What corners would you put in your ultimate Formula 1 track?

Earlier today Sky Sports F1 released Martin Brundle's ultimate F1 track in which he put all the best corners together in one track. I thought it would be an interesting idea to to the same. For Brundle's track, he took corners from every track on the current F1 calendar so we will do the same.

Australia: 11 and 12 There are not too many iconic corners around Albert Park so I thought I would include the fastest chicane  on the track.

Malaysia: 5, 6, 12, and 13: Once again I took the fast sweepers from Sepang and added them to my ultimate F1 track. I also think the front straight would make a good addition for the cars to show its horsepower.

China: 1-3: Instead of once again including fast sweepers, I thought I would include the first complex of corners from China. This complex is unique and there is not another set like it in Formula 1.

Bahrain: 11: Bahrain is a difficult one without any real iconic corners so I included turn 11 which is one of the faster corners on the track coming off the back straight.

Spain: 3: Turn 3 is a long fast corner which I think would make a great addition to my ultimate F1 track.It involves a lot of commitment and it difficult to get right.

Monaco: 6. 13. and 14: The corners around Monaco are so recognizable that you could just about include any one of them in an ultimate F1 track. I chose to add the hairpin because it is probably the most recognizable of all the corners and then the first chicane at the swimming pool

Canada: 13 and 14: I chose to add the final chicane from Canada because it has always been very difficult for drivers to get right and over the years we have seen many drivers crash into the outside wall. This would add another difficult challenge to my ultimate F1 track.

Austria: 1, 8, and 9: I think the entire Austria track is great but I chose to add the first turn which goes uphill and then the very quick last two corners which add a unique challenge.

Britain: 9-15: The sequence from Copse corner all the way through Stowe is one of my favorites in Formula 1. The fast sweepers are challenging and require a lot of commitment to get right.

Germany: 1: I used the Nurburgring for Germany and included the first turn because I think if it was coming off of a long straight could provide a great overtaking opportunity.

Hungary: 14: I had a difficult time picking something from the Hungaroring because I don't really like any of the corners so I ended up picking the last turn which is fast for a 180 degree corner.

Belgium: 2-4, 10, 11, and 17: Spa is full of iconic corners and just like Monaco you could include about the entire track. First I chose Eau Rouge because that is my favorite corner in Formula 1. Then I chose Pouhon which is another of the great fast corners and lastly I chose Blanchimont.

Italy 11: For Monza, I chose the Parabolica because it is another corner that you recognize as soon as you see. I also think it provides a great challenge for the drivers as well.

Singapore: 5-7: I chose this part of Singapore because it provides a long straight which at the end can provide a decent overtaking opportunity

Japan: 1-7, 15: The first seven corners around Suzuka are a series of fast sweepers that like Silverstone is one of my favorite sequence of corners in F1 and could not resist adding the entire section to my ultimate F1 track. I also included 130R as another great fast corner.

Russia: .3: I chose turn 3 at Russia because I thought it was unique and would make a great addition to my ultimate F1 track.

United States: 1: I could have added the section after turn 1 but I already have two sections of very fast sweepers so I just included the first turn. The run up the hill and tight turn will add another opportunity to overtake.

Mexico: 9-11: Mexico is difficult to judge because we have't seen current F1 cars go around it but I chose turns 9-11 because they look like they could be a challenging addition of fast corners.

Brazil: 1-3: I would also add the entire front straight leading up to the Senna S in Brazil. I think that this is one of the best opportunities to overtake in Formula 1 and the extreme elevation change can be challenging.

Abu Dhabi 2-4: These are the only corners on the track that I really like so therefore the ones I included. One last fast chicane would add another challenge.

This is what would make up my ultimate Formula 1 track. It has a total of 57 corners including all of the tracks on the calendar this year. How would you make your ultimate F1 track? Please share what would be your favorite corners to add in the comments section below. Also, don't forget to check out Martin Brundle's track. It looks great.

