Silverstone has hosted the Grand Prix over the years and this year, it would be its last. It has promise that it would send off F1 in an ultimate post-race party for drivers and fans alike. It would be a historic moment and the tracks will surely be missed by all F1 fans. The 2009 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix (June 19th - June21th) Preview After Turkey�s hot weather, F1 takes a turn and head west to England, Northampton for the 8th race of the season. The famous racing ground Silverstone at Northampton will be hosting their last British Grand Prix. Next season�s F1 will move to Donington Park that the last season with Silverstone will be hoping for a repeat of last year, a British F1 driver on podium.
Silverstone One of the oldest circuits on the F1 calendar. This could also be the last time Silverstone will hosts F1. The circuit has had various upgrades made to the track�s facilities. Silverstone consist of a circuit length of 5.141 km, race distance 308.355 and the F1 drivers needs to compete for 60 laps to find a winner. The fastest lap record set at Silverstone was Michael Schumacher in 2004 with 1:18.739.
Turkish Grand Prix Recap Out of 58 laps at the Istanbul circuit, Jensen Button came out victorious again. This time, Button was followed closely at the latter stages by both Red Bull cars. Although, it was the Red Bull car of Vettel that lead from grid position it was quickly overtaken by Button at lap 1 in the ninth corner. Button did not look back and dominated the rest of the race all throughout. There were two causalities in Turkey, Button�s teammate Ruben Barrichello who had a gearbox failure in lap 47 and Force India�s Gianocarlo Fisichella who went out in lap 4 when his brakes failed him.
Technical Recap Once again the Ferrari cars have modified their rear wings while BMW have introduced a whole new car with a multi-level diffuser. On the other hand, Red Bull has also modified their rear diffuser while the Williams and the Brawn have revised and changed their front wings.
2010 Entries It has been announced that next season, there will be 13 teams competing for the F1 title. Although, all the current F1 teams are in the list for 2010, five of them are on conditional basis. McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber and Brawn GP have up to 19th June to comply with the unconditional entries that Max Mosley has put forwarded. Ferrari, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and the other 7 members of Fota could go up on a legal battle with the FIA. New teams Campos Grand Prix, Manor and US F1 have been accepted and FIA is settling with a 26 entries for next F1 season.
Top 11 of Formula 1 Drivers� World Championship Table
1� Jenson Button ��GB � �Brawn-Mercedes �61
2 �Rubens Barrichello �Brz �Brawn-Mercedes �35
3 �Sebastian Vettel �Ger� Red Bull-Renault� 29
4� Mark Webber �Aus �Red Bull-Renault� 27.5
5 �Jarno Trulli �Ita �Toyota � 19.5
6 �Timo Glock �Ger� Toyota � 13
7 �Nico Rosberg �Ger �Williams-Toyota �11.5
8 �Felipe Massa �Brz �Ferrari � 11
9 �Fernando Alonso �Spa �Renault � 11
10 �Kimi Raikkonen � Fin � Ferrari �9
11 �Lewis Hamilton � GB � McLaren-Mercedes �9
Top 7 of Formula 1 Constructors� World Championship Table
1�Brawn-Mercedes 61
2 �Red Bull-Renault 35
3 �Toyota 29
4 �Ferrari 27.5
5 �McLaren-Mercedes 19.5
6 �Williams-Toyota 13
7 �Renault 11.5
Brawn GP: Jensen Button has once again extended his lead by winning the Turkish Grand Prix. He is currently the leader in Formula 1 drivers� world championship with 61 points registered to his name while his team mate Ruben Barrichello has 35 points at 2nd place. Team mate Rubens Barrichello did not have the best race in Turkey. He went out at the latter stages in Istanbul at lap 47 due to a braking issue. The Brawn team is enjoying the success that Button has brought in. Even though there are still 10 stages to go, it is truly a car that could claim the driver�s title. Button has won 6 races out of 8 and this does not look likely to stop. The next race is in Silverstone and what an honor it will be for him to win at home ground in front of his British fans. Hi team mate Barrichello will definitely improve at Silverstone.
Team Red Bull-Renault: Turkey was a good ground for the Red Bull to hunt for some points. German Sebastian Vettel started out at grid in the pole position but fell behind during the race. He ended up 3rd while team mate Mark Webber ended 2nd after starting 4th in the grid. Both drivers did what they could do but it was Vettel that made that mistake in the opening lap that opened the way for Button to overtake him. Never the less, both Red Bull cars did not have the speed to beat Button�s car, so a new strategy had to be implemented, which never came and seemed to be bit odd for the Red Bull team. Silverstone will be another test for the Red Bull team but mostly for Webber as he is desperate to get on podium in front of his British fans.
