The Fiat Yamaha riders were both extremely pleased with the stage their respective factory prototypes have reached, following a final pre-season on-track assessment at the Qatar Test.

The Fiat Yamaha Team riders concluded their pre-season preparation this evening (Friday) with another strong performance in the humid Qatar night, Valentino Rossi finishing second and Jorge Lorenzo sixth. This was the last time the riders will be on track before the first race, back at the same circuit in three weeks time.

Rossi concentrated largely on finalising his race preparation today, also finding time to try a new tyre compound for Bridgestone. The Italian completed 20 laps in a long run late in the evening with the aim of gathering more information for the race, which will help the team during the practice sessions when they return. He set his best time of the day earlier in the evening, slightly slower than his time from yesterday, and finally had to settle for second behind Casey Stoner. The Italian has been fastest on five out of six test days this year however and he and his crew are now looking forward with confidence to the first race.

Lorenzo continued to make progress and to push as hard as his injured hand would allow, the Spaniard managing to test some new electronic settings amongst other things and improve on his time from yesterday. He still felt some pain in the hard braking areas and needed to take a painkilling pill, but he was happy to finish sixth in the circumstances and is confident that he will be back to full strength in time for the race.

Valentino Rossi:

“This has been another good day. We’ve concentrated mostly on the race preparation and it feels like we’re now ready for the first race. We did a long run at the end of the session and we got some good information, which will help us in the race. Now that testing is over I am very excited about the season. We’ve been strong throughout the six days of practice and it feels good to have been fast here also, where we have struggled in the past. We have only tested at two tracks so we need to wait for another different one to fully understand the new bike, but we’re in good shape. My M1 feels great and I’m looking forward to racing!”

Jorge Lorenzo:

“Today my hand felt okay, maybe a bit worse than yesterday. Of course it’s not as good as before the accident but this is to be expected! It’s hard for me in the braking areas and I can’t push any harder than I have been today at the moment, but I hope it will have improved a lot by the time of the first race. Our bike is great, Yamaha have done a fantastic job and you can see this from the strong performance of all the Yamaha riders. We’ve done a lot of work and tried many things, so I hope that these will help us when we come back here in three weeks. I will keep working to strengthen my hand and I hope to be in much better condition by then.”

souece : motogp.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=810

Casey Stoner set the fastest lap of the final pre-season MotoGP Test in Qatar as the 17 World Championship riders completed their on-track preparations ahead of the start of the 2010 season.

The third and final pre-season Test ended in Qatar on Friday with Ducati Marlboro rider Casey Stoner the quickest across the two evenings. A best lap of 1’55.353 set under the Losail floodlights came on the second night, before he had a fall on his Desmosedici GP10 which did not result in any injury. The Australian’s time was less than a tenth of a second off his 2009 pole position time at the circuit.

Valentino Rossi, who had topped the timesheet in the two previous Tests at Sepang and was fastest in the opening session in Qatar, was less than five-hundredths of a second behind Stoner as he worked on electronics on his Fiat Yamaha M1. The Italian’s best time placed him second overall.

Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso was a further 0.4s down the timings as he achieved a better chassis setting on his factory RC212V prototype. The Italian’s lap of 1’55.879 was set in the second session, with Ben Spies’ (Monster Yamaha Tech3) fine effort of 1’55.954 from the previous night the fourth and final under the 1’56” mark. Spies was the highest placing rookie of the Test, as he confirmed his setting on the M1 for the opening race at the circuit. The Texan experienced a fall on each of the two evenings, neither of which resulted in any ill effects as he rode for the first time under the circuit’s floodlights.

Nicky Hayden rounded out the top five for the Test with a time of 1’56.115. The American suffered a crash late in session two at the same point – Turn 2 – as Stoner and was unharmed, and he was followed by Loris Capirossi of the Rizla Suzuki team. The Italian tried new chassis and swingarm components on his GSV-R, which produced results in the second session to place him as the final rider within a second of Stoner thanks to a time of 1’56.195.

Jorge Lorenzo arrived in Qatar carrying the hand injury that prevented him from participating at the last Test in Malaysia, but the Spanish Fiat Yamaha rider pushed through the pain barrier. His time of 1’56.504 put him in seventh position overall and was equal with that of Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda).

Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Colin Edwards (1’56.540) – who was also a victim of a fall in the second session, again at Turn 2 – and Mika Kallio of Pramac Racing (1’56.767) rounded off the top ten times.

Notably outside the top ten was Dani Pedrosa, as the Repsol Honda rider ended the Test 13th fastest overall at just over 1.5s off the top time. He was followed in the times by Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) who had a very late crash in session two – as did his team-mate, rookie Marco Simoncelli.

Qatar Official Test

Session 2 - 19/03/10

Pos	Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Prev. Gap	Lead. Gap	Laps
1	Casey Stoner	Ducati Marlboro Team	1:55.353	-	-	51
2	Valentino Rossi	Fiat Yamaha Team	1:55.860	+0.507	+0.507	57
3	Andrea Dovizioso	Repsol Honda Team	1:55.879	+0.019	+0.526	66
4	Nicky Hayden	Ducati Marlboro Team	1:56.115	+0.236	+0.762	51
5	Loris Capirossi	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1:56.195	+0.080	+0.842	58
6	Jorge Lorenzo	Fiat Yamaha Team	1:56.504	+0.309	+1.151	44
7	Randy De Puniet	LCR Honda MotoGP	1:56.504	-	+1.151	66
8	Colin Edwards	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:56.722	+0.218	+1.369	48
9	Mika Kallio	Pramac Racing Team	1:56.767	+0.045	+1.414	74
10	Ben Spies	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:56.779	+0.012	+1.426	44
11	Aleix Espargaro	Pramac Racing Team	1:56.897	+0.118	+1.544	64
12	Alvaro Bautista	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1:56.898	+0.001	+1.545	71
13	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team	1:56.935	+0.037	+1.582	56
14	Marco Melandri	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1:57.222	+0.287	+1.869	64
15	Hector Barbera	Aspar Team	1:57.223	+0.001	+1.870	74
16	Hiroshi Aoyama	Interwetten-Honda MotoGP	1:57.251	+0.028	+1.898	81
17	Marco Simoncelli	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1:57.379	+0.128	+2.026	56

source : motogp.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=805

The opening session of the final pre-season Test ended with Valentino Rossi at the top of the timesheets - as he has been throughout pre-season - followed by Casey Stoner and Ben Spies.

By 8pm local time in Doha, just two hours into the opening session of the final pre-season Test in Qatar, Casey Stoner was at the top of the timesheet as the field of MotoGP riders had well and truly got their final preparations for the new campaign underway.

The Ducati Marlboro rider posted a lap time of 1’56.641 as his team opted to remain with the settings both he and team-mate Nicky Hayden used at the previous Test at Sepang to confirm the work done at the Malaysian circuit. The factory team are using identical tyres specs to those from the race in 2009 – which Stoner won – with a soft rear tyre from Sepang which has not been ridden by the duo before at Losail.

Pre-season leader to date Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi was predictably well on the pace at just over a tenth of a second behind Stoner, with Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda) making good early progress as well. Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Rookie team-mate Álvaro Bautista are taking more time to adjust to the new engine in the GSV-R, whilst their box focuses on improving grip. The veteran is already within a half-second of the top time at fourth quickest, whilst his new team-mate is in 12th.

Monster Yamaha Tech3 are concentrating today’s efforts on getting a race set-up for the Qatar GP for riders Ben Spies and Colin Edwards, with a race simulation planned for Friday. The fifth fastest time after two hours for Spies indicates a continued smooth transition to MotoGP.

Returning from his injury enforced lay-off, Jorge Lorenzo is displaying good powers of recovery as he keeps a competitive check on the timesheet, but the main focus for the Spaniard remains regaining his feeling on the M1 of the Fiat Yamaha team after missing the last Sepang Test. Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso was next up and was the final rider within a second of Stoner, as team-mate Dani Pedrosa continues to struggle (13th).

Pramac Racing have not introduced any new changes for Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargaró, and their main intention is to prepare for the race at the track in three weeks. Héctor Barberá (Paginas Amarillas Aspar Team) are working from a base setting from Ducati to allow the Rookie further time to adjust to the track, and the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team are planning on trying new fork and shock settings as well as different riding positions for Hiroshi Aoyama.

In the attached video update report you can view features on how the teams are going about the set-up of their prototypes for this Test, and also how the dropping night-time temperatures which affect the finely tuned machines are dealt with. There are also interviews with Antonio Jimenez, crew chief for Marco Melandri on the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team, and Bridgestone’s Tyre Development Manager Tohru Ubukata.

Qatar Official Test

Session 1 - 18/03/10

Pos	Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Prev. Gap	Lead. Gap	Laps
1	Valentino Rossi	Fiat Yamaha Team	1:55.402	-	-	64
2	Casey Stoner	Ducati Marlboro Team	1:55.717	+0.315	+0.315	48
3	Ben Spies	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:55.954	+0.237	+0.552	44
4	Colin Edwards	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:56.540	+0.586	+1.138	59
5	Randy De Puniet	LCR Honda MotoGP	1:56.588	+0.048	+1.186	54
6	Andrea Dovizioso	Repsol Honda Team	1:56.811	+0.223	+1.409	65
7	Jorge Lorenzo	Fiat Yamaha Team	1:56.838	+0.027	+1.436	45
8	Nicky Hayden	Ducati Marlboro Team	1:56.855	+0.017	+1.453	77
9	Mika Kallio	Pramac Racing Team	1:56.923	+0.068	+1.521	72
10	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team	1:57.047	+0.124	+1.645	60
11	Loris Capirossi	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1:57.099	+0.052	+1.697	40
12	Marco Melandri	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1:57.605	+0.506	+2.203	63
13	Hector Barbera	Aspar Team	1:57.822	+0.217	+2.420	62
14	Hiroshi Aoyama	Interwetten-Honda MotoGP	1:57.888	+0.066	+2.486	75
15	Marco Simoncelli	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1:57.891	+0.003	+2.489	63
16	Aleix Espargaro	Pramac Racing Team	1:57.898	+0.007	+2.496	67
17	Alvaro Bautista	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1:57.960	+0.062	+2.558	56

source : motogp.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=801

Fernando Alonso won the Bahrain Grand Prix on his first appearance for Ferrari.

He took the lead from pole sitter Sebastian Vettel, who was struck by an exhaust failure while leading.

Felipe Massa followed his team mate home in second place giving Ferrari a one-two finish in the first race of the season.

Alonso began the race behind his team mate but passed him on the run to the first corner, leaving him perfectly placed to profit from Vettel’s problem.

Lewis Hamilton completed the podium for McLaren after losing time behind Nico Rosberg early in the race. An early pit stop allowed him to easily jump the Mercedes for fourth before taking third from Vettel.

Vettel slipped back into the clutches of Rosberg in the dying laps of the race but managed to get his car home in fourth before pulling to a halt.

Michael Schumacher’s comeback drive was a quiet run to sixth behind his team mate. Jenson Button and Mark Webber caught him towards the end of the race but neither were able to pass.

Vitantonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello became the first drivers in F1 history to score points for ninth and tenth.

Of the new runners, neither of the HRT or Virgin cars finished their first race. Lotus got both of their cars home in the last two places, though Trulli was coping with an hydraulic problem.

Fernando Alonso emulated Kimi Räikkönen and Nigel Mansell by winning on his debut for Ferrari.

The win means he is now among the top ten drivers who have won the most F1 races. And it was a return to form for the red cars who recorded their first one-two finish since 2008. Here’s the stats and facts from the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the third time in his career, giving him more victories in the event than anyone else.

He joins the ranks of drivers who won on their first appearance for Ferrari, a select group which includes the likes of Nigel Mansell and Alonso’s predecessor Kimi Räikkönen.

It was Alonso’s 22nd win, giving him as many as Damon Hill, and tying in for tenth in the list of all-time greatest winners. But Alonso has lost his position as the active driver with the most wins which he enjoyed last year, due to the return of Michael Schumacher.

With Felipe Massa in second place Ferrari recorded their 80th one-two finish and their first since the 2008 French Grand Prix.