Team Preview: Williams

2015 Drivers:

19: Felipe Massa (2014 finish 7th 134 points)

77: Valtteri Bottas (2014 finish 4th 186 points)

2014 Constructors' Championship 3rd (320 points)

2015 chassis: Williams FW37

Williams was by far the biggest surprise of the 2014 season by finishing 3rd in the Constructors' Championship which was its highest finish since finishing 2nd in 2003. Williams made a smart decision by switching from Renault to Mercedes engines as Formula 1 entered the new turbo era. Williams will be looking to build on its success from last year and compete for a championship this year.

Valtteri Bottas showed last year that he looks to be a future star in Formula 1 by finishing on the podium 6 times and finishing 4th in the championship ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Felipe Massa was also a surprise for Williams as he revitalized his career after being let go by Ferrari by finishing with 3 podiums and a 7th place finish in the championship. With this driver lineup headed into 2015, Williams looks like a strong bet to be competing near the front.

Williams also seemed to get stronger as the 2014 season went on and by the end of the year as they were starting to catch Mercedes in pace and finishing on the podium on a more regular basis. Williams was also the only team last year besides Mercedes to get a pole position. Williams should be an interesting team to watch as the season goes on especially on the low downforce tracks such as Monza and Spa as they can use the powerful Mercedes engine. With a better package this year, Williams should be able to achieve the only thing they didn't last year which was a win.

Williams had what appeared to be a successful preseason by spending many days near the top of the timesheets and also getting a decent amount of miles in. The drivers also sound positive about the car which is always a good sign. Williams still seems to be lacking a bit of pace compared to Mercedes but should definitely be among the contenders for best of the rest. However, things can always change as the season develops.

Prediction: I expect Williams will build on a successful 2014 season and will be the main challenger to Mercedes this year. However, I do not think Williams will have the consistent pace to be able to compete for the championship. Based on this, I expect Williams to have a strong 2nd place finish in the Constructors' Championship while take a few wins throughout the season.

How do you think Williams will fare over the 2015 season? Do you think they will be contenders for a championship this year or do you think last year was a fluke and they will be in the midfield? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Team Preview: Red Bull

2015 Drivers:

3: Daniel Ricciardo (2014 finish 3rd 238 points)

26: Daniil Kvyat (2014 finish 15th 8 points)

2014 Constructors' Championship 2nd (405 points)

2015 chassis: Red Bull RB11

The biggest story for Red Bull entering the 2015 season is the departure of Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari leaving the team in which he won four consecutive championships for. The other big story for Red Bull this year is that Adrian Newey is no longer working directly with the F1 team. The combination of Vettel driving and Newey designing dominated F1 from 2010-2013 in which Vettel won 34 races and the team won and the team winning 41 races. The team are replacing Vettel with Russian driver Daniil Kvyat who had an impressive rookie year with Toro Rosso last year and are expecting Daniel Ricciardo to jump into the role of team leader from the start of the season.

Red Bull will be looking for more performance this year out of the Renault engine as they try to catch up to Mercedes after they had such a dominant year last season. Red Bull won just three races but were the only team that was able to win except for Mercedes. It has been well noted that the Renault engines are down on power compared to the Mercedes engines and this will be one of the areas that Red Bull will likely struggle in once again.

Daniel Ricciardo was very impressive last year and looked like if he was given the right car he would be able to fight for the championship. Many people weren't sure what to expect from him but his strong performance proved the doubters wrong. Coming off such a strong season, Red Bull should be fully backing him from day 1 now that Vettel has left and Ricciardo should make a strong team leader.

Daniil Kvyat will now come into the role expected of Ricciardo last year. Kvyat had some impressive performances last season but is still young and not that experienced. Kvyat should be an interesting driver to follow as the 2015 season goes on to see how he adapts to being at the front of the grid.

Red Bull had a fairly quiet preseason as they were not near the top of the timesheets most days but they were able to get decent mileage in. Red Bull admit that they will not be near Mercedes but seem to be confident that they can lead the fight behind. Red Bull will be hoping for Mercedes to falter so they can pick up the pieces that are left behind.

Prediction: I expect Red Bull will not be strong enough to compete with Mercedes for the championship and they will also have stronger competition than last year for second. Because of this Red Bull may only win one or two races throughout the year if Mercedes falters. I expect at the end of the year Red Bull will finish third in the standings but both Ricciardo and Kvyat will impress.

