2010 Chinese Grand Prix Preview

The fourth and final round of the traditional fly-away start to the season sees Formula One arrive in Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix, but only just. Many teams had arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday, which was just before many European airports closed down over the Icelandic ash cloud which has halted many european sports so far this weekend. Red Bull's Christian Horner had said on Friday that many of his team were "terribly lucky" that they had managed to get out to China and without them, they would have struggled to compete this weekend.

Sebastien Vettel goes into China yet again as the man to beat after his breaktrhough win in Malaysia two weeks ago. Had it not been for two unfortunate incidents in the opening two races, Vettel would have been comfortably leading the championship on a maximum 75 points due to this new points system which has seen the championship table spread out between so many drivers separated by so few points. After the earlier criticisms of the new regulations and how they could be boring the sport, to have so many vying for that top spot is mostly in thanks to the new points system, where championship positions can now change regulary after each race, which is a delightful relief from the old system where first and second place was only seperated by a measly two points.

The Shanghai International circuit is now into its sixth year and since has produced its own share of entertainment. But, sadly the track itself seems to lack imagination and a challange with many long, sweeping, flat out corners and the now infamous long straight into a tight hairpin feature. This is yet another Herman Tilke designed "Tilkedromes". One paticular race that springs to mind was in 2006 when a Ferrari red Michael Schumacher overtook the Renualt of Fernando Alonso, who had decided to stay on his already worn tyres despite having a comfortable lead over the German. This also happens to be the last race that Schumacher has won and the way Schumacher has started his return, it looks to be his latest win for a little while yet.

The Chinese Grand Prix however has come in for criticism from many international fans over the staging of the event which has seen an increasing drop in attendences from the Chinese public with many empty seats visable in most of the grandstands. There has been rumours already that thanks to this the Chinese Grand Prix might not be included on the 2011 calender. Such a decision wouldn't surprise me at all as the attendance at the Chinese Grand Prix is questionable and for such a multi-million dollar project to not produce sell out events is just asking for trouble.

The form book for the Chinese Grand Prix is simple. Red Bull still seem supreme and around China it seems to be business as usual. Vettel and Webber just seem so comfortable in the car. Their one-two in qualifying on Saturday morning only confirms this. Fernando Alonso finally out qualified Felipe Massa for the first time since round one and will look to challenge the Red Bulls into turn one. The Spaniard stayed in touch with Vettel in Bahrain and it will be interesting to see what the Ferrari can do in Shanghai despite his engine failure in Malaysia, which Ferrari have gone on to play down their engine reliability fears. The race could be a walk in the park for Red Bull unless Alonso can either overtake them into turn one, or at least keep on tabs with them throughout the race.

Forecasts for the Sunday race predict rain or at least some form of showers. Rain in China has happened before and like any fan, rain is very much appreciated. Vettel will be going for win number two and perhaps finally the lead in the championship. He has lead at some point in every one of the three Grands Prix so far and few would bet against him doing so tomorrow. If the weather decides to make an appearence, then the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix could become a tasty Chinese take-away.

2010 Petronas Malaysian Gp Review

Sebastien Vettel looked like one of the most relieved men in all of the F1 paddock at the conclusion of the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix. Finally the little German had something to smile about after he led home a Red Bull one-two from team-mate Mark Webber and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg. The Mclarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button finished in the points albeit further down in sixth and seventh after a serious qualifying gaffe which compromised their race.

This could have been a third consecutive win for Vettel. After leading for most of the races in Bahrain and Australia, the German fell foul to Red Bull's poor relibility. In Malaysia such gremlins decided not to bother him and after an impressive start from third to first by the first corner including overtaking pole sitter and team mate Webber, Vettel took supreme control of the race and never looked behind.

The monsoon storms that threatened the race never showed which left the race dry and the question regarding F1's new regulations could be answered after the bore of Bahrain and the rain aided Australian race. This dry race provided action, overtaking, retirements and general entertainment. There was a certain relief at seeing the sight of overtaking in the dry. Lewis Hamilton made his way throughout the field after a qualifying mess up at Mclaren left the Briton at the back of the field. The Sepang circuit with its wide sweeping corners encouraged overtaking and it didnt disappoint.

Sebastien Vettel's win in Malaysia is ominous for the rest of the Formula One championship hopefuls. The Red Bull star has been the best and most consistant driver this season. His poles in Bahrain and Australia and third here in Malaysia suggest the Red Bull is incredibly quick over the one lap qualifying and his race pace is just as quick. If this win is a stepping stone for Red Bull's season, then Ferrari, Mclaren and Mercedes will have to watch out. This Red Bull RB5 looks the deal and if they can sort out its relibility, then Vettel could continue to dominate.

The Malaysian race saw the retirment of two World Champions in Fernando Alonso who, after a race of troubled downshifting, suffered an engine failure halfway through the race. The Spaniard, like Mclaren, found himself cought out in the Saturday rain and at the back of the grid, had a tough race and once again found himself behind team mate Massa who now leads the championship and is two points ahead of Alonso. Michael Schumacher's return to the sport has still yet to get quite off the ground. The German retired twenty laps in thanks to wheel nut coming loose in the mid section of the track. With only 9 points from a maximum 75 so far, Schumacher will need to produce something soon enough as team mate Rosberg seems to be far more comfortable in the Mercedes car.

Towards the back of the grid a special mention for Richard Branson's Virgin team after three races finally got to the chequered flag thanks to a finish from Lucas Di Grassi. After a tough winter testing dogged by relibility troubles and more recently controversy surrounding the legality of their fuel tank, the team finally made it to the flag.

