So the Malaysian Grand Prix didn’t end up a water fest as pretty much everyone predicted. In fact, not a single drop of rain fell during the race. Many also predicted the biggest headline out of the race would be the weather, how awful it was, and how the race time needs to be changed again etc etc.

But that didn’t happen – so the second surprise to pop out was the Red Bull 1-2 finish. Yes, I said finish. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber have both been plagued recently by dodgy cars, causing Vettel in particular to lose two Grand Prix from commanding positions.

Mark Webber has fared better, however he’s had his share of gremlins too in the car, however luckily during practice sessions.

Despite all that, Vettel pipped Webber to the first corner in Sepang after lights out, and the rest they say, was a parade… (well at least for them it was). Neither Vettel nor Webber moved from P1 and P2 respectively throughout the race, and were never bothered at all by the competition.

Vettel’s now infamous “Number 1″ finger pumps told the whole story at the end of the race – he was clearly relieved to have made it (a) to the finish, and (b) in P1 – probably in that order. However, have they just got lucky this time, or have the Red Bull team figured out their issues with reliability? If it’s the latter, we can say goodbye to the championship race – it’ll all be about the Red Bulls.

That said, they were let off a bit this time over. Both Ferraris and McLarens were starting from pretty much the back of the pack, and had some 10+ cars to go through before getting close to the podiums. Lewis Hamilton predictably steamed through the pack, making up a large number of places, with team mate Jenson Button going backwards, forwards, backwards.

The Ferrari boys also rued their decision on Saturday, which ultimately screwed their race on Sunday. Fernando Alonso’s engine blowout on the penultimate lap was the signing off of a terrible weekend for the team, who were hoping to be back up there. The BBC even reported that it almost looked like Alonso forced the blowout after a frustrating race.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg needs a mention. Other than the rolling headline that never disappears that he finished ahead of his team mate (you know, Schumacher), he actually finished P3, grabbing the first Mercedes GP podium this year.

What this has done is setup an interesting top 3 in the drivers championship. A top 3 which actually holds 5 drivers:

1. Felipe Massa (39)
2. Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Vettel (37)
3. Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg (35)

That’s pretty tight, and hold’s the top 4 teams. It’s anyones game right now, but could we call it this early? Let’s have a vote:

7 times World Champion Michael Schumacher is still feeling the heat after a moderate qualifying position in Bahrain. Expectations are high, with the Mercedes driver admitting that he’s just not there yet. Schumacher told reporters after qualifying:

“I just need to get the rhythm, although slowly and progressively it has improved, but it’s challenging and that’s a good thing.

It’s just having the rhythm and having this fine-tuning and getting the car to your liking. Just make perfect use of what you have available.”

Schumacher has struggled all weekend trying to keep up with younger team mate Nico Rosberg – who on average was 4/10ths of a second up on him on nearly all hot laps. On Friday Schumacher admitted he was not happy with that at all, and Saturday expressed that he felt like an newbie all over again:

“I feel like I just started in Formula 1. In Valencia during the first lap I was a bit shocked, but then I was straight back into it and felt very comfortable and it was exactly as it was in 1991 in a way”

Fans of F1 certainly expected more – a P1 and nothing less no doubt. We do need to remember though that this guy hasn’t driven an F1 car for a few years – he might be the best driver to ever race in F1, but he’s human, and we all get a bit rusty if we don’t do something for a while.

We’re giving him 3 races before he starts really giving hell with the Mercedes, and playing up there with the top boys!

The first practise sessions of the 2010 Formula One Grand Prix season began today in Bahrain, with many of the teams eager to see how their cars would perform in the blistering desert heat.

In Practise session 1 Adrian Sutil was the man on top, beating Fernando Alonso to the P1 position by some 0.325 seconds. New entrants Hispania struggled to keep anywhere near the pace of the other runners, having to use the practise sessions effectively as shake downs to their new car. Hispania were unable to have their car ready for any of the pre-season testing sessions.