How do you think Red Bull will fare over the 2015 season? Do you think they can compete for the championship or do you think they will have more of a struggle this season? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Alonso to miss Australian Grand Prix

McLaren announced today in a medical update of Fernando Alonso that he will not take part in the upcoming Australian Grand Prix. The reasoning behind this is that despite Alonso being fully healthy and recovered from his testing accident last week, doctors do not want him to risk getting a second concussion in a short period of time also known as second impact syndrome. Alonso is said to have understood and accepted the decision.

Reserve driver Kevin Magnussen will fill in for Alonso until he is ready to race. At the Australian Grand Prix last year, Magnussen finished second to claim a podium on his Formula 1 debut.

I still think that there is a missing piece to the puzzle that McLaren does not want us to know in this whole situation. From the time the accident happened it has appeared like McLaren is hiding something. It is difficult to say what it is that is being hidden as there are many different rumors around. It may be something that caused the crash or his injuries are more severe than originally said. Either way hopefully this will be the only race Alonso will miss and we will see him back in Malaysia.

Team Preview: Mercedes

2015 Drivers:

44: Lewis Hamilton (2014 finish 1st 384 points)

6:   Nico Rosberg (2014 finish 2nd 317 points)

2014 Constructors' Championship 1st (701 points)

2015 chassis: Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid

 Mercedes enters the 2015 season coming off a dominant season which saw them finish 1st and 2nd in the Drivers' Championship and clinch the Constructors' Championship with four races to go. Mercedes retains the same driver lineup as last year with defending champion Lewis Hamilton looking for his 3rd title alongside Nico Rosberg looking to breakthrough for a first title. Mercedes will be looking to carry over the speed of the almost unbeatable W05 but aim to improve on reliability which caused them a few problems last year. If Mercedes  have the same pace advantage as last year it is likely that they will be out in front and bring home another first and second in the Driver's Championship.

Mercedes had a very strong form in preseason testing which have led many people to fear that Mercedes will once again run away with both titles this year. They were able to set the fastest time in the last preseason test and many people within the paddock think that Mercedes will be out in front to start the season. Mercedes also did not run into any reliability issues in testing which will make it even more difficult to catch them. With the pace and reliability Mercedes has shown,  the rest of the grid knows that they wil have their work cut out to catch them.

The main story of Mercedes this year will be the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The two drivers did not always get along throughout 2014 as they fought each other for the championship. The two have said that they have moved on from any tension that brewed during the 2014 season. We will see if that tension reforms once they start to battle out on track especially if they are as dominant as last year. Either way, the inter-team battle at Mercedes should be one of the most interesting to watch for 2015.

Prediction: Expect to see the Mercedes cars out in front for most of the 2015 season again as Hamilton leads Rosberg home for his 2nd straight title.

How do you think Mercedes will fare over the 2015 season?  Do you think they will be as dominant as they were last year or do you think they will have more competition up front?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Past Driver Profile: Pierluigi Martini

Pierluigi Martini was born in Italy on April 23, 1961. Martini first started racing cars in 1980 in which he contested in four rounds of the Formula Fiat championship in Italy. For 1981, Martini moved up to the Italian Formula Three series in which he did not have a lot of success finishing in 12th in the championship. In 1982 however, he stayed in the series and won three races which placed him third in the championship. Martini then moved up to the European Formula Three Championship for 1983 in which he won four races to go onto winning the championship competing against future Formula 1 drivers such as  Emanuele Pirro, Gerhard Berger, and Ivan Capelli.

Pierluigi Martini was called up to make his Formula 1 debut with the Toleman team at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. He replaced regular driver Ayrton Senna for the weekend as Senna had been suspended for not informing Toleman that he had signed with Lotus for 1985. Without any Formula 1 experience, Martini failed to qualify for the race. For the 1985 season, Martini signed with the brand new Minardi team which was a struggle for both the team and the driver. Martini was the teams only driver and after using a Cosworth engine for the first two races, the team switched to the new Motori Moderni turbo engine. Martinis highest qualifying results were two 19th positions at the San Marino and the South African Grand Prix for the season. Martini also struggled to finish races as he only finished three times with a best result of 8th position at the season ending Australian Grand Prix.

