The big story, of course, is that of Tyrrell BAR Honda Brawn GP, which I related on Saturday. Despite its lack of track time, the BGP01 seems to be doing pretty well in this last week of testing at Barcelona:
- Barca update: Brawn GP hits the ground running (Planet F1)
01. J. Button Brawn GP 1:21.140
02. J. Trulli Toyota 1:21.794
03. N. Piquet Jr. Renault 1:22.008
04. A. Sutil Force India 1:22.452
05. S. Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:22.660
06. M. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:22.679
07. K. Nakajima Williams 1:22.813
08. K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:22.869
09. N. Heidfeld BMW 1:23.605
10. H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:24.289
It would of course be foolish to read too much into these times — Force India ahead of Ferrari, BMW, and McLaren? — but there is hope that the BGP01 won’t be a thoroughgoing embarrassment in its first few races.
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Next, we have the STR4 — basically Adrian Newey’s RB5 with a Ferrari engine and a better livery:
(Image link goes to f1technical story)
Ten teams, twenty drivers — and twenty days ’til the Australian Grand Prix. Slicks, KERS, and new aero. I’m getting goosebumps.
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Speaking of Formula One, the Formula One Teams Association is somewhat less than impressed with the close finishes of the past two Driver’s Championships and wants changes to the points system:
- FOTA pushing for points-system changes (Planet-F1)
No, nothing so idiotic as Ecclestone’s “gold medal” proposal — they just want to increase the difference between the top finishers a little. Under the proposed system, the winner would get 12 points (rather than 10), second-place would get 9 (vs. 8), third would get 7 (6), and the rest would stay unchanged. This gives a slight advantage to the winner and another slight advantage to the podium finishers. I rather like it, and it’s quite sensible, so I doubt Ecclestone will give it any consideration.
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In sports-car news, we note with approval that Audi are bringing their R15 to Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta near the end of the 2009 ALMS season:
Woot!
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Finally, Planetlemans.com takes a critical look at the 2009 24 Heures du Mans Grand Touring entries:
- Planetlemans analyzes the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours list – GT1
- Planetlemans analyzes the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours list – GT2
Looks like a good way for the C6.R GT1s to go out with a bang.
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