The Formula 1 Blog

If ever a driver was destined to make it into Formula One racing then you could argue it was Bruno Senna. And finally it has come to pass. The nephew of the late, great three-time champion Ayrton, Senna will make his race debut with the new Spanish team Campos Meta next season. At the mature age of 26, by modern F1 standards Senna is not exactly young. So how did he find his way to the pinnacle of motorsport? Here's the story of his career to date…

Raikkonen did give Ferrari a win, at Spa, after fending off…Fisichella! On that occasion, however, the Italian was still with Force India, whose Mercedes-powered car showed remarkable form on circuits where low downforce was required. Adrian Sutil proved very fast but wild and accident prone in the other car, but only Raikkonen's KERS prevented Fisichella from staging a huge upset victory in Belgium. Fisi's replacement, the underrated Vitantonio Liuzzi, was headed for a podium finish behind the Brawns at Monza when his car broke a driveshaft...

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone in June marked the start of the spiral that threatened Button's title aspirations. Another update put the Red Bulls far ahead there as Vettel led home Webber, and with third place Rubens Barrichello began the second half of season form that made him the contender he had always claimed to be...

Well, that was some season! Yet another stunning FIA Formula One World Championship that created a fresh and unexpected chapter of history. Brawn GP, the Phoenix that rose from the ashes of Honda, became the first 'new' team ever to win their first two races and go on to win both the drivers' and constructors' titles. They won eight races, took four one-twos and 15 podiums, though they didn' t have it all their own way...

Following the well-trodden path of most great drivers, Nico Hulkenberg began his career on the kart track. After starting at the tender age of ten back in 1997, within five years Hulkenberg was already making waves. In 2002 he was named German junior karting champion and the following year, after progressing up the ranks, won the German karting championship proper. Sixteen years earlier, a young Michael Schumacher had clinched the very same title. It was a fact not lost on Schumacher's legendary manager Willi Weber, who promptly signed up the young lad from Emmerich. By 2004 Hulkenberg had added an Italian Junior Championship to his list of achievements and Weber began looking for a way into single-seater racing for his young protege.

They may not have won either championship, but they did dominate the latter part of the 2009 season. Sebastian Vettel's imperious performance at Yas Marina gave Red Bull Racing their third win on the trot, with Mark Webber's second place securing their fourth one-two of the year. But it wasn't only Red Bull celebrating on Sunday night. The inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - F1 racing's first twilight event - was deemed a huge success by all concerned and threw up some thrilling action...

Like Monaco and Singapore, Abu Dhabi drew celebrities and Middle Eastern royalty like a magnet as the dramatic Yas Marina Circuit was adjudged a huge success. Beyonce returned to Formula One after her appearance in Singapore, and was joined by fellow musical stars Kings of Leon, Aerosmith, the Wailers and Jamiroquai, together with rapper Timbaland. And even US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton paid a brief visit, as did American basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar...