Top 10 Reasons This Season Will Be the Best For Formula 1 History

With all the hype of the 2010 Formula 1 season, I wanted to assure everyone, after the rather dull Grand Prix of Bahrain, that this will be, without question, the most exciting season for F1's History. It may be a blow out, or every race may be a bore, but notice I'm not saying it will be the best Season "in" F1 History, though I think it has a good chance to be in the Top 5. I'm saying, when you look at the stories of what is involved here, it's certainly unprecedented.

Schumacher/Brawn – Steps into the No. 1 Car. Reputations on the Line

Schumacher/Brawn – Steps into the No. 1 Car. So their reputations are on the line.

It is hard to believe, but after three years of retirement, Michael Schumacher will be stepping into the car that won the World Championship. This is oddly enough an upgrade from the last car he drove. If that isn’t a bit emotional, he will be teamed up with the man who has been one of his main side kicks throughout his career, and one of the most successful men ever in Formula 1, Ross Brawn, who just to add is the current World Champion.

If that is not enough, they will be teamed up with an all-German team, something the German Michael has never had in F1 and something you’d think he would have had with all his success; the team that has not been around in major motorsport since the deadliest crash in motorsports history at the 1955 24 hours of Le Mans.

Holy Lord, what a time to come back. It must be the greatest “Hey old pal” pairing comeback story of all-time in sports.

No one in Hollywood five years ago would have scripted the most successful driver in a sport to take the longest break in the sports history, come back and be paired with his favorite leader, who is the current champion, who himself had taken a sabbatical, and be put on his home countries team whom he should be with, a team that hasn’t been around for over a half a century!

No...no one would have written this.

24 Cars

If you think one of the aspects needed for Formula 1 to become the golden sport we once knew is to have a slew of cars on the track, this is your year. More teams, more drivers, more chaos, more stories, more drama, better racing, more like the old days. And anything that makes F1 resemble the F1 of the 50s-80s is a good thing.

Re-feuling

Well, one could write a whole article on how this will change Formula 1; and many have. I will just say how wonderful this is because of how it will eliminate an element of luck, and put more skill into the drivers hands.

This is a major change for F1, and it will be the first time since 1993 that this will be occurring. And again, this is another aspect that is reminiscent of old Formula 1. Now all we need to do is get rid of that word “cooperate” and we can have Jim Clark not paying his bar tabs with David Hobbs and James Hunt smoking right after a race with 4-40 girls around him.

It doesn’t matter when one pits, and the Jimmy Clark factor, of getting awarded for saving tires, is back.

Senna Is Back

As Bruno Senna went over the line at pit out during the first practice session, I became overwhelmed with emotion. It was truly the closure that I had been looking for since a spring day in May, a long 16 years ago. It was a closure for the world, to see the word “Senna”, back up on the scoring monitor.

His name had been all over the F1 world right down to the garage sticker. But to officially be on the track at an official Formula 1 event, was something that caused a feeling neither I nor any fan of Senna, could not contain. Oh how I wish I could have been there to see his name go up on that old fashioned monitor system as he entered the track.

I honestly feel as if the last pieces of weight that have been on my racing shoulders for 16 years, have finally been pushed off. Bruno, Your uncle is watching over you...

Even though the first thing I thought when I was a little kid staring at the words on the TV “Senna Dead” was 'I wonder if one of his relatives will ever race in F1...I need to know NOW because I can’t bear the thought of Senna never coming back', I can’t believe it’s all come full circle.

Mercedes Is Back

For the first time since the disaster in 1955 at Le Mans, Mercedes is back in major motorsport. They even pulled out of McLaren. They are a formidable force, and the world will now not just be watching Ferrari and McLaren, but Ferrari, McLaren, And Mercedes.

McLaren Is Their Own Team

Simply put, this allows McLaren to be McLaren more so than previous. And this is again, a throwback to being like old Formula 1.

