2010 season is coming soon, so this is a thread to discuss the sport.

Recent History of the F1 World Championship:

WDC (World Drivers Championship) Winners:

1999 - Mika Hakinen (McLaren) 31 FIN
2000 - Micheal Schumacher (Ferrari) 31 GER
2001 - Micheal Schumacher (Ferrari) 32 GER
2002 - Micheal Schumacher (Ferrari) 33 GER
2003 - Micheal Schumacher (Ferrari) 34 GER
2004 - Micheal Schumacher (Ferrari) 35 GER
2005 - Fernando Alonso (Renault) 24 SPA
2006 - Fernando Alonso (Renault) 25 SPA
2007 - Kimi Raikonen (Ferrari) 28 FIN
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 23 GBR
2009 - Jenson Button (Brawn) 29 GBR

WCC (World Constructors Championship) Winners:

1999 - Ferrari (GER)
2000 - Ferrari (GER)
2001 - Ferrari (GER)
2002 - Ferrari (GER)
2003 - Ferrari (GER)
2004 - Ferrari (GER)
2005 - Renault (FRA)
2006 - Renault (FRA)
2007 - Ferrari (GER)
2008 - Ferrari (GER)
2009 - Brawn (GBR)

2010 Team/Driver Line Up:

Constructor: McLaren Mercedes (GBR)
Engine Supplier: Mercedes (GER)
Driver 1: Jenson Button (GBR)
Driver 2: Lewis Hamilton (GBR)

Constructor: Mercedes (GER)
Engine Supplier: Mercedes (GER)
Driver 1: Micheal Schumacher (GER)
Driver 2: Nico Rosberg (GER)

Constructor: Red Bull (AUT)
Engine Supplier: Renault (FRA)
Driver 1: Sebastien Vettel (GER)
Driver 2: Mark Webber (AUS)

Constructor: Ferrari (GER)
Engine Supplier: Ferrari (GER)
Driver 1: Fellipe Massa (BRA)
Driver 2: Fernando Alonso (SPA)

Constructor: Force India (IND)
Engine Supplier: Mercedes (GER)
Driver 1: Andrian Sutil (GER)
Driver 2: Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)

Constructor: Williams (GBR)
Engine Supplier: Cosworth (GBR)
Driver 1: Rubens Barrichello (BRA)
Driver 2: Nico Hulkenberg (GER)

Constructor: Renault (FRA)
Engine Supplier: Renault (FRA)
Driver 1: Robert Kubica (POL)
Driver 2: Vitaly Petrov (RUS)

Constructor: Toro Rosso (ITA)
Engine Supplier: Ferrari (ITA)
Driver 1: Sebastien Buemi (SWI)
Driver 2: Jaime Alquersuari (SPA)

Constructor: Lotus Racing (MAL)
Engine Supplier: Cosworth (GBR)
Driver 1: Jarno Trulli (ITA)
Driver 2: Heikki Kovalinen (FIN)

Constructor: Hispania Racing (SPA) 
Engine Supplier: Cosworth (GBR)
Driver 1: Karun Chandock (IND)
Driver 2: Bruno Senna (BRA)

Constructor: Sauber (SWI)
Engine Supplier: Ferrari (ITA)
Driver 1: Pedro De La Rosa (SPA)
Driver 2: Kamui Kobayashi (JAP)

Constructor: Virgin F1 (GBR)
Engine Supplier: Cosworth (GBR)
Driver 1: Timo Glock (GER)
Driver 2: Lucas di Grassi (BRA)

2010 Race Calender

Round	Race Title	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date	Time
Local	UTC
1	Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain GP	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	14 March	15:00	12:00
2	Qantas Australian Grand Prix[123]	Australian GP	Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne	28 March	17:00	06:00
3	Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix	Malaysian GP	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur	4 April	16:00	08:00
4	Chinese Grand Prix	Chinese GP	Shanghai International Circuit	18 April	15:00	07:00
5	Gran Premio de España Telefónica	Spanish GP	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona	9 May	14:00	12:00
6	Grand Prix de Monaco	Monaco GP	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	16 May	14:00	12:00
7	Turkish Grand Prix	Turkish GP	Istanbul Park	30 May	15:00	12:00
8	Grand Prix du Canada[124]	Canadian GP	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	13 June	12:00	16:00
9	Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe	European GP	Valencia Street Circuit	27 June	14:00	12:00
10	Santander British Grand Prix	British GP[125]	Silverstone Circuit	11 July	13:00	12:00
11	Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland	German GP	Hockenheimring	25 July	14:00	12:00
12	Magyar Nagydíj[126]	Hungarian GP	Hungaroring, Budapest	1 August	14:00	12:00
13	Belgian Grand Prix[126]	Belgian GP	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa	29 August	14:00	12:00
14	Gran Premio Santander d'Italia	Italian GP	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	12 September	14:00	12:00
15	SingTel Singapore Grand Prix	Singapore GP	Marina Bay Street Circuit	26 September	20:00	12:00
16	Japanese Grand Prix	Japanese GP	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka	10 October	15:00	06:00
17	Korean Grand Prix†	Korean GP	Korean International Circuit, Yeongam	24 October	15:00	06:00
18	Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil	Brazilian GP	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	7 November	14:00	16:00
19	Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Abu Dhabi GP	Yas Marina Circuit	14 November	17:00	13:00

