Driver Line-up
McLaren Line-up | ||
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Heikki Kovalainen Having clinched his maiden victory in 2008, Heikki will once again race for McLaren in the new year. But can he challenge Lewis for the title? |
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Lewis Hamilton Lewis fulfilled his potential in 2008 becoming F1's youngest-ever World Champion, which means in 2009 he is the man to beat... |
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Ferrari Line-up | ||
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Kimi Raikkonen The reigning Champ failed to live up to his billing in 2008, claiming just two wins from 18 races. However, expect Kimi to fight back in 2009... |
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Giancarlo Fisichella Starting the year with Force India, a podium finish at Spa earned Giancarlo Fisichella the drive of a lifetime as he's off to Ferrari for the final five races... |
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Felipe Massa Drivers' title runner-up Massa will be looking to go one better in 2009. But can Ferrari fix the mistakes the cost him the title by a point in 2008... |
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Luca Badoer Luca Badoer admits he faces a difficult task at this weekend's European Grand Prix. The 38-year-old, who was appointed as Felipe Massa's replacement after Michael Schumacher called off his F1 comeback due to an injury, will make his first Formula One appearance in nearly 10 years when he gets behind the wheel of Ferrari's F60 in Valencia. Badoer has been unable to get some much-needed mileage ahead of his big return due to the testing ban, which makes his task even harder. "I am very motivated to make the most of this opportunity, even if I know I am facing a tough challenge, especially during the first couple of days in Valencia," the Italian told the official Ferrari website. "It will effectively be a test session for me, but I will be trying my best to secure a good result. I have to say, my first thoughts when I take to the track will be for Felipe, because I got a real fright when I saw his accident. "I am delighted that he is making a good recovery and I hope he will be back racing as soon as possible. I have to add that I am also thinking of Michael, because having trained with him over the last few weeks, I know how much he wanted to make this comeback and how much effort he was putting into his preparation." |
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Luca Badoer Italian driver Luca Badoer is returning to F1 racing after a ten-year absence to replace the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari... |
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BMW-Sauber Line-up | ||
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Nick Heidfeld Finishing sixth in 2008, Nick will remain at BMW in 2009. However, he needs to get the better of his team-mate if he hopes to continue... |
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Robert Kubica Having claimed BMW's first pole and first win and finishing fourth in the standings, Robert should be set to mount a title challenge in 2009... |
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Renault Line-up | ||
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Fernando Alonso Having opted to stay at Renault, Alonso will be bouyed by the team's strong finish to 2008. But can they carry it through and put up a challenge in 2009? |
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Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso is keen to draw a line under the Singapore race-fixing scandal and instead concentrate on this weekend's race, insisting things are back to normal at Renault. The Spaniard was cleared of any wrongdoing at the FIA hearing on Monday where his team were handed a suspended permanent disqualification from F1 after it was revealed members of the team ordered Nelson Piquet Jr to deliberately crash during last year's race in Singapore, creating the opportunity for Alonso to win. Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have left the team while Bob Bell has been appointed acting team principal for the remainder of the season and Alonso is eager to move on from the incident. "I was in Paris to co-operate with the FIA and help in the investigation," he said. "I am happy that everything is clear now and I am also happy it is clear that I was not involved in the incident. "It has been a difficult time for the team but it is the past and behind us and now we move on. "Everything is completely normal. Pat (Symonds) and Flavio (Briatore) are not here but there are another two people doing similar jobs so for the team there is no difference at all compared to any other race. "We concentrate now on this race and then the next in Japan and life continues." Alonso's own future at the team remains in doubt, however, and speculation that he is set to move on increased this week after Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo indicated Kimi Raikkonen may not remain at the team for next season. And when asked who he will drive for next year, Alonso said: "That is a good question to answer. Hopefully I will know soon." Alonso's success in Singapore last year was quickly followed by his only other win in an otherwise frustrating season at the Japanese Grand Prix and the two-time World Champion is confident he can once again be competitive under the lights at the Marina Bay street circuit. "My expectations are quite high for this track to be honest," he added. "We were quick in Hungary and quite quick in Monaco and Singapore is like a combination of these two tracks. "We really believe we can be competitive on this track so we will give our maximum effort for a good qualifying and then have a good race and hopefully improve on our best result so far this year." |
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Nelson Piquet Jr Nelson Piquet Jr have been given the boot by Renault, who opted to drop the Brazilian in the wake of another point-less race in Hungary... |
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Romain Grosjean Romain Grosjean has been called up by Renault to replace the axed Nelson Piquet Jr. But can the French driver live up to Flav's high standards? |
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Toyota Line-up | ||
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Jarno Trulli With Toyota's first win still appearing to be someway off in the distance, Jarno Trulli will at least be hoping for a few more podium finishes... |
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Timo Glock An solid showing in his first season back in F1 has earned Timo Glock a new Toyota contract and a seat in the fight to claim the team's first win... |
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Kamui Kobayashi Handed a chance to make his Formula One debut for Toyota in Brazil thanks to an unfortunate injury suffered by Timo Glock, Kamui Kobayashi joins the team as the defending GP2 Asia series Champion. |
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Toro Rosso Line-up | ||
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Sebastien Bourdais Seb will remain with Toro Rosso in 2009 after finally being confirmed in February. But he'll need a vast improvement to stay around a third year... |
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Red Bull Line-up | ||
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Mark Webber After a more reliable season and a few added points, Mark headsinto 2009 bouyed with confidence. But can he keep new team-mate Vettel at bay? |
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Sebastian Vettel Seb Vettel outdid himself and his Toro Rosso car in 2008, even bagging the team's first pole and win in Italy. But in 2009 he's off to Red Bull... |
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Williams Line-up | ||
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Nico Rosberg With Williams having shown signs of promise and improvement in 2008, Nico Rosberg will be hoping for a better showing in 2009... |
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Kazuki Nakajima Kazuki Nakajima will remain at Williams in 2009 - but he will need better results if he wants to extend his contract beyond that... |
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Force India Line-up | ||
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Giancarlo Fisichella Starting the year with Force India, a podium finish at Spa earned Giancarlo Fisichella the drive of a lifetime as he's off to Ferrari for the final five races... |
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Vitantonio Liuzzi Tonio Liuzzi will return to Formula One racing with Force India, after being called up to replace the Ferrari-bound Giancarlo Fisichella... |
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Adrian Sutil Sutil may not have scored any points in 2008 but a strong fourth place in Monaco before being shunted out ensured he was able to show his class... |
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Brawn GP Line-up | ||
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Jenson Button Jense will remain in F1 this season after Ross Brawn bought the former Honda team. But with little testing under their belts, times will be tough... |
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Rubens Barrichello Just when it seemed his time was up, Rubens Barrichello has been handed a F1 lifeline by Ross Brawn, the new owner of Brawn GP, formerly Honda... |
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