HISPANIA RACING TEAM (HRT)-COSWORTH
The HRT car, designated the HRT, has been designed by Dallara. However, due to the team's own financial problems, delivery was not taken until the week after the last official test of the pre-season. As such, the HRT seems likely to not turn a wheel until the first Free Practice session of the morning. HRT will most likely treat the first Grand Prix of 2010 as an extended test session. Reliability will be the best they can hope for in the early races, as I anticipate the car will prove significantly slower than all of its rivals, initially at least.
Car 20: KARUN CHANDHOK (IND)
BIOGRAPHY: Karun Chandhok was born in Chennai on 19th January 1984. He was the Formula Asia champion in 2001, and the Formula Asia V6 by Renault champion in 2006. From 2007 onwards, he has been racing mainly in Europe's GP2 series. A winner of two races, Chandhok has otherwise been fairly inconsistent, resulting in a best championship placing of 10th in 2008. A stint in the winter GP2 Asia series proved less successful still.
F1 PEDIGREE: 2010 is Chandhok's first season in Formula 1.
PROSPECTS: Let's face it, Chandhok is in a F1 race seat for his nationality as much as anything else. FOM are keen to exploit the huge Indian market, with a view to an Indian Grand Prix in 2011 or 2012. This is not to say that Chandhok is a rubbish driver. However, I would argue that there were several of his contemporaries on the European single-seater circuit better placed for his drive in terms of racing CV alone. Bernie Ecclestone has called today for people to be patient with Chandhok, a fairly significant indication of the position Chandhok is occupying in the sport.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD: Chandhok will find his feet quickly and equal the pace set by his teammate throughout the season.
IF THE WHEELS COME OFF: Chandhok finds himself stuck fast to the bottom of the timesheets whilst cynical people like me continue to moan on about pay drivers, the relationship of sport to business in the modern world and the politics of nationality.
Car 21: BRUNO SENNA (BR)BIOGRAPHY: Bruno Senna was born in São Paulo on 15th October 1983. His mother, Viviane Lalli, is the elder sister of 3-time Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna. Unlike his uncle, Bruno Senna arrives in Formula 1 with no single seater championship titles to his name. However, he is a proven race winner in a number of categories, and finished as runner-up in the 2008 GP2 series. During that campaign, he won the prestigious GP2 Monaco race.
F1 PEDIGREE: Like his teammate, Senna starts 2010 as a rookie.
PROSPECTS: Bruno Senna, like Karun Chandhok, is arguably in Formula 1 for reasons supplementary to his skill alone. In Senna's case, it is the surname which has opened doors. However, he has nevertheless always made the most of the opportunities it has afforded him. Some drivers blaze a trail to the summit of single-seater racing and then flounder in Formula 1. Others have a more solid and unspectacular route, but make full use of their chance in F1 when it presents. I have a feeling Senna too will prove to be of the latter category.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD: Senna overcomes the disadvantage of the lack of time with the car, scores a point or two and lays the foundation for a long-term career in F1.
IF THE WHEELS COME OFF: Senna is outpaced by Karun Chandhok.
BMW SAUBER-FERRARI
Sauber return to Formula 1 as a constructor for the first time since 2005. Their C29 car is based on what would have been the BMW F1.10, and thanks to the uniquely silly way Formula 1 works, the team retain the BMW name even though the car will be powered by a Ferrari engine. Nomenclature aside, the Sauber car has shown good pace in pre-season tests, and may prove to be a good outside best for the best-of-the-rest 5th place in this year's Constructors' Cup.
Car 22: PEDRO DE LA ROSA (E)
BIOGRAPHY: Pedro de la Rosa was born in Barcelona on 24th February 1971. A driver of huge experience and pedigree, his earliest single seater title (Spanish Formula Fiat) came in 1989. The following year he added the Spanish Formula Ford crown, and then the European Formula Renault, British Formula Renault( both 1992), All-Japan Formula 3 (1995), Formula Nippon and All-Japan GT (both 1997) championships to his weighty CV.
F1 PEDIGREE: For a driver of his calibre, de la Rosa has driven surprisingly few Grands Prix - 72 - between 1999 and 2002 and 2005 and 2006. His best result was 2nd place in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, with 11th place in the final standings in the same year his best championship result. From 2005 to 2009 he was the test driver for McLaren Mercedes.
PROSPECTS: De la Rosa may have wondered if his time as a racing driver in Formula 1 had passed. However, he is a spirited, consistent and skillful performer, whose experience will prove invaluable to the team.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD: A podium finish may not prove out of the question, if some of the leading runners inconvenience themselves. De la Rosa will probably be aiming for regular points finishes in 2010.