While Alonso became the first driver to score 25 points for a win, Ferrari claimed the new maximum haul for a team in one race – 43 points for first and second. What’#s the maximum they could score if they keep that up? A mammoth 817 points.

Alonso also recorded his 14th career fastest lap, putting him 18th in the all-time list.

Pole position went to Sebastian Vettel who recorded the sixth of his career. That’s as many as 1972 and 1974 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, 1961 world champion Phil Hill, 1980 world champion Alan Jones, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Carlos Reutemann and Ralf Schumacher. Vettel also led a Grand Prix for the tenth time in his career.

Lewis Hamilton scored his 28th podium finish in 53 starts. As we noted before the start of the season his podiums-per-start strike rate is already over 50% and if he keeps racking them up this year he could catch Schumacher.

Mercedes weren’t able to pick up where they left off at the end of their last season as a full works team. They ended 1955 with four consecutive wins, three for Juan Manuel Fangio and one for Stirling Moss, but Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher could only mange fifth and sixth yesterday.

As for Lotus, both their cars retired from their final race at Adelaide in 1994, whereas Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli were classified finishers in 15th and 17th respectively yesterday.

HRT and Virgin, meanwhile, failed to finish in their first race.

Vitantonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello became the first drivers in F1 history to score points for finishing ninth and tenth. Points for seventh and eighth were introduced for the first time in 2003.

Rubens Barrichello has now matched Graham Hill’s record of starting in 18 seasons. Barrichello’s run stretches back to 1993, Hill’s lasted from 1958 to 1975. But while Hill ‘only’ started 175 Grands Prix in that time, Barrichello has now done 286 and should pass the 300 mark later this year.

We saw seven DNFs yesterday, six of which for mechanical reasons, and Sebastien Buemi was a classified finisher despite having stopped with electrical problems. With three new teams in the sport we’ll probably see a much higher rate of retirements this year compared to last.

Bahrain Grand Prix result

Pos	Num	Driver	Car	Laps	Gap	Difference	Grid
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	49			3
2	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	49	16.099	16.099	2
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	49	23.182	7.083	4
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	49	38.799	15.617	1
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	49	40.213	1.414	5
6	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	49	44.163	3.950	7
7	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	49	45.280	1.117	8
8	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	49	46.360	1.080	6
9	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	49	53.008	6.648	12
10	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	49	62.489	9.481	11
11	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	49	69.093	6.604	9
12	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	49	82.958	13.865	10
13	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	49	92.656	9.698	18
14	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	48	1 lap	1 lap	13
15	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	47	2 laps	1 lap	21
16	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	46	3 laps	1 lap	15
17	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	46	3 laps	259.755	20
Not classified
18	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber-Ferrari	28	21 laps	18 laps	14
19	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	17	32 laps	11 laps	23
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	16	33 laps	1 lap	19
21	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	13	36 laps	3 laps	17
22	23	Kamui Kobyashi	Sauber-Ferrari	11	38 laps	2 laps	16
23	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	2	47 laps	9 laps	22
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	1	48 laps	1 lap	24

Championship standings after Bahrain

Championship standings after the Bahrain Grand Prix

Drivers’ championship

Position	Driver	Points
1	Fernando Alonso	25
2	Felipe Massa	18
3	Lewis Hamilton	15
4	Sebastian Vettel	12
5	Nico Rosberg	10
6	Michael Schumacher	8
7	Jenson Button	6
8	Mark Webber	4
9	Vitantonio Liuzzi	2
10	Rubens Barrichello	1
11	Nico Hülkenberg	0
12	Robert Kubica	0
13	Jaime Alguersuari	0
14	Vitaly Petrov	0
15	Adrian Sutil	0
16	Sebastien Buemi	0
17	Jarno Trulli	0
18	Heikki Kovalainen	0
19	Karun Chandhok	0
20	Bruno Senna	0
21	Pedro de la Rosa	0
22	Kamui Kobyashi	0
23	Timo Glock	0
24	Lucas di Grassi	0

Constructors’ championship

Position	Team	Points
1	Ferrari	43
2	McLaren	21
3	Mercedes	18
4	Red Bull	16
5	Force India	2
6	Williams	1
7	Renault	0
8	Toro Rosso	0
9	Lotus	0
10	HRT	0
11	Sauber	0
12	Virgin	0

source : f1fanatic.co.uk

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=797

Sebastian Vettel will start the first race of the year from pole position after heading qualifying for Red Bull.

He needed just one run at the end of Q3 to displace the Ferrari duo at the front of the field.

But Michael Schumacher could only manage seventh on his return to F1.

Q1

It was no surprise to see all three of the new teams eliminated in Q1. But the battle for newbie honours was close, with Timo Glock edging Jarno Trulli by one tenth of a second.

After a mammoth struggle with hydraulic problems HRT F1 finally managed to get Karun Chandhok on the circuit for the first time. He did seven laps on his first run and although he was slowest he will be able to start tomorrow’s race. He shares the back row of the grid with team mate Bruno Senna.

Jaime Alguersuari had the distinction of being the only one of the established runners to be knocked out.

Drivers eliminated in Q1

18. Jaime Alguersuari – 1′57.071
19. Timo Glock – 1′59.782
20. Jarno Trulli – 1′59.852
21. Heikki Kovalainen – 2′00.313
22. Lucas di Grassi – 2′00.587
23. Bruno Senna – 2′03.240
24. Karun Chandhok – 2′04.904

Q2

Vettel showed his hand in Q3, setting the quickest time which was also half a second better than team mate Mark Webber managed.

Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso traded fastest times early on. But things were not going so well at McLaren.

Both their drivers had to make a second attempt to ensure they made the cut and Jenson Button scraped into tenth place by less than two tenths of a second.

The Williams pair were also eliminated though Rubens Barrichello finally showed his hand and beat Nico Hülkenberg by half a second.

Vitantonio Liuzzi also failed to make the cut – he was around seven tenths slower than Adrian Sutil who did reach the top ten.

While Robert Kubica made it through to Q3 team mate Vitaly Petrov was 1.7 seconds slower and last in Q2.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

11. Rubens Barrichello – 1′55.330
12. Vitantonio Liuzzi – 1′55.653
13. Nico Hülkenberg – 1′55.857
14. Pedro de la Rosa – 1′56.237
15. Sebastien Buemi – 1′56.265
16. Kamui Kobayashi – 1′56.270
17. Vitaly Petrov – 1′56.619

Q3

With the top ten qualifiers having to start the race on the same tyres they qualified teams tried different strategies in Q3.

Ferrari and McLaren both sent their drivers out for early laps followed by a tyre change and a final run. The other simply bided their time until the last possible moment.

While Alonso and Massa headed the times a mistake by Lewis Hamilton left him with a slow lap. Button didn’t get a flying lap in on his first run and returned to the pits after just an out- and in-lap.

Vettel headed the queue of runners making their final runs and his RB6’s pace through the middle sector proved decisive. That extra tenth of a second accounted for most of his advantage over second-placed Massa.

Hamilton’s run lifted him to fourth ahead of Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes.

Once again Michael Schumacher was a crucial couple of tenths slower than his team mate, leaving him seventh ahead of Button.

Vettel hailed the car’s performance as a “big surprise” after their problematic practice session yesterday. But do they have the race pace to match their qualifying performance? We’ll find out tomorrow.

Top ten drivers in Q3

1. Sebastian Vettel, 1′54.101
2. Felipe Massa, 1′54.242
3. Fernando Alonso, 1′54.608
4. Lewis Hamilton, 1′55.217
5. Nico Rosberg, 1′55.241
6. Mark Webber, 1′55.284
7. Michael Schumacher, 1′55.524
8. Jenson Button, 1′55.672
9. Robert Kubica, 1′55.885
10. Adrian Sutil, 1′56.309

source : www.f1fanatic.co.uk

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=790

A third different car headed the third practice session ahead of qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso lapped the extended Bahrain circuit in 1′54.099 to head the times by almost three-tenths of a second.

Nico Rosberg, fastest in yesterday’s session, was second for Mercedes.

Felipe Massa was fastest for much of the session but his final effort was only good enough for sixth.

World champion Jenson Button was seventh for McLaren but team mate Lewis Hamilton could only manage 12th after ending his session early to have a brake change.

At the back of the grid Karun Chandhok failed to set a time and faced being unable to start qualifying.

Another of the new teams was in trouble – Timo Glock’s Virgin shed a wheel during the session and team mate Lucas di Grassi failed to set a time.

Position	Car number	Driver	Car	Best lap		Laps
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1′54.099		14
2	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1′54.368	0.269	13
3	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1′54.500	0.401	15
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1′54.533	0.434	13
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1′54.646	0.547	16
6	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1′54.739	0.64	14
7	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1′55.000	0.901	14
8	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1′55.331	1.232	15
9	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1′55.432	1.333	11
10	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1′55.461	1.362	13
11	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1′55.521	1.422	13
12	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1′55.860	1.761	8
13	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber-Ferrari	1′56.063	1.964	14
14	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1′56.259	2.160	15
15	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1′56.295	2.196	17
16	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1′56.504	2.405	16
17	23	Kamui Kobyashi	Sauber-Ferrari	1′56.530	2.431	14
18	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1′56.811	2.712	16
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	1′59.173	5.074	10
20	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	1′59.789	5.69	15
21	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	2′01.259	7.16	5
22	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	2′04.001	9.902	11
23	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth			2
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth

source : www.f1fanatic.co.uk

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=786

The comprehensive 3-1 win over Fulham confirmed Juve’s return to form under Zaccheroni. Following a slow start with draws against Lazio and Livorno, the team has won 4 of the last 5 games, with a woeful defeat against Palermo as the exception. An exception, I say, because it was an aberration caused by injuries and fatigue, and oh yeah, against an excellent rising Palermo. Credit to Palermo for the win, they played compact and tactical, but our bench was decimated and everyone on the pitch had played 90 just 3 days before. With a bit of rotation and a few more days of rest, the team was raring to go against Fulham, and it showed. Determined, tactical, everything aspect we hoped went our way, barring a bit of bad luck. Full review after the jump.

Manninger and Zebina practicing their staring-down face

First thought- Legrottaglie should indisputably be starting alongside Chiellini now, for Juventus and the Nazionale. I’ve been saying this for a while now, and yes, I have always been a big fan of Legro, but I think even his doubters are being convinced. Cannavaro had a good game yesterday, don’t get me wrong, but Legrottaglie was better. I was impressed at how the two worked together, the Legro-Canna partnership has failed pretty badly in the past as they are the same old style of defenders, though Legrottaglie is better in the air. (That’s what 4 inches will do for you) I said in 2007-2008 that Legro-Chiellini should be the CB partnership for the Nazionale, and with Nesta out, I think the same way. There are some solid young CB’s out there- Bonucci, Bocchetti, Ranocchia, but they are all a bit green to be starting in the WC this summer.

Legrottaglie and Chiellini have the chemistry- on two occasions, last summer and on his Twitter chat, Chiellini said the words “Cannavaro is a great player but Legrottaglie I can play with my eyes shut,” and whether Legro is individually better than Canna (I think he has been for the last 2-3 years) the fact is Legro-Chiellini together is much stronger than Chiellini-Cannavaro. However, the two could not have any more different histories and that’s why this won’t happen- Cannavaro is the World Cup-winning captain of the National team, the most capped player of all time. Legrottaglie is still mostly remembered as being an epic bust for Juventus, a player who was supposed to be a national team regular but disappeared. In both cases, it ain’t 2004 anymore, but Lippi has his own ideas.

LE PAGELLE: (Gazzetta’s here:)

Manninger: 6.5- Solid save on Hangeland and generally looked assured out there. A few games under his belt, and he doesn’t look rusty anymore. The world’s best #2.

