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Friday, March 20, 2009
The 2009 Formula One season will be the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season. There are a total of ten teams signed up to compete in the championship.
Lewis Hamilton is the defending Formula One champion heading into the 2009 Season.
Felipe Massa was the runner up of the 2008 Formula One season
The season is scheduled to take place over 17 rounds, starting with the Australian Grand Prix on 29 March 2009 and ending on 1 November 2009 with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is included on the race calendar for the first time and will be held at the new Yas Marina Circuit. The French and Canadian Grands Prix, which were both included in the 2008 championship, have been dropped.
Several rule changes will be implemented by the FIA, in a bid to cut costs due to the global financial crisis and to improve the on-track spectacle. New rules governing tyres, aerodynamics and Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, among others, are some of the biggest changes in the Formula One regulations for several decades. It is unclear how the champion will be decided as the FIA initially declared a change in deciding the World Driver's Championship, with the driver winning the most races to be declared as the champion, whereas in previous seasons, the driver with the most points was considered the champion. However, they then offered to postpone the change untill 2010.
Pre-Season Testing :
The first multi-team testing session took place at Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona in November 2008, two weeks after the end of previous season.[5] All teams, except Toyota, took part in the testing session where some teams tested their new aerodynamics package and slick tyres.[6] BMW Sauber and Williams amongst the forerunners in this case, with the German manufacturer running both rear and front wings to 2009 specifications. The team's test driver, Christian Klien, labelled the car the ugliest car he'd ever seen.[7] F1 newcomers Sébastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi and Bruno Senna tested for Toro Rosso and Honda respectively. Takuma Sato returned for a test with Toro Rosso and WRC Champion Sébastien Loeb tested for Red Bull. McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa also tested for Force India, an exercise seen as a part of the teams' new technical partnership.[8] Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Renault were the only teams to use solely their 2008 cars (albeit with slick tyres), whilst the other teams also tested 2009 interim cars during the 3-day test.
Heikki Kovalainen driving the McLaren MP4-24 at Jerez.
The next test took place at Jerez in December 2008, and was attended by six teams. Toro Rosso candidate Sébastien Buemi topped the time-sheets on all three days, defeating rival candidates Takuma Sato and Sébastien Bourdais.[9] The test also saw the McLaren team debut a front wing and nosecone designed to 2009 specifications, as well as stripped bodywork.[10] BMW Sauber and Williams continued running the interim cars which debuted at the previous test, while Renault and Toro Rosso continued running their 2008 cars with slicks and simulated downforce-levels.
Following the first launches, the teams returned to the track on the 19th of January for more testing. Toyota, McLaren, Williams and Renault tested at Algarve again together with Toro Rosso, which used their 2008 car. Sébastien Buemi, in his first outing as confirmed driver for the Toro Rosso team, topped the first three days in the interim car.[11] Heavy rain hampered the teams in the first two days, and only on Wednesday could the drivers test the new cars on the slick tyres. On Thursday, however, the rain returned, and testing was stopped early in the morning as the medical helicopters couldn't take off in the torrential rain.[12] Ferrari intended to test at Algarve as well, but moved the test to Mugello, where the rain continued to limit their testing amidst mounting concerns over the F60's legality.[13][14] BMW Sauber, meanwhile, enjoyed warmer weather testing the F1.09 at Valencia.[15]
On 9 March, testing started at Barcelona with the new team, Brawn GP, making an impact by leading the times early in the day. Toro Rosso also launched the STR4. This was the first test in which all teams used their 2009 cars. BMW Sauber led the times while Brawn GP finished fourth.[16] On day three, Brawn GP's Jenson Button was fastest by just over one second to Ferrari's Felipe Massa completing 130 laps.[17] On day four Rubens Barrichello became the first driver to get into the 1:18s.
