Real Racing Underway

German driver Nico Rosburg had the fastest time in Friday's second practice session

I have never shied away from making public my feelings regarding the differences between Formula 1 and NASCAR.  For some reason watching cars make left hand turns and drive single file for four hours is not that exciting.

Formula 1, considered by many to be the top form of racing not only in Europe but also the world, kicks off its season this weekend in the Kingdom of Bahrain, displacing Melbourne, Australia as the kickoff event.  The 19 race season will stretch to mid-November ending with the Abu Dhabi Gran Prix on November 14.  The European leg of the season will start in Barcelona, Spain with the Spanish Gran Prix on May 9.

The shake ups from the off season go from teams, to drivers and rule changes so the season should keep even seasoned fans interested.  One major change from a regulation standpoint will be refueling, or the lack thereof.  Teams and drivers will be planning for races on full tanks of fuel which already had an impact on both practice sessions this morning.  Cars were seen bouncing and skidding on the track, bottoming out in some stretches as well.

Drivers and teams will be listed below, but the team Sports Central will be focusing on this season will be McLaren Mercedes.  Drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, both coming off winning the drivers championship in 2008 and 2009 respectively, are both set to be early favorites for the drivers title.  Here are the drivers and teams.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (United Kingdom) – Jenson Button (UK) and Lewis Hamilton (UK)

Mercedes Petronas F1 Team (Germany) – Michael Shumacher (GER) and Nico Rosburg (GER)

Red Bull Racing (Austria) – Sebastian Vettel (GER) and Mark Webber (Australia)

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro (Italy) – Felipe Massa (Brazil) and Fernando Alonzo (Spain)

AT&T Williams (UK) – Rubens Barrichello (BRZ) and Nico Hulkenberg (GER)

Renault F1 Team (France) – Robert Kubica (Poland) and Vitaly Petrov (Russia)

Force India F1 Team (India) – Adrian Sutil (GER) and Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)

Scuderia Toro Rosso (Italy) – Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) and Jaime Alguersuari (ESP)

Lotus Racing (Malaysia) – Jarno Trulli (ITA) and Heikki Kovalainen (Finland)

HRT F1 Team (Spain) – Karun Chandrok (IN) and Bruno Senna (BRZ)

BMW Sauber F1 Team – Pedro de la Rosa (ESP) and Kamui Kobayashi (Japan)

Virgin Racing - Timo Glock (GER) and Lucas di Grassi (BRZ)

Knockout qualifying will be early tomorrow morning (for North and South American audiences) which will give way to the Gran Prix Sunday.

Countdown to Lincoln

In a few short weeks, I’ll be on my way to one of my favorite places in the world. Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Spring practice is in full swing. I’ve missed a lot by not writing so hopefully I’ll be able to resurrect the blog a little bit. Patrick Witt is gone and we’ve got a wide open QB competition full on, so there will be plenty to write about.