Team Toyota: Jarno Trulli returned to his good form by finishing 4th in Istanbul while team mate Timo Glock found himself fighting hard to win the 8th spot. Trulli started 5th in the grid and finished the race in 4th place which he can thank his car for being competitive on the day. The car has gone through some modifications lately and that has proven vital in order to compete with the others. His last two races were disappointing but Istanbul was a breath of fresh air. Tim Glock continues to struggle at mid table and in the mid grid. He does not have the experience or the aggressiveness that Trulli possess. Silverstone is a track that Toyota can register a few points on the constructor driver championship. They are looking to continue to score points and Silverstone is a good place for them.
Team Williams-Toyota: It is a tough track for Kazuki Nakajima as he continues his run in the lower half of the table. Although this time, Nakajuma ended up 12th and had only lack some speed within the car. His team mate Nico Rosberg ended up one better than last time, 5th in Istanbul. Out of the two, it has proven again that Rosberg is the stronger driver. Lately, Rosberg has shown some signs that he is ready to push further and his result in Istanbul gave Team Williams the faith that the car has potential. The tactics were spot on in Istanbul that the only thing that they need to do is modify it to a point that it can compete with Red Bull and Brawn. As Rosberg hunts for more points, Silverstone can be a happy track for him.
Team Ferrari: Two steps forward but one step back is what they showed in Istanbul. After their progress at Monaco, both Ferrari cars endured a bit of a disappointment. Felipe Massa started 7th in the grid but ended up 6th place after the race while Raikkonen did not have a good day as he started from 6th and dropped down 3 places, ending up at 9th. There were issues with both cars all throughout the weekend in Istanbul. Silverstone has not been a good hunting ground since Michael Schumacher raced there. Last year both Ferrari cars finished last and struggled on wet conditions. The mechanics are working hard to get the cars ready for Silverstone. Ferrari might not step on the podium in Silverstone.
Team BMW Sauber: Finally, Robert Kubica found a way to get points. He started 10th in the grid and finished 7th. This is one of B MW�s best results from Kubica this season. Team mate Nick Heidfield brought himself out of the point�s position, ending up 11th. This was a setback for Heidfield, hopefully Silverstone can help him get back to the top plan. The BMW cars have been through a few changes and modifications. They are improving but still in the testing stages. After 8 races, the BMW have the potential to finally come around, it is still early days to say where they will head but Silverstone could provide some answers.
Team Renault: Another bad day in the office in Istanbul. Alonso came 10th while teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. ended up 16th. Piquet continues his disappointing season and struggled throughout the weekend. Alonso was not far behind Piquet and had kept running into troubles with his driving. The Renault car might need some modifications but it�s most likely that the drivers need some modification themselves, they need motivation and faith to restore some pride with the Renault. A weekend to forget and a fresh start in Silverstone couldn�t come sooner.
Team McLaren: Hamilton won this race last year but this year is another story. There are rumors that he is about to quit F1 all together after the poor start of the season. Depending on what you read and what you hear, Hamilton is either planning for 2010 or quitting. Take your pick but one thing is true, his car will not be able to compete for the top spot at Silverstone�s last season. While Hamilton only did one better at 13th , Heikki Kovalainen struggled once again. He found himself in 14th position. It hasn�t been the season that McLaren wanted it to be and maybe, just maybe, Silverstone could restore some faith in the cars.
Team Toro Rosso-Ferrari and Force India: One word, poor. Force India�s Giancarlo Fisichella went out in lap 4 with brake problems while team mate Adrian Sutil ended up 17th. Toro Rosso�s new boy Sebastien Buemi ended up 15 while team mate Sebastien Bourdais was worse off at 18th. All of them struggled which is not a good sign for Silverstone. However, with the two teams, Toro Rosso might far better than Force India at Silverstone. Then again, don�t count on it.
The Final Verdict: As the curtain closes at Silverstone, this race could see Button or Webber taking the podium. The only contender to this point is the Red Bull cars. Having said this, the Brawn are more likely to outrun the Red Bull. Jenson Button continues his winning streak and if Button wins this race, he could seal the title for the driver�s season. The only way Button can lose the title is if he get DNF for the next 2 or 3 races and the other drivers starts picking up points at the same time. It is mathematically possible for Button to lose the title, however, the question is, is the likelyhood that he will not score any point anymore? If that would be the case, it would at least give the F1 title some excitement. Brawn again? Possibly!
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