Racing the Odds at Grand Prix Du Canada: F1 Teams Perspective

Formula One racing among teams has been more competitive this season as compared to the past seasons. New F1 teams joined the bandwagon of open-wheel auto racing with their own line-up of drivers and technical staff. Old teams revamped their driver's lineup with welcome addition of champion drivers in their fold. In the last Turkish Grand Prix, a new leader for the constructors' championship has emerged dislodging a team that holds the championship leadership for the past six races.

In the next Grand Prix race at Canada, expect that every team will battle it out for podium finish. Drivers are talking about Circuit-Gilles Villenueve – a demanding and tricky 4.361 km long circuit that needs to be completed in 70 laps for a total distance of 305.27 kms.

The current F1 teams racing in the 2010 season have different previews of Grand Prix Du Canada on June 13, 2010.

Mercedes McLaren

McLaren was able to snatch the most important win for its team in the last Turkish Grand Prix. The black-and-silver cars finished the race in 1-2 positions due to a late collision between the two Red Bulls in Lap 40. The Red Bull cars of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel lead the race from grid position until the disastrous collision. Vettel retired from the race and Webber finished in third place.

The McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were able to snatch the Constructor's Championship from Red Bull with 172 points over the Bull's 171 aggregate points. Button declares that mistakes will not be tolerated in Canada. Hamilton will be back again in the circuit that gave him his first grand prix win in his career.

Team McLaren will rely on the reliability of their MP4-25 cars perfectly configured for the circuit's fast and slow bends. The ability of the cars to be smoothly controlled in the corners will help the McLaren drivers avoid hitting the wall barriers most especially the Wall of Champions. The McLaren team is very confident that their drivers and cars will race perfectly to the circuit of Canada and maintain their lead over their closest rivals.

Red Bull Racing

Red Bull wants to redeem the team's disastrous finish in the Turkish Grand Prix with both cars involves in a collision and losing the Constructors' Championship to McLaren. Internal squabble between their drivers Webber and Vettel made the losing result a bitter pill to swallow. Webber was quoted to have express resentment on a possible favoritism by top team official on Vettel despite the German driver was responsible hitting him.

The Red Bull management told media that both drivers and team officials have already settled the issue among themselves. The team is relying on the performance of their RB6 in this challenging circuit. The RB6 is extremely superb in its performance in the past GP races of the season. Expect that the Red Bulls will push out their rivals to reclaim their lead of the season.

Mercedes GP

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is all about top speed with the Mercedes GP cars receiving its upgrades that will power the team to a significant result in the Canadian GP. This was team driver Michael Schumacher's opinion on the upcoming race in the track that made him won nine GP races in his career. Nico Rosberg also believes that their powerful Mercedes-Benz engine will be an important factor since the track needs more speed on the long straight and slow corners.

Team manager Ross Brawn considers their car's engineering will have better speed performance, satisfactory braking stability and robust engine performance to produce an excellent race finish in the Canadian GP. The team is currently in fourth place of the Constructor's Championship standing.

Grand Prix Du Canada will be the benchmark for all F1 teams for their drivers' performance, car and engine reliability, and team's engineering efficiency in achieving the victory in Montreal.

Button Up with Jenson’s Prodigious Formula One Success

Formula One has its own fairytale hero in the person of McLaren's Jenson Button. Most F1 fanatics believe that their hero drivers exude a fiery, steadfast and charismatic personality to rule the challenging world of F1 racing. The British driver's critics believe the opposite on Button's character as a world driver champion.

The young Button has silenced his critics with his outstanding performances even if it came late in his racing career. Still, the Briton has endured the challenges and criticisms of his professional career as a driver.

The McLaren driver has an exceptional karting record winning almost all race events he joined in his young age. The kid raced and won the British Formula Ford diadem. He was also victorious in the Ford Festival in his maiden season in 1998 and placed third in a local Formula 3 Series race. Button got his first taste of F1 under Alan Prost in 1999 as a test driver. In 2000, Frank Williams of Williams F1 gave Button the most coveted opportunity to race in Formula One.

The flashy Briton was hyped to bring greatness to Formula One with Williams in 2000 with his kind of personality on-and-off the race track. In his debut race at age 20, he could have scored his first-ever career point in F1 had his car's engine not failed. He was very impressive with his performances all season; however, Team Williams was committed to field their top-gun tandem of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher in the following F1 season.

Button moved to Benetton the following year to pair with Giancarlo Fisichella. It was not a good year for Jenson having a hard time on the wheels of a Benetton. Critics were at him again with overhyped personality of winning the race for his team. In short, he was just an underachieving F1 driver. He was again dropped by his Benetton team at the end of the season in favor of Spaniard Fernando Alonso at the end of the season on 2002.

BAR-Honda big boss David Richards gave Button a chance to join the team alongside veteran Jacques Villeneuve, who was displeased with the decision to drive with the flamboyant driver. Jenson was victorious in the intra-team race sans Villenueve who retired at the sidelines with BAR taking a great leap in performance in 2004. This the year that Button vindicated his place in Formula One as he single-handedly raced for the team and keeping it for a championship run for the season.

BAR was less competitive and unreliable in 2005 that made Button frustrated with the results. He stayed with Honda until its unexpected exit at the end of 2008. Button was lagging behind at the back of the field with his unreliable car. He was still in his competitive form but unable to convert this to championship points. This was the lowest point of his career but still hang on to race against the titans of F1.