On 15 March Renault, Brawn and Williams started the last teams public test at Jerez. Brawn, again, led the standings 0.6 seconds ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso, completing 107 laps.[18] On day two, Fernando Alonso completed 107 laps and finished 0.55 seconds ahead of Barrichello, who completed 61 laps, and ahead of his teammate, Jenson Button who completed 12 laps, by 0.5 seconds and over a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton who was still struggling in the MP4-24.[19] Button led the final day 0.2 seconds clear, completing 114 laps ahead of Williams driver Nico Rosberg, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Hamilton.[20] The testing carried on at Jerez with McLaren and Williams staying. McLaren showed good progress after slicing a whole second off their pace with Williams driver Nakajima almost 2 seconds behind in the FW31.[21] On day two Nakajima led by 0.4 seconds to McLaren. McLaren slashed some more time out of the MP4-24, while importing over some new parts from Brackley. McLaren and Williams will return to Britain to finish off preparations for Australia; leaving for the season opener on Monday to join the rest of the grid. [22]
McLaren have been experiencing some problems with the car lacking rear downforce. At the penultimate test of the season in Barcelona, the McLaren car was rarely less than 1.5 seconds off the pace.[23] Felipe Massa stated he had never seen McLaren so far behind.
Teams
The following teams are signed with Formula One Management and make up the Formula One Teams Association:
* Ferrari
* McLaren-Mercedes
* BMW Sauber
* Renault
* Toyota
* Toro Rosso-Ferrari
* Red Bull-Renault
* Williams-Toyota
* Brawn-Mercedes
* Force India-Mercedes
New car launches:
Constructor Chassis Launch date Launch location
Ferrari F60 January 12[25] Mugello, Italy
Toyota TF109 January 15[26] Online[27]
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-24 January 16[28] Woking, United Kingdom
Renault R29 January 19[29] Portimão, Portugal
Williams-Toyota FW31 January 19[30] Portimão, Portugal
BMW Sauber F1.09 January 20[26] Valencia, Spain
Red Bull-Renault RB5 February 9[31] Jerez, Spain
Force India-Mercedes VJM02 March 1[32] Jerez, Spain
Brawn-Mercedes BGP 001 March 9[33] Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR4 March 9[34] Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Source and read full at : http://en.wikipedia.org/
Lewis Hamilton is the defending Formula One champion heading into the 2009 Season.
Felipe Massa was the runner up of the 2008 Formula One season
The season is scheduled to take place over 17 rounds, starting with the Australian Grand Prix on 29 March 2009 and ending on 1 November 2009 with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is included on the race calendar for the first time and will be held at the new Yas Marina Circuit. The French and Canadian Grands Prix, which were both included in the 2008 championship, have been dropped.
Several rule changes will be implemented by the FIA, in a bid to cut costs due to the global financial crisis and to improve the on-track spectacle. New rules governing tyres, aerodynamics and Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, among others, are some of the biggest changes in the Formula One regulations for several decades. It is unclear how the champion will be decided as the FIA initially declared a change in deciding the World Driver's Championship, with the driver winning the most races to be declared as the champion, whereas in previous seasons, the driver with the most points was considered the champion. However, they then offered to postpone the change untill 2010.
Pre-Season Testing :
The first multi-team testing session took place at Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona in November 2008, two weeks after the end of previous season.[5] All teams, except Toyota, took part in the testing session where some teams tested their new aerodynamics package and slick tyres.[6] BMW Sauber and Williams amongst the forerunners in this case, with the German manufacturer running both rear and front wings to 2009 specifications. The team's test driver, Christian Klien, labelled the car the ugliest car he'd ever seen.[7] F1 newcomers Sébastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi and Bruno Senna tested for Toro Rosso and Honda respectively. Takuma Sato returned for a test with Toro Rosso and WRC Champion Sébastien Loeb tested for Red Bull. McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa also tested for Force India, an exercise seen as a part of the teams' new technical partnership.[8] Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Renault were the only teams to use solely their 2008 cars (albeit with slick tyres), whilst the other teams also tested 2009 interim cars during the 3-day test.
Heikki Kovalainen driving the McLaren MP4-24 at Jerez.
