Start Your Engines!!

Finally!!

After an exceptionally long winter, the real racing season finally begins this weekend with the opening race of the 2009 Formula 1 season in Australia.

Don't get me wrong, I've caught a few laps of NASCAR since that began in February, but lets be honest here, it just doesn't compare to open wheel racing.

And because the first race of the F1 season happens in Australia, that means a very late night Saturday, as start time is 1:30am on TSN.

For those of you who are interested, here is a spotters guide of the 2009 teams and their drivers.With the new rule changes for this year, (see previous post) this should make for an exciting year. It should also be noted that the driver's championship points system will remain the same as last year, after the FIA governing body backed down on its most wins championship system after much protest from both the driver's and their teams, and will look into instating a new points system for 2010 season.

So here are the results from the first qualifying session of the season in Australia:
Success-starved Williams, Toyota and F1 newcomer Brawn signalled they could be ready for breakthrough wins by dominating practice Friday ahead of the Australian GP. The presence of those three atop the time sheets will infuriate rivals, some of whom are convinced their bodywork is illegal. Full Story.
courtesy of www.TSN.ca

2009 Formula 1 season schedule

Mar 29 Australia
Apr 05 Malaysia
Apr 19 China
Apr 26 Bahrain
May 10 Spain
May 24 Monaco
Jun 07 Turkey
Jun 21 Britain
Jul 12 Germany
Jul 26 Hungary
Aug 23 Europe
Aug 30 Belgium
Sep 13 Italy
Sep 27 Singapore
Oct 4 Japan
Oct 18 Brazil
Nov 01 United Arab Emirates

My predictions for the upcoming season,
Who will win the championship?
1. Kimi Räikkönen
2. Felipe Massa
3. Lewis Hamilton

Constructors?
1. Ferrari
2. BMW
3. McLaren