Formula 1 In India: A Winning Formula?

to have a minimum crowd of 120,0002011 is set to be a big year for Formula 1 in India with the inaugural Indian Grand Prix scheduled on 30th October 2011. The circuit is being built by JPSK Sports a company of the Jaypee Group. Considering the growing fan base and the presence of an Indian owned team (Force India), the race will certainly make a major impression on the calendar.

The track design is by Hermann Tilke, renowned Formula One circuit designer. JPSK has planned to have a minimum crowd of 120,000 which is certainly an aggressive target. The contractors for 95% of the work have been appointed and the initial earthwork is already completed.

Indian Grand Prix:Visualization

Indian Grand Prix: Track Simulation

The excitement generated by ex-F1 driver David Coulthard when he drove a Red Bull Racing F1 car on the Bandra-Worli Sealink was immense.

While the event promises to be exciting, the organizers have to focus on the following two points:

• Ensuring plenty of overtaking opportunities to prevent yet another processional race
• Reasonable pricing of tickets

Force India F1 Fourth Fastest in Winter Testing

Formula 1's winter testing season came to close with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton recording the fastest time at Catalunya. Hamilton set the fastest lap time of 1m20.472s in the morning. Last year's runner-up, Red Bull emerged as Hamilton's closest challenger on raw speed. Mark Webber was just 0.024s behind Hamilton.

At this point all eyes were on Michael Schumacher, however the real sensation of the afternoon was another German, Adrian Sutil who went on a string of qualifying runs and set a superb lap time of 1m20.611s only 0.139s slower than Hamilton.

Force India's pace has been acknowledged even by their rivals. After the close of testing Lewis Hamilton said, "McLaren's biggest rivals are Ferrari (Alonso and Massa ), Red Bull (Vettel and Webber), Mercedes GP (Schumacher and Rosberg), and Force India (Sutil).

After last year's successful performance on low-downforce venues like Spa and Monza will Force India graduate to being a consistent point and podium scorer?

For that we will have to wait till the 5 red lights illuminate at Bahrain on 14th March !!

Testing times from Barcelona (Sunday 28 February)

1  HAMILTON    McLaren      1m20.472s (134)

2  WEBBER      Red Bull     1m20.496s (59)

3  MASSA       Ferrari      1m20.539s (105)

4  SUTIL       Force India  1m20.611s (99)

5  VETTEL      Red Bull     1m20.667s (76)

6  SCHUMACHER  Mercedes     1m20.745s (122)

7  BARRICHELLO Williams     1m20.870s (83)

8  KOBAYASHI   Sauber       1m20.911s (67)

9  BUEMI       Toro Rosso   1m22.135s (87)

10 KUBICA      Renault      1m23.175s (106)
11 KOVALAINEN  Lotus        1m25.251s (65)

11 DI GRASSI   Virgin       1m26.160s (47)

Schumi Is Back !!

Schumacher has been linked to Mercedes ever since the German manufacturer took over Brawn GP. The speculation reached a feverish pitch in the last few days. Now it is official. Michael Schumacher has confirmed on his official website that he will come out of retirement to make a sensational Formula 1 return with Mercedes GP next year.

Is it a wise move? Schumacher is statistically the most successful driver in F1 history. Apart from his seven world titles he has 91 wins, 154 podiums and 76 fastest laps. His record speaks for itself. However World Champion Jenson Button is of the opinion that "Michael Schumacher risks damaging his reputation if his comeback to Formula 1 if not as successful as the rest of his record-breaking career."

What about the competition? The Red Bull will certainly be among the front runners. Brawn GP was not the sharpest tool in the box by the close of the 2009 season, teams like McLaren had caught up with them and Red Bull had even surpassed them. The Red Bull was the best car on the grid by the end of the 2009 season. Ferrari stopped developing the 2009 car in August 2009 and started working on the 2010 car. So they have had plenty of time to develop it. McLaren will also be up there among the leaders.

The Brawn GP car had a clear edge at the start of the season. The car however struggled in cooler temperatures. The 2009 car was gentle on the tyres. This will be beneficial in 2010 since the pit-stops will be governed by tyre wear as refueling during the race is banned. The Mercedes engine is widely regarded as the best on the grid. The only potential problem is that the pressure to develop the 2009 car might have prevented the team from devoting resources to the development of the 2010 car.

What is going to be for Schumi in 2010 - Hero or Zero? Michael Schumacher at 90% of his best is still better than the vast majority of the F1 grid. Whatever happens in 2010, this comeback is unlikely to harm his reputation.

Secrets Of Formula 1 Helmets

Felipe Massa’s dramatic accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix brought driver safety - and in particular the great strides made in helmet design over the past few years - into much sharper focus.

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