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| Drivers |
Group A
The 2010 season saw three teams battling it out for supremacy. In the end, Red Bull came out on top, winning the Drivers' and Constructors' championships.
However, they were pushed all the way by the ever-strong McLaren and Ferrari teams, and this season looks like being another very close fight.
You must select TWO drivers from this group. You may not select two drivers from the same team.
Sebastian Vettel  (Red Bull) |
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DoB:
Races:
Wins:
Podiums:
Points:
Titles: |
03/07/87
62
10
19
381
1 (2010) |
The young German was tipped as a future world champion the moment he came on the F1 scene. In 2010 he lived up to this billing, snatching the title at the final race to become its youngest ever winner. Very quick, but sometimes erratic, he will be looking to add consistency to his armour and take a second title.
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Mark Webber  (Red Bull) |
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DoB:
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27/08/76
159
6
20
412
0 |
Webber used to be seen as one of the unluckiest drivers in the field, suffering numerous mechanical failures and other misfortunes. However, in the quick and reliable Red Bull his fortunes have changed, and he came close to taking the title last season. Perhaps lacking the raw pace of Vettel, but much more experienced, the Australian could have the edge this time out. |
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Jenson Button  (McLaren) |
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DoB:
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19/01/80
191
9
31
541
1 (2009) |
Many questioned the 2009 champion's decision to move to McLaren and pit himself against the immense talent of Lewis Hamilton, who had the team largely working around him. However, Button answered his critics with two early wins and a string of other good performances. Now entering his second season with the team, Button is likely to be even stronger.
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| Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) |
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DoB:
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07/01/85
71
14
36
496
1 (2008) |
The 2008 world champion had a solid 2010, taking three wins and being in contention for the title for a large part of the season, until ultimately finishing fourth. He has seen his record of being the youngest champion taken by Vettel, and he will want to re-establish his dominance and take a second title.
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Fernando Alonso  (Ferrari) |
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DoB:
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29/07/81
159
26
63
829
2 (2005-06) |
The double world champion moved from Renault to Ferrari in 2010 and made a big impression immediately, winning the first race of the season. He went on to take five victories and was agonisingly close to winning his third title, only for a poor strategic decision to hand the title to Vettel in the final race. The Spaniard will be keen to put that disappointment behind him and put in another title challenge in 2011. |
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Felipe Massa  (Ferrari) |
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DoB:
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25/04/81
135
11
33
464
0 |
The Brazilian's 2009 was ruined by a horrific season-ending head injury in Hungary, and perhaps due to this he was very much overshadowed in 2010 by new teammate Alonso. However, he still put in some good performances and achieved five podium finishes. His championship challenge in 2008, where he so nearly took the title, shows he is a highly capable driver; he will want to prove this by outperforming his more illustrious teammate. |
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Group B
Having taken both championships in 2009, Brawn GP, rebranded as Mercedes, had a relatively poor 2010, managing only a few podium positions. Meanwhile the
Renault team, led by Robert Kubica, performed similarly, finishing on the podium twice. It looks as if both of these teams will be just behind the front three again
in 2011 - but with Michael Schumacher reportedly "concerned" about Mercedes' pace, and Renault rocked by the serious injury to Kubica, neither are in for a smooth season.
You must select TWO drivers from this group. You may not select two drivers from the same team.
| Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) |
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DoB:
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03/01/69
269
91
154
1441
7 (1994-95, 2000-04) |
Last season saw F1's most successful driver make, by all accounts, a rather disappointing return to the sport after three years in retirement. Nevertheless, three fourth-place finishes showed that he is still highly capable. Now with a year's more experience under his belt, Schumacher will be eager to demonstrate that the march of time has not diminished his ability; even at 42, one should be wary of writing him off.
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| Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) |
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DoB:
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27/06/85
89
0
5
2nd
218
0 |
The son of 1982 champion Keke, Nico demonstrated some good pace during four seasons in a relatively uncompetitive Williams, and was unperturbed at having Michael Schumacher as teammate during his first season with Mercedes. Rosberg put in a number of strong performances and achieved three podium finishes; he will be looking to improve on this and take his first win in 2011. |
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Kimi Raikkonen  (Lotus) |
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DoB:
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08/09/84
19
0
0
5th
27
0 |
Russia's first F1 driver had a difficult maiden season in the shadow of the excellent Robert Kubica. However, he began to improve later in the year, finishing fifth in Hungary and sixth in Abu Dhabi. The team have kept faith in him for a second season, and now with a year's experience they will expect some strong performances from him; Petrov will be keen to show that he has the talent to deliver. |
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Romain Grosjean  (Lotus) |
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23/05/72
307
11
68
654
0 |
The driver with the most F1 starts in history, Barrichello had a solid first season with Williams, outperforming promising rookie teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Now with another talented F1 debutant next to him in the garage, Rubens will need to call on his unsurpassed experience once more. |
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| Paul di Resta (Force India) |
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16/04/86
0
0
0
N/A
0
0 |
The Scot has been very successful in the lower formulae, winning the Formula Three and DTM (German Touring Car Masters) championships in 2006 and 2010 respectively, and beating a certain Sebastian Vettel in the former. He has a year's F1 experience as Force India's test driver, and he will be eager to demonstrate his talent now he has stepped up to a race seat. |
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| Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) |
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11/01/83
71
0
0
4th
53
0 |
The German was tipped to be a star of the future early in his F1 career, but had several frustrating seasons largely at the back of the grid. However, the improving Force India has allowed Sutil to show what he can do when the car is performing, gaining a number of points finishes in 2010. He will want to demonstrate more of this capability and attract the attention of the top teams. |
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Group C
Behind the front five, four teams (Williams, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso) battled it out in the midfield in 2010, picking up points
where possible. Each claims to have made progress that will enable them to challenge the front-runners this season, but it remains to be seen whether this will be the
case.
