2009 Formula One Season

I’m not often right about things but I couldn’t have been more right when, a year ago, I knew posting to this blog would play second fiddle to everything else in my life. And it did. 

Here we are, four weeks out from the Formula One season opener in Australia. I can’t wait. Although most teams have remained stable as far as drive lineups go the cars are anything but carryovers from ‘08. The FIA has made major changes to the car regs and they claim it’ll shake things up this year as far as excitement on the track. But who could argue with the Championship last year? It was absolutely fantastic except for all the petty penalties that the officials like to randomly dole out. Or, in the case of some, the penalties the officials don’t hand out. 2008 proved just how random, and at times, completely unnecessary, those penalties were. As long as you weren’t a Ferrari fan in’08, the Championship action on the track was generally the best in many, many years. Sure, Schumacher had a few “close” races with Raikkonen, Montoya and Alonso but he never was truly hassled and bothered consistently from race to race. And that is what set 2008 apart.

Drivers like Kubica and Kovalanien got maiden wins and Kubica actually led the Championship for awhile. The first for both of those feats for him and the first for a Polish driver in F1. Renault’s late season form, and Alonso’s bravado and the McLaren chip on his shoulder, made the last half of the season nail-biting. Thankfully, Ferrari added some tension relief at a few wet races and one stellar night race. OK, Sutil being punted out of 4th by Raikkonen (no penalty? Come on Stewards? It’s not like he’s Michael!) at Monaco wasn’t the least bit funny. But, Massa’s string of wet spins a few races later looked like his stead was forever caught in the downward spin of a toilet flush.

2009 car regulations are so mixed up from last season the machinery no longer looks like they were dried in wind tunnels. Now, they harken back to cars of yester-year and from a junior formulae. Generally, I haven’t seen a flattering photo yet of a 2009 contender. Shame. My bet is that at least half the starting grid will need a nose cone replaced before the first race is over. A team or two may actually run out of replacement noses, oh my!

Safety Fast!