Zebina: 7- This was his first goal for Juventus, and his 2nd goal in the last 12 years, possibly his 2nd of his career if Wikipedia is right, though that doesn’t count cup games. What a freaking goal, I was laughing uncontrollably in disbelief for about 30 seconds after he scored. So was Bettega, it looked like. Not only did he score a brilliant goal, he held his own in defense. A great game, and the Gazzetta named him MOTM. We have officially entered the Twilight Zone.
Cannavaro: 6.5- Zamora is pacey and strong, but between Legrottaglie and himself, they locked him up. There were a few moments where he showed his age, but otherwise, a strong performance that Canna can be happy with.
Legrottaglie: 7- A great aerial threat on set pieces as usual, and defensively was excellent. Nearly a perfect performance, only marred by picking up a yellow for handball that will see him miss the 2nd leg. Other than his goal, the thing I remember about his performance best was an excellent sliding tackle in the box, timed to perfection while running alongside a Fulham player following a cross from Zamora. I’ve sung his praises, though I agree we need to get a top-tier CB this summer. Legro shouldn’t be starting, but as a reserve to step in, he’ll be excellent, and I’m sure he will be a good locker room influence and mentor for some of the young kids.
Grosso: 6 The worst of the defenders, but that is not a bad thing given the others performances. His crossing is still pretty poor, he never seems to lift the ball enough, and if there is one lesson I was taught as a fullback, it’s that your cross/set-piece/etc HAS TO BEAT the first defender. If it doesn’t, it is a complete waste. A good volley-effort on goal that an excellent Schwarzer save denied him from joining the old-man-defense-goleador club. How ironic would it have been if Grosso, Zebina, and Legro had all scored after many of us (myself included) wondered about the age of our defense?

Marchisio: 7- I’ve given him an extra .5, given the circumstances. For the two days before the match, Marchisio was in bed all day with a fever. You could tell he wasn’t at his physical best, but he distributed well, tackled well, and played excellent as the midfield general. If it weren’t for a heavy 2nd touch, he would have scored an excellent goal as well. Loved seeing him given the captain’s armband, when you think about players like Aquilani and Montolivo who are inconsistent and basically need to grow up, it makes Marchisio’s progress look astounding. If you’d told me back in Serie B (or even when he was at Empoli in 07-08) that only 2-3 years later, he’d be a regular starter, on the national team, and wearing the captain’s armband, I’d have given you the same look as if you told me yesterday morning that Zebina was going to score a wondergoal.
Poulsen: 7- Like Marchisio, an extra .5 for the circumstances. Due to the suspension of Melo and Sissoko being in doubt, Poulsen was drafted in to start, his first since breaking his ankle in early January against Milan. That’s what I cannot understand- How can the recovery time for BREAKING an ankle be the same as twisting an ankle, which Trezeguet did just a few days before Poulsen? Anyways, a tidy and neat display- In the first half, Poulsen played excellently, recovering balls, passing smart and simple (eyes on you two, Melo and Sissoko) and played his mediano role very well. In the 2nd half he obviously tired, but given he hasn’t played football in two months, that is perfectly excusable.
Salihamidzic: 5.5- He’s really not made out to play as a central midfielder, where his games are not poor, but not really that good either. He’s simply not at his best there, but against Fulham it was an adequate display nonetheless, and perhaps most importantly, kept Camo on the bench for the first half.

Candreva: 6- Nice footwork to retain possession for Zebina’s goal, and playing trequartista alongside Diego, he played fairly well, though not spectacular. Pushed out left as the game went on, like Marchisio, he is far less effective as a winger.
Diego: 6- Similar performance to Candreva, relatively subdued but adequate enough. Still, Giovinco needs to come back and hopefully give Diego a break, as today was another 90minute performance. Good dipping shot on goal towards the end of the game, and excellent deliveries from corners.

Trezeguet: 7- In recent weeks, just like the beginning of the season, people have questioned whether Trez was past it. Today’s performance showed what I’ve been arguing…you lose pace with age, maybe strength, but not the poacher’s mindset. Had a very good header on target that Schwarzer pushed out for a corner that Legrottaglie scored on, and he was playing as the target man excellently, trapping passes up top and retaining possession. His goal, the more and more I watch it, is just sheer genius. Watch as the corner is booted in, he positions himself perfectly- he knows where the ball is going to go. Then, of course, he smacks his volley against the post, and somehow, in the milliseconds of reaction time given, as he’s off balance and falling over, volleys it again into the net. Genius goal, and as Roberto said, “The fucker slammed it off the post on purpose, i’m convinced.”

Zaccheroni: 7.5- Juventus looked determined, composed, and tactically sound. It was an excellent team performance, and given it and the win over Fiorentina, there is spreading rumors that Zac will be retained for next year. He’s taking it well, saying- ““I won’t speak about the future because it isn’t part of our current objectives. Now my objective is only to beat Fulham and I hope to be able to look every three days at the next objective until the end of the season.” Marchisio and Diego could have been subbed off, but Poulsen and Brazzo needed to come off as well, and he wanted to give Iaquinta a little run out, so no major objections.

Candreva goes for the less conventional goal congratulation, by sucker punching Zebina when he’s not looking

Things I think I think:
#1- Team Eats- I think the loss to Palermo was because I didn’t participate that game- my friend was in town so I didn’t catch the game until on delay, and I was eating traditional New Orleans food with him, not Sicilian. Other than that, since starting with Genoa, we’ve gotten positive results everytime. English breakfast was solid. How was everyone’s bangers and mash?
#2- Roberto, pre-match: “3-1 Juventus… completely baseless.” Obviously not baseless…
#3- Fulham didn’t play particularly well, and I was a bit surprised given Hodgson’s experience, it didn’t seem like he had given them explicit instructions. As some have mentioned around here though, I find Fulham one of the least objectionable EPL teams. Maybe it’s because of the Yanks that have played at Craven Cottage, or maybe because their fans and players are generally pretty classy, I don’t know for sure.
#4- Fulham’s Goal: That was the definition of a (legal) bullshit goal. Non-existent foul given against Zebina because he outjumped Zamora, so a poor call, followed by a poor set piece delivery, and an even worse shot. That was going horrendously wide before it took the luckiest deflection ever, completely changing paths and leaving Manninger with no chance. Things were going very well, and Fulham had one shot on target before the goal, a weak one. The only thing I didn’t like about the game was the reaction to Fulham’s goal…we looked unsure, shaky, and it was like all those games where after conceding, we look defeated. It was an intense 10 minutes where we weathered Fulham’s best efforts, thanks to Manninger, among others.

“Something stinks.”

#5- The result: Zac said he wished the scoreline was larger, and it should have been. If not for Schwarzer proving keepers are like fine wine, we would have won 5-1 or more. If not for the bad luck goal, it could easily have been 4-0. Does this get us into the quarterfinals? Not necessarily, but I think we have a toe in. It would take a very, very poor game for us to crash out at this stage. My Newcastle co-worker says typically, Fulham are defensively sound, great at defending set pieces, but don’t score too often. The previous two didn’t happen, let’s hope the third remains true. An early goal at Fulham means they need to score 3.
#6- Next up is either Valencia or interestingly for Diego, Werder Bremen. They drew in Valencia 1-1 in a result that favors Werder, but either team is dangerous. Personally, I’d rather face Valencia- Villa, Silva, Joaquin and all are scary, but we own Spanish teams. Chiellini has marked Villa out before, and Valencia lost to Atletico Madrid 4-1 a few weeks ago, they aren’t entirely fear-inspiring. Added bonus for all of you constantly calculating and recalculating Germany and Italy’s UEFA coefficients, that’d be one German team out and an Italian progression.
#7- As Romanista Alto pointed in the comments- thus far this season, Serie A teams have beaten EPL teams 5 times this season, with 1 draw, and two losses, both of which were Milan getting crushed by ManYoo. Not bad.
#8- We won, comprehensively, without these players playing a significant role- Melo, Sissoko, Camoranesi, Iaquinta, Del Piero, Chiellini, or Buffon. That is reassuring. Sure, it’s a midtable EPL team but you know what? We’ve looked far shittier against relegation-battling teams in Italy, it’s not like we routinely play this well against midtable Serie A clubs either. I’m satisfied.
#9- Lastly, JZ’s celebration was hilarious. He couldn’t believe he scored it either, and he had no idea what to do- Watch the ITV video below, first he starts to take his shirt off, then realizes oh that’s a yellow early in the game, then stands there for a second confused, and then either picks his nose or tells the tifosi to be quiet. Brilliant.

SHIRT OFF, NO WAIT, BAD IDEA

WAIT, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?

PICK MY NOSE

The Coaching Merry-go-Round:

With Fiorentina crashing out of Europe this week, a lot have suggested that it’s time for Prandelli to move on. Blanc denies being in contact with him, but I am sure we’ve asked him if he’d like the job. Prandelli is a very good candidate of course, and while I wouldn’t discount Allegri or Gasparini, it’s increasingly looking like it’ll be Zac v. Prandelli for the job next year. Of course, Cesare is up possibly for the Nazionale gig and there’s rumors he’s ready to sign a contract extension to quiet all the rumors. Does Zaccheroni deserve the job? He’s done very well to turn the team around, morale is high and we look like we’re forming an identity, though of course there’s all to play for, depending on how far we go in the Europa League and if we finish in the CL places. If he gets us to the Europa League final and in at least 4th place, I think he deserves it.

Alessio’s The Juventus Offside Shitlist:
-Amauri: (3 Weeks)
-Cannavaro: (2 Weeks) Provisionally off the list, with a very good performance, though another poor one will see him get dropped back on.
-Chimenti: (2 Week) Because he’s a muppet, and Grygera and Amauri need some company.
-Grygera: (3 Weeks)
-Zebina: (2 Weeks) In Florence, Grosso and Candreva learned that they had been added to the JOS, and clearly that was the motivation that produced their inspired performance. Last week, I added Zebina and retroactively added a week because as you all know, I don’t like him. Obviously, the same thing transpired and he was driven to play well to get off the list. Job done, sir, but in the words of Yul Brenner, this doesn’t mean I like you.

source : juventus.theoffside.com

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=779

Adrian Sutil was fastest in the first practice session at Bahrain but Felipe Massa impressed with his consistency in the Ferrari. Here’s a look at the data from free practice 1.

The teams and drivers got their first taste of the extended Bahrain Grand Prix circuit in the first free practice session this morning.

After a quiet start all bar one of the cars made it onto the circuit. As ever the Bahrain circuit proved very dusty, the cars kicking up as much dirt off-line as they do off-track at some venues. Medium tyres were the order of the day as they acclimatised to the changed track.

McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari

The first graph shows the times for the top four teams and when they set them during the session.

McLaren appear to have switched their drivers from light-fuel running at the beginning of the session to heavier fuel loads later on. Although Lewis Hamilton achieved a quicker time than Button on his later run, Button’s times appear to be more consistent.

McLaren made the early running until they were knocked off the top spot by Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari. Felipe Massa was out at the same time posting some consistently quick laps – ten of his 19 were within 1% of his quickest time.

Red Bull, meanwhile, struggled to find the pace.

Williams, Force India, Renault, Toro Rosso and Sauber

Adrian Sutil set the fastest time of the session at the end of a stint of seven flying laps.

Robert Kubica was a surprising third fastest but the time seems to have been a bit of a one-off – his other times in the same stint were around 1.5s slower.

Sauber did not show the kind of pace that had been expected from them after testing, but looking at the size of the gap between them and the fastest runners it looks like a safe bet they were concentrating on heavy fuel running in this session.

Lotus, Virgin and HRT

The main story with the small teams was how little running they did. Indeed, HRT F1 didn’t even set a time in the first session, with Bruno Senna appearing on the track only for a few laps in the final minutes.

Lotus and Virgin at least got some running in but neither got within two seconds of the slowest established running. The sheer length of the Bahrain circuit this year is exaggerating the gap somewhat, but it is still a depressing figure for them.

