the Concorde Agreement will provide security for the future of the sport by binding all parties in a formal relationship that will ensure stability via sound governance.

"2) The basis of the 2010 regulations will be the current 2009 regulations, amended in accordance with proposals that FOTA has submitted to the FIA."

The statement added: "All FOTA teams' entries for the 2010 FIA Formula One world championship have been submitted today on the understanding that (a) all FOTA teams will be permitted to compete during the 2010 Formula One season on an identical regulatory basis and (b) that they may only be accepted as a whole.

"All FOTA teams now look forward with optimism to collaborating proactively and productively with the FIA, with a view to establishing a solid foundation on which the future of a healthy and successful Formula One can be built, providing lasting stability and sound governance."

Now it appears that all the teams including Ferrari are set to participate in the 2010 edition and well beyond 2012. This news comes as a relief for the the F1 fans all around the world.

F1: Driver with maximum wins gets World Championship

FIA has just released a new ruling that will reward the driver with the most race wins in a season with the world title. This law comes just weeks before the new season kicks off in Australia. And boy what a rule it is...From now on its going to be out and out racing. No place for team orders or even team work from here on. The governing body's World Motor Sport Council has agreed to the proposal put forward by Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management.The allocation of points will remain the same as last year's 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 sequence.The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will also be decided by the current points system with the constructors' championship unaffected. If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points. It's a fantastic rule which had been on the cards for quite some time now. Had this been in place last year, Felippe Massa would have won the World Championship. So this year is going to even more interesting, can't wait for the action to begin on 28th.....

F1:2009 Season Race Calendar

The 2009 Formula 1 season is set to kick off in a couple of weeks time and it promises to be more exciting than last season. With new rules and regulations into place its going to hard to predict the winners this time around. Honda team, renamed as Brawn GP will be hoping to show some real improvement under Ross Brawn. Force India have formed a partnership with McLaren, something which will be looked upon with Interest. The top teams like Ferrari and McLaren remain favourites but you can't take anything for granted in F1. Lets wait and watch.

2009 Season Race Calendar:

01	2009 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne)	27 - 29 Mar
02	2009 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur)	03 - 05 Apr
03	2009 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai)	17 - 19 Apr
04	2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Sakhir)	24 - 26 Apr
05	FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2009 (Catalunya)	08 - 10 May
06	FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2009 (Monte Carlo)	21 - 24 May
07	2009 FORMULA 1 ING TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul)	05 - 07 Jun
08	2009 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Silverstone)	19 - 21 Jun
09	FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON DEUTSCHLAND 2009 (Nürburgring)	10 - 12 Jul
10	FORMULA 1 ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2009 (Budapest)	24 - 26 Jul
11	2009 FORMULA 1 TELEFONICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia)	21 - 23 Aug
12	2009 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps)	28 - 30 Aug
13	FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 (Monza)	11 - 13 Sep
14	2009 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore)	25 - 27 Sep
15	2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka)	02 - 04 Oct
16	FORMULA 1 GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL 2009 (Sao Paulo)	16 - 18 Oct
17	2009 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Yas Marina Circuit)	30 Oct - 01 Nov

Honda sells F1 team to Ross Brawn

Formula 1 team Honda has found a buyer for its team and its was none other than the team principle Ross Brawn. The new team will now be known as Brawn GP team and will retain Honda's two drivers, Britain's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello of Brazil. The team, based in Brackley, UK, employs about 700 support staff.
Japan's second-biggest carmaker, which announced in December that it was pulling out of the sport to save money, said yesterday it had agreed to sell the team to Ross Brawn, its former manager. And the bulk of the money to fund the first season will come from Honda.Mr Brawn, who was born in Manchester, helped Michael Schumacher to win five straight Formula One titles at Ferrari before joining Honda in 2007.