You must select TWO drivers from this group. You may not select two drivers from the same team.
Kamui Kobayashi  (Sauber) |
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DoB:
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13/09/86
21
0
0
6th
35
0 |
Kobayashi was impressive enough in the final two races of 2009, driving for Toyota, to be given a full-time drive by Sauber in 2010. He proved to be aggressive and exciting, often trying to overtake when no other driver would think it possible - but this aggression meant he was sometimes erratic. If Kobayashi can improve his consistency, he will really be one to watch. |
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Sergio Perez  (Sauber) |
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26/01/90
0
0
0
N/A
0
0 |
The young Mexican has performed well in the lower formulae, comfortably winning the British Formula Three National Class in 2007, and finishing runner-up in last year's GP2 championship, winning five races in the process. Now handed an F1 drive, he will want to demonstrate his pace and catch the eye of the top teams. |
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| Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) |
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01/07/89
0
0
0
N/A
0
0 |
The Australian has performed well in the lower formulae, and was highly impressive in Red Bull's young drivers tests in both 2009 and 2010. He was rewarded with a place as Toro Rosso's reserve driver for this season, and he has now made the step up to a race drive with Hispania, replacing Narain Karthikeyan mid-season. Ricciardo will be keen to keep impressing by outperforming his more experienced teammate. |
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Jean-Eric Vergne  (Toro Rosso) |
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31/10/88
36
0
0
7th
14
0 |
Buemi's strong showing in his rookie season in 2009 led to the sacking of his more experienced teammate, four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, and he continued to put in solid, if unspectacular, performances in 2010. The Swiss driver has been reported as saying he wants to move to a Red Bull seat but, though clearly talented, he will need some more stand-out performances if he is to make this a reality.
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Pastor Maldonado  (Williams) |
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09/03/85
0
0
0
N/A
0
0 |
The Venezuelan has driven in the GP2 series for the last four years, winning the championship in 2010. As with 2009 champion Nico Hulkenberg, Williams have given Maldonado the chance to step up and show his worth in F1; he will want to do what the German could not, and get one over on his teammate. |
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| Bruno Senna (Williams) |
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15/10/83
19
0
0
13th
0
0 |
Senna has been brought in mid-season to replace Nick Heidfeld, who has left Renault by mutual consent. The Brazilian's uncle is a certain Ayrton Senna, who once said "If you think I'm fast, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno". The younger Senna was unable to show his full ability in his debut season last year in the back-of-the-grid Hispania, so he will be keen to live up to his uncle's assessment now he is in a much more competitive car. |
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Group D
Since coming in to F1 in 2010, Caterham (formerly Team Lotus), HRT and Marussia (formerly Virgin) have spent two seasons struggling to catch up with the main
pack, and have not managed to earn a single championship point between them in that time. Can any of them break their duck in 2012?
You must select TWO drivers from this group. You may not select two drivers from the same team.
Heikki Kovalainen  (Caterham) |
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DoB:
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19/10/81
71
1
4
105
0 |
The likeable Finn very much played second fiddle to the dominant Lewis Hamilton during his two seasons at McLaren, but he seemed to enjoy the challenge of a Lotus drive, putting in some good performances. He will need all of his natural good humour in what could be another testing season. |
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Jarno Trulli  (Caterham) |
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DoB:
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13/07/74
238
1
11
247
0 |
After five seasons at Toyota, Trulli switched to Lotus in 2010 after the Japanese manufacturer withdrew from the sport. However, as with all the drivers in the new teams, he rather struggled with a somewhat slow and unreliable car, so he will be hoping for a more competitive machine this season. The Italian is renowned for his excellent qualifying performances, but can struggle to carry this speed into the race. On his day, though, Jarno can be up there with the best. |
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| Pedro de la Rosa (HRT) |
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23/03/90
27
0
0
9th
5
0 |
In 2009, the Spaniard became the youngest ever F1 driver when he was brought in as a mid-season replacement for the sacked Sebastien Bourdais; given that he had only straight-line tested the car before his debut, he understandably struggled somewhat. In 2010, though, he was much improved, showing good consistency and closely matching his teammate. Jaime will want to continue his development and outperform Buemi this time around. |
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| Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) |
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06/08/81
63
0
0
6th
26
0 |
Once tipped as a star of the future, Liuzzi has never really been able to live up to this billing, although a number of seasons in relatively uncompetitive cars have perhaps not helped his cause. Nevertheless, the Italian is still a solid and capable performer, and a move to a new team may give him the boost he needs to show what he is really made of. |
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| Timo Glock (Marussia) |
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18/03/82
56
0
3
2nd
51
0 |
In Glock's two seasons with Toyota he proved himself to be a decent driver, providing a strong challenge to his more experienced teammate, Jarno Trulli. However, as with the drivers of the other new teams, he struggled to stand out during his first season with Virgin. Now that the team will hopefully provide a better car, Timo will want to re-establish himself as a strong performer.
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Charles Pic  (Marussia) |
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DoB:
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27/12/85
0
0
0
N/A
0
0 |
The Belgian has shown promise in the lower formulae, winning the 2007 International Formula Master championship and finishing runner-up in the 2008-09 GP2 Asia series. Now stepping up to F1 with Virgin, d'Ambrosio will not have the pressure of the other rookies in more competitive teams; this may allow him to better showcase the talent he clearly possesses. |
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