Jenson Button, a championship threat?

I know he's the 2009 F1 World Champion and all, and he's British and and and....but realistically, is there a hope for him in 2010?

Firstly, his team mate is Lewis, who will be faster than him at least 95% of the time (sorry, Button fans but I just think Hamilton is the new Schumacher) and then there is of course Schumacher who is bound to be lightning fast in that works Mercedes, cuz he's gotta prove all the critics and we all know Schumi would have never gotten into an F1 car unless he thought he still had a chance at the title.

Then there is of course Vettel, Massa & Alonso all of which will be fast...like, really fast. Just mentioning all those names doesn't leave space for Button in my mind.

I'm not a Hamilton, Massa, Vettel or Alonso fan but I just think Button was a bit lucky with the package he had last year. Do you think that if Lewis, Kimi or Fernando would have had the same package Jenson would have had a fighting chance?

Jenson is a deserved champion of 2009 with all things taken into consideration and am very happy that he won (well thats a lie as I was a Kimi fan) but I honestly dont see Button even in the top 3 for 2010...??

Kimi Raikkonen, dead & burried?

Dont think so!! I think his transfer to WRC is the biggest news in motor racing for a long time, one could even argue bigger news than Schumi back in an F1 seat.

Quite a bold move by the 2007 F1 World Champ, competing against the likes of Loeb & Hirvonen he'll certaily have his work cut out.

Allthough I was a hard core follower of the "Iceman" during his 7 years in F1, I think his personality will fit WRC better, as lets face it, they're all pretty boring and montone in front of a camera.

He'll have lots of fellow Finns he can drink vodka with too and now he can really put the "Iceman" name to the test, can he drive on the ice or not? They might be calling him the "Snowman", "Snowplow" or even "Icemonkey" depending on his performance.

There is no doubt that Kimi is one of the most natrually gifted F1 drivers I have ever seen but is this the right move for him? I think one things for sure, if he does well in WRC we wont see him behind a wheel of an F1 car again..???

USF1 Team - Real competition?

True to their roots, the new US team have confirmed their 2010 car's first run will take place on home soil in the United States. The new machine will make its test debut at the Barber Motorsport Park in Alabama early next month.

The US team is one of four new squads joining the grid this year, along with Lotus, Campos and Virgin, but they are the only one based outside of Europe, which means they will not be joining the first of February's pre-season tests in Spain.

Open wheel racing seems to be the backbone of the teams expertise, with John Anderson (isn't that the guy from "The Matrix" movie) taking the role as Team Manager, Ken Anderson (they've got 2 agents from "The Matrix", F1 look out) a shock absorber engineer as Team Principal and Peter Windsor, a journalist as Sporting Director. I think this team of Matrix agents and reporters will have their work cut out for them in the world of Fomula 1.

I dont quite inderstand the logic behind them starting a team from scratch when there were etsblished F1 teams on the market for sale. Brawn is a great example of buying a team with everything already in place then tweaking it to win a championship. None of the top flight management have any F1 racing pedigree except for Peter Windsor in the capacity of a journalist but I doubt that will get them on the podium.

F1 will be tough nut for them to crack, I dont expect them to be getting any top 10 places next year but who cares, because Bernie has given them his blessing but why wouldn't he...?

source: www.vipf1.com

Schumacher 2010 champ?

With Schumacher back in the driving seat of an F1 car, you have to wonder, has he still got what it takes to compete with the young guns. Technically, Schuey never really retired from F1 as he's been assisting Ferrari in their efforts but there has been a lot of technical advancements and changes since he gave up his seat. So there are a few questions lingering:

1. Is he fit enough?
2. Is he quick enough?
3. Is he mentally in the right place?
4. Is there enough time for him to get out of his cigar jacket and back into his race suit?

"At some point the season is going to get very tough and it's going to get unpleasant and it might bring back memories of why he retired in the first place," said Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion.

There is a lot more competition out there today, the cars are much closer in terms of technical ability, in general, the drivers are younger, hungrier and reaching their prime whilst Schumacher reached his prime some time ago. In my opinion it's going to be tough for him to break in to the winning circle.

There is no doubt that Michael Schumacher was the most successful F1 driver in history but is this just another Bernie trick to increase his F1 TV money ? or has Schmacher still really got what it takes to be the 2010 champ?

source: www.vipf1.com