 Following this difficult season, Martini took a step back and contested in the Formula 3000 Championship for the next 3 years. In 1986, Martini fared well winning races at Imola and Mugello which helped him to place 3rd in the championship behind Ivan Capelli and Emanuele Pirro. 1987 was more of a struggle for him as he only managed two point scoring finishes, one of which was a second at Pergusa. In 1988 he was more competitive and was able to finish in 4th in the championship and winning the race at Pergusa.

During the 1988 season, Martini was recalled by Minardi to race at the Detroit Grand Prix to replace Adrian Campos in which he was able to qualify in 16th position but in the race Martini managed to finish in 6th place and pick up his first point in Formula 1. Martini finished the rest of the season for Minardi again failing to finish many races and even failing to qualify twice. His best result the rest of the season was a 7th place at the Australian Grand Prix to close the season.

Martini was retained by Minardi for the 1989 season where he once again struggled to see the end of a race at the beginning of the season. Martini failed to finish the first seven races of the season. The first race Martini finished on the season was the British Grand Prix in which he picked up a career best 5th. Martini was able to match this 5th place at the Portuguese Grand Prix in a race that Martini managed to lead during the pit stop cycle. This was the only time in both Martini's and Minardi's Formula 1 career that they led a lap. Martini finished the season with a strong result of 6th at the Australian Grand Prix. This gave Martini a total of 5 points which placed him 15th in the final standings.

Martini started off 1990 with a surprising result of 2nd in qualifying for the US Grand Prix. Martini was able to take advantage of Pirelli's soft qualifying tires on Friday and rain on Saturday to take both his and Minardi's only ever front row start. Martini would finish this race in 7th position which would end up being his best result of the year failing to score any points in the championship. 1991 saw Minardi switch to Ferrari engines which led to a faster car but only two point scoring finishes. These  were both career best 4th place finishes at the San Marino and Portuguese Grand Prix. With a total of 6 points Martini earned a career best 11th place finish in the championship.

For 1992, Martini switched to the Scuderia Italia team which used a Dallara chassis. The only points Martini scored all year were two 6th place finishes at the Spanish and San Marino Grand Prix. After a disappointing 1992 season Martini did not have a ride for the 1993 season until British Grand Prix in which he made a return to Minardi to replace Fabrizio Barbazza. The best result Martini could manage was 7th at the Italian Grand Prix which ended with a spectacular crash with team mate Christian Fittipaldi as Fittipaldi got airborne as they ended the race.

Martini stayed at Minardi for the 1994 season in which he managed to score just 4 points in two 5th place finishes at the Spanish and French Grand Prix. These 4 points placed Martini just 21st in the championship. Martini once again stayed on with Minardi for the start of 1995 but did not score any points and was let go by the team following the German Grand Prix as he was replaced by Pedro Lamy. Martini continued to race sports cars after his Formula 1 career ended in which the he achieved the highlight of his career in 1999 by winning the 24 Hours of LeMans.

 Martini came into Formula 1 as a driver that seemed to struggle at first and many people did not think he had what it took to succeed in Formula 1. He later came back into the sport and became a respectable driver throughout the paddock while spending most of his career at Minardi but never getting a chance with a truly competitive team..

If you have a driver that you would like to see profiled in the future,, let us know in the comments section below.

Bottas tops timesheets on final day of preseason testing

Valterri Bottas set the fastest time on the final day of preseason testing while doing a qualifying simulation on supersoft tires. Bottas was followed by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in second and Sauber's Felipe Nasr in third.

Jenson Button ran into more reliability issues in the morning caused by a sensor in his McLaren which limited him to only running in the afternoon. Pastor Maldonado for Lotus had a crash which the team put down to a systems issue that affected his braking

Nico Rosberg was only seventh on the day but was able to put in the fastest time of the week on day 2.  The next time Formula 1 cars are on track is in two weeks for praactice for the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Day 4 Testing Times

1. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 23.063s, 89 laps
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1m 23.469s, 129 laps
3. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 24.023s, 159 laps
4. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 24.527s, 85 laps
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 24.638s, 72 laps
6. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1m 25.113s, 130 laps
7. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 25.186s, 148 laps
8. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 25.327s, 30 laps
9. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 28.272s, 36 laps