f1buzz.net

Last year we ran the innaugural F1 Buzz Formula One Prediction game.

It was a lot of fun and ended up being very close with the top three players still challenging for the win right up until the last race.

In the end, Andrew took the top prize: a scale model of Jenson Button’s revolutionary BGP001 in the historic Brawn GP livery.

2009 was one of the best and closest F1 seasons ever, which meant that predicting the winners was hard.

With Fernando Alonso in a Red Car and the return of Michael Schumacher, 2010 promises to be just as exciting.

This year the Prediction Game returns for another season, but rather than posting your predictions on blog posts, the game has been fully Facebookified! Just visit http://apps.facebook.com/formulaone-buzz and add the application.

The rules are basically the same. Make your predictions for pole, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and fastest lap by the start of qualifying for each race. The deadline for each race is listed on the calendar page.

The points have been tweaked slightly to reflect the new points system introduced by the FIA in 2010:

• Pole position: 10 points
• 1st: 25 points
• 2nd: 18 points
• 3rd: 15 points
• Correct driver on podium but not in correct position: 8 points for each driver
• Fastest lap: 10 points

The prize will remain a scale model of the winning car/driver by Minichamps. They are nicely detailed little models. Andrew can tell you. Just look how happy he is up there!

As the countdown timer in the top right shows, there is now less than a week until the first race of 2010. This means to maximise your chances of winning you need to get your predictions in for Bahrain by this Saturday.

The first race is always the hardest to predict. Good luck!

With the final Grand Prix of 2009 the innaugural F1 Buzz Prediction Game also draws to a close.

The 2009 Championship was another very close season with six drivers from four teams winning races. Brawn dominated the opening Grands Prix but McLaren made one of the biggest comebacks ever in the second half of the season.

All through the year there was the constant presence of Red Bull and the occasional threat of a Ferrari and even Force India.

All this meant that predicting who would win or even who would stand on the podium was a dificult task. In the end, the prediction game was even closer than the Championship with a single point separating second and third places.

Thanks to a lucky couple of weeks in the Far East I actually ended up with the most points but as I was just playing for fun and not prizes my score doesn’t really count. 🙂

This means that the 2009 Champion is Andrew with a score of 173, closely followed by Sergio with 172. Despite apparently knowing nothing, Kathryn came in third with 133.

As announced, first prize is a 1:43 scale Minichamps replica of Jenson Button’s Brawn GP BGP001. Second and third will each receive a copy of the 2009 Formula One Season Review DVD.

Congratulations to the winners (email me at david@f1buzz.net to let me know where to send your prize) and thanks to everyone for taking part. I hope you enjoyed it. A special thanks also goes out to Miguel for suggesting the idea!

Only four months until next time!

Image: Brawn GP

And so we come to the final race of 2009!

Abu Dhabi will be a race of firsts and lasts. Not only will it be the first time Formula One will visit the new Yas Marina circuit but it will also be the first time a Grand Prix has started at twilight and finished at night time. The race will start at 5pm local time and the flood lights will be on throughout the race so a consistent lighting level is maintained.

The last race of the calendar, Abu Dhabi will play host to a number of other lasts.

Some time during the race a car will make the last stop for fuel in a Grand Prix; refuelling is banned for 2010.

McLaren are hoping it will be the last win for a KERS powered car on Sunday. While KERS is still allowed under the 2010 rules, the teams have agreed not to use the energy recovery technology next year.

BMW Sauber will be contesting their 70th and last Grand Prix this weekend and unless one of the other new teams fails to show up on the grid next year it is unlikely the team will carry on under new owners Qadbak.

With the driver market still in a state of flux it is not known how many drivers will be making their last appearance on Sunday. If everything goes to plan, Giancarlo Fisichella will make way for Felipe Massa at Ferrari next year while Kazuki Nakajima and Romain Grosjean both look likely to miss out on a race seat.

Jenson Button and Brawn GP may have clinched both Championships in Brazil but with McLaren and Ferrari battling for third in the Constructors’ and Barrichello and Vettel freed from worrying about the Championship, Sunday’s race should provide plenty of excitement.

To make your predictions in round 17 of the F1 Buzz prediction game (and be in with a chance to win some nice prizes), just leave a comment on this post with your driver predictions for the race in the following format:

Pole:
First:
Second:
Third:
Fastest lap:

Remember, the deadline for entries is start of qualifying on Saturday, that’s 13:00 GMT.

Good luck!

Image: McLaren

Rubens Barrichello is the most experienced driver in Formula One. Yet despite his 286 races and 17 years in the sport  he has never won in Brazil.

This weekend that needs to change if he wants to keep his Championship hopes alive; Jenson Button goes to Interlagos with a 14 point lead.

There are a few ways Button can seal the Championship on Sunday but if Barrichello can win his home race then the Championship decider will come down to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi (at a new circuit no-one has driven before.)

Sebastian Vettel is theoretically still in the fight and, while he will have his work cut out for him to close the 16 point gap to Button, seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher thinks he could do it:

I think it helps to think of a fact which I was always sticking to during my career: It is not over until it is over; you have to fight until the end.

It looks like Jenson Button will have to try pretty hard to not win the Championship this year but rain is forecast for this weekend and as we saw in 2008 anything can happen when the track is wet.

To make your predictions in round 16 of the F1 Buzz prediction game (and be in with a chance to win some nice prizes), just leave a comment on this post with your driver predictions for the race in the following format:

Pole:
First:
Second:
Third:
Fastest lap:

Remember, the deadline for entries is start of qualifying on Saturday, that’s 16:00 GMT.

Good luck!

Image: Brawn GP

This weekend Formula One returns to Suzuka for the first time since 2006.

One of the great circuits of the world, the unique figure-8 track is up there with Spa in the affections of both drivers and fans.

Lewis Hamilton dominated the high downforce Singapore Grand Prix last weekend but McLaren are unlikely to do as well at the higher speed Suzuka circuit.

This weekend will be Lewis Hamilton’s first experience of Suzuka.  He won at Fuji in 2007 but so far has only experienced Suzuka virtually:

It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life to race at Suzuka – so, as you can imagine, I’ll be really excited when practice starts there on Friday morning. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve raced Suzuka on computer games – and while it kind of gives you an idea of how the circuit goes, nothing can beat the real thing.

Despite not having won a race since Turkey in June, Jenson Button still enjoys a 15 point lead over his nearest rival, team mate Rubens Barrichello.  There are now only three races left and in theory Button could seal the title in Japan but in the press conference on Thursday Jenson said he was only thinking of the race:

There are so many possibilities this weekend. There are still three people who can still challenge for the championship. I am one of them, and the most important thing for me to do is work as hard as I can on Friday and Saturday to get the car ready for qualifying and the race and have a good race, the same as all of these guys. I shouldn’t be thinking about anything else.

One possibility this weekend is rain.  So far it looks like it will be wet on Friday and Saturday but probably dry for the race.

To make your predictions in round 15 of the F1 Buzz prediction game (and be in with a chance to win some nice prizes), just leave a comment on this post with your driver predictions for the race in the following format:

Pole:
First:
Second:
Third:
Fastest lap:

Remember, the deadline for entries is start of qualifying on Saturday, that’s 05:00 GMT.

Good luck!

Image:  Toyota