Lotus Is Back (Sauber, Too)

Well, I almost would have had the opportunity to have a large spiel about USF1 and my good friend Peter Windsor, but that never came to pass. What did come to pass, was that Lotus, the team that has as much history to it as Ferrari and McLaren and Williams ad Alfa Romeo and Mercedes, is back!

This is the team the giant figure Colin Chapman headed, with the likes of Jim Clark. It is the team that gave Mario Andretti his World Championship. It is the team that gave Ayrton Senna his first run at big success. With a team that encompassed Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, and Ayrton Senna, how can we have Formula 1 without it!? And hey, Sauber is back to being Sauber. Yet Another, throwback to the past.

'08 British Champ vs. '09 British Champ

Wow. Who saw this coming in, say, 2006 or before?? Jenson will go into McLaren knowing that technically he is better than Hamilton. Though so strangely enough, not more than 1,000 people on planet earth would actually say that with any authority.

That equation makes no sense, but it’s true. We’ll see by the first full weekend, if things play out like most all of us think it will. It very well may be more about mental strength than any other factor; could Button come into McLaren with enough confidence to throw Hamilton off, or will Jenson just fall apart upon entering his first race with McLaren, Hamilton’s “home”?

Well, well, well...An all-German Team, and an all-British team? Dare I say it again—We are moving back to the olden days, and BOY am I as happy as 20 clams!

More importantly, the sport is becoming what a world sport is all about. Routing for your own country. Now Germany and Britain can do this to the nth degree.

Reputations Have Never Been More on the Line

Alonso—You’ve got a Ferrari now, no more complaining about equipment and team management (justified or not). If you can’t get it done now, you ain’t getting it done. Everyone except Spain, already, will never give you the 2005 Championship. So let’s see what you’ve really got.

Hamilton—You’ve got a good car now. Let’s see what your talent really has, cause truthfully, a lot of us are still skeptical. Yes you’re in the top 100 best ever already, ok, but top 5...defiantly not on board yet.

Massa—You should have won the 2008 Championship and we are all pulling for you. Now you’re healthy, and have possibly the best car. Show yourself as the best, even with All the best in the field. Not very many people think you can do it with Vettel and Hamilton in the field, but show them all up!

Button—You better win the championship, or I never want to hear the words “Champion” and “Button” ever again. You feel that confident to move along side Hamilton? OK then, go forth and conquer.

Vettel—You are the future. Since you almost won last year, you really need to get it done this year. Only think in your pocket is that Senna didn’t win until his fifth year with his second, third, and fourth year being in “one of the best” cars but not the best. You are in a very similar situation.

Schumacher—Wow. Three years off and you’re coming back? You’re regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time. You don’t exactly have to win this year, but you better win at least one or two races. And better win a championship before you “fully” retire. You’re killing your statistics with every race you don’t do well in, so I hope you know what you’re doing. Same situation with Lance Armstrong.

Rosberg—Let’s see what you can do with one of the greatest of all time as your teammate. Note to self—No person that has ever been a teammate of Michael Schumacher’s in Formula 1, has won a championship. Will Rosberg push Schumi, or will Schumi push Rosberg?

Senna—You have to drive a lowly car, but unfortunately you’ve got that name stuck on your identification card. You are stuck with it, and must do something special. Even if it is just comparing to your teammate.

Webber—You have nothing to lose. Everyone likes you and you are usually on the top of everyone’s dark hose list. Beat Vettel a few times outright, and who knows where you could go.

Amazingly enough, only one of these can come true, while all other reputations take a huge hit. Wow this is interesting.

The History Factor

History continues—Who would have thought after Imola in 1994, that Michael Schumacher and a Senna would ever be on track together again?

Now, we are in a new era—there are new cars, there are new tracks and there are new faces. But the history burns as hard as history can burn.

Who would have ever EVER thought, that the sentence “Schumacher is coming up to pass the Lotus, while Senna has been chomping away at Michael for a couple of laps now...” could MAKE SENSE in 2010!? Imagine someone telling you that that sentence would be possible in 1995!?

Four-way battle at the top. When is the last time that there were four top teams in F1? There most likely will be this year.

What a season we have in store...