2010 Driver Market

[Waris]

And as for USF1, I reckon if they want American drivers, they have to be looking at Patrick for a race seat. Yes, she's only 5th in the IndyCar series and hasn't won any races, but there isn't another American driver ahead of her.

And both USF1 and Patrick herself have shot that suggestion down. No, they'd probably be looking at Johnathon Summerton from the Formula Atleantic series, or possibly Formula Two's Robert Wickens (even if he is Canadian).

I predict USF1 will go for Sébastien Bourdais and Marco Andretti, if only for want of better drivers. I still hope they change their name, though.

[watka]

Now that a bit more news has come out, I'm willing to make a prediction or two:

Brawn
Button - No chance of him moving
Barrichello - Will stay on despite the tensions in the team

Red Bull
Vettel - confirmed
Webber - confirmed

Ferrari
Massa - loved by Ferrari
Alonso - it's got to go ahead, surely?

Mclaren
Hamilton - he ain't movin'
Rosberg/Sutil - don't see Kovalainen staying on after his "hurry up". Rosberg is the prime candidate to replace him, although Sutil could provide a less "threatening" team mate

Toyota
Glock - surely he'll stay on
Kobayashi/Nakajima/Raikkonen - a Japanese driver is likely, but Toyota have a history of paying experienced drivers vast sums of money to get them to join, so why not Raikkonen

Williams
Hulkenberg - very highly praised, should make the move up
Rosberg/Kubica/Heidfeld/Sutil - Rosberg will probably be going, but I think they would want an experienced driver to replaced him, so probably one of the two BMW drivers, if not Sutil

Renault
Grosjean - I don't think they would so cruel to drop him
Kubica/Kovalainen - Kubica has been heavily linked, but Kovalainen has respect from the team (they let him go to McLaren because they thought he was a threat to Alonso)

BMW Sauber
??? - Difficult to say as no takeover is confirmed. Perhaps Heidfeld would stay but who else? The most like candidates to replace them would be Prodrive, they might try to get a combo of Senna, de la Rosa, and di Resta into their cars.

Force India
Liuzzi - Will get his chance to impress at Monza
Sutil/Chandhok/Klien - I think Sutil will probably stay, but if he leaves why not put an Indian in the car? Otherwise, Klien has previously tested for Force India.

Toro Rosso
Buemi - done just about good enough
Alguersuari - one for the future

USGP/F1 (whatever they are called)
Bourdais - CART experience (relates to Americans) and F1 experience
Andretti/Summerton/Wickens - Andretti would be my narrow favourite of the 2 as he has stated a desire to drive in F1 (or at least tested a car), and Summerton/Wickens are still a bit young.

Campos
de la Rosa - Spanish driver will surely get the seat
Petrov - if only because of the money and GP2 links (Campos will know him better than any F1 team)

Manor
Many possibilities - perhaps a combination of Heidfeld/Kovalainen/Davidson and Carroll/Senna/di Grassi/Pantano/Bird/di Resta

[Many Blue Flags]

Here's revision #3 to my list, likely as not you all know the news that's come out of F1 recently. Here goes:

---

Monster-Brawn-Mercedes
#1: Rubens Barrichello
#2: Nico Rosberg
Test: Vitaly Petrov

Overview: With Wurz left to work full time for Peugeot in the LMS, Vitaly Petrov was signed on as a test driver as he hopes to capitalise on his second place on the 2009 GP2 championship, bringing with him many Russian investors to fill Brawn's ranks. Button was released rather than Barrichello on account of him losing the world championship and whining too much in the last few rounds of the season.

Livery: Think last year’s McLaren but with green instead of orange.

---

Red Bull-Ferrari
#1: Sebastian Vettel
#2: Mark Webber
Test: Brendon Hartley

Overview: With Renault all but pulling out this year, the Red Bull teams switched around their customer supplies to provide the better-tuned Ferrari engine to the Red Bull cars and instead let the STR team run with Cosworth engines which in all were cheaper so it worked out well enough. Webber's strong run to third in the championship last year and his first win were enough to convince the team to keep him on for a third term.

Livery: Same as last year

---

Panasonic-Toyota
#1: Timo Glock
#2: Kazuki Nakajima
Test: Kamui Kobayashi

Overview: As Williams cancelled their Toyota contract, Nakajima was called back home to Toyota to replace the leaving Trulli, leaving Kobayashi to spend more time in GP2 until he could carry off the main title as well as the Asia one. Glock takes over team leader, something he’s expected to do with aplomb

Livery: Same as last year

---

Santander-Ferrari
#1: Fernando Alonso
#2: Kimi Räikkönen
Test: Giancarlo Fisichella

Overview: In a shock move, Massa was not allowed back into the cockpit after his time spent slamming the other teams and drivers while recovering, Ferrari saying he needed more recuperation time outside of F1 while they still had two champions to drive, he currently has a job helping FIAT get a hold in the Brazilian market with a run in a Croma in the Stock Car series. Santander sponsorship is onboard at Ferrari and the crowds are going wild, expecting great things from the Spaniard. His old friend at Renault, Fisico as a test driver who’s happy to get respect he deserves and wear the red, partners him.

Livery: Red and White, Santander Sponsorship taking the place of most of the barcodes on the wings. The Marlboro barcodes are now on the sidepods rather than the wings.

---

Williams-Cosworth
#1: Heikki Kovalainen
#2: Nico Hulkenberg
Test: Dani Clos

Overview: With Kazuki Nakajima and Toyota leaving at the end of the year, Frank Williams spent no time in hiring the hotshot new German Nico alongside Heikki Kovalainen, outsted from McLaren but too valuable to be dumped into rallying in Frank’s opinion. He has said there is a good atmosphere in the team and even if Toyota goes he hopes to stay on. Clos was elevated to test driver, which he shares with a run in GP2.

Livery: Same as last year.

---

Matmut-Briatore-Renault
#1: Romain Grosjean
#2: Robert Kubica
Test: Giedo Van De Garde

Overview: Renault as a manufacturer pulled out at the end of the year but agreed to supply engines to Flavio Briatore's team as long as there was a French driver in it. For this reason, Flav kept Grosjean but also signed on Kubica to have a pro driver in it. However, he is often ill, and the doctors say he keeps muttering in his sleep ‘Fernando… come back…’

Livery: Looking for some more sponsorship, the French Insurance company Matmut agreed to do a one year deal perhaps extending it if it went well. As such, the Briatore car shares the ORECA-Matmut LMS colours of quartered blue, yellow and red.

---

Vodafone-McLaren-Mercedes
#1: Lewis Hamilton
#2: Adrian Sutil
Test: Gary Paffett

Overview: Whitmarsh gave Haug something more to chew about as he failed to get his hands on Rosberg after his first win at Williams, saying that he was sure the Grove-based team would get even better. However, he saved the Mercedes engine deal just about by hiring Adrian Sutil to partner Lewis.

Livery: Down on money from Mercedes themselves, McLaren have gone back to their classic white-and-red livery of the early 90’s with Vodafone and Air Emirates taking up chief spots on the car.

---

Torro Rosso-Cosworth
#1: Sebastian Buemi
#2: Jaime Alguersuari
Test: Brendon Hartley

Overview: Spaniard Alguersuari and kiwi Hartley will share the second seat in much the same way that Red Bull switched Liuzzi and Klien round in 2005. Jaime will take over when the European leg begins but bookies' odds are on him to outperform Hartley this year. Either way, Sebastian Buemi is keen to capitalise on a good season last year.

Livery: Same as last year, but on black background rather than blue.

---

Petronas-Lotus-Cosworth
#1: Anthony Davidson
#2: Nick Heidfeld
Test: Marko Asmer

Overview: The Malaysian consortium won the bid to rename Sauber as Lotus, picking the Cossie units for a year before they plan to switch to another engine depending on pricing and power. So as not to lose too much money, they sold Kubica to Renault, kept Heidfeld at a low cost and Asmer as the test driver and hired Anthony Davidson to be the other driver at a low price.

Livery: Teal Sidepods on British Racing Green and black stripes.

---

Kingfisher-Force India-Mercedes
#1: Karun Chandhok
#2: Vitantonio Liuzzi
Test:

Overview: Finally, with their strong performance last year, Force India are looking more promising this year. Fisichella and Sutil have both left, and Liuzzi will take the driving responsibilities helped by his experience of racing from last year. Chandhok was added to give the team a more Indian flavour, and Mallya has been earnest that if it came to push, he’d rather see Karun win than Tonio.

Livery: Same as last year

---

Youtube-US F1-Cosworth
#1: Robert Wickens
#2: Jenson Button
Test:

Overview: Wickens graduated from winning the F2 championship to move into F1 after testing for Williams and deciding he wanted more. Knowing Canada was close enough to the US, and with Montreal appearing on the calendar again, Windsor spent no time in hiring the young man. Button was also hired in order to bring some experience to the team, but he has been more and more morose, not speaking to anybody.

Livery: Dark blue with white aero panels and the red Youtube Logo across the engine cover. An image of a white comet streaks down the front of the nose.

---

Iberia-Campos-Cosworth
#1: Pedro De La Rosa
#2: Andy Soucek
Test: Natacha Gachang

Overview: De La Rosa thought his career over at a poorly arranged McLaren but it was not to be. Adrian Campos insisted on an all-Spanish line up and after not having attracted Alonso with a high enough salary and promises of a winning car, he settled for an experienced man to help with the driving. He also signed F2 Runner-up Soucek after he recovered from his GP2 Rejectdom to take several race wins and finish close to Wickens

Livery: Yellow and Red, with the Spanish crest in the middle of the nosecone.

---

Virgin-Manor-Cosworth
#1: Adam Carroll
#2: Zsolt Baumgartner
Test:

Overview: Manor's driver line-up was somewhat a last-minute arrangement but everything seemed to work out fine for the small British team. They got A1GP master Caroll for their main driver, tempting him with a run alongside his Ireland car and promise of a safety net if A1GP goes under if promised, also meaning that his old boss Gallagher could knock a little off the Cosworth engines being supplied. They got a pay-driver on the cheap – who else but a former driver for another backmarker team? HWNSNBN also came with Bernie’s prodding to help keep Hungary more filled with viewers.

Livery: Bare Carbon Fibre. No money for paint.

[Captain Hammer]

Andy Soucek will never sit in the cockpit of a Formula One car. His stunt in Belgium in having the Coloni cars impounded because of a dispute with the team's former owners did nothing for his causeexcept give him a bad reputation. Worse, he apparently owes other GP2 teams money, and several of them have started looking at how much he is receiving for his successes in Formula Two. He's nothing more than the poor-man's Nelson Piquet.

But from the tone of your breakdown, I suspect you're being less than serious.

[Captain Hammer]

Here's my take on it all:

Emirates Brawn-Mercedes Grand Prix
1 - Jenson Button
2 - Nico Rosberg

After securing the 2009 World Drivers' Championship, Jenson Button stays on at Brawn. He is joined by Nico Rosberg after Mercedes end their relationship with McLaren, unimpressed with the way their name has been sullied by the Stepney Affair and the Australian Incident. Brawn signs Dubai airliner Emirates as title sponsor, with internet giant Google also taking pride of place alongside them.

Livery: Mercedes silver, with Brawn yellow and black breaking it up. Emirates on the sidepods, Google on the nose and rear wing.

-------

Red Bull Racing-Renault
3 - Sebastian Vettel
4 - Mark Webber

The Austrian energy drink consortium keeps their driver lineup from 2009, but decide to stick with Renault engines following Mercedes' decision to make Brawn their works team. Their success in stealing away the World Constructors' Championship in Abu Dhabi has drawn a number of secondary sponsors new for 2010.

Livery: The traditional Red Bull mauve and silver stays in place. Red Bull somehow convince their new sponsors to keep their logos in Red Bull colours.

-------

Scuderia Ferrari Santander
5 - Kimi Raikkonen
6 - Felipe Massa

It was widely exected that Ferrari would announce Fernando Alonso as one of their drivers for 2010, but everything came to naught after Alonso was implicated in the allegations of cheating levelled at Renault late in 2009. Santander are disappointed not to work with Alonso, but use Massa as a vehicle for expanding into the lucrative South American market, much as they did with Lewis Hamilton and Great Britain

Livery: Italian racing red with large Santander logos in a rather unique 'cut-off' fashion (logos intentionally larger than bodywork) that takes fans a while to get used to.

-------

Vodafone McLaren-Renault
7 - Lewis Hamilton
8 - Heikki Kovalainen

After a series of engine failures for Hamilton, McLaren's position comes under threat from Williams and Toyota. But Kovalainen rises to the occasion and secures his seat with podiums in Singapore and Brazil and a win in Japan. After Mercedes move to Brawn, McLaren turn their back on their previous partners and nominate to use the Renault engine after a gleeful Ferrari offer theirs at 'no cost'. McLaren take their Ethiad sponsorship instead, looking to start a rivalry with Emirates-backed Brawn.

Livery: Bruce McLaren's original bright orange, frequently used in testing new cars that segues smoothly into red Vodafone branding on the sidepods.

-------

Williams-Mercedes
9 - Rubens Barrichello
10 - Nico Hulkenberg

Williams do a do-se-do, trading Nico Rosberg for Rubens Barrichello and getting Mercedes engines in the deal. Barrichello is happy to swap as he becomes Sir Frank's lead driver, showing Nico Hulkenberg the ropes. Williams himself decides that the team's image has become too corporate and decides not to find a title sponsor to replace RBS (although the car still has sponsor branding). The emphasis on racing rather than finding a sponsor seems to rejuvenate the team, and Sir Frank is as bullish as ever.

Livery: The solid dark blue bordering on grey. Williams pick up Petronas as a sponsor after BMW's withdrawal.

-------

Panasonic Toyota
11 - Timo Glock
12 - Kamui Kobayashi

After trying and failing to snare Fernando Alonso after the Ferrari deal never came about, Toyota hastily sign Kamui Kobayashi for their second seat, atracting renewed interest from Japan and an influx of sponsor dollars. Glock comments that he has no idea what heis endorsing as it is all in Japanese, while pundits keep a close eye on Kobayashi; it quickly becomes known that he is operating on a race-by-race contract with Takuma Sato waiting to step up to the plate.

Livery: Toyota continue their red and white, but decide to inject a little blue into the mix. The end result is a few too many primary colours, but it is not a deviation from their standard.

-------

Force India-Toyota
14 - Adrian Sutil
15 - Vitantonio Liuzzi

Force India move onto their third engine supplier in as many years, following confirmation that Vijay Mallya is greatly in debt to both Mercedes and Ferrari. Toyota reluctantly take them up after Mallya manages to find a new financier. Who they are and where the money is coming from remain unknown as no new logos have appeared on the car, but speculation remains that it is a consortium led by the Indian government who have issued him an ultimatum: prove Formula One is good for India by winning a race, or else the Indian Grand Prix is shelved.

Livery: More of the same, though the white, green and orange are in equal parts.

-------

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
16 - Sebastien Buemi
17 - Jaime Alguersuari

With Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz going frustrated with Toro Rosso and thorwing less and less money at them, Toro Rosso slides down to the tail end of the grid. Buemi and Alguersuari are frequently seen talking with other teams, but nothing eventuates and they are condemned to circling at the back, a clear second and a half off the pace. Eddie Jordan, Aguri Suzuki and Paul Stoddart all express interest in buying the team by the third round, and negotiations continue.

Livery: The scarlet charging bull takes pride of place once more. To help distinguish the cars from the Red Bulls, black replaces the mauve and more gold appears on the wings. The car switches from Red Bull to Red Bull Cola as title sponsor.

-------

Telefonicia Campos Grand Prix-Coswroth
18 - Fernando Alonso
19 - Vitaly Petrov

Following Alonso's implication in the Singapore Incident, he struggles to find a race seat for 2010. Ultiamtely, he settles on Adrian Campos, the man who gave him his start in the World Series by Renault. Alonso later remarks that it is the best decision he has ever made, and announces a multi-year contract with a view to taking Campos to the top. With him is the other Campos collaborator, Vitaly Petrov, who brings with him an endless backing from Russian companies MegaFon and Lukoil.