In session 2 Nico Rosberg headed up the table, 0.445 seconds faster than closest rival Lewis Hamilton. In fact, in both practise sessions Rosberg beat his team mate, Michael Schumacher by nearly half a second – something Schumacher was not best pleased about:

“Nico was four-tenths up and that is a bit too much for my standards. I’ve got to raise my game a bit and I’m sure I’m able to.”

Out of any man on the grid, you can believe that Schumacher can pull that one out of the bag. Nevertheless, he finished practice 2 in P3.

The Ferrari’s fared well in session 1, however session 2 was not so great for the team – finishing 7th and 9th. Alonso afterwards commented that he was unclear on who would be up there during qualifying:

“Out of the four big teams, any can be on pole. And there could be a surprise like Force India, who seem very quick on this type of circuit.”

McLaren also didn’t disappoint with both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button feeling happy with the car. Both drivers finished in the top 6 in both sessions, moving into Saturday with a lot of confidence that their new car for 2010 is solid, and consistent.

Most unsurprising out of the two sessions was the performance of the newer teams, Virgin Racing, Lotus and Hispania. All 3 teams ended the sessions fighting for the last 6 places on the grid, with Hispania’s Karun Chandhok not even getting a drive on Friday.

It’s all still out there to play for, with the 4 big teams still very close. Outsiders Force India and Williams both have a chance at interrupting the play in Saturday’s qualifying session – it’s going to be a really exciting one!

Mercedes GP (formerly Brawn GP) have announced that Nico Rosberg will drive for the team in 2010. Rosberg had been rumoured to be joining the outfit ever since he announced he was leaving the Williams team earlier this month.

“I am more motivated than ever and can hardly wait to start testing with the new Silver Arrow and for the first race of the new season at Bahrain on 14 March… I am very proud that I will race for the new team from the start and look forward to working with Ross Brawn.”

Team principal Ross Brawn said of his new driver:

“Nico is a great talent and with four years of experience in Formula 1 is a driver who will be able to make a valuable contribution to our team right from the outset.”

No announcement has yet been made about who will drive alongside Rosberg at Mercedes, however Nick Heidfeld, Kimi Raikkonen and even Michael Schumacher have all been rumoured to be talking to the team.

Check out our Guide to 2010 F1 Driver Lineups here.

It seemed that Button was on the verge of signing for McLaren, but the newspaper The Times is tonight reporting that Brawn GP have offered Button what he wanted – an £8mill deal to keep him at the team which will run under the Mercedes name next season.

It was expected that Mercedes had their driver line-up sorted for next season with many speculating that the German owners would want German drivers – with Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg favourites for the Mercedes race seats, with Jenson Button off to McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen out of F1 completely.

However earlier on today the head of Mercedes’ motorsport activities Norbert Haug hinted at ’some surprises’ in the Mercedes 2010 line-up, and will Jenson Button staying on at the team be the surprise?

As we reported earlier today, Mercedes have confirmed that they will take ownership of Brawn GP from 2010 onwards, leaving Jenson Button – the 2009 World Champion likely leaving the team.

It is pretty much confirmed that Nico Rosberg has signed with the team, however no statement has been released to that effect – in addition to this Mercedes are apparently only keen to have Nick Heidfeld in the 2nd drivers seat for 2010, with Mercedes boss Norbert Haug confirming that they are pursuing the German driver.

This leaves Jenson Button without a seat in 2010, with his move to McLaren even more likely.

The knock on effect of all of this is ultimately Kimi Raikkonen will not be driving in Formula 1 in 2010. Raikkonen had previously stated that he would only drive for McLaren in 2010, but at a high price. Button in recent weeks has looked the more likely candidate to take the seat for the Woking based team. Raikkonen could look to a Rally drive in 2010, or simply just sit 2010 out.

Mercedes will continue to supply engines to McLaren, despite this buy out of Brawn GP. Ross Brawn will remain as Team Principal of the team, owning 25% of the team with Nick Fry.

In very interesting news this morning it is being strongly rumoured in the British press that Mercedes Benz will buy a 75% stake in Brawn GP, and with that deal launch an all German driver lineup, leaving Jenson Button without a team.