Points are awarded thus:

1st Place - 25 points
2nd Place - 18 points
3rd Place - 15 points
4th Place - 12 points
5th Place - 10 points
6th Place - 8 points
7th Place - 6 points
8th Place - 4 points
9th Place - 2 points
10th Place - 1 point

Round	Race Title	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date	Time
Local	UTC
1	Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain GP	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	14 March	15:00	12:00
2	Qantas Australian Grand Prix[123]	Australian GP	Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne	28 March	17:00	06:00
3	Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix	Malaysian GP	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur	4 April	16:00	08:00
4	Chinese Grand Prix	Chinese GP	Shanghai International Circuit	18 April	15:00	07:00
5	Gran Premio de España Telefónica	Spanish GP	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona	9 May	14:00	12:00
6	Grand Prix de Monaco	Monaco GP	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	16 May	14:00	12:00
7	Turkish Grand Prix	Turkish GP	Istanbul Park	30 May	15:00	12:00
8	Grand Prix du Canada[124]	Canadian GP	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	13 June	12:00	16:00
9	Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe	European GP	Valencia Street Circuit	27 June	14:00	12:00
10	Santander British Grand Prix	British GP[125]	Silverstone Circuit	11 July	13:00	12:00
11	Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland	German GP	Hockenheimring	25 July	14:00	12:00
12	Magyar Nagydíj[126]	Hungarian GP	Hungaroring, Budapest	1 August	14:00	12:00
13	Belgian Grand Prix[126]	Belgian GP	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa	29 August	14:00	12:00
14	Gran Premio Santander d'Italia	Italian GP	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	12 September	14:00	12:00
15	SingTel Singapore Grand Prix	Singapore GP	Marina Bay Street Circuit	26 September	20:00	12:00
16	Japanese Grand Prix	Japanese GP	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka	10 October	15:00	06:00
17	Korean Grand Prix†	Korean GP	Korean International Circuit, Yeongam	24 October	15:00	06:00
18	Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil	Brazilian GP	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	7 November	14:00	16:00
19	Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Abu Dhabi GP	Yas Marina Circuit	14 November	17:00	13:00

gha, mercedes has it's own independent team this year? i've been out of the loop.. and what's with this new points structure? it's strange.. and a whole bunch of new race venues :O

Mercedes bought what was the Brawn GP team who won the Constructors Championship last season.

new points system was adopted by the FIA because of the increased number of cars on the grid and to give a bigger advantage to the winning driver.

the calender provisionaly contains 19 GP, though the Korean GP may not go ahead if its not ready on time (according to Wikipedia)

so that means... mclaren mercedes will be competing with itself. odd. and wtf, lewis agreed to be a number 2 driver? michael schumacher, that old fossil is driving for mercedes? fernando alonso is now a number 2 also (greatest crime of all)? no more renault team this year?

god!

There was nothing to agree or disagree, the last champion has to use the number 1. Of course, since he's much better than Button, he'll quickly show himself as the first driver of the team

well, we shall see, I think Button will do better than you think.

@ bugrimmar - Schumacher retired at the end of the 2006 season, but is returning this season. Alonso moved to Ferrari from Renault, I believe Massa was contracted as there number 1 though, so Alonso is nominally there 2nd driver for this season, though most people think that Alonso will do better than Massa.

Renault are still going, but they almost went bust, I believe they are just under new ownership.

(thanks for reminding me, lol, missed them out)

Constructor: Renault (FRA)
Engine Supplier: Renault (FRA)
Driver 1: Robert Kubica (POL)
Driver 2: Vitaly Petrov (RUS)

bleh, you surprised me there. alonso is my favorite driver. he pulls out magical surprises on a suck-ass car. i think that's the true test of a good driver. put them in a bad car, and watch them get random wins.

that's why i think jensen isn't really deserving of the championship. he was just in the right team at the right time. the other teams just couldn't get their car's balance right. since he's with lewis now, i think lewis will outshine him quite decently since lewis has quite a large ego and will play second fiddle to no one.

No US F1 made me QQ. Looking forward to the season nonetheless.

Don't talk to me about it, we were supposed to have an Argentinian driver after 8 years without one

Shame those idiots didn't really have a plan to make a car in time

based on that logic, Schumacher debatebly didnt "deserve" most of his WDC's either, no doubt Ferrari had the best car in many of those seasons

its not just about the car, Barrichello was in the same car and came 3rd behind Vettel, 20 or so points behind Jenson

of course having the right car is a major factor, but its never a gurantee of anything, plenty of drivers have driven for top teams and done awfully, to say anyone didnt "deserve" there title is incredibly harsh and if its based on that logic, its also ignorant.

you can argue that he wasnt as good when he won it, but thats a different thing entirely from saying he didnt deserve it. I would probably agree with that also as Brawn did have the best car at the start of the season, though as I said, Jenson still had to get it to work for him, which Barrichello didnt do as well as he did.

I should point out that one of Alonso's wins since rejoining Renault was fixed by his team...but yes, your point is good, good drivers get results with less than outstanding cars.