Livery: Dark blue, in keeping with Telefonicia's image. MegaFon adorns one side of the car, while Lukoil graces the other. A lion and a double-headed eagle - representing the coat of arms of Spain and Russia respectively - appear as an informal team insignia between the front wheels and the sidepods.

-------

United States Formula One-Cosworth
20 - Pedro de la Rosa
21 - Jonathan Summerton

When Alonso joins Campos, Pedro de la Rosa is left out in the cold, but quickly snapped up by Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor. He is partnered with twenty-one year old superstar Summerton, who won his seat after a long winter testing session with Forula Two's Robert Wickens. Wickens is kept on as test driver to replace de la Rosa, who has announced he will only be racing for one year to help USF1 find their feet.

Livery: Red, white and blue, of course. The right sidepod is red, the left is blue and the monocoque is white, terminating in an arrowhead on the front wing (like one of the Le Mans cars this year).

-------

Virgin Manor-Cosworth
22 - Pastor Maldonado
23 - Adam Carroll

Virgin Manor becomes unoffically known as the Playboy Mansion, prompting Hugh Hefner to lend his magazine's name as a secondary sponsor. John Booth surprises all by signing two rookies, but the presence of Virgin has forged a relationship with Brawn GP, and it is believed Maldonado and Carroll come personally recommended by Ross Brawn himself. Maldonado proves to be a superstitious type and puts faith in his racing number as the car carrying the 22 has won the championship two years running.

Livery: Jet black, done to a matte finish. Looks very stealthy. Virgin name appears on red background on sidepods. As something of a novelty, the Virgin company sponsoring Manor changes every race.

-------

Prodrive Sauber-Mercedes
24 - Robert Kubica
25 - Bruno Senna

Peter Sauber is saved at the last minute by Dave Richards, and the two join forces to form Prodrive Sauber Sports. Robert Kubica was on the verge of signing a Renault contract when Ricahrds convinced him to stay after Renault are found guilty of cheating at Singapore in 2008. Partnered with Bruno Senna, the team attracts a lot of attention, not least of all because of thei eye-catching livery.

Livery: Gulf. That is all.

-------

Epsilon-Renault
26 - Nick Heidfeld
27 - Romain Grosjan

Renault is humiliated after being found guilty of cheating in 2008; Flavio Briatore is banned for life. Stripped of their 2009 points, they have the ignomity of running the numbers 26 and 27. Renault withdraw shortly thereafter and sell the team to Epsilon Euskadi. They do maintain a presence as an engine supplier, and Epsilon becomes the unofficial Renault works team. Needing money, they sign French insurance group Matmut where they beocme known as Team Warhol after the famous painter given their abstract livery. When Robert Kubica backs out of negotiations, Epsilon take Nick Heidfeld instead.

Livery: The Matmut 'patchwork'. It becomes notorious as the latest in a string of ugly liveries for the team.

[Many Blue Flags]

Andy Soucek will never sit in the cockpit of a Formula One car. His stunt in Belgium in having the Coloni cars impounded because of a dispute with the team's former owners did nothing for his causeexcept give him a bad reputation. Worse, he apparently owes other GP2 teams money, and several of them have started looking at how much he is receiving for his successes in Formula Two. He's nothing more than the poor-man's Nelson Piquet.

But from the tone of your breakdown, I suspect you're being less than serious.

Well done for spotting that. I've never liked Soucek much, but something tells me he will end up in the cockpit whether we like it or not.

[Captain Hammer]

Well done for spotting that. I've never liked Soucek much, but something tells me he will end up in the cockpit whether we like it or not.

He's dangerous. He's the poor-man's Nelson Piquet. The only reason he's doing so well in Formula Two is because he's got more experience than most of the field combined. Given them a year or two, and watch the likes of Aleshin and Wickens reel him in.

Also, I don't speak Italian and can get no picture with this, but I am told that in this interview with Luca, di Montezemolo confirms tha Alonso will not be driving for them in 2010.

[Many Blue Flags]

Not gonna try and download it - my firefox crashed when I tried it first time. But I'm seriously in doubt about Alonso actually being in F1 next year. I put him in at Ferrari because it makes sense with Santander moving to sponsor, but I for one would actually like to see him maybe take a year out for SEAT in the WTCC. I don't like the way Massa is involving himself in Piquetgate, and he might be dangerous to touch next year for Fezza. And would Alonso really go to Campos? I personally don't think so.

I'm not sure that Toyota would pick Kobayashi over Nakajima though. The latter has a lot more experience, and Kobayashi only won the Asia GP2 crown, not the main one.

Though thinking of the ORECA Matmut patchwork, I'm thinking of Bruno Senna. He drives for them, right?

[Jordan192]

insurance group Matmut where they beocme known as Team Warhol after the famous painter given their abstract livery.

Mondrian, surely?

[Salamander]

Also, I don't speak Italian and can get no picture with this, but I am told that in this interview with Luca, di Montezemolo confirms tha Alonso will not be driving for them in 2010.

I doubt anyone will move to Ferrari for 2010, but on the off-chance someone does, I reckon it'll be Kubica. Though that might just be wishful thinking on my part.

[Captain Hammer]

Lotus and QADBAK have thrown my predictions out! I'll have to do it again:

Mercedes Brawn Grand Prix
#1 – Jenson Button
#2 – Rubens Barrichello

Monza 2009 only delayed the inevitable: Rubens Barrichello was unable to challenge Jenson Button after the Briton dominated in Singapore and clinched the title with a third place in Japan. Both were immediately re-signed as Mercedes bought into the team with the intention of making Brawn their new works outfit. Several new sponsors were signed, including Emirates Air and internet giant Google.

Livery: Brawn retain their white, black and yellow strip for 2010, though the presence of Mercedes means the white has become a burnished aluminium silver. Emirates logos adorn the sidepods and engine cowling, while Google appears on the wings and nosecone. Following the precedent established by Honda, large numbers in yellow and black appear on the rear wings to make it even easier to identify which driver is in which car.

Red Bull – Renault
#3 – Sebastian Vettel
#4 – Mark Webber

After the Italian Grand Prix, Red Bull’s title hopes quickly lost steam. But their successes have brought with them a renewed budget, and the aerodynamic upgrade introduced in Japan is believed to form the basis of their 2010 package. Although their hopes of a World Championship have to be put off for another year, Sebastian Vettel steals victory at the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. They elect to continue with Renault engines after rivals Brawn become the Mercedes works outfit.

Livery: Red Bull hire a team of young designers to create their 2010 racing strip. What they produce is something that would not have been out of place fifty years ago, a retro purple and silver livery based on the 1969 Ford GT40 from Le Mans.

Scuderia Ferrari Santander
#5 – Kimi Raikkonen
#6 – Felipe Massa

Ferrari retain their 2009 driver line-up despite the persistent rumours of Fernando Alonso defecting to the team. Although as confident as ever, the team admit they are a little uncertain without the use of the KERS system. The blanket ban on tobacco sponsorship has hurt their pockets, but has also signalled a new direction for the team.

Livery: Ferrari return to their original formula for rosso corsa, despite the fact that red does not photograph well. Their car is dominated by a large Santander logo on the engine cowling and sidepods that has to be seen square-on in order to appear properly.

McLaren Racing Cars
#7 – Lewis Hamilton
#8 – Nico Rosberg

The Italian Grand Prix was a turning point for many teams, including McLaren. Lewis Hamilton’s last-lap accident was the first in a string of retirements, with the Briton recording only one finish in the last four races. Heikki Kovalainen rose to the challenge, securing fourth place in the constructors’ championship, but was unable to retain his McLaren drive. After Brawn becomes the Mercedes works team, McLaren distance themselves from the manufacturer and re-style themselves in their original mould.

Livery: With the departure of Mercedes, McLaren run their original yellow-orange strip. Vodafone stays on as a major sponsor, though McLaren’s untried in-house engine means they decide to discontinue title sponsorship. As Ferrari take Santander from them, McLaren take Ethiad, with a view to starting a rivalry with Brawn.