Former Ferrari team manager Ross Brawn established Brawn GP in 2009. Button was given a new lease of life wherein the team's car promised a new dawning for Honda racing in F1. The British driver started the season with a blistering run winning six of the first seven races to establish him a formidable driver to reckon with. However, a mid-season poor showing challenge him on his first attempt for a world driver's title. Button made steady performances in the latter part of the 2009 season with superb driving to capture his first-ever world championship title.

In the current season of 2010, McLaren signed him with young former world champion Lewis Hamilton to form a formidable tandem in Formula One racing. Both are young and enigmatic in their relationship but committed to give McLaren Mercedes another title.

In the Turkish Grand Prix, Hamilton and Button finished the race in first and second place, respectively. Fans were treated to a heart-stopping and breathtaking wheel-to-wheel race between the teammates in many instances at Turkey GP. A show of grit and competition on both young Formula One drivers. But still, Button has proved his critics wrong with his outstanding performances in his career leaving all doubts in a blur.

Lewis Hamilton: The Black Trailblazer of Formula One

The name Lewis seems to be synonymous to the word Speed. McLaren Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton is named after the great American Olympian sprinter Carl Lewis by his parents. Speed appears to be part of his personality.

The young Hamilton was a karting prodigy in his hometown and destined to make it big in auto racing. He was very determined to be a race driver when at the age of 10, he introduced himself to McLaren principal Ron Dennis to tell him that he will be racing for McLaren Mercedes in the future.

In the coming years, he was making a name for himself in karting and breaking records in the sport. The McLaren big boss signed the young driver to a stint in GP2 racing. He was a champion in his inaugural season with GP2.

In 2007, Lewis Hamilton was signed up as principal driver for McLaren F1 team alongside with former world champion Fernando Alonso. He set the pace in F1 racing in its 2007 season. A number of records were registered by the British driver in his rookie year as an F1 driver. The young Brit was having an impressive run for the driver's championship with a 17-point lead over Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen with two races remaining in the season.

A single point between him and Raikkonen cost him the driver's championship in his maiden season. His defeat was attributed to seventh place finish in Brazil and a retirement in the Chinese GP. It was a heartbreaking lost for the young British driver who has been successful in most of his races in the past.

The following season, Hamilton made up for his defeat with an error-free race driving the whole GP season of 2008. He snatched the driver's championship trophy from Ferrari's Felipe Massa via a single-point, come-from-behind win at a rain-soaked Interlagos race and installing himself as the youngest ever F1 world champion. This accentuates his superb and exceptional driving skills in F1 with this victory.

The 2009 GP season was unsympathetic to the young F1 champion with lots of problems and hitches encountered throughout the season. McLaren was not able to manufacture a reliable F1 car for this season. It encountered lots of mechanical and engine problems that dropped both McLaren drivers from the championship race. Hamilton was also involved in the 'Liegate' scandal where Hamilton deceived race stewards in the Australian GP. The young Briton was distraught with the turn of events that he contemplated in quitting Formula One. However, he went to win two race wins and ended the season as the fastest driver on the grid.

The young McLaren driver has learned the important, high-profile lessons of 2009 and made him more matured and calm in his races. He silenced his critics with his ability to cope with the pressure of F1, race bumper-to-bumper to established F1 champions, race in any weather with consistency and come out of the back of the grid to snatch the lead in the race.

McLaren Mercedes is now back in contention with a reliable F1 car and a new driver in last season's champion Jenson Button. The young black driver won his first race of the 2010 season at the Turkish GP over two Red Bulls. The win catapulted him to second place in the driver's championship after seven GP races and an arm's length only of frontrunner Red Bull Mark Webber. Team McLaren has benefitted much on the win of their two British drivers and catapulted the team to lead the constructor's championship.

Lewis Hamilton, the first youngest black world champion driver, live up to his namesake as one of the greatest sprinter of all time while he breaks the speed limit in recording F1 records.

Korean Grand Prix: F1 Race or Pit Stop?

The maiden race of the Korean Grand Prix might get abandon prior to its schedule on October 22-24, 2010. Political tiff off between South and North Korea is seen as the major factor on the cancellation of the first ever Formula One race in Yeongam. With this recent development in the growing tension between the two Koreas, construction of the Korea International Circuit has slowed down and might not be finished before the inaugural Korean Formula One race.

The race circuit was constructed in the South Jeolla region of Korea. It is 400 kilometers away from Seoul, the South Korean capital. It is located in a rural area with plans of developing the site into a high-tech business park, leisure and residential facilities, and other business for F1. The racing teams will have custom-built pits and paddock buildings for their teams' equipment and supports staff. The circuit can hold a seating capacity of 130,000 spectators.

Yeongam's race track is 5.4 km long designed with 18 bend and corners – a combination of both high-speed corners and sharp hairpins ideal for overtaking maneuvers. Race cars can reach a maximum speed of 320 kph and features Asia's longest straight. The race track will run on a counterclockwise direction that will have 55 laps of adrenaline-rush F1 racing. The race will total 305.2 kms once completed.

F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has set aside speculations that the construction of the new Yeongam circuit might not be completed on time.

"If there is war, we won't be there obviously," Ecclestone told reporters in Turkey. According to reliable sources of Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper, construction of the 5.62 kilometer long circuit may have been slowed down by the political situation between North and South Korea.

