2011 Season Preview

With 2010 being "the greatest season ever", can 2011 live up to its great expectations, and make 2010 look like an ordinary year!

This season, there will be five former world champions in the mix, plus there is the likes of Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld sniffing around for their first official drivers world championships. New teams will also be looking to push their way up the field, with Mercedes and Renault looking to catch up with Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

There hasn't been a lot of driver changes this year, with the top four teams keeping the same drivers. Due to the nasty crash Robert Kubica was involved in, Nick Heidfeld will take his place for at least some of this season. Williams have a new rookie in Pastor Maldonado, who brings in youth, and vital sponsorship deals. At Force India, there is a new Brit with Paul DiResta. He becomes the third British driver on the grid, and will hope to push teammate Adrian Sutil all the way in 2011.

Sauber have gone for a youth driven line up, with Kamui Kobayashi taking the lead role, with Sergio Perez making his debut. Toro Rosso and Lotus keep their driver line ups the same. Both will be looking for vital point this season, as will Virgin. The British team keep Timo Glock, bit partner him with Jerome D'Ambrosio. At HRT, they have two new drivers in Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantionio Liuzzi. Narain will be looking forward to the first Indian GP, and Tonio will be hoping his experience will help this small team make big improvements in the coming season.

The 2011 calendar has had a small shake up as well. The Bahrain GP has been postponed this season, with the FIA trying to organise a gap that the grand prix can fit in. Meanwhile, the Australian GP will be the first race of the season, a season which will span 19 races, 18 countries, 5 continents, and to new horizons. The inaugural Indian Grand Prix will take place in October this year. India already has a team in F1, and with drivers like Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan breaking through, India is hoping to have a strong future in the sport. This season will climax at Sao Paulo, Brazil in November.

With 9 months of F1 excitement to look forward to, it is easy to forget their is an unofficial title for the drivers to fight for as well. Currently, Lewis Hamilton leads the way, but if Sebastian Vettel has a strong start to 2011, he should be odds on to taking the Number One spot for the first time. Mark Webber will also be looking to improve on 3rd, and there is still Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Jenson Button trying to catch up.