Williams Zero – Mercedes
#09 – Vitantonio Liuzzi
#10 – Nico Hulkenberg

After losing Nico Rosberg, Williams sign on Tonio Liuzzi, who impresses all with four straight podiums in the last four races of 2009 and is the most critical person in the championship battle. Joining him is GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg. Meanwhile, the void left by RBS is filled by Coca-Cola, and Williams endorse Coke Zero as their new title sponsor. But the bastards are everywhere – they even slip a zero into Liuzzi’s racing number. Williams leave their Toyota contract a year early and pick up Mercedes engines in the deal.

Livery: Black, with red and white in keeping with the Coke Zero colours. It is a very detailed and artful livery, filled with swirls and loops. Secondary sponsors Phillips and AT&T compliment the arrangement. Half an hour after the Coke Zero deal is announced, the idea that Williams will score ‘Zero’ points in 2010 is the oldest joke on the internet.

Panasonic Toyota Racing
#11 – Timo Glock
#12 – Kamui Kobayashi

After trying – and failing – to sign Fernando Alonso for 2010, Toyota hastily pick up GP2 driver Kamui Kobayashi. The move is seen as a mistake, especially after Timo Glock finally breaks Toyota’s duck after he wins in Japan. Toyota get a larger-than-expected budget as a result, and team principal John Howett somehow convinces Tokyo that management-by-committee is an outdated idea. It soon becomes apparent that Kobayashi is on a race-by-race contract, with Super Aguri alumni Takuma Sato standing by.

Livery: Toyota acquire new sponsors in the form of Xanavi and Calsonic after plundering the ranks of SuperGT. Blue and silver are introduced to their red and white in a way that somehow distracts from the lines of the car, making it a bit of a mess.

Force India Grand Prix Engineering – Mercedes
#14 – Adrian Sutil
#15 – Giedo van der Garde

The surprise team of 2009 return, fresh from their maiden victory in Brazil. After losing stand-in and former test driver Tonio Liuzzi to Williams and the FIA denying Karun Chandhok a superlicence, Vijay Mallya signs GP2 driver Giedo van der Garde. The team comes with backing from the Indian Government, and it is believed they have issued Mallya with an ultimatum: win consistently, or the Indian Grand Prix will never happen.

Livery: The State Bank of India joins the team, introducing blue into the team’s orange, white and green design. It’s not the prettiest livery ever created, but it’s not the ugliest, either as the blue is fortunately kept to a minimum.

Toro Rosso Progetto – Ferrari
#16 – Brendon Hartley
#17 – Sebastian Buemi

Scuderia Toro Rosso are renamed ‘Toro Rosso Progetto’ – Toro Rosso Project – which many see as a sign of Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz throwing less and less money after them. It soon comes to light that he is only propping them up long enough to sell them to a buyer, with Eddie Jordan, Aguri Suzuki and Paul Stoddart all putting themselves forward as candidates. FOTA disagree with Stoddart returning to the grid, and the off-season is dominated by Stoddart falling back on his old standby: suing them.

Livery: The charging red bull is gone, as Red Bull Cola becomes the team’s primary sponsor. More gold is introduced to help differentiate the cars from Red Bull. Like Brawn, Toro Rosso include large numbers on their rear wings; the morbid joke being that this is so the front-runners can tell who they are passing.

Lukoil Telefonicia Campos – Cosworth
#18 – Vitaly Petrov
#19 – Jaime Alguersuari

After the deal with Pedro de la Rosa falls through, Adrian Campos pinches Jaime Alguersuari from Toro Rosso. With him is Campos other collaborator, Russian Vitaly Petrov. Although running the single most inexperienced team on the grid, the Dallara-built chassis is a surprise for many during shakedown and a definite points contender.

Livery: Mostly red and yellow, in keeping with the Spanish flag. Large Lukoil logos dominate one side of the car, while Telefonicia appears on the other, despite their colours being blue and gold. It is the first truly asymmetric livery since BAR’s infamous ‘zipper’ design of 1999.

United States Formula One – Cosworth
#20 – Pedro de la Rosa
#21 – Jonathan Summerton

USF1 snatch de la Rosa away from Campos, with the second place going to twenty-one year old superstar Jonathan Summerton, who beat Canada’s Robert Wickens in an informal race-off for the final position; Wickens is retained as test driver. Despite initial doubts, USF1 are the first of the new teams to debut their new car, and while it is not expected that they will challenge for points, they certainly won’t be perennial tail-enders.

Livery: Rather than plastering sponsor logos over the Stars and Stripes – a move Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor considered almost sacrilegious – USF1 go in for a red, white and blue design.

Manor Galactic F1 – Cosworth
#22 – Pastor Maldonado
#23 – Adam Carroll

The quietest of the new teams for 2010, Manor put their heads down and go about their business. Nothing is heard until their car is unveiled, and it is instantly noted that they have signed two untested rookies. But their affiliation with Virgin and Richard Branson has created a relationship with Ross Brawn’s team, and it is believed Maldonado and Carroll come personally recommended by him. Their relationship also suggests that they may become Mercedes customers once the Cosworth contract expires.

Livery: With Virgin Galactic becoming title sponsor, the Manor cars are painted to resemble the VSS Enterprise, the first of the commercial spacecraft. The cars are white with a silver star array across the front wing and nose, large Virgin Galactic logos on the engine cowling and sidepods, and an ‘evolution silhouette’ showing top-down silhouettes of Formula One cars from the 1950s to 2010.

Lotus 1Malaysia – Cosworth
#24 – Heikki Kovalainen
#25 – Bruno Senna

Twenty-five years after Ayrton Senna drove for Lotus, Bruno Senna drives the number twenty-five Lotus 1Malaysia. More cynical minds consider it to be a marketing stunt, but with the Malaysian consortium having purchased Lola’s intended 2010 chassis, the project is not as flimsy as first felt. Joining Senna is Heikki Kovalainen, who Lotus picked up after he was unceremoniously cut loose by McLaren, making this a Malaysian team based in England with a Brazilian and a Finnish driver. If nothing else, they are a truly multicultural effort.

Livery: With Malaysia’s national racing colours being yellow and white, and Lotus’s corporate colours being yellow and green, the car is painted in the style of the Lotus 99T. Petronas joins from BMW as lead sponsor on the sidepods and Italian safety gear manufacturer Alpinestars signing up as secondary sponsor.

Sauber Projekt Rennen – Ferrari
#26 – Robert Kubica
#27 – Nick Heidfeld

After Middle Eastern consortium QADBAK Investments purchased the remnants of the BMW-Sauber team, it was temporarily renamed Sauber Projekt Rennen, or ‘Sauber Racing Project’. A new name was never found, largely because it was so well-received. The Swiss-German team retained its 2009 line-up to ease the transition, though little of the team’s internal structure changed.

Livery: When the car was first unveiled, many thought it was an Audi project with the prominent presence of Infineon as a major sponsor and the gunmetal-grey finish of the car. Other sponsorship comes from postal group DHL, national air carrier Lufthansa, and mobile phone manufacturer Siemens.

Matmut Renault
#28 – Romain Grosjean
#29 – Fernando Alonso

After the 2009 race-fixing controversy, Renault was very nearly kicked out of the sport. Renault president Carlos Ghosn announced that Renault would race in 2010 to reclaim their image and promptly fired the team’s senior personnel, who were banned. Ghosn replaced them with staff from GP2 tea, ART Grand Prix and Le Mans outfit Oreca. Fernando Alonso decided to stay with the team to help them reclaim their image, while Grosjean’s contract was renewed as there was no-one would could really replace him.

Livery: French insurance giant Matmut comes-onboard, with the car styled after the yellow, purple and scarlet one used by the Oreca Le Mans team. It is derided at first, but soon grows on everyone.

[Many Blue Flags]

[quote=CaptainHammer]
Livery: Toyota acquire new sponsors in the form of Xanavi and Calsonic after plundering the ranks of SuperGT. Blue and silver are introduced to their red and white in a way that somehow distracts from the lines of the car, making it a bit of a mess.[/quote]

Nissan letting sponsors go to Toyota? It would never happen.