Progress on the construction of the new Korean circuit is estimated to be at 79% completed. FOTA, an F1 association associated to handling F1 equipment, has confirmed that it is not ready to commission some of its equipment to Korea ahead of the scheduled race if there is no assurance of a race.

In the event that Korea GP will be cancelled, F1 teams will have a month-long break from racing between the Japanese and Brazilian GPs.

Another basis for the rumored cancellation which came up in news wires were most F1 teams have not yet reserved airline tickets and hotel rooms for their support staff. The Brazilian and Abu Dhabi GPs have already received advanced reservations way ahead of the Koran GP.

"This is a clear sign of how serious they are worried about the possibility of cancellation," a well-known Portuguese journalist Lusi Vasconcelos in his news column.

Yung Cho-chung, CEO and president of F1 race organizer KAVO, has dispelled rumors that some F1 personnel and media people will have to stay on cruise ship for the accommodation due to the lack of hotels in the locale. He assured everyone that there are enough hotels and around 16,000 rooms were reserved to accommodate F1 fans, visitors and personnel on the scheduled Korean Gran Prix. He jokingly said to Autosport, "Koreans are happy to stay on cruise ships but don't have the idea whether Western guests are happy with the accommodation."

Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone went to Yeongam to personally supervise the inspection of the circuit's facilities and construction progress. He was happy to know that the construction of the circuit is right on schedule. Yeongam Circuit track designer Herman Tilke denied a reported comment he made that he has some doubts the circuit would be built on schedule.

Yung Cho-chung was very optimistic about the negative comments and fears of others on the cancellation of inaugural Korea GP race on October. He believes that the negative media mileage surrounding the F1 race has helped spark interest around the world. This, according to him, will encourage visiting South Korea and watching its first F1 race.

He also expressed his thoughts that Turkey and Abu Dhabi have the same experience underwent prior to their maiden F1 race. But still the races were very successful and created additional tourists and visitors to their future F1 races.

Sebastian Vettel: Revolutionizing the History of Formula One

Formula One racing knows no boundaries. Nationality, race, team affiliation, and even age cannot stop one from holding the wheel of an F1 car. Yes, age doesn't matter in Formula One. This famous adage has been affirmed by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in his young career in Formula One.

Who is Vettel?

The German-born Vettel was dubbed by the German press as "Baby Schumi" because of his outstanding achievements and inspiring performances in Formula One racing at his young age. He has reached several mileages in the history of F1 as one of the youngest driver to achieve several records. The young Vettel is the youngest F1 driver to score points in a Grand Prix race. He is also the youngest to lead a race. Winning a race for the youngest driver is such a colossal feat. And being the youngest world championship runner-up driver in the history of the sports is one-in-a-million probability to happen in the fastest form of auto racing.

Sebastian Vettel was born on July 3, 1987 in Heppenheim, West Germany. In 1995, he started racing karts and winning numerous titles such as the Junior Monaco Kart Cup in 2001. He advanced to open-wheel cars in 2003 and became victorious in the 2004 German Formula BMW Championship winning 18 of 20 races.

The young German was top rookie awardee in 2005 as he drove for ASL Mucke Motorsport in Formula Three Euroseries. He collected 64 points in the final standings and placed fifth overall. Lewis Hamilton is a contemporary in Formula Three and dominated Vettel and other racers. With strong performances, he was rewarded by BMW Sauber F1 team as a test driver.

In 2007, Vettel was leading the World Series by Renault when he was called to become Sauber's permanent test driver. He became a replacement for Robert Kubica after crashing in Canada and hospitalized for injuries sustained in the accident.

Vettel made a momentous achievement by finishing eighth place in the US Grand Prix. He was the youngest driver to gain a world championship point at a young age of 19 years and 349 days. After this personal success, F1 big boss Bernie Ecclestone describes him as "the most talented young driver in Formula One" and destined for great things. In September 30, 2007 at the Japanese Grand Prix, he became the youngest driver to take the lead in a Formula One race.

On Sunday September 30, 2007, during the Japanese Grand Prix Vettel became the youngest driver to lead a Formula One race.

In a rainy weather at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Sebastian Vettel became the youngest F1 driver to win a Grand Prix race at the age of 21 years and 74 days while donning the colors of Toro Rosso F1 team. Prior to the race, he was at the pole position and also the youngest F1 driver to hold pole position of the race. With the impressive win, he got numerous compliments and rave reviews that made his transfer to Red Bull in season 2009.

The cheerful Vettel won four Grand Prix races for the season in 2009. He finished second place behind Brawn GP's champion driver Jenson Button. After the winning performances in season 2009, Vettel is a mark man by most F1 teams for his superb driving and impressive victories. He has shown the talent, skills and the heart to win his Grand Prix races.

In the current 2010 F1 season, Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull Racing team has dominated the field in the first six races with imposing wins for pole positions and championship points. In the Malaysian Grand Prix, he took his first win of the season ahead of his teammate Mark Webber.

However at the Turkish Grand Prix, both Red Bull cars were leading the race until Lap 40 when both cars involved in a crash with Vettel trying to overtake teammate Webber and collided with the other RB6 car. Vettel retired from the race with a badly damage car and losing his lead of the driver's championship with co-driver Webber. The incident of involving both Red Bull drivers created an unpleasant squabble within the organization. However management has denied that there is an internal squabble within Red Bull. The season is still a long way to race to the finish.