Top 50 lap times

The top 50 times set during the session:

Rank	Driver	Lap time	Lap
1	Adrian Sutil	116.583	10
2	Adrian Sutil	116.696	9
3	Fernando Alonso	116.766	17
4	Adrian Sutil	116.888	8
5	Fernando Alonso	116.908	15
6	Fernando Alonso	116.909	7
7	Robert Kubica	117.041	14
8	Felipe Massa	117.055	9
9	Jenson Button	117.068	6
10	Felipe Massa	117.096	16
11	Adrian Sutil	117.158	6
12	Lewis Hamilton	117.163	6
13	Michael Schumacher	117.163	6
14	Felipe Massa	117.167	18
15	Felipe Massa	117.183	8
16	Felipe Massa	117.191	7
17	Vitantonio Liuzzi	117.194	9
18	Nico Rosberg	117.199	8
19	Mark Webber	117.255	14
20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	117.317	8
21	Nico Rosberg	117.364	9
22	Felipe Massa	117.364	14
23	Felipe Massa	117.366	6
24	Fernando Alonso	117.496	13
25	Vitantonio Liuzzi	117.535	18
26	Robert Kubica	117.57	8
27	Mark Webber	117.637	16
28	Vitantonio Liuzzi	117.67	17
29	Jaime Alguersuari	117.722	7
30	Lewis Hamilton	117.759	3
31	Michael Schumacher	117.759	3
32	Nico Rosberg	117.766	4
33	Felipe Massa	117.803	5
34	Mark Webber	117.809	11
35	Fernando Alonso	117.817	5
36	Mark Webber	117.828	7
37	Nico Hülkenberg	117.894	7
38	Jenson Button	117.903	4
39	Vitantonio Liuzzi	117.919	7
40	Sebastian Vettel	117.943	12
41	Felipe Massa	117.956	12
42	Mark Webber	117.977	10
43	Robert Kubica	118.085	7
44	Michael Schumacher	118.104	4
45	Lewis Hamilton	118.104	4
46	Jaime Alguersuari	118.159	9
47	Vitantonio Liuzzi	118.174	14
48	Felipe Massa	118.179	3
49	Jaime Alguersuari	118.181	6
50	Nico Hülkenberg	118.256	10

Fastest laps

Extended data on the times set by all the drivers. The only times set by Senna and di Grassi were ‘out’ or ‘in’ laps and are not counted in the official classification:

Pos.	Driver	Car	Fastest	On	Gap	Within 1%	Laps
1	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1′56.583	10	0	4	18
2	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1′56.766	17	0.183	5	18
3	Robert Kubica	Renault	1′57.041	14	0.458	3	19
4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1′57.055	9	0.472	10	19
5	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1′57.068	6	0.485	2	19
6	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1′57.163	6	0.58	3	19
7	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1′57.194	9	0.611	7	19
8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1′57.199	8	0.616	3	15
9	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1′57.255	14	0.672	6	17
10	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1′57.662	8	1.079	4	16
11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1′57.722	7	1.139	6	18
12	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1′57.894	7	1.311	7	20
13	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1′57.943	12	1.36	6	17
14	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1′58.399	6	1.816	6	13
15	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1′58.782	8	2.199	2	11
16	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1′58.880	12	2.297	4	13
17	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber-Ferrari	2′00.250	17	3.667	6	18
18	Kamui Kobyashi	Sauber-Ferrari	2′01.388	6	4.805	2	11
19	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	2′03.680	7	7.097	2	8
20	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	2′03.848	12	7.265	6	21
21	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	2′03.970	7	7.387	5	15
22	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	2′20.111	3	23.528	1	3
23	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	2′24.558	2	27.975	1	2
24	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth

NB. ‘Within 1%’ refers to the number of times a driver set a lap time that was within 1% of his best.

Rosberg quickest in Bahrain practice two

Mercedes power remained on top of the times sheets in the second practice session at Bahrain but this time it was the works Mercedes team that headed the times.

Nico Rosberg was fastest of all followed by three more Mercedes-powered runners: Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button.

Adrian Sutil, fastest in the first practice session this morning, was 12th for Force India.

Several drivers tried running the super-soft tyres in this afternoon’s session and many discovered problems with rear tyre wear.

The dustry track also caught several drivers out, particularly at the final corner. The new section also proved challenging – Jaime Alguersuari spun his Toro Rosso, luckily stopping just before the barriers.

As the session ended Bruno Senna skidded to a halt in his HRT car. The right-rear wheel appeared to shed a nut as he braked for the first corner. He at least managed to complete 17 laps and set a best time of 2′06.968.

Position	Car number	Driver	Car	Best lap		Laps
1	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1′55.409		23
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1′55.854	0.445	22
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1′55.903	0.494	23
4	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1′56.076	0.667	28
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1′56.459	1.05	18
6	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1′56.501	1.092	26
7	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1′56.555	1.146	30
8	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1′56.750	1.341	26
9	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1′57.140	1.731	25
10	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber-Ferrari	1′57.255	1.846	24
11	23	Kamui Kobyashi	Sauber-Ferrari	1′57.352	1.943	27
12	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1′57.361	1.952	29
13	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1′57.452	2.043	21
14	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1′57.833	2.424	29
15	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1′58.155	2.746	29
16	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1′59.799	4.39	31
17	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	2′00.444	5.035	12
18	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	2′00.873	5.464	23
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	2′00.990	5.581	14
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	2′02.037	6.628	3
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	2′02.188	6.779	21
22	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	2′06.968	11.559	17
23	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari			1
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth			0

Sutil heads Bahrain free practice one

Adrian Sutil put Force India at the top of the times sheets at following free practice one at Bahrain.

Ferrari and McLaren also headed the times during the 90-minute session with Fernando Alonso ending the session second quickest ahead of the man who replaced him at Renault, Robert Kubica.

The three new teams struggled to find the pace on the extended Bahrain circuit. The two Lotus drivers many several laps but at Virgin only Timo Glock was able to set a time.

Neither HRT car managed a time either. Karun Chandhok spent the entire session in the pits while Bruno Senna went out for just three laps. On his final tour of the circuit he was 15 seconds off the pace over the first two sectors.

Bahrain Grand Prix free practice 1 times

Position	Car number	Driver	Car	Best lap		Laps
1	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1′56.583		18
2	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1′56.766	0.183	18
3	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1′57.041	0.458	19
4	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1′57.055	0.472	19
5	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1′57.068	0.485	19
6	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1′57.163	0.58	19
7	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1′57.194	0.611	19
8	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1′57.199	0.616	15
9	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1′57.255	0.672	17
10	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1′57.662	1.079	16
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1′57.722	1.139	18
12	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1′57.894	1.311	20
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1′57.943	1.36	17
14	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1′58.399	1.816	13
15	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1′58.782	2.199	11
16	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1′58.880	2.297	13
17	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber-Ferrari	2′00.250	3.667	18
18	23	Kamui Kobyashi	Sauber-Ferrari	2′01.388	4.805	11
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	2′03.680	7.097	8
20	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	2′03.848	7.265	21
21	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	2′03.970	7.387	15
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth			2
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth			3
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth			0

source : f1fanatic.co.uk

http://www.gustavbernuar.com/?p=775

The official entry list for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship was republished by the FIA on Wednesday evening. Following weeks of speculation the sport’s governing body has confirmed the North Carolina-based US team will not compete, which means 12 teams will line up on the grid at next week’s season-opener in Bahrain.

A subsequent statement released by the FIA said: “The US team have indicated that they will not be in a position to participate in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms that it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the championship at this late stage.

“In the coming days the FIA will announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season.”

Other points to note are that Campos have changed their name to HRT following last month’s acquisition by Spanish businessman - and existing shareholder - Jose Ramon Carabante. The team are yet to reveal who will be team mate to already announced driver Bruno Senna.

The entry list also confirmed BMW Sauber’s place on the 2010 grid, with drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi set to take up driver numbers 22 and 23.

The full entry list of constructors and drivers as published by the FIA is as follows:

McLaren Mercedes
1 Jenson Button (GB)
2 Lewis Hamilton (GB)

2010 F1 season preview: McLaren

They may have the current world champion, Jenson Button, and the last one, Lewis Hamilton – but can a McLaren driver capture the title in 2010?

The early signs are the MP4-25 will swiftly banish the bad memories of its predecessor.

Car design

The re-appearance of pitot tubes (air flow sensors) on the McLaren in testing this year left the team’s fans wondering if they were back in the same dire straits they had been at the start of 2009.

As testing developed that hasn’t been the case. McLaren set the fastest times in the final test and both the Jerez tests. But that’s only a fraction of the story. What really matters is the car’s performance over a race distance – and there too the signs are encouraging, if a little inconsistent.

McLaren brought their Bahrain-specification aerodynamic updates to the final test at Barcelona and the car showed good speed at a track which is often a reliable barometer of season-long performance.

The team also had their adjustable wing working for the first time this year, which will help their drivers manage the car’s balance as the fuel load came down.

Driver line-up

This team which already has a reputation for ambitious driver pairings has really outdone itself this time. Why have one British world champion when you can have two?

We all know the last time two previous champions shared a team it ended in tears. Parallels are already being drawn between the Button-Hamilton pairing of today and the combustible combination of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna at the same team 21 years ago. Not least because Hamilton is an avowed Senna fan and Button’s silky smooth style has the hallmarks of The Professor.

But the comparisons are also a bit too convenient. These are different drivers in different times.

However if Fernando Alonso got the impression he was joining Hamilton’s team in 2007, that appearance will scarcely have lessened over time. Button needs to embed himself in the team and the reorganisation of the race engineers which followed his arrival may help with that.

Ever since the refuelling ban was announced it has been widely remarked that this will suit the ’smooth’ Button more than the ‘aggressive’ Hamilton. But I think these labels are too unsubtle to give much insight into the relative qualities of the two drivers. That said, I do expect Hamilton will usually out-qualify Button, but I suspect we’ll see fewer mistakes from McLaren’s new driver.

With Pedro de la Rosa off to Sauber, Gary Paffett is now the team’s third driver, making it an all-British trio. He’s had one day of testing in the off-season, and if either of the regular drivers are indisposed he may well get a call-up.

Strengths

If recent seasons have taught us anything it’s that few teams can rival McLaren’s capacity for developments throughout a Grand Prix season. We saw it in their remarkable comeback with the MP4-24 last year, and the huge effort which went into the MP4-23 at the end of 2008 to secure Hamilton’s title.

Testing has shown the team have a car with plenty of potential and it will be a surprise if it turns out to be anything less than a regular race-winner and ultimately a championship contender.

They are one of the most formidably well-equipped teams – a key reason why Button deserted Brawn/Mercedes for them. As we saw last year, they can never be discounted.

Weaknesses

In the past three seasons McLaren have attracted controversy like few other teams – ‘Spygate’ and the Hungaroring debacle in 2007, Hamilton being stripped of his Spa win in 2008, and the safety car controversy at Melbourne last year.

Personal friction between Ron Dennis and Max Mosley was often cited as a contributory factor in these rows, but as both have now left the scene, perhaps normal service will be resumed.

The team will be scrutinised intensely for any signs of cracks in their attention-grabbing driver partnership – and any perception of favouritism towards one side of the garage.

It remains to be seen how the change in relationship with engine supplier Mercedes will affect the team. Last year McLaren were one of three teams supplied by Mercedes and the only ones to carry their branding. Now coexist with a full works Mercedes team and customers Force India.

Yes, all the engines are supposed to be equal. But as George Orwell might have said, some engines are more equal than others.

Mercedes Benz GP Limited
3 Michael Schumacher (D)
4 Nico Rosberg (D)

2010 F1 season preview: Mercedes

They’re the reigning constructors’ championships and they’ve hired the most successful F1 driver ever. Surely all Mercedes have to do on their return to F1 is show up and collect the titles?

It might not be quite as straightforward as that, but the title holders have a very strong hand heading into 2010.

Car design

When Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche introduced his new team at the beginning of the year he played down expectations, telling the press: “We are a new team and we will need time.”

But although the changes at the team run deeper than a new name and a lick of paint, this is at heart the same squad which won last year’s championship. Drivers aside, they enjoy continuity in many important areas.

And, most significantly, the strength of the BGP001 last year meant they were able to shift resources to its successor – the W01 – earlier than planned.

Despite that the W01 did not strike fear into the hearts of rivals teams on its maiden run the way the BGP001 did. It’s generally been a few tenths off the Ferrari/McLaren pace. Until the last few days of the Barcelona test the team were playing down hopes of early wins.

Promising signs of progress late in the final test caused them to revise those conservative predictions. The team chose not to run its Bahrain-specification aerodynamic testing, leading to rumours they have something radical planned for the car’s diffuser.

Driver line-up

Did Nico Rosberg have even the slightest inkling he was going to end up driving alongside Michael Schumacher this year? If not, would he have taken up what must surely be one of the hardest jobs in F1?

