What a season this promises to be. Yes, we haven't finished 2009 yet, but for me that is already a forgone conclusion. Button and Brawn have run into the distance and it is too late to catch them. So why not look ahead?
2010 sees a number of changes hit the sport, in regards to the driver market, rules and regulations, and the number of teams themselves. There is a good chance of having 26 cars on the grid for next year, and certainly Mr Ecclestone will be doing everything in his power to ensure this happens. His future visions for F1 escalate year by year and certainly he is looking to bring in teams who will be able to challenge the big names. We see this with new boys USF1, Lotus GP, Manor GP and Campos Meta, from all corners of the globe.
Refuelling will be banned completely, which means lap times will be slower and races will be longer, but tyre changes will still be allowed. In 2005 Ecclestone experimented similarly in the reverse, allowing refuelling but no tyre changes. Needless to say, it failed, and I won't be surprised if this latest scheme of his to "spice up" the racing action is also ditched for 2011.
Media attention over the past few months has been based upon Fernando Alonso's move to Ferrari, alleged as the worst kept secret in Formula 1 from around June 2008. As it happened, the contract was signed only three days before the announcement just two weeks ago.
Nevertheless, the Spaniard lines up for the Scuderia next year, alongside Brazilian Felipe Massa who is confident enough to get back into an F1 car after his horror shunt in Hungary earlier this summer. Surely this bodes well for Ferrari, with two of the most gifted drivers in world motorsport representing the Prancing Horse for at least the next two years. However, the team will be under heavy pressure to produce the right car this year, as it was obvious that the F60 did not live up to the high expectations of the Tifosi. The car was poor and for me, a big let down.
Of course this shoves Kimi Raikkonen out in the dirt for 2010. And it will be interesting to see where he ends up, be it in F1, rallying, or sitting at home in Finland watching it all from the sofa. For me, he is the naturally quickest driver on the grid; his raw speed cannot be questioned, nor his desire to do well, even if his press conferences leave something to be desired. He managed to win the Belgian GP this year and strung together a series of podium finishes in a car that couldn't be balanced correctly anywhere, even on the scales. The hot tip is a return to his former team, McLaren (to partner Hamilton), but seeing as he left them in bad taste, you have to wonder if they will be willing to have him back. Despite that, I'm pretty sure Kimi knows where he's going to be next year, and good luck to him.
Red Bull maintain their current line-up for next year of Vettel and Webber, and are expected to be the only team to keep things unchanged in the transition from 09 to 10. It was announced this week that Robert Kubica is to join Renault, again, another driver with raw pace who has jumped ship (just in time) from the sinking wreck that is currently BMW. These are the only confirmed positions at this stage, however, Jenson Button is expected to stay on at Brawn, Rubens Barrichello is apparently undecided and another veteran, Jarno Trulli, is reportedly staying with Toyota. No doubt over the coming weeks we will learn a whole lot more.
Race-wise, the F1 circus will roll into Korea for the very first time in late 2010, we go back to the forests and Hockenheim for the German round, which for me is a pity, as I have a penchant for the Nurburgring, and Canada also returns to the calendar after a two year break. One other slight alteration is the opening round - Bahrain, a week earlier, on 14th March. A literal baptism of fire for the new teams in the heat-haze.
And so as we arrive at the finish of the 2009 season with visits to Brazil and the premiere of Abu Dhabi, one eye focuses on the future, and what more fantastic racing action the new drivers, rules and cars will bring.
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