FORMULA 1 - 2010

[MIKA27]

FORMER F1 CHAMPS ON DISPLAY:

To mark the start of the world championship's 60th season, the Bahrain organisers laid on a special parade of historic F1 cars and flew in 18 of the 20 surviving champions

1964 world champion John Surtees rolled back the years in a Ferrari

Mika Hakkinen was entrusted with a Mercedes W196, the car immortalised by Fangio and Moss

Jody Scheckter was reunited with his 1979 title-winning Ferrari

Damon Hill brought his son Josh along to soak up the F1 history

How's this for a mouthwatering line-up of 1950s machinery?

John Surtees in his 1964 Ferrari 158

Emerson Fittipaldi won the first of his two world titles with Lotus and drove a JPS in the Bahrain event

Jackie Stewart in his 1969 Matra MS80

Ever the perfectionist, Jackie Stewart came kitted out in period overalls

Juan Fangio II in a Maserati

Jim Clark Lotus 25

JYS pilots the blue Elf Tyrrell with which he became synonymous in the early 1970s

Jumping forward more than 20 years, here we have Damon Hill's all-conquering 1996 Williams-Renault

Josh Hill sits in the striking, wedge-like, red-and-gold Lotus 72 driven by his grandfather Graham in 1970

An ex-Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax nips inside an ex-Graham Hill BRM

Keke Rosberg beat the turbocharged opposition with this Williams-Cosworth in 1982

Sir Jack Brabham keeps an eye on proceedings

Damon Hill exchanges war stories with Jody Scheckter

David Coulthard wangled a ride in the awesome Mercedes W196

David Coulthard in a Mercedes W196

With his 1992 title-winning Williams not available, Nigel Mansell drove a 'Thinwall Special' - a modified Ferrari fielded in the early 1950s by Tony Vandervell, who went on to found Vanwall

Nigel Mansell and the 1950 Ferrari 125 GPC

The McLaren M23 with which James Hunt mounted a Boy's Own charge to pip Niki Lauda for the 1976 crown after the Austrian's fiery accident at the Nurburgring

Mario Andretti was reunited with the iconic Lotus 79, the brilliant Colin Chapman-designed car that launched F1's ground effect revolution in the late 1970s

Mika Hakkinen gets comfortable in the Mercedes W196

Mika Hakkinen hangs out with Mario Andretti

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Kovalainen: Lapped cars shouldn't be flagged

With all the current talk of 'emergency' regulations to spice up the 2010 Formula One season, Heikki Kovalainen has suggested the removal of blue-flags - which inform a driver he is about to be lapped and must give way to the faster car.

So far this week we have had team principals suggesting two mandatory pit-stops, and Ecclestone returning to his 'short-cut' idea.

"One suggestion given by Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen is that lapped cars should not be blue-flagged, which may allow time for trailing cars to catch up to the leaders," Lotus boss, Tony Fernandes told Bloomberg.

In theory it could work, as the slower cars will hold up the quicker, lapping cars as they try to pass, giving the trailing car time to catch-up.

The idea wouldn't necessarily benefit the slower car as drivers lose time defending their position, however it might cause problems if a slower driver ends the lapping drivers race.

Nonetheless, Fernandes is keen to see more competition in the sport.

"Formula One needs more closer competition and more overtaking basically and I think a few more personalities in the business, so a bit more rivalry."

MIKA: I personally think rivalry is fantastic and is what F1 needs but in saying that, Rivalry is only good so long as teams can keep up with 'The big boys'. Holding up lapping drivers is ridiculous and dangerous IMO.

[rckymtn22]

FORMER F1 CHAMPS ON DISPLAY:

Fantastic pictures, would have been a great to see all those old cars in one place!

[MIKA27]

As well as the World Champions of the past. I'd love to meet and chat to Mika Hakkinen.

I once briefly met him in the paddock at the Melbourne GP where I got his autograph and had a 30 second chat.... Would have loved an hour.

[OZCUBAN]

As well as the World Champions of the past. I'd love to meet and chat to Mika Hakkinen.

I once briefly met him in the paddock at the Melbourne GP where I got his autograph and had a 30 second chat.... Would have loved an hour.

Hi All it would be real cool to meet with some of these past champions,especially Nigel Mansell as he was my boy hood hero (OK i wasn't quite a boy )

cheers Oz

[MIKA27]

Mercedes target podium in Australia

Mercedes have set their sights on a podium finish at the Australian Grand Prix, according to Nico Rosberg.