[Captain Hammer]

Did you miss the fictional tone?

Though I did call the dismissal of Briatore pretty accurately ...

[Many Blue Flags]

I thought you were the sensible one and I was the idiot in this thread. Hmm...

Anyway, here's a (bad) screenshot of a possible Campos livery I made using Race Driver: GRID. If I can get my hands on a computer version with the F300 car and a customisation tool I'll try and get better pics for you all.

[shinji]

Monster Brawn Mercedes

#1 Jenson Button
#2 Rubens Barrichello

Overview - Despite collapsing mid-season in 2009, Button manages to recover and staves off the challenge of his team mate to win the WDC. Barrichello is kept on as team-mate to the World Champion, having been revitalised in a competitive car.

Livery - Mostly silver, with Brawn's distinctive greenish-yellow interspersed. Many small sponsors are attracted to the Constructors Champions.

Red Bull Renault

#3 Sebastien Vettel
#4 Mark Webber

Overview - Both drivers are kept on, this despite neither scoring a podium in the last four races of 2009. Renailt stay as engine providers, with their relationship with REd Bull being their only connection to F1 now.

Livery - Same as 2009

Scuderia Ferrari Santander

#5 Kimi Raikkonen
#6 Felipe Massa

Overview - Thousands of 'mentally disfigured' people are disappointed when it turns out that Alonso and Ferrari were actually telling the truth since 2006 or so, when Raikkonen and Massa are kept on. However, Massa's times in testing have been slightly worrying. This has been put down to rustiness, but Fisichella is on standby.

Livery - Pretty much as was, but with Santander instead of the barcodes.

Williams Cosworth

#7 Nico Rosberg
#8 Nico Hulkenberg

Overview - In the last four races of 2009, McLaren capitulate, with the car becoming increasingly uncompetitive. As a result, Nico Rosberg decides to stay at Williams, with whom he managed a podium in the last race at Abu-Dhabi. An unexpected run of 6th-7th-7th-5th for Kazuki Nakajima at the end of 2009 is not enough to save his seat despite helping overhaul McLaren, as GP2 champion Hulkenberg is brought in to create an all-Nico superteam.

Livery - The team are low on sponsors, so have a very dark blue livery to disguise this. Philips are the only substantial backers.

McLaren Mercedes

#9 Lewis Hamilton
#10 Timo Glock

Overview - After their poor run at the end of 2009, an increasingly disinterested Mercedes gave McLaren what many deemed an unfair and irrelevant ultimatum - sign a German driver or you're on your own. Rosberg was the favorite, but he chose to stay at Williams. Heidfeld and Sutil were also considered, with Formula 2 driver Tomas Hegewald also an unlikely candidate, but Glock was eventually chosen, somewhat reluctantly, to partner a scared and confused Hamilton.

Livery - Bright orange as the influence of Mercedes is decreased. An assosciation with The Beatles is also established, with the lyrics 'Get back to where you once belonged' emblazoned on the side and ads for The Beatles Rockband.

Panasonic Toyota

#11 Jarno Trulli
#12 Heikki Kovalainen

Overview - Toyota plod along in to another year, with McLaren reject Kovalainen brought in to partner Trulli, who has announced 2010 will be his last year in F1.

Livery - It's been the same since 2002, it's not going to change now.

Force India Tata

#14 Adrian Sutil
#15 Karun Chandhok

Overview - Despite being hugely impressive towards the end of 2009, with both Sutil and Liuzzi scoring podiums, Mercedes decide to pull out of the team due to the hassel of owning part of two teams. The Indian government offer to back the team, but make a number of demands; that the team employ an Indian driver and that they are powered by Indian engines. Reluctantly, Mallya accepts due to the team's financial worries, and signs Chandhok from GP2 and an engine deal with Tata.

Livery - Green, white and orange swishes make a great livery on a beautiful and brilliantly designed car, but unfortunately the engine brings the package down.

Qadbak Sauber F1

#16 Nick Heidfeld
#17 Vitaly Petrov

Overview - Mystery surrounds the team formerly known as BMW Sauber. The engines are believed to be rebadged Ferraris, but nothing is announced and the engine is not referenced in the teams name or any official documents. Even Nick Heidfeld is out in the cold, with him quoted as saying that he 'just showed up at the factory and no one told me to go away'. The only certain thing is that Russian ex GP" driver Petrov will drive for them.

Livery - We'll see at the first race

Scuderia Toro Rosso

#18 Sebastien Buemi
#19 Brandon Hartley

Overview - The glorified GP2 team slip even further away from the pack, with WSR and Red Bull Junior driver Hartley joining Buemi at the team that many see as being on it's last legs.

Livery - Similar to 2009, but with a slighty different colour scheme to help differentiate between it and Red Bull.

USF1 Cosworth - Brought to you by YouTube

#20 Kazuki Nakajima
#21 Romain Grosjean

Overview - The team are forced to abandon the All American Team concept when it becomes clear that they just need people who know what Formula 1 is. As a result, last minute deals are struck with Nakajima and Grosjean, with 20 year old Jonathan Summerton deemed too young and inexperienced, but he is earmarked for 2011.

Livery - Obvious; red, white and blue with stars sprinkled around.

Campos Cosworth

#22 Fernando Alonso
#23 Jaime Alguersuari

Overview - With the Renault team ceasing to exist altogether, Alonso is forced to search for alternate employment. With most contracts sown up by the time the team's collapse is announced, he is forced to settle for Campos. Out of all the new teams however, they do look the most promising, with the testing time's being very respectable. Alguersuari is signed to complete the Spanish line up.

Livery - Red and yellow with blue due to sponsorship.

This is where it gets complicated.

It soon emerges that neither Lotus nor Manor have a secure financial backing. They form an alliance, and apply to the FIA to enter as 1 car teams. The FIA refuses, and declares that two new teams will be picked. Manor and Lotus merge and apply, and their application is accepted. This leaves the grid with twelve teams, but another is picked. This team is Prodrive, but they prove incapable yet again of getting a team together, so the grid is left with twleve teams.

Virgin Manor/Lotus 1Malaysia Petronas

#24 Adam Carroll
#25 Mohamed Fairuz-Fauzy

Overview - The complicated structure of this team leads to an unusual driver line up. The two teams still exist as seperate entities, with different mechanics, part of the garage, sponsors, etc. The only thing they truly are a team in is in name. Manor choose Adam Carroll as their driver, with 1Malaysia choosing Malaysian Fauzy. The Petronas engine is a rebadged 2009 Mercedes.

Livery - Similar to the 1999 BAR but even more extreme, the Manor/Lotus is split down the middle, with completely asymmetrical sponsors and liveries.

[watka]

Why does everyone seems to think Adam Carroll is dead set for Manor? Or is it that there are no other names being connected with the team?

I personally don't think he'd be a good selection, A1GP has no pedigree (except for giving Nico Hulkenberg his big chance).

[shinji]

Why does everyone seems to think Adam Carroll is dead set for Manor? Or is it that there are no other names being connected with the team?

I personally don't think he'd be a good selection, A1GP has no pedigree (except for giving Nico Hulkenberg his big chance).

Well it's because he's sort of Irish-ish that I want him in F1, and Manor would seem to be his most likely destination.

[Captain Hammer]

Lotus might want a Malaysian driver, but nether Fauzy nor Yoong is cut out for it. Yoong fell short during his time in Minardi, while Fauzy was out of his depth in British F3. He might have some GP2 Asia podiums and a win to his name, but they came in the sprint races. GP2 reverses the top eight from the feature race for the sprint race grid, and Fauzy finished eighth on every occasion that he scored a podium. It's also worth noting that he was one of only a handful of people who consistently drove for his team; GP2 Asia teams are encouraged to run at least one driver who does not hail from Western Europe. As a result, they tend to experience a very high rate of driver turnover; Grosjean, Petrov, Buemi and Fauzy were the only drivers who really routinely competed.