The season opening fly-away Grands Prix continue apace. Next stop is Shanghai in China. Last years Grand Prix in China saw a record low attendance with viewer interest in the country dropping by the year. A switch towards the start of the season last year was made to encourage more viewers but was a fail in the eyes of the race's organisers. Will this year see the same sights as last year like an empty 80,000 seater stand which seemed an absolute disgrace. The Shanghai circuit has produced some interesting races these last few years. Sebastien Vettel won there last year and the way things are going, it could be the exact same situation in two weeks time.

2010 Quantas Australian Grand Prix: F1 Back on Track

If the Australian Grand Prix was prescribed medication, it was just what the doctor ordered without a doubt. The 2010 Australian Grand Prix produced, like the many times beforehand, a race of unpredictability, weather changes, crashes, safety cars and a podium of three drivers which the bookies would have licked their lips at. Jenson Button in only his second race for Mclaren produced a champions drive ahead of the surprising Robert Kubica of Renault and Felipe Massa in the Ferrari. After the processional boredom of Bahrain, Australia set the record straight.

For any spectator unpredictable weather is almost dreamy, for the driver an team it can be quite the opposite. Rain had threatened to fall for most of Saturday and Sunday and it managed to finally make up its mind ten minutes before the start, sending the grid into a craze. Dry tyres were changed to intermediates as the race got underway.

Jenson Button's first win came in the wet of Hungary in 2006, this time he produced what could be one of the decisions of the 2010 season, only 6 laps in the Brit made the bold move to switch to dry tyres. Alot of people thought it was too early and many thought they were right when they saw Button's Mclaren go well wide after only a couple of corners. Soon enough, Button began to produce personal bests after personal bests, ushering the other teams to follow suit. This leap-frogged the Briton into second which could have been first had it not been for that earlier off.

One has to wonder where has Lady Luck been for some of Sebastien Vettel's biggest moments. In Bahrain he fell victim to a spark plug failure which dropped him to fourth despite leading the race from the start. In Melbourne, he was comfortably in the lead when suddenly he found himself beached in Albert Park's notorious gravel traps. The Mclaren mechanics were shocked as they were delighted as this propelled Jenson into the lead from which he never looked back. Vettel's luck would have to be likened to that of former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen during his time at Mclaren, where very unlucky reliability problems robbed the Finn of precious points and ultimately the World Championship. Vettel is already 25 points off Fernando Alonso, who recovered from an opening lap spin to finish fourth. Even with the new points system, to claw back that from someone as consistent as the Spaniard would be some achievement.

Lewis Hamilton had a weekend to forget. Not only was he stopped by the Melbourne Police and had his car impounded for speeding, but he also had to start from a lowely eleventh. Nevertheless the 2008 Champion produced some moments of brilliance to at one point bring him up to third and hound down the Renault of Kubica and looking good to overtake him. This was during a time when many cars headed to pits once again to take on fresh rubber and it was Mclaren that brought in Hamilton and left Jenson out. This pushed Hamilton down the order yet again and at one point it looked the right decision. Hamilton was catching cars in front of him at almost two seconds a lap. With eight laps to go he was on the gear box of Fernando Alonso. But Formula One's famous dirty air came into play once again. Hamilton had no answer and was unable to get passed the Ferrari. Home favourite Mark Webber, who was following suit, ultimately judged his braking point towards the end of the lap, slamming into the back of Hamilton. Webber had to pit, while Hamilton was able to continue on to finish sixth from what could have been second. Afterwards Hamilton was critical of the team's decision to bring him in.

After all the hype surrounding Button's move to Mclaren and the worry that he was essentially moving to "Lewis Hamilton's Team", it was the defending World Champion that managed to take McClaren's first win of the season. The retirement of Sebastien Vettel did of course help the Briton hugely but Button's drive nevertheless was faultless. Button's particular smooth driving style favoured the Melbourne track and never had to pit for a second set of dry tyres, such was his brilliant management of his rubber. Hamilton will now realise that he certainly does have a challenge on him in Button, who was quicker over the weekend. This is just the beginning of a potentially fascinating battle between two very good drivers. Red Bull once again squandered great track position and came away with only a handful of points. They may have the fastest car but reliability is so much more than raw speed. Ferrari still look the best in this category. Always renowned for their brilliant reliability, this years car also has the pace to match it, and although they couldn't make it another one-two, they will take this third-fourth with pleasure and move on to Malaysia.

The return of Michael Schumacher still doesn't seem to be going to plan. The German finished an anonymous tenth and spent the entire race battling a Toro Rosso, a far cry from his glory days. Some were delighted to see him come out of retirement, others feared it might not be such a wise idea and believed he left in 2006 at the right time. This year could prove to be quite embarrassing for the mighty German, but it is still early days.

Although the Australian Grand Prix was dramatic one would have to wonder had it been as such without the changing weather and the safety car period. Though these two provided ingredients for exciting racing the race could have been just as dull as Bahrain had they never appeared. The way Lewis Hamilton was unable to pass the slower Ferrari on old tyres and lacking in grip speaks volumes. Formula One still needs to solve its overtaking problems, not all races can be wet and have unpredictable weather.

Two down, seventeen more to go, the F1 season is only premature still. We've have had two races which produced quite contrasting results in terms of entertainment. The next race in a weeks time in Kuala Lumpor, Malaysia will continue to answer questions that seriously need answering. Melbourne did the world of F1 a favour, but we could be back to square one in just a weeks time. This only adds to the billing of what looks to be a fascinating season.