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Formula One Changes
By Brit Fryer
Posted: 5:00 am PDT 2007-01-30 |
Courtesy Of Wager
Web Sportsbook |
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The deck was shuffled again in
Formula One. So, if you haven't been following which driver is driving what in 2007,
here's a brief overview.
At The Front
Ferrari: Finn Kimi Raikkonen (+125 to win the F1 championship on WagerWeb.com), formerly
of McLaren, inherits Michael Schumacher's car, one that won't lose a wing or suffer
mechanical failure every other race. And Brazilian Felipe Massa, who broke through in
2006, vows not to play second fiddle to his new teammate.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: Ron Dennis' team lured Fernando Alonso (+200, WagerWeb.com),
the two-time defending world champion, away from Renault. He'll pair up with Lewis
Hamilton, last year's GP2 winner.
Renault: Clearly fielding the dominant car the past two seasons with Alonso, boss Flavio
Briatore will rely on veteran Giancarlo Fisichella. Heikki Kovalainen was promoted from a
testing role to a race seat.
In The Middle
BMW Sauber: The team terminated Jacques Villeneuve last year and replaced him with Polish
upstart Robert Kubica, who performed admirably. Kubica and teammate Nick Heidfeld should
do fairly well in the team's second season under BMW control.
Honda: Formerly British American Racing, Honda closed the gap in 2006. Englishman Jenson
Button posted his first grand prix victory in thrilling fashion at the Hungaroring and
outperformed teammate Rubens Barrichello.
Red Bull Racing: Red Bull regressed in 2006, scoring 18 less points than in 2005. David
Coulthard, who earned the team's lone podium finish last season, welcomes Australian Mark
Webber, who's trying to rebound from a disastrous stint at Williams.
Toyota: The team with the ultimate financial backing posted one podium in all of 2006, but
Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli enter their second season on Bridgestone rubber.
Williams: Frank Williams' once-powerful team has been rubbish lately. Nico Rosberg limped
through his first season in F1 as Williams totaled 20 DNFs. Austrian Alexander Wurz gets
his first chance at a full-time drive.
At The Back
Spyker: In September, the former Jordan and Midland team was sold to Dutch sports car
manufacturer Spyker. The drivers? Christjian Albers has never scored a point in his two F1
seasons, and Adrian Sutil has never made a grand prix start.
Super Aguri: Short on speed and just about everything else, the Japanese team retained
Takuma Sato and handed the second seat to England's Anthony Davidson, once an impressive
test driver for Honda.
Toro Rosso: The Red Bull-backed team, at times, outran its big brother. Though no official
announcement has been made, Italian Vitantonio Luizzi and American Scott Speed are
expected to return in 2007. Remember, Toro Rosso was lowly Minardi not long ago.
NEW DRIVES: January is the month Formula One teams show their hand.Renault and Honda
unveiled their 2007 machines Wednesday - Renault the R27 and Honda the RA107. Red Bull
followed with its RB3. This all came after BMW Sauber, Ferrari, McLaren and Toyota showed
off their stuff.McLaren is particularly proud of its new MP4-22.
"Once we get the MP4-22 on track, the progress we can make from now until the first
race will be really big," Alonso said, "and I have no doubt that we will fight
for the championship."
The season begins with the March 18 Australian Grand Prix.
WORKAHOLIC: Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher just can't stay away. After
announcing his retirement from Formula One last season, Schumacher is remaining at Ferrari
as a consultant. He has unlimited access to Ferrari's F1 program.
"He'll come over whenever he wants to, and he will attend some GPs. He knows
everything about racing and F-1. He will help us with our decisions," Ferrari
president Luca di Montezemolo told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport.
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