Posts Tagged ‘Mercedes’
The 2011 Formula 1 season is all set to begin and it is going to be a fantastic one at that. Not only do we have an Indian on the grid for the second year in a row, we also have the first ever grand prix on Indian soil. This season is going to be a special one for the Indian Formula 1 fans as the stars they have been watching on TV will actually be letting their car rip in Delhi this year.
The Indians will have their own team to cheer for and will be hoping that Force India has a great year this time. This season too will be a hard fought one and again the top teams will battle out for the constructers championship. Red Bull the winners of 2010 will again be a strong team and will receive a tough competition from McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault. Force India who finished 7th last year would want to improve on their standing and try to creep up the ladder this season. Narain Karthikeyan will also be excited to be involved in India’s first grand prix this year and Karun Chandhok who will be a reserve driver for LOTUS will still be harboring thoughts of driving in Delhi too.
This is surely going to be a great year and the season is all set being in Australia this week. Let’s hope for another great year for the motorsports fans and special congratulations to all the Indians who will finally see their favorite drivers outpacing each other at Noida later this year.
Alonso celebrates after his victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa make it Ferrari one-two
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa made it a dream beginning for Ferrari when they took the top two positions on the podium on Sunday in Bahrain. Alonso, a former champion with Renault, had a fantastic start to this season with a win. Michael Schumacher, making a comeback to competitive racing after a four year layoff and racing for team Mercedes, finished 6th.
It was not all smooth sailing for the Ferrari team though, as Sebastian Vettel racing for Red Bull was in control of the race before an engine failure forced him to retire. Alonso took advantage of Vettel’s misfortune to claim the first position and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) also benefited, as he finished on the podium in third behind Massa.
The Indian contingent got off to a disastrous start when Karun Chandhok, representing Hispania Racing Team (HRT), hit a bump on the track and was forced to retire after a crash. Karun later apologized to his team about the mistake and said that a lack of time time on the track was the reason for the crash. Tonio Liuzzi, representing Force India, finished in the points when he finished in the top ten, giving the Indian fans something to cheer about.
This race belonged to Ferrari and Alonso as, but the new regulations have sparked a few controversies and the F1 bosses had plenty to say about it.
Refueling Regulations slammed by the media and teams alike
The new regulations for this year’s championship received quite a bit of flack from the media. According to the new regulations, starting this season there will be no refueling stops, which according to most of the drivers will make catching up almost impossible. This was done to get the on -the -track overtaking back to F1, but did not go well with the teams and drivers.
The press called it a “Bore-rain Grand Prix,”as they felt the change in regulation reduced the race to something of a procession. The McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh said that Formula 1 needs to consider immediate rule changes to spice things up on the track. The drivers joined the bandwagon too, as Mark Webber and Alonso slammed the changes, and Michael Schumacher said that it would be almost impossible to overtake due to this change and can only happen if the driver in front of you makes a mistake.
Only time will tell for both Ferrari and the regulations, but change is certainly going on this season, whether everyone likes it or not.
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