Sebastien Vettel might be young for his age in Formula One but made great strides in recording extraordinary feats in his career. Baby Schumi might rewrite the history of F1 at his young age.

Rossi to join the Prancing Horses of Formula One?

MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi is rumored to be joining Ferrari in Formula One. Rossi known as "The Doctor" in MotoGP has been testing Ferrari F1 cars since 2006.

However, no commitments have been reached between The Doctor and Ferrari F1 management in his participation with Formula One.

The Italian MotoGP world champion has tried driving a Ferrari F2008 provided by Corse Clienti. It uses GP2 tires and emblazoned with a distinctive number 46 on the nose of the car. He made his test drive at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Results of the test drives were very impressive for a novice open wheel driver like the F1 car. He did 68 laps at Circuit de Catalunya to set his best time of 1'25.200.

Test drives were again made at Valencia on January 31-February 2006. On Rossi's first test, he miscalculated a bend spinning him out on the damp track into the gravel trap to end the drive. On his second day, he recorded the ninth fastest time among fifteen drivers. He was approximately one second behind F1 great Michael Schumacher, who himself registered the third fastest time on the track.

The Doctor has lapped faster than seasoned F1 drivers the likes of Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber and former driver David Coulthard and former Toyota F1's Jarno Trulli. On his final day of testing, the Italian MotoGP champion was a little more than a second behind Schumacher's best record time on the circuit.

Schumacher acknowledged Rossi for his great talent in racing for both motorcycles and open wheel cars. The German believed that Rossi can perfectly transfer from motoGP to Formula One and still competitive.

Rossi has been actively joining some World Rally Cross (WRC) event stages and got impressive wins. In 2005, he was able to race against his rally hero WRC Colin McRae at Monza. He bested McRae in his Subaru Impreza.

In Rally New Zealand in 2006, Rossi was able to finish the event in 11th place out of 39 cars. In the same year, he bested 2005 rally champion Rinaldo Capello on a Ford Focus car at the Annual Monza Rally by 24 seconds. At the 2007 Monza Rally, he was again victorious on a Ford Focus WRC car.

Outgoing Fiat Group Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has repeatedly announced that he wants to have Rossi in one of their Prancing Horse F1 car in the Formula One season.

"We want a third car (in F1 next year) and I would do everything to have Valentino in one of the red car. When he wins this year's MotoGP, enough is enough, he must also win in Formula 1." di Montezemolo said excitedly.

Third cars are at present disallowed to race in F1. However, Ferrari reiterated that it will propose for a rule change in adding a third F1 car on the tracks. This will be a dream come true for both Moto GP and F1 fanatics in seeing Rossi in one of the Ferrari.

With a Ferrari team compose of Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Valentino Rossi, this makes a formidable winning combination of world champions in racing. However, Valentino has something in his mind that might lead to an F1 participation in the future.

"To have a strong team like Yamaha's (in MotoGP), Ferrari should hire Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel alongside Fernando Alonso," Rossi told the La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I would like to explore the possibility of a third car for myself." A statement that made everyone in the racing world perplex on the multi-titled Italian champion career plans in the future.

Rossi is a multiple MotoGP World Champion and motorcycle racer with nine Grand Prix World Championships tucked under his name. He is currently racing for Yamaha in the Moto GP. The Italian champion might be joining Formula One bringing his vast experiences and achievements in both motorcycle and automobile racing.

Do you think The Doctor might get in?

Schumacher to tame Circuit Gilles Villenueve

The 2010 Grand Prix Du Canada is fast approaching this coming June! All eyes will be Mercedes-Benz GP's Michael Schumacher as he tries to tame once again the long and winding tracks of Circuit Gilles-Villenueve. Schumacher will return to one of his circuit which brought him a record of seven podium finish.

The German driver is off to his best finish of the season from the Turkish Grand Prix where he placed fourth after the two McLarens and a Red Bull. The circuit here in Canada might be the one his waiting to catapult him back to the podium after his three-year absence from Formula One.

"Canada is definitely one of the places on the Formula One calendar which everyone is keen to visit, myself included of course," said Schumacher. "I have always had nice weekends in Montreal and enjoyed flying over to North America. I will combine this trip with some days off and I am sure that once I enter the paddock, I will very much be looking forward to start the race weekend."

"The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is all about top speed so we have worked very hard on this, especially as we know that we are not right at the top in that area. However I am convinced that we will be able to get the best out of our package." a very confident Schumacher said.

Circuit Gilles Villenueve is one of the most demanding and treacherous Grand Prix circuit in F1. It is well-loved by most drivers but hated by the fallen ones who will smack the Wall of Champions. The Wall of Champions is the famous wall barrier on Turn 10 that victimized most F1 racers including the most notable names of former champions Damon Hill, Jacques Villenueve and F1 returnee Michael Schumacher. Schumacher's teammate at Mercedes GP Nico Roseberg is also part of the growing list of Wall of Champion casualties. He was still racing in GP2 when he came across the Wall.

The circuit is 4.361 km long and raced for 70 laps with total race length of 305.270 km. The circuit is well-known for its tricky hairpin bends and kilometer-long high speed straight way. Team Mercedes-Benz is very confident they will have a very successful race at the 2010 Grand Prix Du Canada with Schumacher and Roseberg's familiarity of the race circuit. Roseberg is very confident and believe that Mercedes has the horsepower and swiftness to negotiate the race circuit. The Mercedes' engine is considered by most F1 team as the most powerful engine of the season. The team made some few upgrades which they think can make a significant difference at the Circuit Gilles Villenueve.

