Preview of the 2009 F1 season

The 2008 Formula One racing season went out with a bang, with the title race decided in the remaining seconds of the final race in Brazil, which saw McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton crowned champion in only his second season. The young British driver beat Ferrari’s Filipe Massa by a single point in a dramatic wet weather finale, with Hamilton securing crucial points by snatching fifth position on the final corners, leaving Massa’s victory ineffective.

The 2009 season will almost certainly be another close run competition, with Lewis Hamilton - the bookies’ favourite - to retain the title at 2-1, Kimi Raikkonen looking like his toughest challenger at 4-1 and his Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa edged out at 9-2. Ferrari is the favourite to maintain the constructors’ title, with arch rivals McLaren and BMW Sauber also close contenders.

This year there will only be 18 drivers and nine teams, with the loss of the Honda team, who pulled out citing the current economic crisis as the cause of their withdrawal. Force India will be searching for their first points in only their second campaign and look likely to do so with their new Mercedes engine. Parent and junior teams Red Bull and Toro Rosso look likely to carve out a private battle after Toro Rosso surprisingly outperformed their parent team, finishing one place above them. The usual rivalry between the dominating F1 legends, Ferrari and McLaren, will be ever present, with the two teams providing undoubtedly the most exciting drivers.

The 2009 campaign will get under way in Australia on March 29th and will race its way around the world before finishing at a new addition to the circuit, Abu Dhabi, on November 15th. The Singapore night race proved a popular extra to last year’s schedule, with 2010 possibly debuting races in India and South Korea.

Team changes

There have only been a few changes to the team line-ups, with David Coulthard retiring from the sport and Red Bull replacing the popular Scot Speed with the young German Sebastian Vettel, who left Toro Rosso. The team replaced him with Sebastian Buemi, who will make his F1 debut in 2009. With many rivalries having gained momentum as the season progressed in 2008, the majority of teams are competing with the same drivers in 2009, making any improvements to the cars highly significant to reordering the pack.

Technical alterations

The year 2009 will see some major changes that may significantly alter the cars’ performance. The governing body is applying pressure on the technical and mechanical abilities of the racing cars rather than the aerodynamic functions and has brought back the slick tyres. After a decade away, the slicks make a return in 2009 and will improve surface grip, but the new aerodynamic restrictions should counteract the extra grip supplied by the slick tyres. The new dimensional rules affecting the cars’ aerodynamic abilities will eliminate superfluous items and create a sleeker and smoother looking vehicle.

This year also welcomes the introduction of the optional KERS system, which will improve the cars’ performance. To enhance the racing consistency and reliability of the cars, the rev limit has been slashed to 18,000rpm from 19,000rpm. As per last year, each driver has access to eight engines per season and will endure a 10-place starting grid penalty if they exceed their allotted allocation or a start at the back of the grid if an engine change is implemented after qualifying.

Rule adjustments

The 2009 Formula One season has two main aims; to reduce race expenses and to increase the cars’ performance and reliability. By reducing the focus of aerodynamic features, the importance of a successful mechanical structure is increased, forcing the teams to concentrate on technical genius rather than science.

Testing is now banned throughout the season and must be completed one week before the opening Grand Prix (before restarting after the 31st December). Testing distance has also been capped at 9,320 miles (15,000kms).

One major rule change that may prove to be significant is the introduction of an open pit lane during the safety car period. This will allow drivers to refuel and change tyres without incurring a penalty when the safety car is out. To avoid the temptation of speeding to the pit lane, every car will be fitted with a new system that is activated when the safety car is deployed. The clever device issues each driver with a 'back to pit’ time based on his track position. Any arrival to the pit lane before that time and the driver will suffer a penalty.