The Brackley-based team were well off the pace of the front runners in the season opener in Bahrain with Rosberg finishing fifth and Michael Schumacher settling for sixth place.

Rosberg, though, is confident they will up their game at Albert Park next weekend as the MGP W01 is likely to perform better there.

"The track suits us better than the one in Bahrain," he told Germany's Bild. "We are aiming to get our first podium. I don't think that we will both be on the podium, but one of us could do it."

The 24-year-old upstaged his more illustrious compatriot and team-mate in both qualifying and the race itself in Bahrain, and the result gave him immense satisfaction.

"I am happy that I finished ahead of Michael," he said. "There is a 'super duel' between the two us and it will get even tougher as the season progresses.

"It is important to beat your team-mate as he drives the same car."

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Button: Plenty of speed still in the tank

Jenson Button admits things didn't quite go according to plan for him at the season opening race, but he is confident the MP4-25 still have plenty of speed in the bag.

The reigning World Champ started eighth on the Bahrain grid and finished the race in seventh place as McLaren struggled to match the pace of the front runners. To make matters worse, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton qualified and finished the race ahead of him.

Button, though, wrote on Twitter that he isn't too downbeat as there are still "exciting times" ahead for the team.

"The race in Bahrain didn't quite go as I expected it to... Exciting times though knowing there's so much more speed we can find with this car."

Earlier, the reigning World Champion revealed that he is off to Woking on Thursday for simulator work ahead of next weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

"Early morning...! Heading to MTC to do some simulator work and some PR."

With McLaren more or less matching the speed of Red Bull and Ferrari in Sunday's race, it's been speculated that the team's poor display in qualifying was the consequence of a poor set-up. Team boss Martin Whitmarsh acknowledged as much when he suggested that the team had been distracted by the bump into Turn Six and had as a result run without sufficient downforce.

MIKA: In the end, Lewis did a better job in qualifying which in turn, gave him better track position. Unfortunately Bahrain is not a great track to overtake, its as simple as that. Add to this the track temp which hovers around 45'C (Not great for the engine) and then the added heat from the vehicles in front of you, it really is a lucky break that even Ferrari got a 1 - 2 and that only because Vettel had engine trouble.

Theres 18 more GP's this season and anything can happen.

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Bridgestone: No U-turn on F1 exit

Formula 1 tyre supplier Bridgestone has played down talk that it is reconsidering its decision to quit the sport at the end of the year.

The Japanese company announced at the end of last year that it was to withdraw from F1 at the end of 2010, when its contract to supply tyres to the championship comes to an end.

Although there have been rumours in recent weeks that Bridgestone is being pushed to rethink its decision, and could agree a fresh contract under more favourable terms, the company has made it clear that its original stance stands.

Bridgestone's director of motorsport Hiroshi Yasukawa: "Unfortunately our company has made the decision, and nothing has changed."

That decision means that the FIA will now likely have to open a tender process for the supply of tyres in the championship if it is to find a supplier for 2011.

Yasukawa said that Bridgestone would examine the tender process when it is opened, just in case there was anything on offer that may be attractive for the Japanese company.

"We are waiting for the result of the tender because without tender process we cannot do anything," he said.

When asked if there was a possibility of Bridgestone selling its tyre technology, Yasukawa explained: "Unfortunately at this stage I don't know.

"Our company has said that the FIA has to do a tender first, so we have to wait. But unfortunately our decision is that we are not extending our F1 contract."

Korean tyre manufacturers Hankook and Kumho have been strongly linked with replacing Bridgestone as F1's tyre supplier, although the FIA has not yet opened the tender process.

MIKA: Why don't the FIA approach Kumho, Hankook, Michelling and have all three in Formula 1. All three teams can supply a hard and soft compound tyre, thus leaving it for the teams to choose 'a' supplier. Bring back the tyre suppliers I say!

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McLaren buys back Mercedes stake

McLaren has bought back the majority of Mercedes-Benz's stake in its Formula 1 team.

The German manufacturer owned 40 per cent of McLaren's F1 operation prior to taking over Brawn GP.

Mercedes denied at the time that the deal would mean the end of its relationship with McLaren, but admitted that the partnership, which is currently agreed until the end of 2011, would change.

McLaren said back in November that it planned to buy back the shares from Mercedes and team boss Martin Whitmarsh said today that the McLaren Group has regained a significant portion of the stake.