"Our Mercedes-Benz engine will certainly be a big help on the main straight," said Rosberg. "We will have some further upgrades for the race weekend and the fact that the circuit characteristics are quite different from Istanbul Park makes me go there with high hopes. I think we might just put in a great result."

Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has the distinction of being the first low-downforce racing circuit of the F1 season. Its constant burst of acceleration and long, high speed back straight put more premiums on top speed. The Mercedes' engine is considered by most F1 team as the most powerful engine in the circuit. The team also made some few upgrades which they think can make a significant difference at the Circuit Gilles Villenueve.

 

Mercedes GP is running fourth in the Constructor's Championship with 100 points after seven Grand Prix race. McLaren is leading the field with 172 points and Red Bull on its rear with 171 points.

 

The combination of Mercedes drivers' experiences on the circuit and its powerful engine will play a pivotal role in their quest for their first podium finish of the 2010 F1 season.

Mark Webber: Up Close and Personal with a Red Bull

The man of the hour is Mark Webber. The Australian Red Bull driver has been in the spotlight not with his driver championship-leading points of 93 over his closest rivals but the stir he and his teammate Sebastien Vettel involved at the recently concluded Turkish Grand Prix.

The two Red Bull drivers lock horns after a disastrous collision of their cars on Lap 40 of the race. Vettel is trying to overtake his teammate but collided with the Webber that sent the German to the pits. Webber was still able to salvage third place after the two McLarens took the opportunity to overtake them during the incident.

After the collision, Red Bull management was bombarded with stories and questions about conspiracy within the team most especially somewhat 'bias' treatment of the two drivers. Webber somewhat feel that he is being blamed by the management on the incident. The Australian made an impression that journalists covering the games should dig deeper into the incident. After that announcement, Red Bull's team and both drivers were hot items of issues of biases, replacement of drivers, and conflicts within the teams.

Who is Mark Webber and how important he is to Red Bull?

Webber is only one of the two Australian to have won a Formula Race since Alan Jones made it in 1981. The Australian made his Formula One debut with Minardi F1 racing team in 2002 at his home race. He scored Minardi's first points in three years of joining F1. However, engine and mechanical problems beset him and his teammate Alex Yoong to force in retirement on most races.

In 2003, Webber transferred to Jaguar Racing as lead driver. During his two year stint with the team, he qualified many times on the front two rows. With an uncompetitive race car, he was a disappointment due to unreliable race car. Despite of the setback, he was still able to score points in several races during the season to barge into the top 10 of the World Drivers' Championship. His best race of the season came in Austria where he started from the pitlane for a drive-through penalty. Yet, he set the race's third fastest lap behind the Ferrari duo and finished in seventh place. He still continued to drive for Jaguar in 2004 and experienced the same problems he encountered in his maiden year with the team.

Williams F1 was Webber's third team in 2005 and teamed up with Nick Heidfield. He made good results in his qualifying races but unable to sustain it on race day. In the Malaysian Grand Prix, he started on the fourth grid and snatched the third position until a collision with Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella put him out of the race and podium. In the Monaco Grand Prix, Webber took third place and his first career podium finish.

In 2006, the Australian Webber was awarded the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy for his 10th place finish in Drivers' Championship points.

Red Bull Racing signed him in 2007 for a team up with David Coulthard in an RB3 car. The team made great strides as it making some progress with consistent qualifying finishes in the top 10. However, mechanical problems still haunts Webber and his new car. Webber made some impressive driving skills as he overtakes and made faster laps against some of the most prominent F1 drivers. These made the management think that Webber still has a lot of promises on a reliable car. He again finished at the podium for third place in the European Grand Prix after a sixth position start on the grid.

The year 2009 mark the emergence of Mark Webber, as a champion driver, as he collected some championship points for his Red Bull team along with German Sebastien Vettel. His break came at the German Grand Prix where he claimed pole position and the finish his first place result in the podium ahead of his second place teammate Vettel for a 1-2 Red Bull finish. He had another victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix and second place finishes at the 2009 Chinese, British and Turkish Grand Prix.

Red Bull has dominated the first sixth races with pole and front row positions in the qualifying races of the 2010 season. Webber added another first place podium finishes in Spain and Monaco. He has other runner-up finishes gave him 93 points to lead other drivers and establish himself as a strong contender for the Drivers Championship trophy. This also gave Red Bull a strong start in the Constructors' Championship.

The incident that hit Red Bull at the Turkish Grand Prix has created a lot of misunderstanding between management and their drivers in this early stage of the 2010 F1 season. Is Mark Webber responsible for the collision? Should he be replaced to avoid future rifts with his teammate Sebastian Vettel? His racing achievements and records should speak his value to the Red Bull F1 team.

McLaren Mercedes to Outpace Competitions at 2010 Grand Prix Du Canada

McLaren Mercedes is now back on track leading the Constructors Championship in the 2010 Formula One season. The Red Bulls have dominated the first six Grand Prix races with pole positions and podium finishes for both RB6 cars. But last Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix race made significant impacts on both F1 teams of McLaren and Red Bull.

