The Big Big Formula 1 2009 Season Preview

It's been a while since I posted anything here on the Right Wing, and even longer than that since F1 has seen any face time on ye olde blog. But that all changes today.

The 2009 Formula 1 season is only 22 days away, as the season kicks off on March 29 in Melbourne, Australia. We've already discussed most of the new cars, but there are three quick additions to make.

Williams finally unveiled the 2009 livery of the FW31, and I'm not really impressed. It seems to me a big step backward from the dark blue, Darth Vader car; the interim testing livery they ran before unveiling their new colours. Two things strike me as odd when I look at this car. First, there seems to be a bit of an effort to look like the BMW Sauber team. Second, I was under the impression that aerodynamic doodads were right out, yet Williams has installed a set of "bunny-ears" on the car to funnel air to the rear wing, thus increasing downforce. Williams has claimed that other teams will do the same thing by Melbourne, but I'm just waiting on the FIA to call the Williams team over to the side for a bit of a light chat.

In other news, Force India finally unveiled their perennial backmarker, the VJM02, which will now have a McLaren chassis, but otherwise will probably run about the same grid spots as last year. Like most of the other cars that have already been unveiled, the VJM02 doesn't exactly sparkle. From the newly-regulated boxy rear wing to the snowplow front scoop, the car screams "Not So FAST!" And in keeping with the spirit of Williams snubbing their noses at the FIA's regulations, Force India has a few aero-doodads on the sides of the car. Apparently they thought that by painting them the same color as the rest of the car no one would notice. Once again Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella will pilot the Force India cars in the world's premier racing league.

Lastly, the biggest news of the week belongs to Honda, who finally found a buyer, Ross Brawn. The team name has been changed from Honda to BrawnGP, and the driver lineup of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello remains in place. The BrawnGP 2009 contender has already been given a bit of a shakedown at Silverstone, where Barrichello finished on the podium last year. Jenson Button gave the car a few laps, but no word has yet come out about how the car performed. The (assumed) interim livery is a plain white with black trim and neon yellow, and for some reason the car was tested on grooved tyres instead of slicks.

Brawn's purchase and control of the Honda team assures that the grid will be made up of 20 cars this season, which will provide for more interesting racing than an 18-car grid would have. With all the majors players in place, let's look ahead at the 2009 season.

2009 Schedule:
March 29 - Australia (Melbourne)
April 5 - Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
April 19 - China (Shanghai)
April 26 - Bahrain (Sakhir)
May 10 - Spain (Catalunya)
May 24 - Monaco (Monte Carlo)
June 7 - Turkey (Istanbul)
June 21 - Britain (Silverstone)
July 12 - Germany (Nurburgring)*
July 26 - Hungary (Budapest)
August 23 - Europe (Valencia, Spain)
August 30 - Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
September 13 - Italy (Monza)
September 27 - Singapore (Singapore)(night)
October 4 - Japan (Suzuka)**
October 18 - Brazil (Interlagos)
November 1 - United Arab Emirates (Yas Marina)***

*: alternates between Hockenheim and the Nurburgring
**: alternates between Suzuka and Mt. Fuji
***: New Circuit

If you followed F1 last year you'll note some slight differences from last year's schedule. Gone is the North American portion of the Grand Prix schedule, meaning that Canada no longer has its race, nor does the United States host an event, yet again. The Grand Prix of Germany will be held at the Nurburgring this year (it alternates between the Nurburgring and Hockenheim). The Grand Prix of Japan will run at Suzuka this year; last year it was held at Mt. Fuji.

The Yas Marina Circuit opens up this year, hosting the final race of the season. The new UAE course will supposedly be one of the most state-of-the-art Grand Prix courses on the tour.

Driver Lineups:

McLaren Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton
Heikki Kovalainen

Scuderia Ferrari:
Kimi Raikkonen
Felipe Massa

BMW Sauber:
Robert Kubica
Nick Heidfeld

Toyota:
Jarno Trulli
Timo Glock

Team Red Bull:
Mark Webber
Sebastian Vettel

Scuderia Toro Rosso:
Sebastien Bourdais
Sebastien Buemi

Force India:
Giancarlo Fisichella
Adrian Sutil

BrawnGP:
Rubens Barrichello
Jenson Button

Williams:
Nico Rosberg
Kazukia Nakajima

Renault:
Fernando Alonso
Nelson Piquet Jr.

Each team carries a reserve test driver who rarely sees track time during the season. The newest addition to the Formula 1 family is Sebastien Buemi, the Swiss GP2 star who rose through the ranks and grabbed the spot vacated by Sebatian Vettel's move to Team Red Bull.

Last year's championship battle came down to the final corner of the final lap of the final race. With the plethora of rule and regulation changes instituted this year, don't look for anything quite as exciting, but still be prepared for some really fantastic racing.