Mercedes have long been a bit upset with their current number 1 team McLaren after they decided to use their own engines in their new road car. Mercedes powered Brawn to their championship wins in 2009 and have been closely linked to a bigger deal with the Brackley outfit for some time.

According to reports, Mercedes also want an all German lineup for their new number 1 team, with Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld taking the seats, leaving the negotiating Jenson Button out in the cold.

As reported earlier in the week, Button and his management had been spotted at McLaren HQ in Woking earlier in the week, with rumours of a possible move alongside Lewis Hamilton getting stronger by the day. Brawn are also reported to not be willing to pay the wage that the new world champion is asking for, wheras a team like McLaren with big pockets should be able to pick up.

Frank Williams has confirmed to Autosport that the Williams Formula 1 team will switch to Cosworth engines next year. Williams’ contract with existing engine manufacturer Toyota has now expired which allowed the team to look further afield for a deal for 2010 onwards. Frank Willams said,

“We’ve finished our contract with Toyota and we’ve moved on to a British engine manufacturer Cosworth with whom we have won many world championships in the past. They are 50 miles away from Williams which is very convenient. Besides we also like our independence. We will be not under the influence, not that Toyota ever bossed around, but we’ve just gone a private and independent route.”

Williams also announced that they will be confirming their drivers for 2010 on Monday. After weeks of speculation, it has been strongly suggested that Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenburg will drive for the team. Nico Rosberg confirmed yesterday that he will leave the team after the Abu Dhabi race, assumingly because already has a drive elsewhere (either McLaren or Brawn GP). Pointing to this, Williams said,

“There are a few things going on at Williams for next season, with our engines, so we thought we can do better. Nico is German and Mercedes need at least one German driver to sit before their engine.”

Nico Rosberg has confirmed to the Reuters news agency that he will leave Williams at the end of the season after four years with the British team.

The 24 year old German has said that next season he will be driving a ‘winning car’ and speculation has been rife about him joining drivers and constructors world champions Brawn GP next season.

Despite the rumours about him joining Brawn, Norbert Haug the president of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activity recently hinted that a German driver will be hired at McLaren next season.

All that is certain is that it seems that Rosberg will be moving from one British team to another for the 2010 season.

For more information on the Formula 1 driver lineup for 2010, check out our Ultimate Guide.

Mercedes Benz boss Norbert Haug has warned any potential drivers seeking a seat with McLaren next season that if they’re seeking money, McLaren is the wrong place for them. Haug has been speaking to Autosport this weekend where he discussed the latest options for McLaren to replace the struggling Heikki Kovalainen, those being Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen.

Raikkonen is understood to be a strong contender for next season, however as we previously reported, Toyota are also currently chasing the Ferrari driver, albeit recently admitting he may be too expensive for them. Haug told Autosport,

“Kimi is an option, but there are lots of options around. One thing is for sure though – guys who are out for money are not the right ones for us – whoever it may be.

I won’t name anyone, but we want to have full commitment from someone who is success-oriented, not someone saying ‘I am a big name, pay me a lot of money and I will drive for you.’”

It’s hard not to read between the lines in the above statement – an obvious “name” he maybe thinking of would be Raikkonen, seeing as he has been playing hard ball already with Toyota. Haug continued,

“The team has to be convinced that a driver is hungry, motivated, focused, and that his first thought is not to get more money.”

Haug believes that any new potential driver has to realise what McLaren can offer them, rather than the other way round. Pointing to the latter half of the 2009 season, Haug was quick to note McLaren’s success,

“We have shown our level of competitiveness – Lewis [Hamilton] has scored race wins and podiums, and beaten the guys that have been going for the title this year.

It shows that we are going in the right direction. We have stabilised this year, and we have a seat to offer in a race-winning car. There are probably three, four, five teams maximum that can offer that.”

Next season will certainly be a tasty one if the trend continues from 2009. Both Ferrari and McLaren have seen massive improvements towards the end of the season – in addition Brawn GP, Red Bull and even the unlikely Force India have shown they can play with the big boys.