[Many Blue Flags]

I'm personally thinking to his A1 days with Malaysia - he's had a few mistakes due to pit crew error but I'm in agreement with Captain on Fauzy's consistency. If Malaysia want to be in F1, maybe they need someone who can at least keep it on the track for the sponsors while his team-mate goes on to more points.

I'll post my list up as soon as I'm fully completed the overviews. But remind me - Qadbak is a swiss company, right?

[noisebox]

Qadbak is a swiss company, right?

Yep - that means there's only one man in the frame, the one, the only.....

[Yannick]

So much depends on the outcome of the Renault hearing at thw World Motorsport Council: Alonso, Grosjean, Kubica, engines for Williams, Rosberg, etc.

The development at 1Malaysia / Proton / Lotus / Gascoigne surely looks like a big chance for Fairuz Fauzy, who did a good job in his previous season in A1GP. If they can get a Toyota power supply, Kazuki Nakajima might be on their list, even though it might be better to get a more experienced driver.

Qadbak / Sauber look like they get Ferrari engines - and Heidfeld has this possibility or Williams maybe. The other seat might go to Fisico via the Ferrari connection.
Now if only the teams and FIA allow them re-entry ... and to sign the Concorde Agreement as well ...

Campos / Dallara appear pretty certain to bring back Pedro De La Rosa. Petrov might be an option for the other seat, but Alguersuari as well maybe.

USF1 were looking at Wurz for a while. I don't know if thy still do, but there are surely other drivers on their list, like Jacques Villeneuve. We don't know yet who is going to win USF1 Idol, but the probable names are Jonathan Summerton, JR Hildebrandt, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Townsend Bell, etc.

Toyota so far hasn't renewed Glock's contract and they clearly want Trulli to leave. So does that mean that Nakajima or Kobayashi are going to get one of their seats? Rosberg surely is on their list as well.

Williams are dropping Toyota's engine supply and Nakajima in favor of ... what exactly? Nico Hülkenberg might get promoted to the race seat, but as experience is of the essence at this time of the testing ban, they want to keep Rosberg. Other candidates surely include Heidfeld, whom the team liked a lot when he drove for the Grove outfit. But two German drivers are not likely for them, I'd be guessing. So I could see a possibility for Adam Carroll here, as well as for Petrov who would bring his backing with him. Bruno Senna might be a possibility too.

McLaren are looking for a replacement for Kovalainen. Rosberg seems to be on top of their list, but Kubica is available as well - at least until things are sorted out at Renault. So we'll see. But where does that leave Kovalainen?

Ferrari, RBR and Brawn probably keep their driver lineups, and Force 1ndia looks like keeping Sutil and Liuzzi as well, even though Bernie is trying to lobby Mallya into hiring an Indian driver. But Mallya is too smart for that ...

Toro Rosso has Buemi and Alguersuari surely is an option, unless he were to go elsewhere. But they surely would find a driver who could replace him.

So that leaves the two seats of the anonymous Manor squad open for everybody else looking for a drive: Trulli, Kovalainen - maybe even Nelsinho can get it if he can keep his superlicense on Max's behalf in the "crash-gate" hearing.

[Enforcer]

The development at 1Malaysia / Proton / Lotus / Gascoigne surely looks like a big chance for Fairuz Fauzy, who did a good job in his previous season in A1GP. If they can get a Toyota power supply, Kazuki Nakajima might be on their list, even though it might be better to get a more experienced driver.

Haven't they already agreed with the FIA to take the FIA backed Cosworth engine?

[noisebox]

The development at 1Malaysia / Proton / Lotus / Gascoigne surely looks like a big chance for Fairuz Fauzy, who did a good job in his previous season in A1GP. If they can get a Toyota power supply, Kazuki Nakajima might be on their list, even though it might be better to get a more experienced driver.

Haven't they already agreed with the FIA to take the FIA backed Cosworth engine?

According to David Richards it was a condition of entry that all new teams use the Cosworth engine. I guess that this would also apply to Sauber?

[Enforcer]

The development at 1Malaysia / Proton / Lotus / Gascoigne surely looks like a big chance for Fairuz Fauzy, who did a good job in his previous season in A1GP. If they can get a Toyota power supply, Kazuki Nakajima might be on their list, even though it might be better to get a more experienced driver.

Haven't they already agreed with the FIA to take the FIA backed Cosworth engine?

According to David Richards it was a condition of entry that all new teams use the Cosworth engine. I guess that this would also apply to Sauber?

Depends on whether the FIA deem Qadbak Sauber a new, distinct team from BMW Sauber, or just a change of ownership.

[noisebox]

Depends on whether the FIA deem Qadbak Sauber a new, distinct team from BMW Sauber, or just a change of ownership.

As they have not singed the Concorde Agreement they are a new team.

[Many Blue Flags]

Monster-Brawn-Mercedes
#01: Rubens Barrichello
#02: Jenson Button
#30: Vitaly Petrov

Overview: After a very strong run to the constructor’s championship and the driver’s championship for Rubens Barrichello last year, Brawn were quickly given the Mercedes Engine, though refused to take a change to their line-up. Jenson’s personal Monster sponsorship has been used in Mercedes’ favour anyway as Jenson is often spotted talking with his new Monster friends from the Subaru Rally Team USA. He just needs to say that he drives for Mercedes’ works team and the sales of ‘cool’ Mercs in the USA soars. Wurz left to drive for Peugeot in the LMS full time, so the runner up in this year’s GP2 championships, Vitaly Petrov, was made the reserve driver as he returns to challenge for the crown this year.

Livery: Think last year’s McLaren but with green instead of orange. Monster is on the sidepods, black with neon green strips. Such was Rubens’ take with the artwork of cartoonist Bruno Mantovani that images of the cartoon drivers now appear on the rear wing endplates.

---

Red Bull-Ferrari
#03: Sebastian Vettel
#04: Mark Webber
#31: Brendon Hartley

Overview: With Renault all but pulling out this year, the Red Bull teams switched around their customer supplies to provide the better-tuned Ferrari engine to the Red Bull cars and instead let the STR team run with Cosworth engines which in all were cheaper so it worked out well enough. Webber's strong run to third in the championship last year and his first win were enough to convince the team to keep him on for a third term.

Livery: Same as last year, but with more prominent TOTAL sponsorship after Renault pulled out, but they still have a contract to RBR

---

Santander-Ferrari
#05: Kimi Räikkönen
#06: Felipe Massa
#32: Giancarlo Fisichella

Overview: Alonso’s switch to Campos after Renault folded shocked many but it indicated the trust the Fezza team have in Massa. His times are debatable, and Kimi definitely has the lead driver role after taking fifth in the championship but Fisichella is more motivated than ever, and promises to stand in if anything happens. Dominicali has been earnest this time and said that neither Kimi nor Felipe’s contracts will be renewed at the end of the year, Kimi joining Giandominico Basso in the WRC with Abarth’s new foray into the sport and Felipe joining the Brazilian Stock Car series in a Croma to raise sales for FIAT in Brazil.

Livery: Red and White, Santander Sponsorship taking the place of most of the barcodes on the wings. The Marlboro barcodes are now on the sidepods rather than the wings. Much like his countryman, Felipe has Mantovani’s artwork of him on his overalls, and is convincing Kimi and Giancarlo to do the same.

---

Vodafone-McLaren-Mercedes
#07: Lewis Hamilton
#08: Adrian Sutil
#33: Gary Paffett

Overview: Whitmarsh gave Haug something more to chew about as he failed to get his hands on Rosberg after his first win at Williams, saying that he was sure the Grove-based team would get even better. However, he saved the Mercedes engine deal just about by hiring Adrian Sutil to partner Lewis.

Livery: Down on money from Mercedes themselves, McLaren have gone back to their classic white-and-red livery of the early 90’s with Vodafone and Air Emirates taking up chief spots on the car.

---

Williams-Cosworth
#09: Nico Rosberg
#10: Nico Hülkenberg
#34: Dani Clos

Overview: With Kazuki Nakajima and Toyota leaving at the end of the year, Frank Williams spent no time in hiring the hotshot new German Nico Hülkenberg alongside the older Rosberg, fired up after sixth in the drivers’ championship last year and a victory at Interlagos . Hülkenberg has said there is a good atmosphere in the team and is settling in nicely. Clos was elevated to test driver, which he shares with a run in GP2.

