Henri Lloyd teams up with An F1 Blog! (Video)
We are delighted to announce that An F1 Blog has teamed up with British clothing manufacturer and Mercedes GP sponsor Henri Lloyd for the 2010 season, and they have kindly offered to provide some brilliant F1 merchandise prizes for the top three finishers in our 2010 predictions league!
Bahrain Grand Prix, Thursday press conference: Alonso, Button, Hamilton, Massa, Schumacher
Drivers: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP).
Q: A question to all of you. What are you most looking forward to during this season? Who is going to start? The World Champion.
Poll: What is your favourite F1 helmet of 2010?
All drivers on the 2010 grid have now revealed their helmets for the 2010 season, but which is your favourite? Vote in our poll below! For a more detailed gallery, visit our dedicated 2010 helmets gallery post.
F1 2010 game out in September
Codemasters have announced that the F1 2010 game will be launched in September for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC!
Henri Lloyd launches Mercedes GP merchandise
Henri Lloyd have recently launched their 2010 Mercedes GP merchandise for you to get kitted out in!
You can check out the full range of merchandise on the Henri Lloyd Mercedes GP online store, and I’m sure you’ll agree – it looks rather magnificent!
Henri Lloyd are also on Facebook and Twitter.
2010 team previews: Toro Rosso
Toro Rosso were the worst constructor in 2010, picking up just 8 points, and dismissing Sebastien Bourdais half way through the season, despite having the excellent Red Bull RB5 chassis to use. Will they fare any better in 2010?
2010 team previews: Force India
In the latter half of last season, Force India made an incredible jump from the back of the grid where they had been since entering the sport in 2008, to fighting for points courtesy of an aerodynamic update. This lead to an incredible pole position, followed up with a 2nd place finish at Spa-Francorchamps for the team and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Can Force India carry on in their push towards the front end of the grid in 2010?
Make your Bahrain Grand Prix predictions!
Predict the top 5 finishing positions and pole position driver for the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix below:
2010 Predictions points system
| Prediction | Points |
|---|---|
| Correct Pole | 10 |
| Driver in correct position | 10 |
| Driver finishes 1 off position | 8 |
| Driver finishes 2 off position | 6 |
| Driver finishes 3 off position | 4 |
| Driver finishes 4 off position | 2 |
| Bonus points for correct finishing order | 30 |
| Bonus points for 4 correct | 15 |
| Bonus points for 3 correct | 10 |
| Bonus points for 2 correct | 5 |
2010 track previews: Bahrain International Circuit
Designed by Hermann Tilke, the Bahrain International circuit is the first Grand Prix in the middle-eastern desert.
It features striking architecture, such as the impressive 10-storey VIP tower overlooking the paddock. It is surrounded by miles after miles of baking-hot sand. The sand blows onto the track and gives the driver an extra challenge when they zoom around.
As the circuit is located in the middle of a desert, sand is one of the biggest enemies for the organizers, but they try to keep the sand off the track by spraying an adhesive on the sand around the track.
Race engineers always complain about sand, as they have to fit an air filter into the car to stop it going into the engine. The drivers wear heavily-tinted visors so that they are not blinded by the sun that reflects off the dunes.
It was designed as a track with slow corners and fast straights, which means hard braking is the order of the day. The surface is made up of Welsh granite – the best stone for grip for racing.
The circuit cost approximately US $150 million to construct. The 2010 race will see a new circuit configuration being used for the Grand Prix. It will be 6.3 km rather than 5.4km, making it the second longest circuit on the 2010 calendar, second only to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
In 2007 the circuit became the first Grand Prix circuit to be awarded the distinguished FIA Institute Centre of Excellence award, for it’s excellent safety, race marshal, and medical facilities and for the high standards of technology required to maintain these.
2010 team previews: Renault
If the R30 goes as well as it looks with its classic black and yellow colour scheme, Renault should have no issues in 2010!
Renault have had a disastrous couple of years in F1, but they are back with a new owner in Genii Capital, driver lineup in Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov, and team principal in Eric Bouiller. Will they fare any better?
Renault R30
The Renault R30 looks great with it’s black and yellow livery, that harks back to the days when Rene Arnoux was battling Villeneuve in a Renault with a similar colour scheme, but it’s not just the paint job which has changed on the Renault from last year’s R29.
Loading ...The main changes are the result of accommodating the much larger fuel tank for the 2010 rules and re-optimising the car without KERS.
The car has also undergone intense aerodynamic development, with the rear of the car being considerably reworked to allow the car to make the most of the ‘double- decker’ diffusers that were first seen last year.
One possible drawback with the Renault is it’s engine. Like Red Bull Racing, the R30 uses the Renault RS27 engine; while this engine is very good on fuel economy – something very important in 2010 with the refuelling ban, it is down on power in comparison with most other engines, and it also lacks reliability.
Drivers
Robert Kubica was billed as the next big thing, and he has shown good pace, but it has never quite materialised into the championship challenging performances we have expected. His results at BMW Sauber were sporadic, and he has never had the consistency he will be eager to find in 2010.
Vitaly Petrov may be bringing as much as £13 million to Renault in sponsorship money, but the first Russian ever in F1 shouldn’t be dismissed as purely a pay driver. Petrov finished 2nd in the GP2 championship last year, and has been also relatively successful in GP2 Asia. As with all rookie drivers, we will have to see if that translates into good F1 ability.