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.
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