Felipe Massa says his former team-mate Michael Schumacher was 'lucky' that his planned comeback with Ferrari last summer fell through, as he would not have been competitive in the difficult 2009 Ferrari.

Schumacher had initially offered to deputise for Massa after he suffered a fractured skull in his Hungaroring crash.

But when medical checks found that a neck injury from a motorcycle crash had not fully healed, Schumacher had to call off his return - although the Ferrari discussions had reawakened his enthusiasm for racing in Formula 1 and ultimately led to his dramatic full-time return with Mercedes this year.

Schumacher's comeback had created huge excitement about the 2010 season - but Massa reckons it would have been an anti-climax if the seven time champion had attempted to wrestle speed out of the 2009 Ferrari with which eventual substitutes Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella struggled so badly.

"I was not sure it was the right time for Michael, because our car was not so quick as he'd had in the past," Massa told the Independent newspaper.

"I think he was lucky."

Massa formed a close friendship with Schumacher earlier in his career - initially when he was testing for Ferrari as the German swept to title after title, and then when they were team-mates in 2006.

Schumacher became a mentor to Massa, and the Brazilian is looking forward to racing against him again this year, albeit as rivals in different teams.

"He has an incredible talent to analyse, and I watched him very carefully," Massa said.

"He was the complete driver; aggressive, quick, consistent.

"He also had a lot of luck. When you're good, you have luck.

"And he was a good team-mate.

Mark Webber drives the revised Bahrain circuit in Red Bull's simulator

Red Bull have used their F1 simulator to produce a video lap of the revised Bahrain Grand Prix circuit.

Mark Webber narrates and drives the lap of the track which will hold the first practice session of the 2010 season in one weeks’ time. See below for the video.

Unfortunately the video doesn’t show the new section in great detail, but Webber does comment that it’s “very slow”.

From other images we have seen the new section looks narrower than the rest of the track and, given that it is not used as often as the rest of the circuit, it is likely to offer less grip.

When details of the change were announced the circuit chairman said he expected the new loop would offer “new overtaking opportunities” but from seeing this it doesn’t seem very likely.

Thanks to Red Bull for the video. I especially like that the second thing Webber could think of to say about the Bahrain Grand Prix was “not many people around…”

Source/Credit: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/03/05/video-lap-of-the-new-bahrain-circuit/

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 Alono'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.

Credit/Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/03/04/2010-f1-season-preview-ferrari/

HRT has revealed the car which will be raced by Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok in 2010.

McLaren F1 has come up with a very unique looking Rear Wing, as the Fin and Rear Wing join together as one. This has put the FIA in to the action yet again for an important decision regarding the 2010 rules, as happened at the start of the 2009 season with the double diffuser.



There are reports that the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull have asked the FIA to validate this design as Legal as per the F1 regulations and rules, but nothing has officially been stated as of yet.

If the wing fails scrutiny ahead of the first race in Bahrain on March 14, McLaren, who topped last week’s final pre-season test in Barcelona, will have to bolt a replacement part on the car, which would be bad news for British world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

“There’s a bit of a fuss over McLaren’s rear wing,” confirmed Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “They have a slot on it [that affects the air flow] and they can pick up a lot of straight-line speed. I think it will get resolved before the first race. We’ve asked the FIA for clarification although I think Ferrari are probably more excited than we are to be honest.”

The situation brings to mind the controversy last year which saw three teams - Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota - develop 'double-decker’ rear diffusers that gave them a huge aerodynamic advantage over the rest of the field.

Despite howls of protest from Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren, the diffuser was eventually declared legal and Brawn GP’s Button won six of the first seven races to take a decisive lead in the championship.

Horner stressed that the ramifications this time were nowhere near as serious, and even admitted that his team had begun developing a similar part in case it was declared legal.

“Basically, if you stall the wing you take all the drag off it and pick up straight-line speed,” Horner explained. “It’s something that’s been done quite a lot over the years but with the wing separators you’re not supposed to do that. Our question ultimately will be: 'Is it clever design or is it in breach of the regulations’?”

He added: “They must be very confident that it’s legal. I would think it will be legal."

Dissapointing news for F1 as both US F1 and STEFAN GP will NOT be in Bahrain. 

The official 2010 F1 entry list has been published by the FIA.

