The Formula 1 World Championship 2007 is about to start with the Australian Grand Prix this weekend. There has been a lot of changes in terms of teams, drivers, sponsors and rules as well. This year’s championship will be contested by 11 teams and 22 drivers. This season of Formula 1 promises to be as exciting if not better than all the previous seasons. The biggest change will of course be the absence of a living legend, Michael Schumacher. After winning seven world titles and driving for more than a decade, he’ll not be seen in his usual red overalls this season.
Schumacher has been replaced my one of the fastest (if not “the” fastest) driver on the F1 grid, Kimi Raikkonen. He’ll be driving a Ferrari this year after his long 5-year stint with McLaren. The current champion, Fernando Alonso will also be shifting base from Renault to McLaren where he’ll be replacing Kimi. The world champion team Renault will now be lead by Giancarlo Fisichella. Here is the list of teams and their race drivers for the 2007 season -
McLaren – Fernando Alonso & Lewis Hamilton
Renault – Giancarlo Fisichella & Heikki Kovalainen
Ferrari – Felipe Massa & Kimi Raikkonen
Honda – Jenson Button & Rubens Barrichello
BMW Sauber – Nick Heidfeld & Robert Kubica
Toyota – Ralf Schumacher & Jarno Trulli
Red Bull – David Coulthard & Mark Webber
Williams – Nico Rosberg & Alexander Wurz
Toro Rosso – Vitantonio Liuzzi & Scott Speed
Spyker F1 – Christijan Albers & Adrian Sutil
Super Aguri F1 – Takuma Sato & Anthony Davidson
The season will consist of a total of 17 races. The date schedule for the races as released by FIA is as follows -
FORMULA 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne, 16 – 18 Mar)
FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix (Kuala Lumpur, 06 – 08 Apr)
FORMULA 1™ Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (Bahrain, 13 – 15 Apr)
FORMULA 1™ Gran Premio de España Telefónica (Catalunya, 11 – 13 May)
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix de Monaco (Monte Carlo, 25 – 27 May)
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix du Canada (Montreal, 08 – 10 Jun)
FORMULA 1™ United States Grand Prix (Indianapolis, 15 – 17 Jun)
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix de France (Magny-Cours, 29 Jun – 01 Jul)
FORMULA 1™ Santander British Grand Prix (Silverstone, 06 – 08 Jul)
FORMULA 1™ Grosser Preis von Deutschland (Nürburgring, 20 – 22 Jul)
FORMULA 1™ Magyar Nagydíj (Budapest, 03 – 05 Aug)
FORMULA 1™ Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix (Istanbul, 24 – 26 Aug)
FORMULA 1™ Gran Premio d’Italia (Monza, 07 – 09 Sep)
FORMULA 1™ Belgian Grand Prix (Spa, 14 – 16 Sep)
FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix (Fuji Speedway, 28 – 30 Sep)
FORMULA 1™ Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai, 05 – 07 Oct)
FORMULA 1™ Grande Prêmio do Brasil (Sao Paulo, 19 – 21 Oct)
Looking forward to a great season of speed and excitement ahead.