Livery: Same as last year.

---
Panasonic-Toyota
#11: Timo Glock
#12 Kazuki Nakajima
#35: Kamui Kobayashi

Overview: As Williams cancelled their Toyota contract, Nakajima was called back home to Toyota to replace the leaving Trulli, leaving Kobayashi to spend more time in GP2 until he could carry off the main title as well as the Asia one. Glock takes over team leader, something he’s expected to do with aplomb

Livery: Castrol came on board for the first time in a while after Kazuki came on board to intrigue the Japanese people once more, so Toyota now bear the green, red and white of their old Corolla rally cars.

---

Kingfisher-Force India-Mercedes
#14: Vitantonio Liuzzi
#15: Karun Chandhok
#36: Aarman Ebrahim

Overview: Finally, with their strong performance last year, Force India are looking more promising this year. Fisichella and Sutil have both left, and Liuzzi will take the driving responsibilities helped by his experience of racing from last year. Bernie Ecclestone himself pushed for Chandhok to be given a seat, and Vijay Mallya reluctantly agreed, though Karun has a results-specific contract and there are all number of drivers that are threatened to replace him. F2 driver Ebrahim is more of Mallya’s choice but has little in the way of experience, so he’s taken Karun’s old seat in GP2 instead.

Livery: Same as last year

---

Lukoil-Torro Rosso-Cosworth
#16: Jaime Algersuari
#17: Mikhael Aleshin
#37: Brendon Hartley

Overview: With the STR team needing to work alone, but still with links to Red Bull, someone in Faenza had a good idea. Hartley was pushed aside for another year, and instead the young Russian F2 driver Mikhael Aleshin, who’d done some demonstrations for Red Bull before and had huge sponsorship from Lukoil was signed on. Russian investors are now apparently more interested in the small team, forgetting MF1 before, and the people who are running the gradually more and more successful Lada WTCC team are being asked for their input. Lukoil and Repsol, Algersuari’s sponsor are having a little spat at the moment but have agreed to both appear on the same car for this year, with a move to Campos possible for Jaime and Repsol.

Livery: Black background, with a smaller airbrushed ‘Torro Rosso’ on the engine cover only, black side pods with Lukoil emblazoned on them in white, a gold nosecone and Repsol on the front and rear wings.

---


Youtube-US F1-Cosworth
#18: Jonathan Summerton
#19: Robert Wickens
#38: Sergio Pérez

Overview: Wickens graduated from winning the F2 championship to move into F1 after testing for Williams and deciding he wanted more. USF1 was eager to give it to him alongside Summerton, dragging him kicking and screaming from Indy Lights. Windsor has said time and time again he doesn’t want a foreign driver in a North American car, but at the same time doesn’t want to put Andretti or Patrick in the car until they’ve done more for A1 Team USA. However, he has made an exception for a driver in GP2 who will be brought in as a last resort. People are expecting Pérez to make a fool of Summerton though.

Livery: White mostly, with dark blue sidepods and red end plates for the front and rear wings bearing the Youtube Logos. The Burger King logo appears on the nose where the Mercedes star appears on the Brawns, and a white comet is shown streaking across the side pods. The words ‘We The People’ are on the engine cover.

---

Telefonicá-Campos-Cosworth
#20: Fernando Alonso
#21: Pedro De La Rosa
#39: Natacha Gachang

Overview: As Renault pulled out, Fernando was thrown a life jacket by his old mentor in junior formulae, and Alonso was over the moon. He was promised a secure seat to help develop the car for this year only, and then move to Ferrari the next. He would be driving in an environment where he could speak his native language for the most part, have one of his best driving friends in the seat beside him, and didn’t need to worry about some overly young hotshot ruining everything for this season. Pedro said he’d see out his career racing, helping Campos get it developed and teaching the young Gachang, picked for her success in Radical series and F3000, sharing testing duties with a run in GP2.

Livery: Dark Blue for the most part, but a strip of yellow down the nose and across the engine over with the Telefonicá logos on it. The yellow continues onto the rear and front wings, where the end plates are red to make it look like the Spanish flag. The rest of the car is decorated with minor sponsors and the Spanish Crest.

---

Virgin-Manor-Cosworth
#22: Heikki Kovalainen
#23: Adam Carroll
#40: Pastor Maldonando

Overview: Manor got to the grid with the pumping of money in from Virgin, getting a car that looks surprisingly quick in practice. Questions are raised about their driver line up, Heikki demoralised after a bad year at McLaren and Carroll without much experience in F1. However, the Irishman promises to press on, and jokes that if nothing else, he’ll be recognised for his determination and how much he can spread the sponsorship across the track if it all goes wrong. Maldonando was picked for reserve duties, looking more and more likely now that Kovalainen has taken to drinking.

Livery: British Racing Green all over, but with the Virgin logos on the wings in red. They become much more of a party team as well, often taking sponsorship for one-off deals with films or TV programmes. Much hilarity ensues, waiting for ‘LOST’ to appear on the engine cover.

---

Petronas-Lotus-Cosworth
#24: Fairuz Fauzy
#25: Romain Grosjean
#41:

Overview: Fauzy was quickly made Team Leader despite him being sure he wasn’t quite up to the job to keep the team feeling Malaysian. Grosjean was a last minute choice after he was left out in the cold from Renault’s dumping and he at least knows his way around a 2009-10 spec F1 car. He’s said in interviews though that he doesn’t feel at home in the team, and is going to make a break for it at the first possible opportunity.

Livery: Fortunately, the rainbow stuff wasn’t true. Instead, the colours used resemble the flag, with the front of the nose covered in red and white stripes, stopping at the cockpit with the rest of the car in dark blue save for the wings, in Petronas cyan. The Muslim star and moon is embellished in gold on the rear wings, garnering support from some of the circuit organisers but worrying some others that the team is religiously based.

---

Qadbak-Sauber-Ferrari
#24: Nick Heidfeld
#25: Sebastian Buemi
#41: Mirko Bortolotti

Overview: The mysterious Qadbak team emerged onto the grid successfully in the end after Renault pulled out, hiring Buemi from STR to keep themselves happy, along with possible Bahraini investors. Kubica is taking a year’s sabbatical before returning to drive for Ferrari, organising runs in a Skoda for the IRC and helping with development driving in Poland, setting up a circuit in Warsaw and occasionally doing runs in the K+K Saleen in the GT1 series. Rumours have him as the one to replace Chandhok at FI if he doesn’t show enough. Ferrari agreed to supply the team as long as they helped Bortolotti get up to pace so they could have him as a young driver in a few years’ time.

Livery: The image of the Bahraini flag with the white jagged lines across the rear end plates and the rest of the car in white save for a Swiss white cross over the front wing. The sponsors such as Qadbak themselves and Rasgas appear on the white lines while the red is mostly left on show, meaning the poor-eyed TV broadcasters often confuse them for the Ferraris.

[noisebox]

Autsport are reporting that Rosberg is about to sign for Brawn. I guess that means Rubens is out.

[fjackdaw]

Crazy! If Rubens wins the championship this year, it'll be like Williams kicking Damon Hill out in 96.


EDIT: I can't see anything on the Autosport website - do you have a link?

[noisebox]

Crazy! If Rubens wins the championship this year, it'll be like Williams kicking Damon Hill out in 96.

Williams lost 3 world champions in a row - Mansell in 92, Prost 93 and Hill 96.

[fjackdaw]

Crazy! If Rubens wins the championship this year, it'll be like Williams kicking Damon Hill out in 96.

Williams lost 3 world champions in a row - Mansell in 92, Prost 93 and Hill 96.

But did they get rid of Mansell and Prost?

I don't know if you saw my edit above, but do you have a link to the Rosberg story?

[dragonsteincole]

Damon got booted out because of a monetary issue concerning his agent at the time and his role in negotiations. Hell, Hill had and offer of joining Ferrari in 1997! I don't think it was aperformance-based decision.
But speaking of money, I don't have anything to back this up with apart from what I've heard the BBC commentators briefly mentioning on-air, but Kimi's name has been mentioned as a potential Brawn driver due to Jenson wanting a bigger salary, or Kimi going back to McLaren next year.

