2009 Formula 1 season

Very interesting start to the season with the defunct Honda team (now Brawn GP) coming out of no where to win pole position, and finish 1st and 2nd in the Australian GP.

Also, the new aero restrictions have stripped much of the aero bits off the cars which allows the cars to run closer together, creating more passing opportunities.

Another interesting twist to this season are the new KERS rules which allow KERS-equipped cars to get an 80 BHP boost for 6 seconds a lap.

McLaren and Ferrari appear to be playing catchup to Brawn, Toyota and Williams. This may be partly because the 2008 McLaren and Ferrari battle wasn't settled until the last corner of the last race of the season last year (with Lewis Hamilton beating Felipe Massa for the driver's championship by 1 pt). Ferrari and McLaren were so focused on developing the 2008 chassis throughout last season, while the other teams seemed to focus more on the development of the 2009 chassis.

The start of each season showcases F1 engineering talent. Each year's chassis must be designed and built from scratch. Also, they are basically running the same spec engines this year as last year, except they are now rev-limited at 18,000 rpms (last year it was 19,000 rpms) and the new aero restrictions are designed to greatly reduce aerodynamic downforce. Nevertheless, the drivers are already putting up faster lap times than last year.

The Malaysian GP was this past weekend. The race ended early due to a Malaysian monsoon, but not before Brawn GP was able to claim another victory (although only half points were awarded).

That's interesting...I didn't really expect the ex-Honda team to be nearly as competitve as they seem to have been this year!

Two more races down, and it looks like Brawn has challengers - but not the usual suspects. Red Bull Racing-Renault finished 1st and 2nd in the Chinese Grand Prix just ahead of the two Brawn cars. Jensen Button (Brawn) won the Bahrain Grand Prix, but the other Brawn car (Rubens Barrichello) finished behind Vettel (Red Bull Racing), Trulli (Toyota), and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren).

Sucks to be missing this!

The Turkish Grand Prix is being shown on Fox (and in HD where available) this Sunday afternoon.

I know you like F1 but do you ever watch Indy or Nascar? I think I am starting to prefer Indy over Nascar. Haven't really watched F1 yet. I might have to tune in.

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Originally Posted by Bigdog13

I know you like F1 but do you ever watch Indy or Nascar? I think I am starting to prefer Indy over Nascar. Haven't really watched F1 yet. I might have to tune in.

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I usually watch the Indy 500, but I am really not a big fan of oval track racing. Formula 1 is by far my favorite motorsport. You should definitely watch it Sunday on Fox. The races are fairly short compared to NASCAR/Indy, and the technology, skill, and precision are amazing. One good thing about watching it on Fox is that the commentators will adjust to the audience and will try to teach Formula 1 to a lay audience. It is a great time to tune in if you are not as familiar with the technology and strategy involved in Formula 1.

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Originally Posted by Guisslapp

I usually watch the Indy 500, but I am really not a big fan of oval track racing. Formula 1 is by far my favorite motorsport. You should definitely watch it Sunday on Fox. The races are fairly short compared to NASCAR/Indy, and the technology, skill, and precision are amazing. One good thing about watching it on Fox is that the commentators will adjust to the audience and will try to teach Formula 1 to a lay audience. It is a great time to tune in if you are not as familiar with the technology and strategy involved in Formula 1.

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Are there any American drivers ever?

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Originally Posted by Bigdog13

Are there any American drivers ever?

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Scott Speed used to drive for Red Bull, but he was not very good. Next year there should be a couple of American teams with American drivers. There are usually only 20-24 Formula 1 cars in any given season, and next year there could be 2-4 American drivers.

Race starts in 2 hours (3pm EST) on Fox.

So Guisslapp, what are your thoughts on the potential split of Formula 1 with Ferrari and others rejecting the imposed budgets?

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Originally Posted by detltu

So Guisslapp, what are your thoughts on the potential split of Formula 1 with Ferrari and others rejecting the imposed budgets?

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It is a mess, that is for sure. A split would be very bad for the sport.

This Sunday at 2pm is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Fox (HD where available). Set your DVRs in case you forget to tune in.