The next test took place at Jerez in December 2008, and was attended by six teams. Toro Rosso candidate Sébastien Buemi topped the time-sheets on all three days, defeating rival candidates Takuma Sato and Sébastien Bourdais.[9] The test also saw the McLaren team debut a front wing and nosecone designed to 2009 specifications, as well as stripped bodywork.[10] BMW Sauber and Williams continued running the interim cars which debuted at the previous test, while Renault and Toro Rosso continued running their 2008 cars with slicks and simulated downforce-levels.
Following the first launches, the teams returned to the track on the 19th of January for more testing. Toyota, McLaren, Williams and Renault tested at Algarve again together with Toro Rosso, which used their 2008 car. Sébastien Buemi, in his first outing as confirmed driver for the Toro Rosso team, topped the first three days in the interim car.[11] Heavy rain hampered the teams in the first two days, and only on Wednesday could the drivers test the new cars on the slick tyres. On Thursday, however, the rain returned, and testing was stopped early in the morning as the medical helicopters couldn't take off in the torrential rain.[12] Ferrari intended to test at Algarve as well, but moved the test to Mugello, where the rain continued to limit their testing amidst mounting concerns over the F60's legality.[13][14] BMW Sauber, meanwhile, enjoyed warmer weather testing the F1.09 at Valencia.[15]
On 9 March, testing started at Barcelona with the new team, Brawn GP, making an impact by leading the times early in the day. Toro Rosso also launched the STR4. This was the first test in which all teams used their 2009 cars. BMW Sauber led the times while Brawn GP finished fourth.[16] On day three, Brawn GP's Jenson Button was fastest by just over one second to Ferrari's Felipe Massa completing 130 laps.[17] On day four Rubens Barrichello became the first driver to get into the 1:18s.
On 15 March Renault, Brawn and Williams started the last teams public test at Jerez. Brawn, again, led the standings 0.6 seconds ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso, completing 107 laps.[18] On day two, Fernando Alonso completed 107 laps and finished 0.55 seconds ahead of Barrichello, who completed 61 laps, and ahead of his teammate, Jenson Button who completed 12 laps, by 0.5 seconds and over a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton who was still struggling in the MP4-24.[19] Button led the final day 0.2 seconds clear, completing 114 laps ahead of Williams driver Nico Rosberg, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Hamilton.[20] The testing carried on at Jerez with McLaren and Williams staying. McLaren showed good progress after slicing a whole second off their pace with Williams driver Nakajima almost 2 seconds behind in the FW31.[21] On day two Nakajima led by 0.4 seconds to McLaren. McLaren slashed some more time out of the MP4-24, while importing over some new parts from Brackley. McLaren and Williams will return to Britain to finish off preparations for Australia; leaving for the season opener on Monday to join the rest of the grid. [22]
McLaren have been experiencing some problems with the car lacking rear downforce. At the penultimate test of the season in Barcelona, the McLaren car was rarely less than 1.5 seconds off the pace.[23] Felipe Massa stated he had never seen McLaren so far behind.
Teams
The following teams are signed with Formula One Management and make up the Formula One Teams Association:
* Ferrari
* McLaren-Mercedes
* BMW Sauber
* Renault
* Toyota
* Toro Rosso-Ferrari
* Red Bull-Renault
* Williams-Toyota
* Brawn-Mercedes
* Force India-Mercedes
New car launches:
Constructor Chassis Launch date Launch location
Ferrari F60 January 12[25] Mugello, Italy
Toyota TF109 January 15[26] Online[27]
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-24 January 16[28] Woking, United Kingdom
Renault R29 January 19[29] Portimão, Portugal
Williams-Toyota FW31 January 19[30] Portimão, Portugal
BMW Sauber F1.09 January 20[26] Valencia, Spain
Red Bull-Renault RB5 February 9[31] Jerez, Spain
Force India-Mercedes VJM02 March 1[32] Jerez, Spain
Brawn-Mercedes BGP 001 March 9[33] Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR4 March 9[34] Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Source and read full at : http://en.wikipedia.org/
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