Regardless, Rosberg faces the unenviable challenge of joining forces with someone who has a reputation for dominating his team mates both on and off the track. Schumacher started by taking Rosberg’s race number off him – strictly for reasons of superstition, you understand…

It never pays to underestimate the uncompromising genius of Michael Schumacher. I doubt the passage of three years will have blunted his speed, his desire to win or his willingness to push the rules to the limit and beyond.

There are only two serious questions over the seven-times champion’s ability to compete. The first is his motivation, which clearly waned at the end of 2006 when he originally retired, as Ross Brawn himself admitted last week.

The second his how well his injured neck has healed since it thwarted his bid to return last year. In terms of his general fitness, he looked in great shape when I saw him at the Jerez and Barcelona tests. He gave interviews mere minutes after emerging from the car, having put over 100 laps on it in a day, and looked fit and fresh as ever.

Strengths

Two names: Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher. They are one of the most effective race-winning combinations the sport has ever seen. You can bet they’ll have already sussed out every strategic nuance arising from the ban on refuelling and the new qualifying tyre rule.

The cosmetic transformation – and the lack of a number one on the car – makes it easy to overlook that this team are the reigning constructors’ champions.

That Mercedes decided to take over Brawn GP and not some other outfit says everything you need to know about the quality of their staff and infrastructure. When Mercedes put their name to a works team they expect nothing less than championship success – it’s what they got with their Grand Prix outfit in the 1950s and their sports car team in the 1980s and 1990s.

Weaknesses

On paper, there appear to be few chinks in Mercedes’ armour. Should Schumacher’s return falter, which is a risk, a Rosberg-Nick Heidfeld line-up would be a much weaker substitute.

Aside from that, and the concern their dull paint job will be hard to spot on an overcast day, Mercedes’ biggest worry must be that they’ll face much stronger opposition this year than they did as Brawn in 2009.

Mercedes W01 debuts (Pictures)

The new Mercedes W01 has appeared for the first time as test for the 2010 F1 season begins at Valencia.

Here is the first picture of the W01 which will be driven by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg in 2010:

The first photo indicates the W01 has a high nose similar to that seen on last year’s Red Bull as well as the Ferrari F10.

Red Bull Racing Renault
5 Sebastian Vettel (D)
6 Mark Webber (AUS)

2010 F1 season preview: Red Bull

Red Bull leapt from the midfield to the sharp end in 2009. Can they go one step further in 2010?

Car design

Red Bull missed the first week’s testing while Adrian Newey put the finishing touches to the RB6. The team were the pace setters at the end of 2009 and he believed spending more time getting the design fundamentals right was more important than going to the first test in Valencia.

Other teams’ designers took a cue from the high nose of Newey’s 2009 car but none of them attempted to replicate the tightly packaged rear bodywork and pullrod suspension arrangement which made the RB5 distinctive.

Newey has persevered with the approach on his 2010 car while also making room for the double diffuser and enlarged fuel tank. But having chosen to miss three days’ testing, and lost more time because of rain at the later tests, Red Bull have put less than 5,000km on their car while the likes of Ferrari have managed more than 7,000.

Driver line-up

In the final races of 2009 Sebastian Vettel was often the fastest man on the track. Unfortunately too many mistakes early in the season compounded later by unreliability scuppered his title chances.

But he clearly improved throughout the season and is maturing into a more complete driver. In his second season at Red Bull he will be a championship contender if the car is up to the task.

In a recent interview Mark Webber mentioned he was still not back at full fitness after breaking his leg prior to last season.

He’ll need every ounce of strength to stay on terms with Vettel. As Webber’s contract only runs to the end of this year, and Red Bull’s rally team recently took Kimi Räikkönen on board, some people are already putting two and two together and claiming Raikkonen will partner Vettel next year.

It’s far too early to say that with any confidence, but it will surely be preying on Webber’s mind this year.

Strengths

Obviously, big things are expected from the RB6’s performance. By the end of last year its predecessor had developed from being a car that was particularly suited to aerodynamically demanding tracks to one that was just at home around Abu Dhabi’s slow, tight bends.

Red Bull are also one of few teams to enjoy stability in their driver line-up.

Although they tried (and failed) to switch engine suppliers to Mercedes over the winter, their Renault units might have one thing going for them.

Last year their fuel consumption figures were lower than their rivals, which could be a boon now the cars have to carry all their fuel with them from the start of a race.

Weaknesses

Unfortunately the Renault engine proved lacking in another key area: power.

All the engine manufacturers will have been doing what they can within the engine freeze restrictions to improve economy without compromising output but Renault have lagged behind with this kind of development since the freeze was introduced.

Reliability was also a problem for the team last year, which often manifested itself in engine failures. These are the main areas the team needs to make progress in to finish one position in 2010 than they did last year.

Ferrari
7 Felipe Massa (BR)
8 Fernando Alonso (E)

2010 F1 season preview: Ferrari

Ferrari’s 2009 campaign was their least successful since 1993 and left the team with a lot of wounded pride.

But they could put that behind them very quickly in 2010 with a competitive-looking car and a strong new driver line-up.

Car design

So far the F10 has looked like the car Ferrari need it to be – a substantial step forward over the F60.

Last year’s car started the season without a double diffuser. The layout of its gearbox prevented the team exploiting the rules as effectively as rivals such as Brawn could. Ferrari were livid about the FIA’s verdict in favour of double diffusers and were still criticising the decision when they launched this year’s car.

Ferrari cut their losses with the F60 early last year to concentrate on the F10. Significantly, aero chief John Iley who was responsible for the F60 left during last season.

Like several other 2010 cars it features the distinctive ‘high nose’ look of the RB5. Rumour has it it also features an engine which is mounted at a slight angle to free up more room for the diffuser (though they are not necessarily the only team to have tried this).

Ferrari have oozed quiet confidence since testing began. They’ve not concerned themselves with topping the times every day, have done a lot of long runs, and covered 500km more than any other team. They’ve looked particularly competitive on long runs.

Driver line-up

If all goes according to plan this season should mark Fernando Alonso’s return to a regular front-running car after two years in the midfield at Renault.

It’s a fresh start after enduring Renault’s miserable performance last year, compounded by the unravelling of the Singapore scandal. He drove some of his greatest races in 2006 to defeat Ferrari – can he produce the same levels of excellence now he’s wearing red?

Felipe Massa, meanwhile, is making a recovery of a different kind as he makes his return to F1 racing following the head injuries he suffered in Hungary last year.

Prior to that crash Massa was a on a clear upward trajectory. He emerged from Kimi Räikkönen’s shadow in 2008 to lead the team’s title fight against McLaren, and had some good races in the improving F60 before his crash.

The question now is whether his injury and enforced absence from the cockpit has blunted his edge. There’s no doubting his hunger to return to action, though – he’s seized every opportunity to drive one of Ferrari’s fleet of older F1 cars during the off-season.

Strengths

A very strong-looking car and two competitive drivers: the basic ingredients are very sound.

Ferrari’s capacity to develop a car during the scene has always been strong – after all, the F60 did win a race in the end. It has been bolstered this year by the addition of a new simulator.

Weaknesses

Post-Schumacher Ferrari have continued to win races and championships but have not scaled the heights of performance they reached in 1999-2004. There are signs they haven’t quite settled down yet.

As well as Iley’s departure last year Luca Baldisseri was relieved of his track-side duties following some errors in qualifying sessions which left Massa and Raikkonen stranded in Q1 on occasions, as well as Raikkonen’s notorious switch to wet weather tyres on a dry track at Sepang. Engine expert Gilles Simon has also left, to work for Jean Todt at the FIA. In his place comes Luca Marmorini, who worked for Ferrari earlier in his career before joining Toyota.

The individual strengths of their drivers are not in doubt but their ability to work constructively together is. Alonso has always reacted badly to team mates out-performing him, whether it was Giancarlo Fisichella at Renault (very rarely) or Lewis Hamilton at McLaren (more often).

Massa has plenty of experience of tough team mates – Alonso will be the fourth world champion he’s shared a team with. But the pair have had their moments in the past, such as the row after their wheel-banging dice at the Nürburgring in 2007.

Ferrari 2010 F1 car pictures

Ferrari has revealed its 2010 F1 car, dubbed the F10

Williams Cosworth
9 Rubens Barrichello (BR)
10 Nico Hulkenberg (D)

2010 F1 season preview: Williams

With rivals Toyota gone and big changes at Renault and Sauber, Williams should at least be at the front of the midfield pack in 2010.

But can they raise their game and finally get back among the front runners this year?

Car design

While other teams have talked about their cars being an evolution of last year’s model, Williams say the FW32 is a clean sheet design intended to make a big step forward from last year’s car.

Despite some reliability problems the new Williams covered more ground in testing than any other team bar Ferrari.

As with the other teams, it’s hard to gauge from testing just how quick Williams are. New driver Nico Hülkenberg topped the testing times on his final day in the car, but that was on a low fuel run.

How successful it is will partly be determined by how powerful and reliable the Cosworth V8 is. Williams are returning to Cosworth power after three years using Toyota engines.

Driver line-up

Although Williams have lost the services of the promising Nico Rosberg, the conclusion of their Toyota deal means that Kazuki Nakajima is no longer in the other car. One driver scoring zero points while the other gets 34.5 was never going to be the best way of going racing.

In their place Williams have combined the most experienced F1 driver of all time – Rubens Barrichello – with the driver who stands out as the most promising of 2010’s rookies.

Hülkenberg arrives in F1 off the back of championship victories in GP2 and F3 Euroseries in successive seasons. The last driver to manage that was Lewis Hamilton.

He’s been with Williams in a junior capacity for a couple of seasons and got about as much mileage in the car as a reserve driver can these days.

Strengths

It may take a while for the new driver pairing to gel, but there’s a lot to like about the Williams duo.

Barrichello tended to trail Jenson Button on race day last year but he had some very strong race performances and usually qualified well. Hülkenberg showed impressive speed, tyre sensitivity and maturity on his way to the GP2 title last year.

Williams have not been able to spend as much as the bigger teams in recent years and although that hasn’t changed for 2010 the Resource Restriction Agreement may help keep the others in reach.

Weaknesses

There will inevitably be reliability worries with a substantially new design and that seems to have been borne out in testing.

The Cosworth engine is an unknown quantity – it may prove powerful, frugal and completely reliable, but if it’s significantly behind in any one of those areas the team could have a problem.

Williams FW32 has test debut (Pictures)

We’ve already seen some spy shots of the Williams FW32 but we can now get a better look at the car as it appeared for the first time in testing today. Check out some more pictures of the Cosworth-powered Williams below.

The FW32 is another member of the ‘high-nose’ club but with some distinctively narrow struts from which the front wing is suspended.

Although its livery is more complete than the spy shots seen earlier – with Phillips now appearing on the sidepods as well as the rear wing – the front wing is still black in parts suggesting this is a recently-completed part which hasn’t been painted yet.

Another interesting detail on the car is what looks like a second air intake behind the main one.

The FW32 has its mirrors mounted on the side pod wings. They carry the logos of new sponsor GAC, a logistics company which will provide services to the team’s new technology base in Qatar.

Renault
11 Robert Kubica (PL)
12 Vitaly Petrov (RUS)

2010 F1 season preview: Renault

It’s a new era for Renault with a new owner, new team principal and the Alonso-Briatore-Symonds partnership consigned to the history books.

The team began the last two seasons poorly. Can they get off to a better start in 2010?

Car design

Renault failed to master the new regulations last year but their problems run deeper than that – the team has never really been on the pace since tyre supplier Michelin left the sport at the end of 2006.

By the end of testing the R30 had sprouted a new, more detailed front wing and a distinctively shaped rear wing profile. But the team usually looked at least a second off the pace.

Interestingly, it’s one of the shortest cars on the grid, suggesting Renault have made a good job of packaging the rear of the car.

This may be because of their engine’s reputed fuel efficiency, which could stand them in good stead in this new, refuelling-free era.

Driver line-up

Yet another team with a new driver pairing. The loss of Fernando Alonso can only be a bad thing but the team swooped quickly to pick up Robert Kubica as a replacement.