Also, can i say, after last year and only one new driver/driver swap, the current driver market is bathplug reading There's so many juicy rumours and possibilities flying around

Also http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78683 the Rosberg comment is mentioned in this article, which itself is quite a interesting read.

[shinji]

Damon got booted out because of a monetary issue concerning his agent at the time and his role in negotiations. Hell, Hill had and offer of joining Ferrari in 1997! I don't think it was aperformance-based decision.
But speaking of money, I don't have anything to back this up with apart from what I've heard the BBC commentators briefly mentioning on-air, but Kimi's name has been mentioned as a potential Brawn driver due to Jenson wanting a bigger salary, or Kimi going back to McLaren next year.

Also, can i say, after last year and only one new driver/driver swap, the current driver market is fan-bathplug-tastic reading There's so many juicy rumours and possibilities flying around

Also http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78683 the Rosberg comment is mentioned in this article, which itself is quite a interesting read.

Please explain? That doesn't make any sense to me.

[dragonsteincole]

Again i stress this is just tidbits i've picked up either off the BBC commentary (unofficial) and things mentioned on here and elsewhere on the web (again, unofficial), but as far as my understanding, despite taking a salary cut at the beginning of the year to help the team out, now that he's in the position to win the championship Button expects to have his 2010 salary bumped up to match. Also, I can't remember if it was Spa or Monza where one of the Beeb commentary team mentioned Kimi possibly moving to either McLaren, Brawn or leaving F1 if he doesn't stay at Ferrari. I believe whoever made the comment was saying as much to mean replacing Barrichello, but if Jenson is desiring a return to what he was earning in 2007-2008, and Brawn aren't willing to match it then that is also a possibility.

Of course, this could easily be seen as wild speculation, in a thread of wild speculation.

[noisebox]

I don't know if you saw my edit above, but do you have a link to the Rosberg story?

It's mentioned in the Kubica to decide his future story.

[Captain Hammer]

I have heard the suggestion that Czech Le Mans team Charouz Racing System has purchased (or will purchase) Renault on behalf of Dave Richards; Charouz run Aston Martin LMP cars. It's only a rumour and I don't have a source for it, though.

[Waris]

Livery: The image of the Bahraini flag with the white jagged lines across the rear end plates and the rest of the car in white save for a Swiss white cross over the front wing. The sponsors such as Qadbak themselves and Rasgas appear on the white lines while the red is mostly left on show, meaning the poor-eyed TV broadcasters often confuse them for the Ferraris.

Surely you mean red?

[Captain Hammer]

Damon got booted out because of a monetary issue concerning his agent at the time and his role in negotiations. Hell, Hill had and offer of joining Ferrari in 1997! I don't think it was aperformance-based decision.

Hill did not sign on with Williams or Ferrari or whoever because, as he described it, "they didn't value his World Championship enough". In order words, he thinks they only wanted him because they wanted to carry the numbers one and two, not because he had the talent.

But speaking of money, I don't have anything to back this up with apart from what I've heard the BBC commentators briefly mentioning on-air, but Kimi's name has been mentioned as a potential Brawn driver due to Jenson wanting a bigger salary, or Kimi going back to McLaren next year.

That is ridiculous. Kimi Raikkonen is the highest-paid driver in the sport, earning fifty-one million a season. Brawn simply couldn't afford him, and the only way they'd get him is if Button is demanding fifty-two million or more. The reports suggest that Button wants to go back to his original pay level, which would involve a pay rise of five million, but those reports originated in The Sun, which is only marginally more reliale than the Spanish tabloids ... which is to say they're not fit to wipe your arse with.

[Many Blue Flags]

Livery: The image of the Bahraini flag with the white jagged lines across the rear end plates and the rest of the car in white save for a Swiss white cross over the front wing. The sponsors such as Qadbak themselves and Rasgas appear on the white lines while the red is mostly left on show, meaning the poor-eyed TV broadcasters often confuse them for the Ferraris.

Surely you mean red?

Yes, I do. Sorry. ><

[Winterspring]

I'll have a go

Brawn Mercedes
#1: Jenson Button
#2: Nico Rosberg

Jenson won the championship in the last race beating Barrichello. Barrichello knew by then he was going to get the axe by Japan, so Brawn lured Rosberg to their team. As Mercedes bought a stake in the team, the team stuck with the Mercedes engine and much to their delight.

Red Bull - Toyota
#3: Mark Webber
#4: Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull as we know stuck with their line-up but since Renault left F1, the team struggled to find an engine supplier but were surprised when Toyota was allowed to update their engine with permission. Red Bull felt that the quick growth of the Toyota engines would be very useful for the team.

Ferrari
#5: Felipe Massa
#6: Fernando Alonso

Not surprisingly, Fernando Alonso arrived and knew that if he was driving for Ferrari, he would be treated equally with Felipe Massa which he accepted. Kimi left the team and with Santander on the board for Ferrari, they hope with this team they can win the championship.

McLaren - Mercedes
#7: Lewis Hamilton
#8: Robert Kubica

Heikki nearly kept his seat after very good performances in Suzuka and Interlagos where he picked up podiums but he knew he was going to get the axe. Kubica was quickly picked up by McLaren as they knew they have a proven race winner with excellent pace who would challenge for the title with Lewis. Lewis continued to get up the higher ends of the points and hopes for a great campaign in 2010.

Williams - Ferrari
#9: Kimi Raikkonen
#10: Nico Hulkenburg

One of the biggest surprises of the year was Kimi signing for Williams. With Nakajima gone to Toyota, Rosberg going to Brawn and Williams before the engine upgrade by Toyota, decided to use Ferrari engines as Mercedes didn't want to supply them. Nico Hulkenburg who had done very well in GP2, was in a heartbeat signed by Frank Williams.

Toyota
#11: Timo Glock
#12: Kazuki Nakajima

Trulli and Toyota parted ways as Trulli decided enough was enough. Nakajima who was unlucky in 2009 was picked up by Toyota who knew that he has potential. Toyota complained that their engines were the weakest by far which proved to be true and they where allowed to upgrade it. Toyota knew that Timo Glock was the key to their future and signed him up for even longer. Ralf Schumacher decided to help Toyota by working with them.

Force India - Mercedes
#14: Adrian Sutil
#15: Vitantonio Liuzzi

With excellent performances in the end of the season. Mallaya knew that this was the team he created and wanted, so he signed both drivers very quickly.

STR - Ferrari
#16: Sebastian Buemi
#17: Jaime Algersuari

Nothing really just the same team because they see potential.

US F1-Cosworth
#18: Scott Speed
#19: Ryan Hunter-Reay

Going for the All-USA team. They knew that Scott Speed had potential but he had a problem with attitude but has changed over his time at NASCAR, they knew he had recent F1 experience so it was a plus for them. Hunter-Reay won a shootout against Kyle Busch and was quickly signed on to race for them.

Campos – Cosworth
#20: Pedro De La Rosa
#21: Vitaly Petrov

As expected, De La Rosa got the seat however the biggest surprise was that Bruno Senna didn't get the seat but Vitaly Petrov help them progress in the future and to bring some youth in the team.

Manor - Cosworth
#22: Heikki Kovalainen
#23: Anthony Davidson

Heikki was axed by McLaren and he was anger after not being treated equally but didn't take it out on anyway but signed on to Manor to help them and to be Number One in the team and hopes to beat McLaren. Anthony Davidson was signed on because the team knew that they have a very good driver in their hands who is still kind of young and has experience.

New Sauber - Cosworth
#24: Nick Heidfeld
#25: Christian Klien

Heidfeld stuck by the new team as BMW quit the sport. They decided to go with their former test driver who they know is a good driver which made this team.

Lotus - Cosworth
#26: Takuma Sato
#27: Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean who was unlucky that Renault quit was persued by Lotus as they know he has recent experience and they went with Sato to help with the car.

[CarlosFerreira]

Williams - Ferrari

!
Thus just in: it's snowing in hell.