A "Fun" Look at Formula 1 in 2010 - Teams Final Part

The last of the four part series, discussing the teams of the 2010 season at the Formula One Championships has just two teams, both newcomers to the sport. While one is a first-timer in the sport, the other, while being a first-timer, isn’t quite one.

Here’s a look at a German giant and a British newbie, from the eyes of a pundit.

Another Feather in the Cap

Ricard Branson has been known to make some audacious decisions when it comes to business. Creating the Virgin Racing team was almost the next natural step after they tasted success in 2009 as the main sponsor of the championship winning Brawn GP team.

The manner in which Branson tied up with Manor racing to create his team was quite exciting for the fans of both Virgin and Manor. Manor has always been quite the competitor in other forms of racing and their pedigree doesn’t require any formal introduction as such.

This is the first time that a race car has been developed in a computer lab rather than on the factory floor or design studio. There were no oil-clad, macho-looking, race mechanics & engineers who were toiling hard through the night, over sprawling pieces of machinary lying on the tables. There was, in fact, just Nick Wirth in his shirts and ties, sitting on a computer and designing the car in a simulated environment.

In Timo Glock>, Virgin have someone who has been at the top level for a few years now however Luca di Grassi is as fresh as a dandelion on a soft grassy meadow. The team is said to be in the running for being the best out of all the rookies this season.

However, there remains one major issue and that is the reliability of the car. Running on Cosworth engines and Bridgestone tyres, there is absolutely no doubt that these two parts are the only parts on that entire car, which have some chance of putting up a good performance.

The rest of the car has been built on the computer and with the number of viruses out there, there is a distinct possibility that Virgin are the owners of probably the flimsiest Formula One car ever built. The car has broken down more times than Samuel L. Jackson’s character in “Unbreakable”. But as long as Glock and Grassi can keep a light foot on the accelerator, things can just take some nice turns for Virgin.

In the Winner’s Shoes

>What is the best way to ensure that you have a solid chance to win the 2010 Formula One Championships? First, buy out the reigning champion for the 2009 Formula One season and put your name on them; Then, bring in the greatest Formula One racer of all time and put him in the saddle; And Finally, bring in some of the top names in racing management, namely Ross Brawn, to lead the team into the winning circle.

After winning their first season ever in Formula One, Brawn GP sold a majority stake to Mercedes especially after world champion Jenson Button announced that he was on his way to McLaren in 2010.

Barrichello had moved to Wiliams, leaving Brawn GP with no driver on their plate. Their first driver to be confirmed was Nico Rosberg, a promising youngster who needed the right machine to be in business. Then came the bombshell that rocked the Formula One world.

Mercedes announced their second driver, something that Ferrari couldn’t do even, as Michael Schumacher>. Brawn is back in the hot seat and Schumi is back in the driver’s position. Whether the new look team from Mercedes, with an all-German driving starcast will be able to blow everyone away, time will tell.

Till then, you cannot count the team out because along with the names of Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn, there is the small matter of one of the top car-makers of the world, Mercedes, also being an integral part of this lethal combination.

Conclusion:

The teams have had their time to test their monsters; the drivers have gotten accustomed to the pace and pressure that is going to hit them hard at Bahrain. That said, there will always be the usual discussion on “who will win the World Team Championship” with predictions coming in from all directions.

Here are mine:

>**Best Team: **This is a three-way horse race between McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. Despite some heartening performances by Red Bull last season, things are expected to fall back into the normal routine with the top three looking to keep the likes of Renault out of the reckoning.

While the Button-Hamilton lineup at McLaren looks ominous and the Rosberg-Schumacher combination will be the most watched, however it is the Alonso-Massa pair that is considered by many to be the toughest pairing of the lot. With two fantastic drivers, one prone to injuries and the other to whining, Ferrari may have quite a tough task at hand although their history of keeping drivers in line might not go down well with Alonso who might just find his tantrums to be the cause of his lost driving seat mid-way through the season.

Worst Team: There are many competitors for this with teams practically lining up for the award. While Virgin’s reliability might trash their talk, Lotus may just fail to bloom through the season. However, despite everything said and done, there is already a winner for the worst team in the 2010 season, and it is one that failed to make it to the starting grid - USF1.

The American outfit has failed to design a car, build it, hire two drivers, test their cars, run pit-drills and so on, and won’t do so for the remainder of the season. We hope to see them in 2011.

*Most Controversial Team:’ McLaren, McLaren and McLaren have proven themselves to be the top-3 gunning for this award. Renault did give this award a shot with the race-fixing incident at the 2008 Singpore Grand Prix, however I personally don’t think that it was anything worse than Barrichello backing away to give Michael Schumacher the race win. Ferrari and Renault, though, have been left far behind with the McLaren sagas involving their naive racing driver, Lewis Hamilton and an extremely stupid team management. Santa’s Choice: **The team that’s most likely to be crowned as a “Good Boy” is Force India. I mean who can forget their charitable acts of kindness by giving their only hope and joy to Ferrari, only to see him fade away under the burden of the unforgiving F60. They will be looking to give away any advantages that they might happen to gain over others, just to keep everyone happy. After all, being a good boy means that Santa brings you what you want, although Dr. Mallaya’s letter, asking for a tanker-load of money, might not really fit into Santa’s sleigh.>Dark Horses:*They were second last season and this year, Red Bull might just pull something special out of the bag. They have the same team and are looking to improve on their standings, missing out by just one race’s margin, in 2009. Despite a certain Michael Schumacher’s presence in Mercedes, the team might not be prepared for the 2010 season although picking up from the Brawn GP outfit, there are chances that Red Bull might again get pipped for the title by Brawn GP. **Flash in the Pan:’ There are actually many teams who will make some smart moves, off and on, through the season. However if you are looking for one team in particular, then that would be Renault. They may not have Alonso at the helm and usually, they require him to be behind their wheel to do something significant, however they still have the reputation of being front runners, every once in a while, making things happen out there.

Overall, the 2010 season is probably going to be the most watched F1 season in recent times. With controversies damaging the sport’s reputation over the last few seasons, there have been numerous instances when it seemed that things wouldn’t work out. However, we are in for a treat this season and whether it is Schumi, Mercedes, any of the three teams that are coming in for the first time or a long time Lotus fan waiting to see your team return to action, you are guaranteed to be one of those thronging to the stands to get a feel of the race first-hand, especially if you are a USF1 team member.