"I think it is about 11 per cent that is still owned by Mercedes, but it's not an important or significant number," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

McLaren Automotive chairman and former team boss Ron Dennis owns 15 per cent of the team, as does Saudi businessman Mansour Ojjeh, with a further 30 per cent belonging to Bahrain company Mumtalakat.

Whitmarsh was speaking today at the launch of McLaren's MP4-12C sportscar, which he hopes can compete against Ferraris in the GT racing world. He has spoken to Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo about future competition between the two in sportscars.

"Our message there was: 'We want to race with you [Ferrari]. Where are you going to go? Why don't we go together?'"

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Nigel Mansell to become an F1 steward?

Following the appointment of Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert, Alex Wurz and Heinz Harald Frentzen as temporary race stewards, the FIA are reported to have requested that Nigel Mansell is to be the next driver to become poacher turned… gamekeeper.

Mansell is said to be keen on the job and as he still owns the book on excuses for race disasters, the FIA reckon he’ll be perfect for the role.

However, the drivers trade union, the GPDA, are said to be less than impressed at the prospect of a two hour long Brummie lecture every time they do anything slightly wrong…

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Renault gets go-ahead for engine changes

The FIA has given Renault the go-ahead to make several changes to its engines, but the organisation has again made it clear that equalisation is a big no-no.

Red Bull, one of the two teams on the 2010 grid who make use of Renault engines, felt that certain teams still have a big advantage despite the engine freeze.

This prompted the French manufacturer to write to motorsport's governing body, asking to make quite a few changes to their engines.

Autosport reports that 'Renault has been told that it can make a number of changes to its engine for cost and reliability reasons - with all its requests in this area being approved by the FIA.

'It is understood that further changes that were requested, which would have helped improve Renault's fuel consumption, were rejected because these were purely for performance reasons - and not on the 'fair' basis of the other changes that are open to all car makers.'

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'Williams target VW partnership'

Sir Frank Williams is reportedly looking to secure a partnership deal with Volkswagen that would see his F1 cars powered by the German carmaker.

Williams, one of Formula One's most successful outfits, has struggled in recent years as the team attempts to return to the top of the podium a feat they have not achieved since the 2004 Brazilian GP.

Now regarded as a lower-level midfield team, team owner Sir Frank is reportedly seeking a new deal with VW in the hope of seeing his team return to the heydays.

"We are stronger with a manufacturer than as a private team, no question," Williams told Sport Bild, "and of course we have an affinity with Germany.

"I remember well, quite early on, we went to the races with VW buses - we sometimes even slept in them!

"German cars are great. With Mercedes, Brawn won the title last year, and with McLaren in the previous year - and now they (Mercedes) are up there with their own team."

However, convincing VW to enter F1 may be a bridge too far as the German carmaker has often said in the past that Formula One is not a priority for them, instead choosing to focus on other motorsport series.

[MIKA27]

Some interesting facts about the Cosworth CA2010

Cosworth has supplied some interesting, and mind-blowing facts about their CA2010 which is used by four teams on the grid: Williams, Hispania, Lotus and Virgin.

Valves - as fast as a hummingbird wing-beat

The speed and precision of the engine valve movements (which allow air and fuel to enter and exhaust gases to exit the cylinder) are crucial to the power and performance of the Cosworth CA2010 engine. A pneumatic spring system is employed to enable the frequency to be achieved while maintaining absolute control over valve position. At maximum engine speed, each valve opens and closes 150 times per second - that’s as fast as the fastest hummingbird wing speed (the ruby-throated hummingbird).

Air intake - airflow equivalent to 20 vacuum cleaners

At peak power the CA2010 ingests air fast enough to empty a typical living room in about 60 seconds, a task that would take over 20 minutes for the average home vacuum.

(We don’t suggest you use a CA2010 to clean your carpets, though!)

Piston speed - much quicker than the human eye

The speed of the piston is of course closely linked to overall the engine speed. At maximum engine speed each piston will travel up and down the cylinder bore (a distance of 39.75mm) 300 times each second - that’s 30 times in the blink of a human eye.

Crankshaft - fast and durable

The Cosworth CA2010 crankshaft, which transmits the engine power to the gearbox in the car rotates up to 18,000 times each minute. During a typical race such as at Monza, for example, the crank shaft will spin approximately 22,000 times each lap and will have completed an amazing 1.17 million revolutions by the end of the 53 laps that make up race distance. To meet the engine life restrictions that require each driver to use no more than 8 engines in the season, this same crank will then need to do the whole thing again at least twice more. This gives a lifetime total approaching 3.5 million revolutions in which the crankshaft transfers horsepower to the gearbox equivalent to 0.56 Mega Watts.

