F1 2009..rise of a new World Order...

Rags to Riches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

True isnt it.... Team with no backing...Honda had left..leaving few committed men who were driven by a vision.The legendary Ross Brawn backed them with feeble financial support.

And emerged a new team - Brawn GP.No sponsors, new engine suppliers, high costs but belief in their cars and systems..

There 1st job was to prune their employee strength to half....Difficult but vital to survive..

There two drivers who had struggled for the past 2 years heaved a sigh of relief. Finally they had a car to drive and team to back them.

The Rise of the Phoenix - Brawn GP

8 Wins, 4 one-twos, 15 podiums,

Drivers and Constructors World Title

2009 season lived upto its expectations..A few may disagree..Diehard Ferrari fans maybe saddened ( I am one of them). 

Lets first digest the disappointments -

• Controversy with the Double Diffuser row, introduction of KERS ,slick tyres, lower and wider front wings; still the pure racing never died. 
• 2009 also proved to be a season to forget for Renault with the ghosts of last year's Singapore GP coming back to haunt them in the form of Crashgate scandal and eventually Renault losing its prize possession of Alonso to Ferrari and with the charismatic talisman Flavio Briatore gone, Renault looked a shadow of themselves in 2006-07. 
• Decision to leave F1 by BMW, Toyota and may be Renault as I write this...
• Horrific accident to Massa denting any Ferrrari revival hopes and slump in Mclaren performance nevertheless they improved tremendously near then end of season. 
• The talks of a break away group loomed large finally to be resolved with a concorde agreement.

Nevertheless there were a lot of positives to take away namely rise of a new world champion driver and team, emergence of Redbull as a strong contender and Force India being able to prove its metal. The fantastic circuit of AbuDhabi providing a fitting end to a spectacular season. Kudos to Hermann Tilke and the people of UAE for developing a magnificent track and surroundings.

• Stunning start by Button initially was marred by a lull in performance after mid season GP in Silverstone. But he had already paved a way for the title and remained in continuous pursuit.
• Vettel and Webber gave a tough fight with a tightly knit team Redbull behind them, their performances improved as the season went on. Amazing job by Christian Horner.
• The Old Warhorse Barrichello kept it going with a fews wins but could have had more had luck not parted him as it had done so many times in his career. He is too good a driver to be left with no World titles and we maybe seeing the end of his illustrious career come to an end next season in Williams. 
• Raikkonen was patchy I feel yet drove the Ferrari superbly at Spa garnering points as he went along in the season.

• The story wont be complete without Force India. Our very own representative in F1.Hats off to Vijay Mallya and his team for improving a car beyond expectations in a very short space of time( plz note that this is the same backmarker car of Jordan and spykar). A Pole position at Spa by Fisichella was followed by a 2^nd place finish (only to be deprived of 1^st spot by the KERS of Ferrari) was a feather in the cap and a sign of an ever improving team. May 2010 be the year we see more glory come their way. Sutil and Liuzzi have to prove that they are really good.

Toyota exit is surely a dampener. Trulli and Glock had performed comparatively well but are left no drive as of yet. Same is the case with BMW, but exit of Toyota may be blessing in disguise for Sauber to return.

2010 may usher in a few new surprises with legendary Lotus returning under Mark Gascoyne and few more teams joining in. But the icing on the cake would be Kimi returning to Mclaren and we experiencing the arguably the 4 best drivers in 2 best teams with Brawn and Redbull completing the quartet of tough competitors.


Ohh!!! finally Max Mosley is gone and our very own Jean Todt is at the helm of FIA.....May this be the start of a new era at FIA...

Hope Alonso and Massa are gonna rock and we see the title back at the Prancing Horse stable….  Mclaren watchout!!!!!!!!!

Anish