Kubica is obviously very quick but also a bit temperamental. When the chips were down at BMW it was Nick Heidfeld who could be relied on to grind out solid midfield results. But when Kubica hits a set-up sweet spot he can be shatteringly fast.

Don’t write off Vitaly Petrov as a pay driver too hastily – even if he does bring cash plus the interest of a country Bernie Ecclestone would dearly love to turn into a market for F1.

Petrov was a convincing runner-up in GP2 last year and turned the tables on team mate Romain Grosjean before the latter moved up to F1. Along with Nico Hülkenberg, he’s one of few rookies to get a decent amount of running in pre-season testing, though the team generally preferred to put Kubica in the car on dry days.

Strengths

The team made cuts in its aerodynamic department before 2009 but after their problems last year some of the staff have been re-hired.

They should also benefit from not having to co-develop their KERS, which proved of little benefit to them last year.

Weaknesses

Pat Symonds’ technical direction will be sorely missed. New team principal Eric Boullier has a lot to get to grips with.

Renault R30 launched (Pictures)

The Renault R30 has been unveiled by the team at Valencia. See the first pictures of the new car below.

Renault R30 launch

• 2010 Renault R30 and 2009 Renault R29 compared (Pictures)
• Vitaly Petrov to become Russia’s first F1 driver with Renault in 2010
• Robert Kubica reveals new helmet design

As was widely expected, the new livery marks a return to classic Renault yellow and black colours. The team used a similar scheme for its first F1 team from 1977 to 1985.

Since its return to F1 as a full constructor in 2002 Renault’s colour scheme has been largely dictated by sponsors.

Renault has lost 2009 title sponsors ING, who intended to pull out before 2010 but hastened their departure after the Singapore crash scandal. Mutua Madrilena also left the team at the same time.

Renault has also announced Vitaly Petrov will race for the team alongside Robert Kubica and revealed its two reserve drivers for 2010. More here:

• Vitaly Petrov to become Russia’s first F1 driver with Renault in 2010

Renault R30 studio video

2010 F1 car launches

Force India Mercedes
14 Adrian Sutil (D)
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (I)

2010 F1 season preview: Force India

Last year they got their first points, first pole and first podium. Can Force India carry the momentum of their 2009 breakthrough into 2010?

Car design

Force India made a clear step forward in the second half of 2009 courtesy of a late aerodynamic update to the car. It thrust them to the front of the midfield and, at Spa, very nearly won them the race.

When the team revealed the VJM03 at Jerez this year they talked about how they hoped to translate the 02’s strengths on low-drag circuits like Spa to make it a better all-rounder.

The other key component in Force India’s breakthrough was their deal to use Mercedes power. They retain the engine and drivetrain in 2010, and it’s still believed to be one of the most powerful and usable in F1.

The team often looked quick in testing but didn’t seem to be doing very many long runs.

Driver line-up

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to look at Force India’s points tally for last year and conclude it might have been a bit higher had Adrian Sutil not had so many collisions with other drivers.

His uncompromising style in wheel-to-wheel battle is exciting but it usually costs him more than he gains from it – like at the Nürburgring and Interlagos last year. Now entering his fourth F1 season, at times he needs to show a little more restraint to match his speed.

Vitantonio Liuzzi made the jump from reserve driver to race driver last year and has held onto the position giving the team some useful continuity in the driver line-up which many rivals lack this year.

Though not as obvious as Button-Hamilton or Massa-Alonso, Force India’s driver pairing this year is a battle to relish. Each driver has something to prove and for both of them the best way to secure their long-term place in the sport would be to emphatically out-do the other this year.

What’s more, the team’s new reserve driver Paul di Resta is poised for promotion at a moment’s notice. He’ll be driving one of the cars in Friday first practice at most race weekends this year.

Strengths

Force India are on a clear upwards trajectory and are benefiting from stability they sorely lacked from 2005-2008 as they passed from owner to owner.

The days of looking for Force India at the back of the grid are over and the arrival of several new, slower teams should keep them at the leading edge of the midfield.

Weaknesses

Several important staff members have left since the end of last year. McLaren’s Simon Roberts, who oversaw the integration of the Mercedes running gear last year, has returned to Woking.

More recently technical director James Key has announced an imminent move to Sauber. Key led the aerodynamic development of last year’s car and his loss is clearly a setback for the team. Long-standing business director Ian Phillips has waved farewell after almost two decades with the Silverstone-based outfit.

There will be more pressure on their drivers without the experience of Giancarlo Fisichella to fall back on.

Force India launch VJM03 (Pictures)

Force India have revealed their 2010 F1 car, the VJM03.

The team say the car is an evolution of last year’s VJM02 – but they expect it to be strong on more than just low-downforce tracks. Here are the first pictures of the VJM03.

The team are using Mercedes engines for the second year in a row. They are one of few teams to being 2010 with the same drivers they ended 2009 with – Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Liuzzi will give the car its first public run during testing at Jerez tomorrow.

The team has also announced Paul di Resta has joined them as a reserve driver and will participate during some Grand Prix weekends on Fridays.

Designer Mark Smith said the new car is an evolution of last year’s VJM02, which scored the team’s first ever points with second place at Spa:

The VJM03 is definitely an evolution of the VJM02 in terms of the design philosophies we have developed at Force India over the last year. We are very happy with the direction, therefore we have opted to evolve the car rather than significantly revise.

Obviously one of the major aspects we have had to contend with are regulation changes which have had a considerable impact on some aspects of the design of the car. The removal of refuelling from races increases the amount of fuel needed to be stored in the cars – almost twice the amount we ran in 2009. There is a compromise now: either make the car much longer or wider, or, as we have done, a combination of both. This of course has influenced the mechanical design solutions and also the aerodynamics, specifically with respects to the diffuser and bodywork.

Even with the ban of double diffusers for 2011, we recognise that we still have to push as much as we possibly can in this area in 2010 as we have targets to meet and the double diffuser is a key development aspect of the car.

The VJM02 was a relatively low drag car that showed well on the low downforce tracks. As was demonstrated throughout 2009, that was a useful attribute but as we go into 2010 we have tried to maintain a high level of aerodynamic efficiency, but we recognise that our championship position will be enhanced by a general level of performance that is suited to all types of circuits. We have, we believe, quite an efficient car overall.
Mark Smith

Read more from the team: Sutil, Liuzzi and Szafnauer interviews

Force India VJM03 launch video

STR Ferrari
16 Sebastien Buemi (CH)
17 Jaime Alguersuari (E)

2010 F1 season preview: Toro Rosso

Last season was a reality check for Toro Rosso after their giant-killing feats in 2008.

For the first time in their five-year history the team have had to manufacture their own car this season. How will they fare in 2010?

Car design

Toro Rosso’s decision to run a developed version of last year’s car could prove to be a smart decision as they switch from (effectively) running a customer car to becoming a full-blown constructor.

Because of this team team has expanded, adding 50 staff and now numbering around 200. The drawing office’s staff alone has increased from ten to 30.

The similarities between the STR5 and its predecessor (and the Red Bull RB5) are clear to see. The space left around the engine last year – which was intended to be occupied by a KERS which was never used – can now be deployed more effectively

It took until late in 2009 for the team to get a handle on the STR4 but once they did Sebastien Buemi started popping up in Q3.

The advantage of using last year’s car as a base of the new one should include greater reliability early in the season. It also allowed them to begin testing from the first day at Valencia, giving more precious driving mileage to its still quite inexperienced driver line-up.

Driver line-up

Toro Rosso may be forging a path for itself as an independent constructor from Red Bull but it is still fulfilling its brief to be a hothouse for young driving talent which its big brother can then cherry-pick.

Buemi had a respectable and occasionally impressive debut season in 2009, quickly dispensing with Sebastien Bourdais and then making the most of the better car he had under him later in the season.

There were a few crashes – notably in that crazy weekend at Suzuka – but generally he impressed rather more than former F3 rival Romain Grosjean did.

Jaime Alguersuari coped admirably well being thrown in at the deep end and we should consider 2010 the beginning of his rookie campaign. His handful of races in the second half of last year was the testing he should have had before getting in the car.

But Toro Rosso has always been a high-pressure environment for young drivers. If Buemi or Alguersuari falls short it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Red Bull reserves Daniel Ricciardo or Brendon Hartley drafted in mid-season.

Strengths

Should be a strong candidate for early-season points and not just thanks to the enlarged points system.

The arrival of the new teams should also flatter them.

Weaknesses

They’re striking it out on their own in terms of development. The conservative route they’ve taken is a wise one but it remains to be seen how the recently-enlarged team can manage the car’s development throughout the year.

Then there’s the question of how well the team’s two fairly inexperienced drivers will contribute to that process as well.

Toro Rosso STR5 breaks cover (Pictures)

Toro Rosso have revealed their STR5 – the first car to be built by the Faenza-based team since it operated as Minardi.

The first picture of the car shows it has a lot of similarities with last year’s STR4 – the high nose and shark fin have been retained. More pictures of the STR5 below.

Lotus Cosworth
18 Jarno Trulli (I)
19 Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)

2010 F1 season preview: Lotus

Lotus were the last team to gain an entry for 2010 – but so far they look like the most promising of the new teams.

Even so they’re still expecting to start the year around four seconds per lap off the pace. Can the team do justice to their historic and evocative name?

Car design

With such a tight time frame to design and build a new car it’s no surprise the Lotus T127 is a conventional-looking creation.

Shortage of downforce seems to be the main cause of their lack of performance, but at least the car has been reasonably reliable.

Designer Mike Gasconye has in the past concentrated on bulk updates to his creations so keep an eye out for a B-version of the T127 sometimes after the teams return to Europe.

Driver line-up

Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen may not be a combination that sets pulses racing, but that’s a good thing for a fledgling team like this. The last thing they need is a rookie sticking the car in the wall, forcing an expensive rebuild and wasting precious track time.

Trulli was often the most productive driver during pre-season testing, managing a whopping 141 laps on one day at Jerez. He will relish the return to low-fuel qualifying and if the team can get their car within touching distance of the established runners Trulli could be the first man to claim some Q1 scalps.

Two years alongside Lewis Hamilton at McLaren did Kovalainen’s reputation no favours. In eight months’ time, once we’ve seen how Jenson Button gets on alongside Hamilton, we may have cause to revise our view of Kovalainen.

Remember, this is the driver who kept Kimi Räikkönen at arms’ length in the streaming rain at Fuji in 2007. Lotus gives him the opportunity for a fresh start.

Strengths

Gascoyne is a veteran of several F1 teams and has worked with Trulli on several occasions, notably at Toyota during their most successful season, 2005. Several ex-Toyota staff have followed Trulli to Lotus including his race engineer Gianluca Pisanello, giving him some useful continuity.

The team had no major scares in pre-season testing and encouragingly have begun picking up sponsors in the form of CNN.

Weaknesses

They’re not that quick.

HRT Cosworth
20 TBA
21 Bruno Senna (BR)

2010 F1 season preview: HRT

Adrian Campos’s dream of a Spanish F1 team will be realised in 2010 – but it won’t have his name on it. A late change of ownership means the team formerly known as Campos will instead race as HRT.

Their car only appeared for the first time last week and hasn’t tested yet. The learning curve for this outfit will be near-vertical this year.

Car design

Although it was the last car to appear the Dallara-designed car was the first of the new teams’ cars to begin construction.

They will use the same Cosworth engines as the other two newcomers plus Williams, so part of their performance will depend on how strong the CA2010 is.

But with no mileage so far they’re going to have to treat the opening rounds as tests.

Driver line-up

Neither of the two drivers charged with developing their untested car have ever started an F1 race.

Bruno Senna had a quiet 2009 after missing out on a Honda drive when the team was put up for sale. He did appear in a few sports car races.

Prior to that he was runner-up in GP2, finishing behind the super-experienced Giorgio Pantano. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, particularly given that Senna spent many years out of the cockpit following the death of his uncle, at a time when many of his peers were winning kart races.

Karun Chandhok is very well-liked but the truth is his results in the junior categories have been less than spectacular, whether or not he’s enjoyed the benefit of a front-running team.

However he knows his new team mate well from their time at iSport together and he enjoys the support of Bernie Ecclestone.