Prior to the Turkish Grand Prix, Red Bull is leading the pack with 156 points over the second-running Ferrari with six races finished. During Sunday's raced, Red Bull's mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel found themselves locking horns with each other on the track in Lap 40 of the race. Vettel is trying to overtake Webber but both cars resulted in a catastrophic collision. The German driver retired from the race while Webber holds on to a third place finish on the podium. Both cars started the race in first and third grid positions with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton splitting them in the middle. The Red Bulls are leading most the race until disaster struck them both.

With the unexpected turn of events on the track, the McLarens of Jenson Button and Hamilton pounced on the race and also had their share of anxious moments of hitting each other on several occasions. The McLarens, behind Hamilton's first place result, finished the race in 1-2 fashion that catapulted their team to first place in the Constructors Championship with 172 points edging Red Bull's 171 garnered points in seven Grand Prix races. Red Bull's Weber still leads the Driver's Championship with 93 points but Button and Hamilton advanced to second and third places with 88 and 84 points respectively.

British driver Hamilton believes that his McLaren team has more to progress after clinching a one-two finish in the incident-packed Turkish Grand Prix. The next Grand Prix will be at the 2010 Grand Prix Du Canada in its long, winding, high-speed Circuit Gilles-Villenueve on June 13.

"We have closed the gap and we have good things coming in the next few races," said the 25-year-old champion from England.

"It is not the win I would have dreamed of but I am very happy for the team."

For Jenson Button, he said that he has never been part before of team so hungry to keep on developing and innovating. He said that he's overwhelmed by the works made by McLaren on their MP4-25 cars for the season. The Englishman is also after his quest for a second successive driver's title after steering the Brawn F1 team to championship last season.

"I'm really overwhelmed by how much this team can just keep developing," said Button prior to the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend.

"You just can't believe how hungry this team is: when I joined back in January, I was really struck by just how much we were pushing ahead of the launch, then during testing. But we're now into an incredibly tough series of races, and we're still bringing these huge new development parts to the track, and we're bringing enough parts for both Lewis and myself - it's awesome."

"It makes you realize why Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is so strong - there's just no let-up. I've never known a team be so hungry to go racing. And, like I say, it's just great to be part of."

Both McLaren drivers are aware that their team benefitted from Red Bull's untimely collision during the race but believe they still have work to do to match the pace of the resurgent Red Bulls.

"Qualifying pace is still something that we're not entirely satisfied with, but we're pleased that we do appear to have closed the gap to Red Bull," said Button. "Certainly, if you look at our relative pace in Barcelona, and compare it with Istanbul, then we do seem to be closer."

The Mercedes-Benz GP of seven-time Canadian Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher is also a cinch to win this eight Grand Prix race of the season on this extremely fast, treacherous race track of Circuit Gilles-Villenueve. The former German World champion and his teammate Nico Roseberg have their own moments here at the Canadian Grand Prix and will use these to their benefit coupled with their powerful Mercedes engine.

It would be an interesting race to watch next weekend at the 2010 Grand Prix Du Canada if the McLarens can sustain their winning forms and impede any challenge from other F1 teams.

Red Bull Imploding After Turkish Grand Prix?

Red Bull racing team is now in the middle of a row between its drivers after a disastrous performance in the Turkish Grand Prix last Sunday. The internal spat started after its German driver Sebastien Vettel crashes on his Australian teammate mark Webber in Lap 40. The accident spoiled Red Bulls 1-2 finish to the podium and led the Constructors' Championship.

On Lap 40, the German driver attempted to make a pass on race leader and teammate Webber. The Red Bull pair collided with each other. Vettel retired from the race because of heavy damage to his RB6 car. Webber was able to stay on the track with a damage nose cone and aero wing. After making a pit stop to replace the damage, he was able to hold on to his third position for a finish at the podium.

After the race, the Australian Webber hinted that there might be some favoritism within his Red Bull team. Webber evoked that there is more to his slower pace on the previous corner prior to the incident. The Australian is making fast laps in his previous laps before Lap 40. Journalists asked if there was some motive on Webber's passive performance where Vettel had more speed than him following him closely for 40 laps, Webber said "Hmm. You guys need to dig more, somewhere else." Conspiracy theories prop up that hinted Webber had been directed by his team to decrease his speed or Vettel had been refueled longer.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner refuted the baseless allegations. "Mark had changed down into a fuel-saving mode that cost him a bit of performance," Horner said. "Seb had managed to save an extra kilogram of fuel – as both cars start the race with the same amount. So effectively he had one more lap of the optimum engine mode."

There were allegations of brewing hostility between the team's principal drivers and Red Bull senior management's bias on the German driver despite the circumstances that it seems he was at fault for the crash. Martin Brundle, BBC F1 commentator, was certain of the opinion on the incident. "For me, unquestionably, Vettel swung right into Webber," he said. McLaren Lewis Hamilton shared the same thoughts where Vettel did the same thing to him earlier in the race. "He was so aggressive as he tried to turn into me, but fortunately I had enough space," Hamilton said. "It was the exact same thing as he did to Mark."

Vettel was fuming mad as he left his damaged RB6 car and made a twirling sign around his head, a gesture most probably intended for Webber. "Seb had top-speed advantage," Webber said. "He then went down the inside, we were side by side, it looked like he turned quick right and we made contact." "It's a shame for the team and not an ideal day. It can happen sometimes and when you are at the front it's difficult."

The German driver denied he was at fault of the incident and Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, a close friend of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, agreed. "Sebastian was ahead, there was a corner coming so he had to move into his line," Marko said. "He couldn't have braked on the dirt."

