Alright race fans, the first practice session is in the bag, with McLaren on top. There's a slight chance of rain for qualifying, but we're in for a dry race. Besides the rule changes, there have been a shuffling of a few drivers too. To help make sense of it all, here's a rundown of the 2011 grid.
The Contenders:
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Red Bull Racing - Renault
There are two Red Bull teams, this is the primary one. As the name suggests, these cars are powered by Renault engines. This team took the 2010 Contructor's Championship, winning nine out of nineteen races and scoring 498 points, but it certainly wasn't easy. Besides some mechanical issues, a fierce rivalry broke out between their drivers, which caused a few errors between the teammates. Expect this rivalry to continue for 2011.
Sebastian Vettel (Germany) - He's the returning champion that grabbed five wins and 256 points in the 2010 season. At 23 years old, he has a long and promising career in front of him, but some errors and judgment last season also highlighted his lack of experience. He is currently the youngest driver to ever start and score a point in an F1 race (he was 19 when he filled-in for an injured driver at the 2007 Canadian GP).
Mark Webber (Australia) - In the 2010 season, Webber won four races and scored a total of 242 points. He was fighting for the championship all the way up to the end despite a terrifying crash at the race in Valencia where he ran over the back wheels of a slower car and was launched skyward, flipping backwards, landing upside-down, rolled back over and slid into the tire barrier. Luckily, he escaped with only minor injuries. He's known to have the "widest car" on the grid, meaning, he's very difficult to pass.
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McLaren-Mercedes
Besides competing (and sometimes dominating) in F1, McLaren has also made a name for itself at the Indy 500 and in Can-Am racing. There are also a few supercars that wore the McLaren badge, maybe you've heard of them. The team debuted in 1966 and has won eight Constructor's Championships and 12 Driver's Championships since then. The team finished in second place, with five wins and 454 points. The current drivers have one of the more harmonious relationships on the grid -- stark contrast to the days of Senna and Prost.
Lewis Hamilton (England) - Lewis Hamilton has been tied to the McLaren team since the age of ten. As part of the team's Young Driver Support Program, Hamilton rose through the ranks of European formula racing until his F1 debut in 2007. When he passed a slower car in the last turn of the last lap of the last race of the 2008 season, he clinched the Driver's Championship, becoming the youngest titleholder at only 23 years old. He held that distinction until Vettel took the 2010 Championship.
Jenson Button (England) - Button started his career with plenty of fanfare and high expectations in 2000. A series of unfortunate team choices and bad luck kept him out of the running until his first win in 2006, but even that victory was partially attributed to luck. Good luck shone on Button in the 2009 season, when he took the newly formed Brawn GP car to six victories and the Driver's Championship.
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Ferrari
No mention of Formula One is complete without including the Ferrari name. Since the team's debut in 1950, the Scuderia has won 16 Constructor's and 15 Driver's Championships - more than any other team in history. Ferrari's determination to winning has not been without some controversy, with many accusing F1's governing body with favoritism. Whether or not you choose to believe the accusations, it's hard to argue that Ferrari is anything but passionate and focused on dominating the sport.
Fernando Alonso (Spain) - Alonso is one of the most talented racers in the field with some of the richest resources at his disposal. As a two-time champion (back-to-back, no less), he is as calculating as he is aggressive. Like the team he represents, his career is not without some controversy. With rather strong rumors of blackmail and devious maneuvers in the pits and off the track, Alonso is one of the more polarizing characters in F1.
Felipe Massa (Brazil) - Massa's not a contender for the championship, though it doesn't hurt that he drives a championship-worthy car. Massa almost won the 2008 championship until Hamilton pipped him (see above), but hasn't been as competitive since. In 2009 he was struck in the helmet by an errant suspension spring while on a high-speed section of the Hungarian GP and plowed into the tire barrier. Massa was in critical condition initially and later received a titanium plate on his skull. His bravery is undeniable, but it's unlikely he'll be battling Alonso wheel-to-wheel.
The Rest of the Field:
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Mercedes GP - This is the official Mercedes-Benz team, which was formerly the Brawn GP team, which was formerly the Honda F1 team. Last year, after three years in retirement, seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher (Germany) returned to race with his former technical director Ross Brawn who were part of the Ferrari "dream team" that dominated F1 for the better part of a decade. Schumacher never quite got the hang of the 2010 Mercedes, but that should all change now that he has been integral to developing the 2011 car. Schumacher is joined by Nico Rosberg (Germany), son of 1982 F1 champ Keke Rosberg. Youth and skill vs. age and treachery? You betcha.
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Lotus Renault GP - Things get complicated here. There are two teams featuring the Lotus name, with this one aligned more with the actual Lotus car company and storied F1 team. It was formerly the Renault factory team, but the company has scaled back its racing involvement to be more of an engine supplier. The original lineup was supposed to be Robert Kubica (Poland) and Vitaly Petrov (Russia), but an off-season rally racing crash nearly killed Kubica. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) stepped in to Kubica's spot.
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AT&T Williams - Williams was once a contender for the crown, but has fallen down the standings over the last couple of seasons. F1 veteran Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) and newcomer Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) will be piloting the Cosworth-powered Williams, but probably not at the front of the pack.
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Force India - This team, backed by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, has shown a glimmer of promise in the 2010 season. Lead driver Adrian Sutil (Germany) has been in F1 since 2007 and is joined by rookie Paul di Resta (Scotland) who is the current German Touring Car champion. Di Resta is also the cousin of IRL racer Dario Franchitti.
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Sauber - This team has been competing in F1 since 1993 but has only one win to its credit (2008 Canadian GP piloted by Kubica). Plagued by many race retirements in 2010, we don't expect Sauber to be much of a challenger this year, even if they are powered by a Ferrari engine. Driving duties go to relative newcomer Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) and Sergio Perez (Mexico), both of which came from the GP2 support series.
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Scuderia Toro Rosso - With a name like this, you know there's some Italian blood in there. This is the Red Bull junior team and they're powered by Ferrari. The team debuted in 2006 and has one win to its name, thanks to Sebastian Vettel in 2008. It's been pretty much downhill since then. Sebastian Buemi (Switzerland) and Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) are the drivers.
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Team Lotus - This is a Lotus team in name only. In a roundabout way of acquiring the Lotus name for the 2010 season, this squad was embroiled in a dispute over these rights in the off season. It's a pretty car, but that's about it, as many of the top teams call the Team Lotus cars "moving chicanes." Veteran Jarno Trulli (Italy) and Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) will likely be bringing up the rear.
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HRT - Hispania Racing Team, that is. F1 is an expensive sport and HRT is short on cash. That translates to also-ran drivers and relatively slow cars. Drivers Narain Karthikeyan (India) and Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) both have reputations as backmarkers, so expect them to be lapped quite often.
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Marussia Virgin Racing - There's a joke in here somewhere, but we won't go there. Uber-cool rich dude Richard Branson tossed in a bucketload of cash, but even that's not enough to give this team any credence. If drivers Timo Glock (Germany) or Jerome d'Ambrosio (Belgium) even manage to finish a race, it'll probably be a few laps down on the leaders.
Source : http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2011/03/formula-one-the-grid.html