Strengths

Since the take over Colin Kolles, ex-Jordan, Midland and Force India, has taken over running the team. That, along with the appointment of Jacky Eeckelaert on the technical side, brings some badly-needed experience to the team.

Weaknesses

An un-tested car and two rookie drivers.

BMW Sauber Ferrari
22 Pedro de la Rosa (E)
23 Kamui Kobayashi (J)

F1 2010 season preview: Sauber

This team endured a torrid season as BMW in 2009. Until a late update to their car brought them within touching distance of the leaders in the final races.

Now back under the control of Peter Sauber, will they revert to their midfield role of the pre-BMW days, or get back on the upward curve which put Robert Kubica in contention for the title two years ago?

Car design

The Sauber C29 owes much to its predecessor, the F1.09. It also draws heavily on several popular design trends: high nose, shark fin and cutaway engine air intake.

After successive years of progress the team went down a blind alley with its 2009 development, wasting a lot of time on KERS. But by the end of the season the F1.09 had been licked into shape and Robert Kubica drove it to second place at Interlagos.

BMW had already canned its F1 project by then but the early performance of the C29 suggests that might have been a poor decision. In testing the car appeared to have good baseline speed, no major reliability concerns and is kind to its tyres.

The team has excellent resources at its Hinwil base but the almost total lack of sponsorship on the C29 does make you wonder if they can afford to use them to the full in the year ahead. They may not quite be the Brawn of 2009, but look for Sauber towards the front of the midfield where they stand a chance of grabbing the points that get the sponsors.

Driver line-up

With Kubica off to Renault and Heidfeld not being retained, Sauber have a brand new driver pairing in 2010.

Pedro de la Rosa hasn’t raced since 2006 but his development abilities are first-rate – McLaren are disappointed to have lost him. With track testing very limited and more work being done on simulators, de la Rosa’s experience will be a boon for the team.

In Kamui Kobayashi Peter Sauber has made another of his characteristic gambles on a promising young talent. Kobayashi’s GP2 performances didn’t mark him out as a star of the future (although he did win the GP2 Asia title) but the ease with which he took to F1 with Toyota last year hinted at his potential.

His drives in Interlagos and Yas Island mixed desperation and inspiration but Sauber has proved a good environment for slightly wild young drivers to mature into race winners – like Felipe Massa.

Strengths

The car looks strong and the team have an excellent technical base. Although technical director Willy Rampf is moving aside he’s handing over to James Key, who did great things with Force India’s aerodynamics last year.

Weaknesses

An unproven driver line-up with one race-rusty driver and one rookie. How much development work can they get done on their budget?

BMW Sauber C29 launched (Pictures)

BMW Sauber have revealed their 2010 F1 car.

The car lacks any major sponsors although the team announced several deals into the run-up to the launch, some of which feature on the car. They include Scalp-D, a Japanese shampoo, and watch brand Certina.

Here are the first pictures of the C29.

Although the team is no longer run by BMW the team has retained the name in its title. But the car carries on the model designation used by the Sauber team until 2005, when it raced the C24.

The car is now powered by Ferrari and also uses the Ferrari gearbox.

Technical director Willy Rampf described some of the changes to the car:

The increased length of the fuel tank means the car has grown longer overall. And because they are slimmer, the front tyres will be more heavily worked, requiring weight to be shifted further towards the rear of the car.

An eye-catching feature of the C29 is its highly intricate raised nose. Also very distinctive is an extremely long undercut at the transition from chassis into underbody. These and other aerodynamic measures also help to ensure optimum airflow to the double diffuser. Further changes were required to integrate the Ferrari engine and, in particular, the Ferrari gearbox.
Willy Rampf

BMW have also published the car’s basic specifications including some of its dimensions:

Chassis: Carbon-fibre monocoque
Suspension: Upper and lower wishbones (front and rear), inboard springs and dampers, actuated by pushrods (Sachs Race Engineering)
Brakes: Six-piston brake callipers (Brembo), carbon pads and discs (Brembo, Carbon Industries)
Transmission: Ferrari Seven-speed quick shift gearbox, carbon, longitudinally mounted, carbon-fibre clutch
Chassis electronics: MES
Steering wheel: BMW Sauber F1 Team
Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza
Wheels: OZ
Length: 4,940 mm
Width: 1,800 mm
Height: 1,000 mm
Track width, front: 1,495 mm
Track width, rear: 1,410 mm
Weight: 620 kg (including driver, tank empty)

Virgin Cosworth
24 Timo Glock (D)
25 Lucas di Grassi (BR)

F1 2010 season preview: Virgin

Virgin were the first of the new teams to appear on the track in testing. But they’ve suffered mechanical and aerodynamic gremlins with their VR-01.

How will they fare against the other newcomers, and can they trouble any of the established teams in their first season?

Car design

Virgin has put its faith in a car designed entirely using Computational Fluid Dynamics meaning neither the VR-01 nor models of it have seen the inside of a wind tunnel.

The car was designed by Nick Wirth’s company Wirth Research, who previously designed Acura’s ARX sports cars exclusively using CFD. But transferring that approach to single-seat F1 cars will be difficult.

Wirth says he is returning to F1 (after unsuccessful stints with Simtek and Benetton in the 1990s) because the Resource Restriction Agreement will allow teams to compete on ingenuity rather than who can spend the most. Using CFD instead of wind tunnel testing is a cheaper way of going racing – but will it prove as successful?

The team – which is essentially the Manor Grand Prix operation but now backed by former Brawn sponsors Virgin – were the first of the new contenders to test their car, but quickly ran into trouble.

A failure in the hydraulics stopped their tests on several occasions and the team are waiting to test their latest fix for it once Grand Prix practice begins on Friday.

More worryingly the front wing came off during the Jerez test due to a component failure. The team believe the problem is now fixed and there was no repeat of the problem during the subsequent tests.

Driver line-up

Timo Glock completed his move to the team shortly after Toyota announced they wouldn’t be competing this year.

At the time he was highly complimentary about going to work for a small, British team – but that might just have been a hangover from spending the last two years at Toyota’s vast and unwieldy Cologne operation.

His leg has fully healed after his season-ending crash at Suzuka.

For Lucas di Grassi, making his F1 debut with Virgin marks something of a homecoming.

He drove for Manor’s F3 team in 2005, finishing third in the European series behind the dominant ASMs of Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Sutil, but winning the prestigious Macau Grand Prix.

Having been close to an F1 drive with Renault in the past, di Grassi has finally got the F1 break he’s been expected to land for a couple of years.

Strengths

They hit the ground running early, have the best-looking car on the grid and a big-name backer.

Weaknesses

Is Glock ready to be a team leader? After their troubles in testing merely finishing a race will be a triumph.

Virgin Racing launch VR-01 (Pictures)

Virgin Racing are the first of the new F1 teams to launch their 2010 car.

See below for more pictures and information about the VR-01.

Designer Nick Wirth has created the VR-01 entirely using Computational Fluid Dynamics computer modelling. This is not a new technology for F1 – but relying on it instead of a wind tunnel to create a new car is a novel approach.

Wirth believes CFD is the best way for teams to develop F1 cars under F1’s new resource restrictions:

Today is a very proud day for everyone involved with Virgin Racing, however on this occasion, where the car is the star, I want to pay tribute to all the amazing people at Wirth Research who deserve so much of the credit for the VR-01. Putting together an F1 team, assembling an engineering group and designing a new car from scratch is an epic task in the timeframe we have been working to.

I have been fortunate to have worked with the very best designers in F1 and I am well aware of exactly what it takes to be successful in this sport. When you see what the existing teams have achieved using the conventional but proven design approach, it is unsurprising that there is a great deal of scepticism about our all-CFD approach. But we are competing in a sport that is undergoing significant change having come face to face with today’s harsh economic realities. Under resource restriction, convention will become too costly and necessity really will be the mother of invention. I have absolute belief in the digital design process and the opportunity to put the all-CFD approach to the test at the highest level – to demonstrate that this could be the way for the future of F1 – is very, very exciting.
Nick Wirth

The team, originally named Manor Motorsport, are using Cosworth’s CA2010 V8 engines this year.

Team principal John Booth said:

Not only do we have a great bunch of people at Virgin Racing, we also have a great-looking car. We are delighted with our fantastic new livery which provides a fitting integration of our racing brand with our important commercial partnerships. All in all, we have a lot to look forward to as we progress towards our racing debut in Bahrain next month.
John Booth

He also explained why the car was not ready in time for the test at Valencia this week:

The first stage in our on-track evaluation programme is our two-day shakedown at Silverstone on Thursday and Friday this week, where we will conduct systematic testing and confidence-building of all car parts and on-car systems. It was always intended that we would miss the first all-team test in Valencia this week and very early on we targeted the second Jerez test in two weeks’ time for our public testing debut. It is a testament to our methodical approach and the sheer hard work of the team that we are heading to Spain a week earlier than planned to take part in the first Jerez test next week.
John Booth

Virgin chairman Sir Richard Branson added:

I’m sure we will be measured by how fast the car is on the track in Jerez next week, but I hope that doesn’t overshadow the far bigger achievement of pulling an entire racing team together and taking a brave step that defies convention. In many ways this is an exploration, but given the absolute self-belief we have seen, I can’t help but feel very excited about what we can go on to achieve in the years ahead.

For now though I’m looking forward to seeing the VR-01 on track in testing in the coming weeks as we prepare for Virgin Racing’s very first grand prix.
Richard Branson

‘Horas, Rossi!’

Andi Abdullah Sururi - detiksport

Medan - Karpet merah dan tari-tarian tradisional menyambut Valentino Rossi di Medan. Sang juara dunia MotoGP bak pahlawan yang dielu-elukan kehadirannya. “Horas!” sapa Rossi di atas panggung. “Horas, Rossi!”

Hari Minggu 28 Februari 2010 menjadi istimewa untuk warga kota Medan khususnya para penggemar olahraga balap motor. Rossi, pengoleksi sembilan gelar juara dunia di ajang grand prix motor — enam di kelas MotoGP — , hadir sebagai tamu spesial Yamaha, yang sedang berbunga-bunga karena musim ini slogan berbahasa Indonesia “Semakin di Depan” menempel di jersey dan bagian belakang motor yang dipakai Rossi (dan Jorge Lorenzo) sepanjang kompetisi tahun 2010.

Ini adalah kali ketiga Rossi bertandang ke Indonesia. Yang pertama ketika ia masih bermain di kelas 125cc dan melakoni balapan di Sirkuit Sentul di tahun 1996. Yang kedua terjadi pada awal Februari 2009 untuk mengadakan jumpa fans di Jakarta, juga atas sponsor Yamaha.

“Selalu menyenangkan bisa bertemu penggemar di sini, di Indonesia. Saya merasa mendapat begitu banyak dukungan. Sayangnya kita bertemu ketika saya tidak sedang bekerja (membalap–Red). Mudah-mudahan lain waktu saya bisa datang ke sini untuk bekerja (pada sebuah balapan),” tutur pria asal Urbino, Italia, tersebut.

Gaya Rossi yang santai dan menghibur memang cukup kentara dalam kunjungannya di Medan. Walaupun masih dalam keadaan lelah karena sehabis mengikuti sesi ujicoba di Sepang, Malaysia — Rossi mendarat di Medan pada Sabtu malam — ia tampak berusaha terlihat menyenangkan.

Pada pemunculan pertamanya di depan publik di Grand Aston, Rossi langsung menciptakan derai tawa hadirin. Pada acara jumpa pers, seorang wartawan menyodorkan empat pertanyaan sekaligus. Dan kalimat pertama yang keluar dari mulut sang bintang adalah, “Maaf, saya lupa pertanyaan pertama Anda.”

Tentu saja Rossi mengatakan itu dengan maksud bercanda, karena ia kemudian menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan itu. Dalam pertemuannya dengan jurnalis ia mengungkapkan banyak hal mulai dari persiapannya menghadapi musim ini sampai hal-hal di luar balapan.