Connecting rod strength - able to support the weight of a Range Rover

At 18,000rpm the peak acceleration for each piston is 8,600 Gs (i.e. 8,600 times the force of gravity) -- over 2,000 times greater than the peak cornering and braking figures for an F1 car. This piston acceleration is equivalent to a weight of around 2.5 tons (or the weight of a Range Rover) pulling on the connecting rod.

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Hamilton: 'Red Bull is ridiculously fast'

Lewis Hamilton has conceded the Red Bull's are much, much quicker than his McLaren after Sebastian Vettel took the first pole of the year with ease.

"The Red Bull is ridiculously faster than anyone else's car," Hamilton told the media. "It's insane. The downforce they had on their car last year was at some points just about double what we had.

"Even at the end of the year they had so much more than us, even though we had won a couple of grands prix.

"They [Vettel and Webber] have both got the fastest car by quite a big step. They should be quite a lot further ahead in general."

McLaren's historic rivals, Ferrari, took a 1-2 in Bahrain despite the pace of the Red Bull's, thanks to a spark-plug issue on Vettel's car.

Hamilton reckons the McLaren is closer to the Ferrari, but there is still a gap to close of around half a second.

"Fernando I think was very quick in the race and they are obviously a little bit closer, but it's a good half second."

McLaren battled with Mercedes on track, in the end the McLaren of Hamilton came out on top, passing Rosberg in the first and only stop, whilst Button came in behind Schumacher.

"We are kind of on the same level as Mercedes I would say.

"We just did maybe a better job at the weekend but... it's a battle between us and Mercedes to see who can step up and improve faster and do a better job," he added.

MIKA: Lets just hope RBR can fix the reliability issue with their engine and they should be dominant in 2010.

[MIKA27]

Sauber preview the Australian GP

Pedro de la Rosa, BMW Sauber

"I'm very much looking forward to this Grand Prix. I really want our performance in Bahrain to be forgotten. Also it is one of my favourite Grands Prix because of the great atmosphere there. My last race there was in 2002. In 2005 I drove in Friday practice. This means I definitely have some memories of the track, but it will be like learning a new one for me. I believe we will be more competitive in Melbourne. Reliability was never an issue in testing, and it was very unlucky that we retired with both cars in Bahrain and with two different reasons as well. Albert Park is a difficult track with many chicanes, stop and go corners and bumps. As it is not a permanent race track it changes significantly over the weekend. This makes it important to read the track properly in order to deal with the grip level. It will not be easy for us in Australia and we need to work hard to be able to fight for points."

Kamui Kobayashi, BMW Sauber

"For sure I hope we will be more competitive in Melbourne than we were in Bahrain - we just have to be. I only know the track from the Toyota simulator which I have been in after the race in Bahrain. I like the lay-out of the Albert Park Circuit, and I also like Melbourne as a place. I have been there twice as a reserve driver. The city is great and the spectators are true fans, so I can't wait to race in front of that crowd. To me a four week trip begins now and I'm really excited about that. From Melbourne we go to Kuala Lumpur and before the race in Shanghai I go and spend some time in Japan."

Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber technical director

"After our disappointing performance in Bahrain we have to make up for a lot in Australia. We have analysed the data and drawn conclusions accordingly. I expect us to be significantly more competitive in Melbourne. The failures were caused by hydraulic leaks in both cases, but for different reasons. For both problems we will have solutions ready for the race.

"The Albert Park Circuit is a stop-and-go track, being very demanding on the brakes and requiring high brake stability as well. At the same time good traction is a must. You drive with maximum downforce. Especially at the beginning of the weekend, the grip level is very low and then improves continuously. You have to make sure this development doesn't confuse your set-up work and so you have to keep working in the right direction. I'm curious about how the tyres will be working. Last year the softer of the two compounds was degrading badly after just a few laps. This time Bridgestone is providing us with a harder compound, which naturally has an impact on the set-up."

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Mercedes preview the Australian GP

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP

"The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne has always been a successful race for me. I have been in the points for my last three races and had my first podium finish there in 2008 when I finished third. Melbourne is a great city so I really enjoy visiting and the Albert Park street circuit is exciting. It's quite a challenging track as the public roads are always dirty to begin with and there are a lot of bumps to negotiate. With the change in the time of the race last year, the low sun was one of the most difficult things due to the late afternoon start."

Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP

"Australia has always been one of the highlights on the Formula One calendar and this has never changed for me in all my years of competing. As in previous times, I arrived on the continent quite early and have spent some nice days training, adapting and relaxing in order to be fit and rested for the race weekend. I have a lot of good memories from Melbourne and most of the time, we saw interesting races there. I am very happy with the outcome of the season opener in Bahrain. Sixth position was good for me, especially considering how few times I have driven an F1 car since my retirement. I am sure that Melbourne will help me to get into the rhythm even more and I am looking forward to it."

Ross Brawn, Mercedes GP team principal

"The team did a good job in Bahrain but we accept that we were not competitive enough and that we have work to do to close the gap to the leaders. I was very pleased with the performance of Nico and Michael and the way that they worked together to provide clear and consistent feedback to develop the car over the weekend. Whilst our car is fundamentally strong, we have a development plan in place for the next few races which should bring the required performance improvements to compete at the front. Looking ahead to the next two races, the Australian Grand Prix is always a popular race with the teams and the fans so we hope to see a more exciting race at Albert Park next weekend. We then head to Malaysia for the home race of our title partner Petronas. With an exciting programme of activities scheduled at the Petronas Pit Pulse fan zone in Kuala Lumpur, it will be a busy and enjoyable fortnight for the team."

Norbert Haug, vice president Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"The forthcoming Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Albert Park is the first of two races within eight days. The layout of the traditional race track in Melbourne, which will host its 15th Formula One World Championship race since 1996, is quite different to Bahrain where the season-opener took place. I expect quite a challenging race for us. The base of our car is good and the team is working hard and focused to achieve the next development steps. It will take some time to close the gap but we will definitely close it sooner rather than later. Our spirit is first-class and the whole team is looking forward to the race weekend in Melbourne."

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McLaren preview the Australian GP

Jenson Button, McLaren

"I have some extremely pleasant memories of racing in Australia. As with most drivers on the grid, Albert Park was my first introduction to Formula One, and I really enjoyed my debut, running as high as fourth before retiring. I was on pole in 2006, although I had another non-finish. Of course, last year was a fairytale race for me - I took pole and victory, which was one of the most satisfying and emotional moments of my career. Looking ahead to this year, I think we head to the Albert Park circuit feeling more confident of our overall pace. It’s quite a contrast to Bahrain: no tight, low-speed sections and plenty of faster corners. We think the track configuration should suit our package. We learnt some very useful lessons about MP4-25 in the opening race, and the whole team is keen to put them into practice this weekend."

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

"I’ve always enjoyed Albert Park. I had a great race here on my Formula One debut in 2007, won the race a year later and made full use of KERS to drive through the field there last year. But, for me, the best things about the Australian Grand Prix are the people and the atmosphere. The fans in the grandstands, the people in the city and the organisation at the track are all fantastic, and it is one of the most welcoming and relaxing events of the year. I really love it. I had a great race in Bahrain: despite losing time in the opening stint, I pushed like crazy for the whole race and I’m pleased that we’ve got some decent points on the board. I’m looking forward to Melbourne. I like the circuit, I think we’ll go well there and I don’t think we’ll have the same problems that slowed our progress in Bahrain."

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal

"Coming just a fortnight after the opening race in Bahrain, there’s been only minimal time to add developments to the MP4-25. But we’ve got a number of smaller components that we expect to add to the car ahead of the race. We’ve had the chance to reflect upon it, and I believe that our start to the season has been mostly encouraging. Our race pace in Bahrain looked respectable - we had the fastest car for much of the second half of the race - and I think we now have a clearer idea of how to set the car up over a grand prix weekend. Of course, we’re under no illusions that the opposition will be tough - and we expect a fantastic battle in Melbourne this weekend. The Australian Grand Prix organisers put on a fantastic event and it’s an event I always look forward to with huge enthusiasm. I hope that we can put on a great show for everyone."

[MIKA27]

Hispania Racing preview the Australian GP

Team Principal Dr Colin Kolles

"We have worked extremely hard since the Bahrain season opener. We have worked long hours and successfully with Bridgestone, Cosworth and Xtrack learned from our first laps with the car and found a good basis from which to start preparation for our second Grand Prix in Australia in a few days. We have successfully repaired the damage sustained by Karun Chandhok’s car and focused on building our car’s reliability. Our goal is to improve steadily and the next step is to work towards our first race finish. I am confident we will achieve this goal very soon and having seen how we came together as a team in Bahrain I can see just how much potential and commitment we have."

