F1: A Preview Of The New Korean Grand Prix Circuit

The new Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province has been cleared by FIA for its first taste of Formula1 racing scheduled on October 22 - 24, 2010. The circuit has been regarded by FIA as "Grade A" circuit complying all the requirements for an F1 race track.

The Korean race track is divided into three sectors with 18 corners and several long straights. It is 5.621 kms in distance and F1 will run the race in 55 laps with a total distance of 309.155 kms.  Take a tour of the new Korea International Circuit.

Red Bull's Mark Webber is leading the Driver's Championship with 220 points after completing 16 races for the season.  Tied for second place is teammate Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with 206 points.  Red Bull F1 racing leads the pack in the Constructor's Championship with total aggregate score of 426 points.  Far behind RBR is McLaren Mercedes with 381 points.  It will be a no-holds barred  race in Korea for the F1's 17th race of the season.

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.