IF THE WHEELS COME OFF: De la Rosa finds himself comprehensively outpaced by his rookie teammate and quietly sneaks out of the back door come the season's end.
Car 23: KAMUI KOBAYASHI (J)
BIOGRAPHY: Kamui Kobayashi was born in Amagasaki on 13th September 1986. Like a lot of his Japanese contemporaries, Kobayashi has looked towards Europe to further their single-seater career rather than stay in their own country's motor racing ladder as they tended to in the previous generation. Kobayashi duly won the 2005 Italian and European Formula Renault titles, adding the GP2 Asia Series crown in 2009.
F1 PEDIGREE: Kobayashi made his Formula 1 bow in Friday practice at the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix for Toyota, sitting in for the unwell Timo Glock. After Glock injured his back in qualifying for that race the following day, Kobayashi was promoted to the race seat for the season's final two races. His qualifying performance in impossible weather conditions in Brazil were outstanding, as was his somewhat flamboyant performance in the race. More controlled but no less impressive two weeks later in Abu Dhabi, Kobayashi finished in 6th place in just his second Grand Prix.
PROSPECTS: He was a little wild and woolly in his races last season, but there's no doubting that the speed is very much there. The question is now whether he can retain it, whilst reigning in some of his rougher edges. If he can, Kobayashi may prove to be the man to one day be Japan's first Grand Prix winner.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD: A podium finish, perhaps.
IF THE WHEELS COME OFF: Kobayashi is outpaced by de la Rosa and he continues to prove unpredictable on track.
VIRGIN RACING-COSWORTH
The VR-01 car has been designed by Nick Wirth, exclusively using Computational Fluid Dynamics rather than the traditional route of scale models and windtunnel time. A bold move, and one which was called into question after a spate of front wing failures in early testing. However, the key worry now for the team - who are run at the circuit by the experienced John Booth and his Manor Motorsport outfit - is reliability, particularly in its hydraulic system. A brand new team for 2010, Virgin will have to overcome this problem if they want to be the best of the new intake.
Car 24: TIMO GLOCK (D)
BIOGRAPHY: Timo Glock was born in Lindenfels on 18th March 1982. Also a race winner in the Formula 3 Euroseries, he won the BMW Formula ADAC championship in 2001 and then went on to take the GP2 crown in 2007. He is one of four GP2 Series champions to be competing in Formula 1 this season. Glock is also a former winner of the CART Champ Car World Series rookie of the year award.
F1 PEDIGREE: Glock in fact made his Grand Prix debut at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2004. At the time he was the test driver for Jordan, and stepped up when regular driver Giorgio Pantano fell ill. He impressed with a points finish in 7th place, earning him a handful of other drives towards the end of the season. Champ Cars followed with reasonable success but no race wins, before he took the step back down to GP2 in 2006. After 7 race wins and the 2007 title, he was hired by Toyota for 2008. His first full season was impressive, his second a little more average in relation to the increased expectation. Despite this relatively disappointing second season, he has 3 podium finishes (two seconds and one third) to his name from just 36 starts.
PROSPECTS: A lot was expected of Glock in 2009 after his debut season, but he struggled to live up to the expectations on a consistent basis. On the whole, he outpaced Jarno Trulli when it really mattered on race day, and scored a second and a third-place finish. Virgin Racing offer him a new challenge of being the leader in a new team. Hopes are still high for his future at this moment in time, but he still has much to prove.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD: A season of consistency, where the only variable is the performance of his car, yields a number of points finishes.
IF THE WHEELS COME OFF: Glock fails to stamp his authority on the team and his rookie teammate and finds his shiny newcomer credentials have well and truly dimmed.
Car 25: LUCAS DI GRASSI (BR)
BIOGRAPHY: Lucas di Grassi was born in São Paulo on 11th August 1984. In a career without any single-seater titles to his name, di Grassi has nevertheless managed to be a consistent threat to his rivals. He won the blue riband Macau Grand Prix of Formula 3 in 2005, and is one of the GP2 Series' most successful ever drivers, with five race wins and final championship positions of 2nd, 3rd and 3rd to his name between 2007 and 2009.
F1 PEDIGREE: Lucas di Grassi starts 2010 as a rookie, though he has been a Renault test driver for a number of seasons.
PROSPECTS: As I said before, some drivers only really flower when given the opportunity to drive in Formula 1. Di Grassi is another pilot who, I feel, has all the necessary qualities to fit this bill. As well as significant European single-seater experience, he is also very consistent from race to race. This could prove an invaluable quality for his new team in their battle to be the best of the newcomers.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD: Di Grassi matches Glock in both pace and in points scoring.
IF THE WHEELS COME OFF: Di Grassi finds himself back in GP2.
Tomorrow: Force India, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Lotus Racing.
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