Karun Chandhok

"I am really looking forward to my second F1 race this weekend. I have never driven in Melbourne, but I am a very quick learner. I was able to work on a team’s simulator before the Grand Prix so that will help my familiarisation a little bit! Our next step with the team’s engineers is to make the car reliable for the race. The secret of good racing preparation is to complete as many laps as possible on Friday to see where we are with the car. Finishing the race would be a fantastic achievement we will strive for."

Bruno Senna

"We need to continue building on what we achieved in Bahrain. We put two cars together and ran successfully in Bahrain. Now we must continue to work as a team. I came early to Australia early to acclimatise to the time difference. I love Australia more and more, as I spend more time here! I have already driven on the Melbourne track, back in 2006. I did the F3 support race for F1 back then and had a fairly successful weekend. I won! Now, I must work with the team to continue learning about the car. I have enjoyed working long hours with the team so far and I will be giving my all as I really want to progress and guarantee them good results."

[MIKA27]

Boullier: Change tyres not pit stops

Renault team boss Eric Boullier believes F1 would be better off if the sport introduced a wider variable in tyre compounds rather than two pit stops.

Formula One was left reeling after the season-opening Bahrain GP, which was being billed by many as the start of F1's most exciting season in years, proved to be little more than a dull procession.

Overtaking was impossible as the cars battled to break through the hot dirty air of those ahead while any chance of making up places through pit stops came to an end when the field basically pitted together. Added to that, drivers also admitted to not pushing too hard in a bid to avoid damaging their tyres.

Within hours of the race finishing, team bosses and drivers were putting forward their suggestions to improve the show while F1 fans were already threatening to walk away.

Boullier, though, reckons it's too early to pass judgment on the regulations, believing part of the problem could in fact have been the layout of the Bahrain track.

"I think you need to give it a little bit of time. It is not easy to make a perfect show, and track layout can help or can hinder," he told Autosport.

"I think it will be interesting to see how it develops because I strongly believe this format of the Championship is good, and it should be very good."

As for a suggestion to introduce two mandatory pit stops, Boullier believes there are better ways to improve the show.

"I am not sure that would be a big help for the spectacle. I believe there are a couple of ideas of having more different between tyre compounds, which would make the show better.

"Or, if you look at other categories, they have more tyre degradation which makes the show more tough."

[MIKA27]

The Australian GP timetable

The Australian GP, which takes place around the Albert Park circuit, marks the second round of the 2010 F1 World Championship.

All times are local (Melbourne is GMT +11)

Thursday 25 March

15:00: FIA press conference

Friday 26 March

12:30 - 14:00: First free practice

16:30 - 18:00: Second free practice

16:00: FIA press conference

Saturday 27 March

14:00 - 15:00: Third free practice

17:00 - 18:00: Qualifying

18:00: FIA post qualifying press conference

Sunday 28 March

17:00 - 19:00: Australian GP

19:00: FIA post race press conference

Australian GP Info

No of Laps: 58

Race Distance: 307.574 km

Lap Record: 1:24.125 - M Schumacher (2004)

2009 Winner: J Button (Brawn GP)

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Stoddart: Bring back refuelling

Former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart has joined the call for immediate changes to be made to spice up Formula One.

The outspoken Australian has described the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix eight days ago as "drop-dead boring," and has left him worried for the future of the sport.

"At certain tracks, the racing will be very boring," Stoddart told the Herald Sun ahead of this weekend's race in Melbourne.

"That's not good for Formula One or the business of Formula One.

"In Monaco, cars will be able to run the full distance without stopping. That's not good.

"There are some races, like Valencia, where it will be so boring that people will walk out or fall asleep.

"In this case, common sense needs to prevail. Something needs to be done."

The ban on refuelling this season has had a significant impact, yet could be re-introduced if all the teams were in agreement.

"I think it would be very easy to fix it up. They just need to take the brakes off and leave it up to the teams," added Stoddart.

"Refuelling can't be brought back until the teams get back to Europe, but then it should be fairly easy.

"There are refuelling rigs available to the new teams, and it's only an extra two people on the pit crew for the stops.

"Different tyres would also do the job, but that could be a bit harder."

MIKA: I must say, refuelling is a great tactic in F1 and I'd love to see it return. Pit stops are just boring now.

