Official F1/Motorsport thread

[Richard.John]

Gutted for Alonso. JB finished 3rd, so if Ferrari had kept their nerve and called him in later, like JB, he would have probably been 4th. Doh, but anyway, well done Seb.

[TheForce]

this was an absolutely fantastic season, and congrats to Vettel !! He really deserved to be crowned champion today !

Nice podium as well with the 2008, 2009 and 2010 champions on the podium !!

I really hope next season will be as good as this one, I'm already counting down the days for next season to start...

[PeteJ]

I'm quite sad that the season has ended now, despite there being some dull races it has to be the best year of F1 I've ever seen.

2011 should be immense!

[sharky_ob]

Boring pap, a circuit that looks a million dollars but is complete rubbish for men to race on.

Couldn't really agree more with this. I think the circuit spoiled what could have been an amazing fight for the championship. If Alonso and Webber had been able to move back up the order it could have been epic.

Not a massive Vettel fan, but Alonso is a total bellend so I'm glad he didn't win. I was really hoping Webber would do it this year but it looks as though the pressure got to him in the end.

[Darwock]

I was also rooting for WEbber, but I'm mostl;y happy it wasn't Hamilton.

That Schumacher incident at the start was scary stuff - just a few inches from having his head removed on live TV. Must have made him think twice about the decision to come back.

[Number45]

Not a massive Vettel fan, but Alonso is a total bellend so I'm glad he didn't win. I was really hoping Webber would do it this year but it looks as though the pressure got to him in the end.

Echoes my thoughts almost exactly.

[CMcK]

That has to have been the tightest championship for years. I would have liked to see Webber win it but Vettel has been the man to beat this season especially in qualifying. Alonso is a great driver as well but his gesturing to Petrov on the in lap after the race was out of order.

I'm really looking forward to next season now. KERS and adjustable rear wings will hopefully allow for more overtaking. But as before KERS does make it easier to defend a position as well.

[sharky_ob]

That Schumacher incident at the start was scary stuff - just a few inches from having his head removed on live TV. Must have made him think twice about the decision to come back.

I was thinking that at the time too and that maybe it would make him think twice about carrying on next year. He didn't look bothered by it at all afterwards though.

[Bort]

Hulk won't be at Williams next year and Barrichello is staying.

[Flabio]

Shame that, he has some talent for sure but Williams need someone that can drag in some sponsorship cash. Can see a few decent drivers getting the shaft for that reason next season.

[Bort]

Yep, it won't be long until most of the driver line-up aren't paid drivers. Even if Virgin accelerate the uptake of CFD by other teams in the next few seasons they'll still find other areas to spend the cashish.

[Bort]

Current entry list for next year. Maldonado was confirmed at williams today.

Red Bull Racing

1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

3. Jenson Button
4. Lewis Hamilton

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

5. Fernando Alonso
6. Felipe Massa

Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team

7. Michael Schumacher
8. Nico Rosberg

Renault F1 Team

9. Nick Hiedfeld
10. Vitaly Petrov

AT&T Williams

11. Rubens Barrichello
12. Pastor Maldonado

Force India F1 Team

14. Adrian Sutil
15. Paul di Resta

Sauber F1 Team

16. Kamui Kobayashi
17. Sergio Perez

Scuderia Toro Rosso

18. Sebastien Buemi
19. Jaime Alguersuari

Team Lotus

20. Jarno Trulli
21. Heikki Kovalainen

HRT F1 Team

22a. Narain Karthikeyan
22b. Vitantonio Liuzzi
22c. TBA
22d. TBA
23a. TBA
23b. TBA
23c. TBA
23d. TBA

Marussia Virgin Racing

24. Timo Glock
25. Jerome D’Ambrosio

[Atticus]

1.6 Turbo engines proposed from 2013

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9275796.stm

[Alastair]

Lots of confusion next year with two Lotus teams on the grid.

Lotus Renault and Lotus Malaysia.

At this stage both are planning a black and gold JPS esque paint job too ?!?

[CMcK]

Lotus Cars are going mental for motorsport over the next few years to help promote their forthcoming new range of cars. I daresay they won't object to all the publicity for the brand.