The US F1 team has been dropped from the list and Stefan GP do not appear in their place meaning there will only be 24 cars at the first race in Bahrain. A statement said:

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.
FIA

HRT, formerly Campos, remain on the list but the team have not tested their car yet or officially announced who will partner Bruno Senna as their second driver.

BMW Sauber have been given car numbers 22 and 23 which were previously reserved for US F1. They are still officially referred to as ‘BMW Sauber F1 Team’ despite the withdrawal of BMW and the fact the team is now using Ferrari engines.

The FIA says it will begin a process to: “fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season” which presumably will include the place previously held by US F1.

The BBC has confirmed F1 is being filmed in HD this year, but Formula One Management is not making the high definition feed available to broadcasters.

Danielle Nagler, the BBC’s head of HD, wrote on her blog today:

The events are being filmed in HD (as far as we know) but they are not made available by F1 to broadcasters in HD.
Danielle Nagler

Earlier this year Lee McKenzie from BBC’s F1 team said HD would be offered to F1 broadcasters in 2011. It may be that FOM wishes to get a year’s experience of filming in HD under its belt before committing to a live feed in high definition.

Hopefully they will release the HD footage shot this year in some form, either via their website or perhaps the end-of-season video review.

Meanwhile, NASCAR is being broadcast in HD for the sixth year in 2010.

Ferrari has revealed a concept road car using F1 KERS technology at the Geneva Motor Show.

The HY-KERS is based on a 599 GTB Fiorano but features a Kinetic Energy Recovery System similar to that used by the F1 team the F60 last year. Ferrari says the knowledge gleaned from running the technology in Formula 1 was used in the development of the car:

Maranello’s engineers also employed Ferrari’s track experience in the design, engineering and manufacture of this innovative electric motor which produces over 100bhp. The algorithms and control logics controlling the torque, traction and braking distribution functions are directly derived from Formula 1.
Ferrari statement

According to Ferrari the hybrid unit may be fitted to all its future road engines. Although the idea of a hybrid Ferrari may be anathema to sports car enthusiasts the company say there are practical reasons for the change:

This hybrid project is also aimed at ensuring that Ferrari will be in a position to comply with future CO2 emissions standards, particularly in terms of the urban cycle. City driving is traditionally where sports cars are most penalised as their engines are designed for maximum efficiency and performance at high revs, whereas the urban cycle involves low revs and low engine loads.
Ferrari statement

They are not the only F1 team to be using KERS in real-world applications this year. The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid will use HERS technology supply by WilliamsHybrid Power.

Although the F1 teams have agreed not to use KERS this year, as more of them become involved in finding consumer uses for the technology it may be only a matter of time before we see the devices back in Formula 1.

The door looks open for STEFAN GP as USF1 have reportedly asked the FIA if they can defer their entry into Formula One until 2011.

USF1's financial struggles have made headlines over the past few months with reports claiming that staff were paid late in January, some have already walked away, including their only confirmed driver Jose Maria Lopez, and that the car is not even close to being finished.

And although the team hasn't confirmed or denied the various reports of trouble, co-founder Ken Anderson did finally admit last month that the team would not be ready in time for the season-opening Bahrain GP.

"We're working with the FIA to clarify how many races we can miss," he told the New York Times. "In an ideal world, we can miss the first four races and show up in Barcelona."

However, according to SpeedTV, that request to miss the opening four grands prix has subsequently turned into a request to miss the entire season.

The US-based website claims that USF1 have asked for their entry to be deferred to 2011, even offering to pay motorsport's governing body a "substantial, seven-figure" surety bond as evidence of their intention to join the grid next year.

The team has yet to comment on this latest report while it remains to be seen whether Stefan GP, who are campaigning for a place on the grid, will be handed USF1's slot.

The season hasn't even started and already there's speculation about the future of both Mark Webber and Kimi Raikkonen in Formula 1. 

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has denied rumours that the team is considering signing Kimi Raikkonen as Mark Webber's replacement for the 2011 season.

According to reports, Webber is set to quit F1 at the end of this year's Championship, leaving a place open at Red Bull. However, that seat won't be open for long as already the team is looking to Raikkonen to fill it.

Mateschitz, though, says this is not true.

"This is nothing more than pure speculation," Mateschitz told Autosport. "We do not know what Kimi intends to do in one year. We have a very good relationship which makes room for speculations.

"But to tell you now Kimi will be racing for us in 2011 is not serious. If Webber provides top performances this year we will not reward him by giving his cockpit to Raikkonen."