Red Bull could have maintained its dominance of the Constructor's Championship if that ugly incident did not happen. Prior to the Turkish Grand Prix, Red Bull leads with 156 points over second running Ferrari. After the Turkish Grand Prix, Mercedes McLaren leads Red Bull with one point. Red Bull has collected 171 points in seven Grand Prix races and has dominated the field with superb performances from its cars and drivers.

The accident between the two RBRs gave the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button an upper hand in both Constructors Championship and Drivers Championship categories. RBRs Webber and Vettel were both tied at first place in the drivers' category with 78 points apiece before the Turkish Grand Prix. Webber still leads the drivers with his 93 points over McLaren's Jenson Button.

Grand Prix Du Canada 2010 and its Wall of Champions

Formula One is coming to Canada! Brace for yourself and enjoy the sound of humming engines, passionate and diligent performances of pit crews, and the glamour and flair of F1 drivers and their teams at the Grand Prix Du Canada on June 13, 2010 at Circuit Gilles-Villenueve. Let us take a tour of Canada's most famous Circuit-Gilles Villenueve.

Circuit-Gilles Villenueve is one of the most demanding Grand Prix circuit in F1. It is 4.361 km long and runs for 70 laps with total race length of 305.270 km. The circuit is well-known for its tricky hairpin bends and a kilometer-long straight. The F1 race circuit is famous for its "Wall of Champions" wherein most drivers victimized by the chicane at the end of the high-speed straight. In 1999, three world champions Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Jacques Villenueve made costly errors in negotiating the chicane.

Circuit-Gilles Villenueve is divided into three sectors embed with difficult corners and a high-speed long straight off the grandstand. In the first sector of the circuit, the race cars are siphon from the grid at Turn 2 known as Senna Curve. This section is notorious for major accidents especially at the start of the race. The portion of this track has claimed numerous cars in the past races. Even the most steady and famous F1 drivers suffer their fate in this treacherous turn.

After hitting Sector 2, a right hand corner of Turn 6 will slow down the cars close to 90 km/h and on second gear to build up speed again. A long straight starting Turn 7 to Turn 8 will hit the gas to 294 km/h on the sixth gear. A successive bends on Turn 8 and 9 will put the car on gear 2 and between 120 km/h-160 km/h. Another long straight before Turn 10 will push the cars to 297 km/h and on gear 6.

The start of Sector 3 will put the drivers on the defensive stance with right-hand bend on Turn 10 trapping the speed of the race car to an average speed of 56 km/h. The car will build up speed to 316 km/h on gear 7 racing across the Droit Du Casino. A trap speed on Turn 12 and 13 will slow down the car to 134 km/h on gear 2. The car will race toward the starting grid/finish line at 294 km/h.

The race circuit was named in honor of its maiden Formula One winner the late French-Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve who won in 1978. Michael Schumacher holds the record for the most win in this circuit. Ferrari holds the distinction as the most successful constructor with 13 wins. In 2008, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton has the pole position but lost the race to BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. Rubens Barrichello holds the lap record of 1:13.622 he established in 2004 aboard his Ferrari.

In 2009, the Canadian Grand Prix was not included in F1's calendar due to a failed deal with F1 big boss Bernie Ecclestone. The Canadian government refused to pay the increased fee on the renewal of contract to hold the race at Circuit-Gilles Villenueve.

The race circuit has claimed many famous race car drivers on its tricky bends and turns. In the 1997 Canadian Grand Prix, Olivier Panis was involved in a major crash that stopped the race. World Champions Damon Hill, Jacques Villenueve and Michael Schumacher crashed all together in the now famous "Wall of Champions". Ricardo Zonta, the reigning FIA GT sports car champion that time, crashed also in the same wall. Other notable F1 racers claimed by the Wall include Nico Rosberg and Juan Pablo Montoya.

In the Turkish Grand Prix, Red Bull teammates Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel were involved in a crash which resulted to losing the Constructors Championship lead to the McLarens. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button had their own share of close contact but hold on to win the race.

Circuit-Gilles Villenueve and its Wall of Champion now wait the next F1 driver to kiss its wall barrier again in the upcoming Grand Prix Du Canada.

Racing with F1 Returnees and Novice Drivers in Season 2010

The 61st Formula One Grand Prix season opened with lots of twists and turns most especially on the team's drivers for the season. The 2010 season showcase a list of F1 greenhorn and seasoned veteran drivers. Most F1 teams overhauled their organization with the addition of these exciting drivers. There are five new F1 drivers and three veteran drivers to mix it out in the 19-race of the season.

The most celebrated news on F1 drivers is the return of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher to Grand Prix after three years of hiatus from racing. Schumacher is driving for Mercedes GP and has collected 34 drivers' championship points after the Turkish Grand Prix. He is one of the heavyweights in F1 racing with 91 wins and 68 pole positions. After his retirement in the 2007 season, the German served as team consultant for Ferrari. He was making a comeback in the 2009 season after Ferrari's Felipe Massa was injured in the Hungarian Grand Prix. However, his return was hampered by a neck injury and denied him a return to the season as a replacement driver. Schumacher's best finish in the current season is his fourth place finishes at the Spanish and Turkish Grand Prix. Critics are asking if Schumacher still have what it takes to be in the podium again. The season is far from over with the German within striking distance.