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Stefan GP refusing to give up on 2010

Stefan GP team owner Zoran Stefanovic is refusing to give up on this year's Championship and has reportedly made an offer to purchase the USF1 team.

USF1 was one of four new teams handed a place on the 2010 grid but their F1 dream came to an end before it even began due to a lack of funds.

And although the team requested that the FIA defer their entry into the sport until next season, motorsport's governing body instead announced last week that they had opened the selection process to replace USF1.

One of the favourites to take the American team's slot is Serbian outfit, Stefan GP, however, team owner Stefanovic would rather start racing this season than next.

According to Autosport, in a bid to make that happen, the Serbian businessman has agreed a deal to purchase USF1 so that he can take over their entry.

But it remains to be seen whether the FIA will agree to hand him the 13th place on the grid as, Autosport claims, the FIA believe USF1 forfeited their place on the grid when they failed to pitch up in Bahrain.

It was also subsequently been revealed that Stefan GP have ended their relationship with Toyota, having previously agreed a deal to use the former F1 team's chassis and technical know-how.

"For 2010, it's not feasible to do it anymore," Stefanovic said. "We have some other (plan) in mind, we will see.

"We are very grateful to Toyota, which is a great company and doing a great job in what they are doing. They are now organising things differently, they are now more profit centered in TMG in Cologne."

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Barrichello: Hulkenberg needs time

Rubens Barrichello was called for patience before passing judgement on his rookie team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

The German, competing in his first grand prix with Williams in Bahrain, qualified P13 and went on to finish in 14th place, a lap down on race winner Fernando Alonso.

It was not an outcome that many would associate with Hulkenberg, who in the past has dominated many of the series in which he competed, winning the A1GP title before moving on to clinch the crown in Formula Three Euroseries and the 2009 GP2 series.

As a result of his past glory, much is expected of the 22-year-old, however, his team-mate Barrichello has called for patience as he learns his craft.

"Nico is a very good driver, but he is also very young," Barrichello told Auto Moto und Sport. "In Formula One you can try too hard.

"It (Bahrain) was his first qualifying and there it doesn't just depend on your driving, it's also a mental thing.

"For Nico everything was new. He still needs to become accustomed to it."

He added: "It would be unfair to expect more."

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Williams preview the Australian GP

Sam Michael, Technical Director:

"Albert Park is a low grip street circuit, and you’re normally on the limit when it comes to tyre graining. As a result, careful management of car set-up throughout the weekend is a pre-requisite.

We will have some improvements for the FW32 in Australia that we will roll out during Friday’s practice sessions. It's going to be a really interesting weekend in terms of seeing how the teams perform on such a different track in comparison to Sakhir. In terms of strategy, Bahrain gave a good indication as to what will be the most likely pit strategy for Melbourne."

Rubens Barrichello:

"Melbourne is a great place for a Grand Prix. The racing is always competitive so it’s a good track from a fan perspective; it’s also a very social city so it’s nice to hang out there. I like Albert Park a lot. It doesn’t really feel like a street circuit, it’s very challenging and has some interesting corners to negotiate. We had some minor problems in Bahrain but we have resolved them now for Australia. I’m positive we will have a stronger race this weekend."

Nico Hülkenberg:

"As a circuit, I don't know Albert Park at all as I haven’t raced there yet. I spent a few days in the factory last week going through practice runs on the simulator and running through data with my engineers which was really helpful but nothing beats having time on the track itself.

Bahrain wasn't the best race for me, but there were some positives to be taken from it because it highlighted where we need to do some more work. I’m hoping that we will have a more successful weekend in Australia as a result of what I learnt in Bahrain, and what the team have worked on since we came home. I'm flying out to Sydney on Saturday morning for a driver day with RBS on Tuesday. I then have an appearance for Randstad on Wednesday in Melbourne before heading to the circuit."

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Renault preview the Australian GP

Robert Kubica, what more have you learned about where the team stands after the race in Bahrain?

"We had a very intense winter working hard to understand and improve the car, so it was nice to finally be able to compare where we stand. I still want a couple more races to really judge the situation, because Bahrain is a slightly unusual circuit in some aspects, but I’m feeling very positive. We didn’t achieve our full potential in qualifying or the race, for different reasons, but seventh position was realistic in both cases. It was disappointing not to achieve that, but encouraging to know that we had the possibility of doing it."

You talked about the car’s potential – what are your thoughts on the R30 now?