Sesi berikutnya adalah jumpa fans dengan orang-orang yang telah diseleksi pihak panitia (YMKI). Rossi muncul dengan penuh gaya. Setelah pembawa acara memperkenalkan dirinya, ia muncul dari balik layar panggung, dengan menaiki sepeda motor Yamaha, dengan lampu depan menyala. Ratusan penonton langsung melupakan tempat duduknya untuk merapat ke pinggir panggung, supaya bisa lebih dekat dengan atlet pujaannya.

Di situ Rossi meladeni langsung pertanyaan dari para penggemar. “Karena saya orang Italia, saya paling suka pasta,” tukas dia saat ditanya seorang peserta tentang makanan favoritnya.

Lalu ada pertanyaan lain, tipe wanita seperti apa yang ia dambakan. Rossi tidak menjawab dengan kata-kata melainkan dengan menunjukkan jari telunjuknya ke arah seorang penonton wanita. Suasana pun heboh lagi oleh teriakan-teriakan histeris penonton, tak ubahnya sedang menonton konser musik.

Seorang penonton bertanya, “Kapan Anda akan memakai kostum Italia lagi, seperti waktu Anda memakai baju (Marco) Materazzi di final Piala Dunia 2006?” Rossi menjawab, “Kalau Italia juara dunia lagi. Tapi sepertinya kali ini sulit.” Nah lho!

Masih soal sepakbola, Rossi ditanya siapa pemain favorit di tim favoritnya, Inter Milan. “Semua pemain Inter saya suka. Misalnya Mario Balotelli dan Diego Milito. Saya belum pernah bertemu Balotelli, tapi saya rasa dia pemain yang bagus.”

Acara kemudian dilanjutkan dengan kunjungan Rossi ke Sentral Yamaha Medan di Jl. Adam Malik No. 30. Ratusan orang yang menantinya dengan tidak sabar akhirnya bisa melihat sang bintang sekitar jam 2 siang. Layaknya pejabat atau orang penting, panitia menyiapkan karpet merah untuk dilalui Rossi.

Begitu Rossi datang, enam anak-anak berpakaian adat menyambutnya dengan tarian. Selembar kain ulos khas Sumatera Utara, yang di bagian belakangnya dituliskan nomor 46, dikenakan kepada dia. Begitu didaulat naik ke podium, sambil menebar senyum Rossi pun melambai-lambaikan tangannya kepada penonton. “Rossi, Rossi, Rossi … ” warga pun meneriakkan namanya.

“Ini luar biasa. Kami sangat senang dengan sambutan orang Indonesia. Mereka masyarakat yang menyenangkan. Kami tidak menyangka sambutan buat Rossi sebegitunya hebatnya di sini,” tutur manajer tim Fiat Yamaha dan Rossi, Davide Brivio, kepada detiksport.

Setelah melihat isi kantor dealer Yamaha, terakhir Rossi naik ke panggung yang telah disiapkan panitia. Ia memberi kenang-kenangan kepada empat anak yatim piatu perwakilan dari empat agama. Lalu ia memberi pidato singkat, yang didahului dengan salam khas Medan, “Horas!” Penonton pun membalasnya dengan seruan yang sama penuh semangat: “Horas, Rossi!”

Rossi mengatakan dirinya sangat senang bisa datang ke Indonesia lagi dan berterima kasih atas segala sambutan yang ia terima. Hari itu juga Rossi meninggalkan Medan untuk mengunjungi satu lagi kota di tanah air, di mana ia akan bertemu fansnya di Surabaya pada hari Senin (1/3/2010). ( a2s / krs )

Rossi Menyapa Surabaya
Rois Jajeli - detiksport

Surabaya - Surabaya kedatangan tamu istimewa, yakni juara dunia tujuh kali MotoGP, Valentino Rossi. Di ‘Kota Pahlawan’, pembalap asal Italia itu akan melakukan beberapa kegiatan.

Rossi datang ke Surabaya pada Senin (1/3/2010) dengan diundang oleh Yamaha. Rossi akan meluncurkan slogan ‘Semakin di Depan’, slogan Yamaha Indonesia, yang akan dipasang di ekor motor YZR M1 di MotoGP serta di lengan baju Rossi dan Jorge Lorenzo.

Peluncuran slogan ‘Semakin di Depan’ akan dilakukan Rossi siang ini di DBL Arena, Jalan Ahmad Yani Surabaya.

“Saya sudah dua kali ke Indonesia bersama dengan Yamaha. Ini kejutan yang luar biasa,” sambut Rossi dalam acara jumpa pers di Hotel JW Marriott Surabaya.

“Saya senang dan bangga berada di Indonesia. Apalagi jadi duta Yamaha. Saya senang ada tulisan berbahasa Indonesia di motor saya. Semakin di depan, yang lain di belakang,” imbuh Rossi berseloroh.

Selain Rossi, turut hadir dalam acara itu adalah Presdir Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia Dyonisius Beti, GM Yamaha Motor Company Masaro Kurusawa, serta manajer Rossi di Fiat Yamaha Davide Brivio.

Dalam acara jumpa pers tersebut, Rossi berpose di atas motor Jupiter MX, motor produksi YMKI yang memakai Rossi sebagai ikonnya.

“Bergabung dengan Yamaha itu fantastis,” kata Rossi yang telah membela tim ‘Garpu Tala’ sejak tahun 2004. “Hubungan baik dengan tim merupakan faktor utama dalam mendapatkan hasil terbaik.”( arp / key )

Lorenzo Untouchable
Arya Perdhana - detiksport

Bandung - Untuk kali keempat, Jorge Lorenzo berkunjung ke Indonesia. Untuk kunjungan terakhirnya di Bandung, Lorenzo benar-benar untouchable, alias tak bisa disentuh. Secara harfiah.

Lorenzo hadir di Bandung, Sabtu (27/2/2010) dan Minggu (28/2), atas undangan Yamaha dalam acara ‘Bangga Indonesia Semakin di Depan’. Di Kota Kembang, pembalap Spanyol itu melakukan serangkaian kegiatan.

Sejak awal, yakni ketika Lorenzo mengikuti jumpa pers di Hotel Hilton, Sabtu (27/2), ketatnya penjagaan buat Lorenzo sudah terasa. Tidak cuma bisa mendekat secara fisik, wartawan pun diminta untuk tidak bertanya soal persaingan Lorenzo dengan rekan setimnya, Valentino Rossi.

Ketatnya penjagaan kepada Lorenzo kian terasa saat acara gala dinner di tempat yang sama pada malam hari. Sekitar 500-an orang yang terdiri dari pelanggan, dealer, dan pihak-pihak lain, harus rela menjaga jarak dengan Lorenzo.

Kesempatan untuk berfoto dengan Lorenzo dilakukan berombongan. Para peserta gala dinner sejak awal diperingatkan untuk tidak menyentuh Lorenzo, terutama di bahu, lengan atau tangan, karena cedera yang masih membelit pembalap 22 tahun itu.

Setiap seusai dua shot foto, Lorenzo langsung digiring pihak keamanan. Ada sekitar enam anggota satuan keamanan yang memagari Lorenzo. Sementara para peserta gala dinner dipersilakan untuk mengambil hidangan masing-masing.

Hal ini sempat mengundang kekecewaan Icha, Agung dan Vicky, tiga orang peserta yang berasal dari SMK Wirakarya 1 Ciparay dan SMK Pasundan 1 Bandung.

“Kami kecewa nggak bisa berdekat-dekat dengan Lorenzo,” ujar Icha saat berbincang dengan detiksport. Kalimat Icha dibenarkan oleh kedua rekannya.

“Kami diminta untuk jaga jarak, tidak boleh menyentuh atau salaman. Foto juga nggak bisa berdua saja, harus ramai-ramai,” imbuh Icha yang terpilih mengikuti gala dinner setelah sukses menggelar pentas seni (pensi) di sekolahnya dengan disponsori Yamaha.

Dari pengamatan detiksport, penjagaan terhadap Lorenzo memang sangat ketat. Keinginan untuk mencegah insiden yang bisa memperparah cedera Lorenzo memang bisa dimengerti, tapi tidak dapat dibiarkannya fans berinteraksi dengan sang idola patut disayangkan.

Sebagai pembanding, penjagaan yang dilakukan terhadap manajer Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, saat berkunjung ke Kuala Lumpur tahun lalu, jauh kalah ketat.

Beberapa waktu lalu, kunjungan Valentino Rossi ke Jakarta pun melahirkan kekecewaan penggemar, juga akibat penjagaan yang sangat ketat.

Meski sempat kecewa, Icha, Agung dan Vicky pada akhirnya dapat tersenyum lebar karena di hari terakhir mereka berkesempatan berdekatan dengan Lorenzo meski lagi-lagi bersama belasan peserta lain yang terpilih.

Belasan penggemar yang beruntung tersebut mendapatkan helm spesial dengan tanda tangan Lorenzo di atasnya.( arp / a2s )

Lorenzo Ucap Salam dengan Bahasa Jawa
Narayana Mahendra Prastya - detiksport

Yogyakarta - Jorge Lorenzo membuat kejutan kecil saat berkunjung ke Yogyakarta. Sebuah salam pembuka dalam bahasa Jawa diucapkan pembalap Spanyol itu untuk menyapa wartawan.

Lorenzo hadir dalam acara jumpa pers dalam rangkaian acara ‘Halo Indonesia Semakin di Depan’ yang digelar Yamaha di Hotel Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta,  Senin (1/3/2010).

Lorenzo memiliki cara yang cukup unik untuk menyapa sekaligus mengakrabkan diri dengan wartawan yang hadir.

“Piye kabare (apa kabarnya), Yogyakarta?” demikian salam yg diucapkan runner-up MotoGP musim lalu itu.

Wartawan yg hadir selanjutnya tertawa dan beberapa menjawab, “Apik (baik).”

Yogyakarta adalah kota kedua yang dikunjungi Lorenzo di Indonesia. Sebelumnya, pembalap Fiat Yamaha itu telah mengunjungi Bandung. Pada saat bersamaan, Valentino Rossi tengah melawat ke Surabaya. ( arp / key )

Indonesia Berkesan buat Lorenzo
Arya Perdhana - detiksport

Bandung - Jorge Lorenzo mengaku sangat senang berada di Indonesia. Bukan sekadar basa-basi karena banyak hal yang memperlihatkan bahwa negara ini memberi kesan bagus buatnya.

Lorenzo datang ke Bandung dalam acara ‘Bangga Indonesia Semakin di Depan’ yang digelar Yamaha pada 27-28 Februari. Ini adalah kali keempat pembalap Spanyol itu datang ke Tanah Air.

“Senang bisa berada di Indonesia lagi. Indonesia ada di hati saya. Saya menikmati liburan di Bali, dan ini adalah kunjungan keempat saya di sini,” aku Lorenzo di hadapan jurnalis, Sabtu (27/2/2010).

Lorenzo tampaknya tidak sedang berbasa-basi. Ia terlihat menikmati kunjungannya ke Bandung dan memposting fotonya tengah berada di tepi kolam renang hotel tempatnya menginap di akun Twitter-nya.

Dalam pesannya di situs jejaring sosial itu, Lorenzo mengatakan bahwa ia senang bisa menjumpai matahari. Tampaknya, Lorenzo sedang berusaha membuat iri teman-temannya di Eropa yang masih berada di musim dingin.

Saat ditanyai oleh salah seorang wartawan dalam konferensi pers di ballroom Hotel Hilton Bandung, Lorenzo bahkan mengenali sang penanya sebagai salah satu kawannya saat bermain sepakbola pantai di Bali.

“Hei, saya ingat wajahmu,” kata Lorenzo dengan ramah.

Lorenzo menyadari betul bahwa banyak masyarakat Indonesia yang mengidolakannya. Tidak cuma secara langsung, dukungan warga Indonesia di dunia online berupa fans di Facebook serta follower di Twitter membuktikannya.

“Mungkin 30-40 persen penggemar saya di Facebook dan Twitter berasal dari Indonesia,” cetus pemuda 22 tahun yang hobinya berinternet dan sepakbola itu.

Hal senada diungkapkan oleh sumber detiksport di Yamaha, yang mengatakan bahwa Lorenzo memang punya kesan apik terhadap Indonesia sehingga tidak sulit dirayu untuk datang lagi. ( arp / din )

source : detiksport.com

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