Yesterday the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship kicked off in earnest with the Bahrain Grand Prix. With four world champions on the grid and up to four teams expected to fight for wins, it was one of the most highly anticipated season starts of recent years. While the return of Michael Schumacher grabbed the most headlines, his old team Ferrari went into the race as the favourite. During qualifying the Italian team's drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were nevertheless upstaged by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. In the race the young German proved his ingenious, Adrian Newey designed machine was much more than a one-lap wonder. Unfortunately he dropped from the lead when one of the eight spark-plugs on his Renault engine failed. This cleared the way for Alonso to score a one-two debut win for Ferrari in his Ferrari F10. This early win justified Ferrari's controversial decision to abandon the 2009 car halfway through the season and concentrate fully on the F10. Its most unusual feature is the slightly angled engine, which frees up more space for the double diffuser.
On the other end of the grid newly established Lotus Racing delivered the best performance of the three new teams. With both cars completing the race, the cars were remarkably reliable. At Bahrain it was also announced that Lotus' last World Champion, Mario Andretti, would get some role within the new team. He also drove one of his old cars in the parade of champions. That reminded us of a set of photos we had laying around of Andretti driving a Lotus 79 around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca some years ago. Although it was also a parade, he looked seriously quick as he threw up the dust through the legendary 'Corkscrew' corner. It was in the revolutionary Lotus 79 that he scored his greatest successes. The smart 'ground-effect' racing car swept all before it in the second half of the 1978 season. Our detailed article also features pictures of a second example that is regularly demonstrated by Clive Chapman's Classic Team Lotus.
On a complete different note; the Voisin and Duesenberg we featured last week topped their respective auctions this weekend. The French machine changed hands for a very impressive $2.75 million at Gooding while RM Auctions managed to go well over the top estimate with the 'Whittell Mistress' car selling for just over $1.7 million.

Enjoy the links:

2010 Ferrari F10 - Images, Specifications and Information

1978 Lotus 79 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information

1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Sport Berline - Images, Specifications and Information

1931 Voisin C20 'Mylord' Demi-Berline - Images, Specifications and Information