"The weekend in Bahrain basically confirmed the feelings I had in Valencia at the first test, in terms of where the car is strong and where we can still improve. The car has a lot of strengths and we are working hard to get even better in what we do well, and improve in the areas where we are less strong. The race this year is not just at the track, but also in the factory to deliver new developments. The team at Enstone has been working 24/7 to produce updates and the first results in Bahrain gave a good step forward in performance."

The racing in Bahrain came in for a lot of criticism. What was it like from the cockpit to race without refuelling?

"Especially at the beginning, it felt like the race was happening in slow motion compared to last year because we had so much fuel onboard and the lap times were so much slower. It was interesting to see how the different teams reacted to the challenge: we set a benchmark for the strategy by stopping very early for new tyres, and we saw the other cars that started on the softer tyre all came into the pits two or three laps after us. We now only have three sets of tyres to use in Friday practice, and the running time is quite limited, so you can’t develop such a good understanding of the differences between the two compounds. Teams will have to be very reactive to how the tyres are behaving in race conditions, and they’ll need to adapt their strategies quickly."

How will the R30 cope with the demands of the Melbourne circuit?

"Overall, before the start of the season, I had the feeling that Melbourne would be a better circuit for us than Bahrain. Now that we have seen the other cars running and collected more information about where we stand, I think even more that it will be a good circuit for us. The circuit is very low grip at the start of the weekend, and you need good mechanical grip, braking stability and ride, so I hope we can put in a strong performance and achieve the car’s full potential."

Vitaly Petrov, how did you evaluate your first weekend in F1?

"Apart from the final result, I was very pleased with the weekend and it was all pretty straightforward. I made one mistake in qualifying, which meant I didn’t start as high up the grid as I could have done, but I made up for that at the start by climbing up to P11. The team helped me a lot over the weekend, and we did a good job with the engineers and mechanics to find the right set-up. The car felt fantastic on Sunday and that makes me very positive for the next races."

You seemed to take everything in your stride – is that in your character?

"I prefer to take everything calmly. I’ve been racing a long time and, although F1 is tougher than any other series, it’s still about doing the best job you can in the car. I was not worried before the race, but I felt much better after doing my first start, making up places on the opening lap and really fighting with the cars around me. My goal now has to be to get closer and closer to the top ten without making any more mistakes."

What has been the reaction in Russia to your first race?

"So far, the support in Russia has been fantastic. Formula 1 is still something new for my country, so people are learning about it all the time and discovering all the different aspects of the sport. There has been a lot of excitement, and many messages of support, so I have to say a big thank you to all the fans over there. When I get in the car, though, I am focused on the job. It’s a great boost to have my people behind me, but it doesn’t feel like extra pressure on my shoulders."

How will you approach the challenge of learning a new track in Australia?

"The most important thing is to learn the track and understand how it flows. I need to get out there and feel the tarmac, see the kerbs, walk a lap to have the right feeling for what I need to do. Then I will do the best job I can and we’ll see what happens."

Robert Kubica talks us through the demands of racing on the streets of Melbourne:

I like street circuits in general so Albert Park is one of my favourite tracks. It’s also one of the best weekends of the year because the city really supports the race, which helps create a special atmosphere. I don’t usually have a problem with jet lag, but I always fly out a bit earlier than I do for European races to make sure I feel totally fresh for the weekend.

It’s quite a demanding circuit because the track conditions are constantly changing across the weekend. On Friday the track is very green so you have to leave some safety margin because it’s easy to run wide and end up in the wall. You can go quicker and quicker with each run as the track rubbers in and by the end of practice your lap times can be as much as six seconds quicker than at the start of the session.

The grip levels are quite poor, so the set-up priority is to work on drivability so that the car gives you confidence. The streets are also quite bumpy, especially the first chicane and the entrance to turn six, so braking stability is important. You also need a car that can ride the curbs well so that you can carry good speed through the medium speed corners.

Overtaking isn’t easy because it’s so dirty off line. The best chance is into turn three if the car ahead of you gets a bad exit from the first chicane. Turn 13 is another opportunity, but because turn 12 is such a quick corner it’s hard to follow another car closely onto the straight before 13. Again you’re relying on the car ahead of you getting a bad exit.

Turns 11 and 12 are the quickest corners of the lap. There are a few ways of approaching this high-speed chicane, but as always the secret is to carry as much speed as possible and not run too wide on the exit of 12. You need to use the curbs, but if you hit them too hard it upsets the car’s balance and hurts your speed. Get it right and you can find a lot of time; get it wrong and your lap time will really suffer.