Formula 1 never really let up on the drama last season, both on and off the track. But 2010 already looks like a mouthwatering prospect, potentially one of the great years of motorsport.
The reasons are obvious: World champion Jenson Button has joined his predecessor Lewis Hamilton at McLaren in an all-British line up, while the great Michael Schumacher is making a comeback after three seasons in retirement, in the championship-winning Brawn team now owned by Mercedes.
Meanwhile Fernando Alonso has moved to Ferrari to partner Felipe Massa, who is making his own dramatic comeback from career threatening injury.
Throw in F1’s hottest young talent Sebastian Vettel in what is likely to be the pace-setting Red Bull car and it’s hard not to get excited.
The cast of drivers is as exciting as at any time since the golden age of Prost, Senna, Mansell and Piquet in the late 1980s.
In Schumacher, Alonso and Hamilton you have proven champions of the highest calibre, in Button you have a very good driver who has made himself champion, Massa is another on his level and then in Vettel you have a driver capable of lifting himself to the highest level; time will tell.
All are highly motivated, fast and determined. It’s a fantastic prospect. Hamilton gets to have a crack at Schumacher, which is something we didn’t think we would see.
Sadly Kimi Raikkonen is missing from the party, having decided to take himself off to rallying.


But none of these drivers can win without a fast car. Last season ended with three top teams in performance terms, with McLaren on the up after a massive push during the season which took them to the level of Brawn and Red Bull.
Ferrari took a different approach and wrote off their 2009 car in July to focus on developing a winner for 2010.
All four teams are under intense pressure to deliver a quick car.
Ferrari are under the most pressure because they cannot afford another year like 2009.
They are quick to point out that since Schumacher and Ross Brawn left the team in 2006 they have won half the world championships: one drivers’ and two constructors’.
Which is true – but this technical team has yet to fully prove itself and with the arrival of Alonso, already a world champion, the stakes are raised.
Ferrari have to get back to the front in 2010, it’s as simple as that.
Brawn spent little on developing their car in the second half of 2009 as they had one eye on their 2010 budget and didn’t know for sure whether the Mercedes deal would come off.
It did, and it happened early enough for their considerable resources to enhance the 2010 car. So they should be contenders.
Red Bull Racing built by far the quickest car to the spirit of the rules last year – ie without a double diffuser.
When they updated their car mid-season it was the fastest car out there and stayed that way to the end; the team won the last three grands prix.
Their last big development step was in Singapore, so there is every reason to believe that they will build on their technical level and produce what could well start out as the car to beat at the start of the year.
That leaves McLaren. On paper they should have a bit of a struggle on their hands as they carried on developing their car right up to the end of the season and, under cost-saving rules, that must have taken valuable wind tunnel time away from the 2010 car.
Other teams’ engineers were scratching their heads about this as more and more new parts came onto the car last season.
But they showed last year what a formidable technical department they have as I cannot recall seeing a team transform a dog of a car into a winner like that.
So there’s every reason to believe that with the technical team having proved their worth, they will produce a good car this year, having learned the painful lessons of last year.
They also have Simon Roberts back from his secondment at Force India and he is a real asset to the operation.
So there you have it – on paper the most exciting season in prospect for a generation. I cannot wait.

source[www.itv-f1.com]

 

Like everyone else, I'm Pumped for this season (feels like last season never ended becuz of all the craziness).

I'm definitely going to be focused on the Hamilton/Button Rosberg/Schumacher Alonso/Massa matchups....and if Rosberg keeps running his mouth about Schumacher, Brawn will have another Prost/Senna combo on their hands lol

*might have to get me one of those Brawn Jackets hehe*

 

Really hope McLaren didn't shoot themselves in the foot with the ongoing development of the 09 car.
Can't wait to see Schumi on track again this year as well.
But LET'S GO HAMILTON!