Swindon Music

Okay, lets do this from the start so we can look back on it at the end of the season.

Is Jenson Buttons move to McLaren a good one?
Only time will tell. I think he is going to struggle against possibly the fastes guy in F1 at the moment in Hamilton. Some people say that looking after the tyres will be a factor and Jenson will do better, but I disagree, there was a race this season where Hamilton only pitted once and looked after his tyres extremely well.

My forecast then for the upcoming season:-

1: Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
2: Jenson Button / Fernando Alonso - McLaren / Ferrari
3: Massa / Vettel
4: Mark Webber

Why do I have Massa down as third, well, here's why I think that:-

a) He has had his one year but blew it, the Stewards wont be so nice in future.
b) He had the big accident, a lot of drivers are not the same after such an incident
c) Alonso at Ferrari, I cant help but think that there must be some sort of clause in there that allows him a No1 status, he would not accept it otherwise after his rubbish year at McLaren. This would demote Massa to playing second fiddle again.

Either way this pans out, it is going to be a close run thing and I, for one, am really looking forward to the first race.

What are your views on this and predictions for next year?

I cannot wait for the season to start!

Personally although I was pleased Jenson took the title, I actually was disappointed Barichello didn't get it, he put in some absolutely outstanding drives and I felt he deserved at least second if not the title.

My forecast;
1. Hamilton - got to be, his car was on top form towards the very end of the season and if they can continue that, with the added rivalry between him and Jenson he's got no reason not to take his title back, he is the most skilled driver in F1 and if he has a car to match his ability he looks set to do it.

2. Alonso/Massa - Alonso has been waiting for his chance to shine and is finally about to be given it, he is a brilliant driver he just lacks consistency, if he should slip up I think Massa will be prime to take his place, I totally agree with your reasons as to why he may not do too well this season but for me the sheer determination he has shown to get back into the drivers seat makes me think he is not going to take this season lightly. Also I think his new team-mate in Alonso will only spur him on, he will not just roll over and let them indugle Alonso.

3. A tough one so I'm hedging my bets! Vettel/Button - needs no explination, they both put in fantastic performances last year and theres no reason why they shouldn't recreate that, I just feel they will be pushed back by my top 2

4. Barrichello/Webber and possibly a wildcard in the shape of Bruno Senna, we all know of his racing pedigree and thats something a good car can't give you, it will be very interesting to see how he fares against the best in the world with the expectations of the world on his shoulders!

Roll on 14th March!

Such relief, I hate that ratty looking twat.

It will be different thats for sure, a more aerodynamic Jenson with a shave & Mclaren corporate haircut.

I think i'll wait till after the first test before I make any predictions, after all who would have predicted anything that happened this year a year ago?

I'm sure the Hamilton/Button, Alonso/Massa & Vettel/Webber combinations are gonna be fighting for the major points at most races, assuming that they all have competitive cars. The suggested Mercedes GP line up could be a dark horse though, both Rosberg & Heidfeld are solid regular points scorers. Button & Barrichello, despite both having won races, weren't expected to be winning races a year ago.

Also with so many drivers still not confirmed there will probably be a few surprise names in F1 next year, new ones & possible returnees.

Personally I reckon if you have a good/ strange name, you should get a seat automatically ( not me, i'm too old), so heres a few names to look out for over the next few years.

Renger Van Der Zande - Runner up in the British F3 championship.
Bertrand Baguette - Winner of Renault World Series ( testing for Renault F1 team next month)
Julian Juisse - saw him in Monaco last year in Formula Renault, & liked the name, he was quick too.

I'm working on an idea for a little train journey at the moment, Swindon/Barcelona/Monaco/Swindon.

I managed to get from Nice to the Queens Tap in 13 hours last year (by train), i reckon i can get it down to under 12 hours next year.

Well, latest news apparently has Michael Schumacher talking with Mercedes. Now that will be interesting.

This coming season could be so good. Button and Hamilton, the last 2 world champs and both British in a British car, possibly Shu back in F1 and Alonso back in what should be an improved Ferrari. Not to mention the new look Mercedes team. Could be very entertaining. I fancy McLaren and their dream team for the constructors.

Looks to me like he may well have signed for Mercedes for undiscosed fee (but some are guessing around £7,000,000). If this is true then I can only think it is good because of the attention he will bring to the sport.

New points system looks like it will be ratified, so Bernie has got his way with a Medal for wins system if you look at the way the points will be shared out.

Kovvaleinan has a drive. Lotus have him and Trulli, so this is also good news.

All in all, with Button and Hamilton together, I see a very good year for F1 in 2010.

Bring on the new season.

It appears that after the first test of the new decade, Ferrari dominate the times.

Where have you heard that one before?

Who is actually looking forward to this year? I used to be a massive fan of this 'sport' back when it was considered a sport, long before it has turned into a load of PR rubbish.

I for one, am well looking forward to the start of the season.

By the way, having worked for Williams for 1 year and been to 4 test sessions in Jerez, I can tell you now that the Papers and reporters make a story out of nothing regards times.
It all depends on what they are testing. Could be tyres, could be fuel weights, could be anything and therefore are not too fussed about the times.

All very true however, my comment about the state of the sport still stands. It has lost so much magic in the last 10 years.

Oh no, BMW didnt win a race so off they trott, likewise Toyota. Whatever happened to the sporting nature of those old teams that competed year after year at the highest level only to finish last, if at all. The likes of Minardi, Tyrell and Jorden should be held in such high regard for showing us all that the 'little guy' can indeed cut it.

So Toyota didnt win a race! Is that really going to stop them from selling more cars than any other brand in the world. It just smacks of 'its my ball and I am going home' mentality and it dissapoints me.

Dont get me wrong, every so often a super race does take place and I will still keep up with it this year but for me, the best years are behind this sport. I mean, no refuelling?? WHAT??!! What a load of rubbish.

Thats just my opinion and I could be wrong, its happened in the past.

That's why you see a lot of criticism of manufacturer teams in the sport. They buy out the independent teams and when they aren't getting results... simply stop taking part.

F1 wasn't bad when there wasn't refueling before, so don't go knocking it just yet!

fing is, yeah, its all done on computers an s**t now anyway innit. they should have some more fit birds drivin the cars, or give them red shells like mario karts got yeah

s'fucking s**t really

Now now Mr. Sam - hahahahahahaha

Yeh, see where you guys are coming from. I have been watching F1 since the early 80's and you are never going to get racing like that again, same as you wont get footballers tackling hard and snooker players headbutting refs etc etc.....Because all sport has so much money involved that any mis-demeanour is immediately replaced with a ban or Sponsorship pullout.

As for no refuelling, you should have seen some of the races when it used ot be like this, they were awesome, but again, would you get away with Senna's old saying nowadays "If you dont let me by there will be a big accident".

I just think, providing one team is not way ahead of the others, that this year is gonna be exciting. I guess we will find out after the first three or four races.

One of the things I wish they would do though is Limit the revs on the engine to say 15,000 and let the cars have more mechanical grip (Wider tyres, bigger rear wing etc etc)......

Wasn't there a race in Spain during the 80's where like 6 cars finished ridiculously close together because they couldn't overtake?
Difference these days is that all the teams are so much closer to each other and the cars are far better technically.

Well, this is the type of driving you used to get:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu9T9B1Rg00

Cant imagine them getting away with that nowadays as they would be crying, well, the stewards would be wetting themselves and ecclestone having a major heart attack. This is when they had mechanical grip.