A welcome addition to F1 is newcomer Bruno Senna of Hispania Racing Team (HRT) F1. He is the nephew of three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna of Brazil. The young Senna has raced in GP2 Asia Series and GP2 Series for iSport International in 2008. He has also driven for Team Oreca Matmu –AIM in the Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2009. Senna also tried for then Honda F1 team and getting good impressions from his team's principals. However, the team pulled out the next season due to financial constraints in maintaining the team. Will the entry of another Senna in Formula One marks as a challenge in the current top drivers? Will he live up to the expectations of the feat of his late uncle Ayrton Senna?

Vitaly Petrov became the first Russian to join F1 with the Renault team. The 25-year old known as "Vyborg Rocket" placed second in the 2009 GP2 Series driving for Barwa Addax. He made his debut at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. He finished seventh at the Chinese Grand Prix and also marked his first finished race and career points in F1. This race showed his gutsy driving by challenging and overtaking the likes of Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher under heavy rain. At the Turkish Grand Prix, he started at a career ninth position and set the fastest lap of the race. He finished fifteenth after a collision with Fernando Alonso in closing laps of the race and forced to make a pitstop to change a punctured tire.

First time F1 drivers include Karun Chandhok of India teaming up with Bruno Senna at Hispania Racing Team, Lucas di Grassi joined Virgin Racing and Nico Hulkenberg with Williams.

The 38-year old Spaniard Pedro dela Rosa returned to Formula One racing with the BMW Sauber team. His last Grand Prix race was in 2006 in a half-season campaign after pinch hitting for Juan Pablo Montoya.

Force India has Vitantonio Liuzzi in the driver seat for 2010. He replaced Giancarlo Fisichella in the last five rounds of 2009. In this season, Liuzzi has his best finish at the Australian Grand Prix with a seventh place finish. He has now 10 drivers' championship points after seven Grand Prix races of the season.

The life of a Formula One driver returnee is tough to handle with great expectations from their teams and followers. Their past achievements have given them lots of pressure to be in the top of their game. For the novice F1 drivers, the challenge to deliver their best performances for their teams has a lot to do on the security of their job as primary drivers of their F1 teams.

RBR-Renault RB6 bullying its way in the 2010 F1 World Championship

Red Bull Racing–Renault (RBR-Renault) is the frontrunner in the constructor standings in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship after six Grand Prix races. The F1 team has accumulated total Constructor Championship points of 156 over the second-running Scuderia Ferrari's 136 points in six Grand Prix races.

The season's success of this Milton Keynes-based F1 team can be attributed to its new, reliable RBR-Renault RB6 F1 car. The RB6 has already won three of the six Grand Prix races in Malaysia, Spain and Monaco legs. It is currently regarded by most F1 teams as the fastest car on the grid with minimal mechanical problems encountered in the early season of F1. A run through of the RB6 will give detailed insights on its technical specifications that give its constructor the winning edge in the current F1 season.

The Red Bull RB6 is designed and built by Adrian Newey for Red Bull Racing's F1 2010 campaign. Newey is Red Bull's Chief Technical Officer was assisted by Rob Marshall (Chief Designer) and Peter Prodromou (Head of Aerodynamics). The RB6 is driven by Australian Mark Webber and German Sebastien Vettel. Both drivers are tied at first place in the driver's category with 78 points ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

The RB6 car is powered by Renault's RS27-2010 V8 engine mounted on carbon-fiber and honeycomb composite monocoque chassis. Its seven-speed semi-automatic transmission controls the engine's 18,000 RPM power. The F1 car runs on Bridgestone's Potenza compound and wet tires in 13" OZ Wheels. The F1 car was first launched and tested at Jerez on February 10.

Red Bull's F1 car set the tone by qualifying for pole positions at the first two Grand Prix in Bahrain and Australia. This was achieved by German driver Vettel. However, in Bahrain Grand Prix, he encountered a spark plug problem but managed to finish the race in fourth position. RB6's first win in the season was realized at the Sepang Circuit, Malaysia. Both Red Bull drivers came in fashionable 1-2 finish. Vettel got the podium finish ahead of his teammate Webber.

In the China Grand Prix leg, Red Bull made some major upgrades on its RB6 front aero wing. The unique feature of its new aero wing is in the altered flap with additional of two turning vanes located in the RB6's nose. The new flap is the same style adapted by Toyota Racing last season. This can also be seen in Ferrari's F10 car this season.

RBR's Mark Webber got the top podium finish in both Spain and Monaco Grand Prix legs. Vettel also performed well with the RBR as he finished third place in Catalunya Circuit, Spain and second at Grand Prix de Monaco. This is where the RBR F1 racing cars made their presence felt as it cruise to both victories unscathed.

In an unusual tradition, Sebastien Vettel gives his racing cars names. When the F1 season started in Bahrain, he named his RBR RB6 car "Luscious Liz". Some minor structural damage was found in his car's chassis after his second place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix. His team gave him a new chassis for the next Turkey Grand Prix and named it "Randy Mandy".

In another unprecedented result in the qualifying race for the 2010 Turkey Grand Prix, the RBR RB6 of Mark Webber will start at the pole position ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in the front row. Vettel finished third in the second row together with McLaren's Jenson Button in fourth place. It remains to be seen whether these to RB6 will be able to sustain its winning forms during the Turkish race day.

Red Bull's RB6 racing car starts to bully the field with its flawless engine and car performance as well as the superb and gritty driving skills of its top drivers. This might be the season for Red Bull to clinch its first ever F1 Constructor's Championship trophy.