GPL Drivers
Here they are then, allegedly the twenty-four finest drivers in the world. Strange to think that between them there may only be a second or so per lap but look at the huge difference in pay. Those last couple of tenths are worth a king's ransom to those with the talent, while to a Constructor it is usually cheaper to pay a good driver a massive salary than it is to engineer the speed into the car.
There have been a number of intriguing changes for this season. The one that has the press salivating is the return of Michael Schumacher who casts-off his Italian ties to a dream homecoming to Mercedes (nee Brawn). Elsewhere, reigning world champion Jenson Button has made an "it's not about the money" move to McLaren, while Fernando Alonso replaces Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari. Impressive 2009 debutant Kamui Kobayashi returns, this time with Sauber. Finally, there are five new faces on the grid, of varying eminence; the most promising doubtless is Nico Hulkenberg who will drive the second Williams.
"Nigel Mansell - the man of the race - the man of the day - the man from the Isle of Man"
As I point out each season, the drivers shown above are unlikely to be the twenty-four who compete at Yas Marina in November. As ever, it is further down the grid that the drivers are most at risk of being unceremoniously replaced. The drivers at the three new teams especially will need to perform straight away as their team continually eye better commercial opportunties.
In my spreadsheet and other forms you'll see me refer to Drivers by three-letter contractions, hopefully the same as in the official timing screens. They are as follows:
ALO: Alonso, BUT: Button, VET: Vettel
HAM: Hamilton, MAS: Massa, SCH: Schumacher
KUB: Kubica, ROS: Rosberg, WEB: Webber
BAR: Barrichello, KOB: Kobayashi, SUT: Sutil
HUL: Hulkenberg, LIU: Liuzzi, PET: Petrov
ALG: Alguersuari, BUE: Buemi, DLR: de la Rosa
DIG: di Grassi, GLO: Glock, KOV: Kovalainen, TRU: Trulli
CHA: Chandhok, SEN: Senna
Please note, should any Driver be replaced I will continue to refer to their vacated seat by the original contraction. Any changes during the season will be published below.
UPDATES:
No changes, yet!
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