F1 2011 what we know so far...

2011 updates so far…

Red Bull

All is quiet on from the Red Bull camp. All we know is that they will be unveiling their RB-7 at the first test in Valencia on the 1^st February. Also according to Christian Horner both Webber and Vettel have now ‘cleared the air’ prior to their rocky 2010 season.

McLaren

McLaren have opted for a slightly later reveal of the MP4-26 at Jerez on the 10^th of February. We also know that the first test drive will be undertaken by last seasons number 4, Lewis Hamilton. Martin Whitmarsh believes that McLaren have the best line up for 2011 and that Hamilton has put his 2010 troubles behind him and is set for a better 2011.

Ferrari

Ferrari will be revealing their car earlier than the other teams. They are set for a 28^th of January event to show off their new car. Felipe Massa has pretty much been told that he has to impress this season if he is to retain his seat at Ferrari for 2012. It looks as if Ferrari are close to closing another contract with Marlboro aswell.

Mercedes

Mercedes will be showing off their new car at the same time as Red Bull and various other teams at the first pre-season test in Valencia; this will be driven by Nico Rosberg. Fernando Alonso fails to recognise the threats of the young and talented Hamilton and Vettel and instead has opted for Michael Schumacher as his biggest threat.

Lotus-Renault

Renault have already released their livery for 2011 at the Autosport show last week but their revealing of the car itself is set for the earlier time of 31^st of January. In terms of 2011 you will have noticed a name change. Group Lotus have bought Renault now and turned it into a British team. The Drivers remain the same as Kubica as first driver followed by Petrov who has a contract until 2012.

Williams

Williams have joined the 1^st of February reveal date group for Valencia. They have made a controversial move in kicking out the young Nico Hulkenberg, who secured their first pole position for a while in 2011 and replaced him with GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado. Hulkenburg has since turned down a drive at Virgin and is looking at the possibilities of the test driver role at Force India.

Force India

Force India will be revealing their car at the same time as McLaren on the 10^th of February in Jerez. The positions of their drivers is unconfirmed, the only certainty is that Adrian Sutil will be remaining as first driver. Brit, Paul Di Resta, is looking likely to replace Vitantonio Liuzzi in the second car and rumours have mentioned Nico Hulkenberg taking over as reserve driver.

Sauber

Sauber have the same reveal date as Renault on the 31^st of January. The team have retained the popular Kamui Kobayashi as their first driver but have replaces Nick Heidfeld with GP2 runner up Sergio Perez.

Torro Rosso

Again we have not heard much from Torro Rosso, all we know is that their car will be revealed on the 1^st of February and that they have retained the same two drivers.

Team Lotus

Team Lotus will be revealing their car on the 1^st February in Valencia. Their driver line up remains the same but the name has changed due to their now being two Lotus teams. A current dispute between Group Lotus and Team Lotus is ongoing with the result of which will be revealed within the next few weeks.

Virgin Racing

Virgin Racing will be showing off their new MVR-02 on the 7^th February. They have replaced Di Grassi with Jerome d'Ambrosio and are now financially backed by Marussua.

HRT

Hispania are looking at a reveal ‘event’ sometime during the first test in Valencia. They have only confirmed one driver so far which is Indian, Narain Karthikeyan. HRT have also revealed that they are suing ex-driver Karun Chandhok for not fulfilling his contract and this was the reason for him being removed from the team after 10 races, he was in fact suspended.

BBC coverage

The two best bits of news about the 2011 season has been revealed by the BBC. Firstly coverage of F1 will all be in HD (about time) which means you will get to see you favourite drivers and teams wizzing around your most loved tracks in glorious high definition. Secondly it is official now that Jonathan Legard has been removed from the BBC commentary team. The unpopular commentators’ role of lead commentator was given to the extremely popular Martin Brundle, whilst Martin Brundle’s position is being filled by the strange choice of David Coulthard. As long as Legards gone, we are happy.

Posted by Sean Russell - Follow him on twitter @SeanRussellF1.

Like us on Facebook! »

More F1 Posts »

• 2012 Spanish GP: Hamilton and that 31 lap stint!
• Williams F1 Fire: Photos and video from dramatic post race inferno
• Lewis Hamilton blasts the rest away with pole in Spain
• An absolutely mega F1 prize you can win with the Lotus F1 Team
• Remembering Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna
• 2012 Bahrain GP: Vettel returns to the top, and Rosberg escapes penalties
• Sebastian Vettel takes his first pole since 2011
• 2012 Chinese Grand Prix: Thrilling late overtaking and tyres falling off the cliff
• Nico Rosberg takes his first pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton
• 2012 Malaysia GP: Sergio Perez 2nd in Malaysia – but does the race need to start earlier?

Last Comment Posted »

• Who can forget Martin's little yelp when Hamilton crossed the line in Brazil 2008 and 5th came up on the timing screens? He'll do a good job!
  by Jimmy@enterF1
  [ click here to read in full ]