Formula 1 season 2009, Melbourne Gp here we go..

Changes in the rulebook, some surprising reversals of form and a likely battle between those who have and those who have not decided to use the sport's new secret weapon. Welcome to the start of the 2009 Formula One World Championship season.

My first ever Australian GP and the first ever twilight race which started at 5pm EST. I was there at 11am with a group of friends just to find the right place. We were lucky enough to find a place just around turn 1.
Being a die-hard Ferrari fan, I was cheering for Ferrari but I knew one team to watch out was Brawn Gp who had set the fastest lap in qualifying and also during Friday's practice session.
New rules, new team, newly designed cars, KERS, return of slick tires and much more. It was motor racing at its very best. Though I cheered for Ferrari, I still had high expectation from our very own Force India F1 team. It was difficult to sight Vijay Malia but he was kind enough to come out and wave at his Indian fans.... Go force India.....
McLaren have simply struggled to match the pace of any of their rivals in Fridays practice and saturdays qualifying session. It could be that defending champion Lewis Hamilton, may for the first time in his career be forced to start the season with an inferior car to his rivals. It was a true test of his mettle starting from the last place on the grid.

The 5 red light went off and the Melbourne F1 2009 season was on. Brawn Gp stunned the world by winning in their first ever formula 1 GP It was a relatively easy day for Button, a walk in Albert Park you could say, as he led from start to finish for only the second win of his 154-race career. His partner Ruben Barichello managed to secure 2nd place after a bit of dramas.. It was For the first time since 1954 when the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio led home Karl Kling for Mercedes in the French Grand Prix, a debut team captured the top two places in a race.

Mix feelings for me at the end of the race. A bit disappointed as non of the Ferrari could even finish the race but a true delight to watch the top drivers and the teams and see Force India cars finish the race in top 10 . Stunned by Ross Brawn Gp whodominated the race by nearly a second a lap faster than the rest.

Ross Brawn was the man who gave shcumi the Benetton car in 94-95 season to win double world champion ship and continued his journey with Ferrari to crown him to more world titles with Ferrari at the time when Ferrari were struggling..

Can he do it again.. Can he give Barechello and Button their first ever world title... Will the Ferraris and Maclarens fight back....Guess which team I'll be backing for another win in Sepang next week? You got it!
Cheers....

Formula 1 racing is a number game

From budget spent, to speed reached, from kms raced and from points scored, Formula 1 racing is a number game.
An average F1 team dispatches 32 tonnes of air freight to flyaway races. A team consumes around 100kgs of fruit per GP weekend.
Each race weekend involves around 80 workers. Apart from the team management and 3 drivers, there are 18 engineers, more than 30 mechanics, one or two logistics staff, host for sponsorship, the press department and the catering staff.

For 2009 season there are 10 teams and each team on an average employs 680 workforce so on an average there are 6800 workfoce employed for 2009 season. As per the FIA reports, no staff member has been retrenched by any team as there is acute shortage of staff in Formula 1 racing. This is pretty good considering the world economic crisis and the number of workforce retrenched by top corporates

F1 team dispatches 32 tonnes of air freight each weekend for every race. This includes 6 chassis, 6 to 8 engines, 3-5 sets of spare parts, 160 wheel rims, 100 radio sets, headphones, computers and other equipment all packed in 40 FT high cube container.

The transport fleet of each team for the European GP comprises of 8 trucks, carrying hospitality unit. The hospitality unit comprises around 30 men. The kitchen is kept busy feeding and watering team members and guest. Average consumption per GP weekend amounts to 140 kg of meat, 100 kg of fish, 100 kg of fruits, 90 kg of vegetables, 40 kgs of cheese, 1000 eggs, 1800 bread rolls plus 2500 LTRs fo water and soft drinks