It would be great if ESPN telecasts at least the first race of the season if not whole of the season. I would hate to hear from my colleagues who are currently working on an assignment for Govt. of Bahrain if they tell me they missed LIVE action of this race. I am always amazed that country of such size has been hosting Formula One race and more importantly the first race of the season this time. Ferrari has so much to prove to the world this season after that poor performance in 2005 season. Schumi is of course one of the drivers who has been associated with F1 for very long period now and he definitely has the talent to do what is needed of him and the team. Hopefully, this season would make Narain Karthikeyan, test driver with McLaren, a driver to watch out for in the seasons to follow.
I am just waiting to see the race strategies this season as the rules and regulations are modified to a great deal this year. I just put some effort to understand the rules and regulations for this season before the starting to follow this season. I have to say, it cannot get any complex than this! There would definitely be some criticism around these regulations as season progresses but that is acceptable after all this season is not end of F1.
Read through the rules if you watch F1 and not gone through the rules yet.
QUALIFYING:
Qualifying
For 2006, the single-lap system used in recent years is replaced by a new three-part, knockout format, with multiple cars on track throughout the qualifying hour, which is split into two 15-minute sessions and a final 20-minute session, with five-minute breaks in between.
Part one: All 22 cars may run laps at any time during the first 15 minutes of the hour. At the end of the first 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill the final six grid places.
Part two: After a five-minute break, the times will be reset and the 16 remaining cars then will then run in a second 15-minute session - again they may complete as many laps as they want at any time during that period. At the end of the 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill places 11 to 16 on the grid.
Part three: After another five-minute break, the times are reset and the final 20-minute session will feature a shootout between the remaining 10 cars to decide pole position and the starting order for the top 10 grid places. Again, these cars may run as many laps as they wish.
In the first two 15-minute sessions, cars may run any fuel load and drivers knocked out after those sessions may refuel ahead of the race. However, the top-ten drivers must begin the final 20-minute session with the fuel load on which they plan to start the race. They will be weighed before they leave the pits, and whatever fuel they use in the 20 minutes may be replaced at the end of the session.
If a driver is deemed to have stopped unnecessarily on the circuit or impeded another driver during the qualifying session, then his times will be cancelled.
Engines
For 2006, engines are reduced in size from the previous 3-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s. The aim is to reduce costs and improve safety. With similar engine speeds, the change is expected to cut peak power by around 200bhp, which in turn is likely to add around three to five seconds to lap times at most circuits. The FIA may allow some teams to use 2005-spec V10s if they do not have access to competitive V8. The FIA will enforce a rev limit on any V10s to ensure performance is comparable with that of a V8.
Tyres
After a season’s absence, tyre changes during races return to Formula One in 2006. The thinking behind this is that the reduced engine size will offset any performance gain. Drivers also have access to slightly more tyres than in 2005 - seven sets of dry-weather, four sets of wet-weather and three sets of extreme-weather. Drivers must make a final choice of dry-weather compound ahead of qualifying.
Weekend schedule
In a slight change to the Grand Prix weekend format, Saturday morning now features a single, one-hour practice session, as opposed to two, 45-minute sessions. It takes place between 11:00 and 12:00. Qualifying is an hour later than before, commencing at 14:00.
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