More details available at this early stage:

• The official game of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
• Will include all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the coming season.
• Including Michael Schumacher
• All the new teams
• And the new Korean circuit
• Variety of game modes: Grand Prix, Championship Time trial & Career
• Feature a highly advanced damage model
• Fully dynamic weather system
• Extensive competitive multiplayer options

You can view the press release from Codemasters here F1 2010 Press Release and be sure to be on the case next wednesday when Badger will be reporting from the grand unveiling – follow us on Twitter for live updates and photos or if you’re not into such shenanigans, check back here for a full report.

Added to this there’s a total lack of scenery at the circuit. Suzuka has its Ferris wheel, Monaco has her yacht-strewn harbour, and Abu Dhabi has a giant, illuminated pink and blue hotel. These are things you remember. At the Bahrain track the visuals mainly consist of sand. Lots and lots of sand.

It also doesn’t help that the track’s corners are simply know by numbers 1 through 23 rather than proper names. Think of the Spa’s Eau Rouge, Maggots and Becketts at Silverstone, or Monza’s Curva Parabolica. You hear the name and you can see the corner in your mind. Now picture the Bahrain circuit’s turn 14. Doesn’t spark the imagination in quite the same way, does it?

It’s not a bad circuit though, and even if it was we’d still be excited- after all, it is the first race of the new season. So, with the cars set to hit the track in less than three days time, here’s Badger’s guide to a lap of the Bahrain International Circuit (you can follow it in video format below too)

We start on the long pit straight, with the grandstand to the left and the pit complex to the right. Here the cars hit a top speed of over 180 mph, before breaking heavily in to turn one, a tight right-hander. The drivers need to get a good exit here, as turns 2 and 3 quickly follow. Ideally they’ll want to be flat through these as they lead to another long straight before more heavy breaking for turn 4. Getting turn 1 wrong will compromise 2 and 3, and that could give the driver behind a good slingshot for overtaking in to turn 4.

Exiting turn 4 the temptation may be to go right, as they did on the old track layout, but the drivers will now bare left. Turn 5 should be flat, but they’ll break midway through turn 6 and thread it through 7 before getting their foot down again for the short blast to the next corner. This is a tricky double-apex right-hander, comprising turns 8 and 9, and only practice will make perfect.

They then take off again and ‘negotiate’ turn 10. This isn’t a corner, but they’ve seen fit to call it one. In reality however your gran could take this flat without so much as blinking. Turn 11 is a 90 degree right, following which is the quick kink of turn 12. This should be flat- and very fun- and is followed by 13, which brings us back on to the older part of the circuit.

There’s more fun to be had now as the drivers blast through the exciting downhill turns of 14 and 15 as quickly as possible and head for turn 16, a very slow right hand hairpin. This could be a decent overtaking spot, but you’d have to get it right. Another short straight now before the downhill left of turn 17, a tough corner that’s taken at some speed, and quickly feeds in to turn 18. This is one of the most challenging sets of corners on the track. It’s almost blind on the approach, and drivers will need to carry a lot of speed in to it. If they’re too quick however they could easily run out of road. Keep an eye out for how the top drivers are taking this one during qualifying.

Here comes another long straight, hitting 175 mph before turn 19, a fairly quick corner that curves round to the left as you climb the hill and feeds in to 20, a flat out right sweep that opens on the exit. Then you break heavily for 21, a corner where the angle makes it a bit tough to find the apex. Getting this right is vital, as it leads on to a long straight and could be the difference between passing the guy in front and being passed by the guy behind.

Heading down the straight we’re now approaching turns 22 and 23, the final corners of the lap, and getting these right is as important as the one that’s just gone. 22 is the key. The drivers will want to turn in late and get their foot back down as quickly as possible to ensure the best run out of the final turn. Turn 23 is another corner that doesn’t deserve to be called a corner- it is in fact just a mild bend in the road that they’ll pay no attention to. We’re now back on the start finish straight, approaching the grandstand and ready to start another lap. Phew!

Places to Pass: At the end of any of the three long straights, so turns 1, 4 and 22 will be the best bets. Turns 16 and 21 will also be worth a go.

Toughest Turn: Turns 17 and 18 are without doubt a real challenge, and several drivers have pointed them out as the most difficult on the circuit. Special mention for the downhill blast through 14 and 15; they may not be tough but they do look very exciting.

Silverstone - 2010 style - illustration by Riccardo Monza

Go here to buy your tickets for this year – Badger suggests you use the official circuit site, there are a couple of not so trustworthy sites out there…  Have you been to the British Grand Prix before, if so what did you make of it?  And let us know if you’re going to the big race this year, because as ever, Badger will be there and this year in a bigger way than before…

Moss with Peter Kay on the set of "Rory the Racing Car"

Sir Stirling Moss suffered two broken ankles, four broken bones to his foot, skin abrasions and four chipped vertebrae. He is now comfortable and recovering in a London hospital after surgery to both ankles.

In typical Sir Stirling style – he barely complained or moaned about the incident, instead just being slightly annoyed that his “Rory the Racing Car” braces had to be cut.  Less that 24hrs after the incident and he’s already planning a cruise in April and will no doubt be present at this years Goodwood festival of speed.

For more updates on Sir Stirling’s progress, check his official twitter feed here: @StirlingMossCom

It’s a rather bizarre combination of people and products, any ideas for the advertisement message folks?

All will become clear on Wednesday (March 10th) when the ad premieres on ITV1 in the UK.  See www.walkers.co.uk for more information.

Meanwhile here’s the latest video from the Walkers website… ahem:

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s in a handy PDF format so you can read it on virtually anything, including smart phones, laptops anad even if you’re bored at work. Have a browse and if you fancy send this page on to some of your friends or share it via twitter or your facebook profile, should you use such things.  (to browse in a larger size click here)

The New 2010 Season Guide

If you want to hear what Lee McKenzie (BBC) thinks about 2010, you can listen to our interview with her here: Lee McKenzie on F1 2010

And just so you know who’s who on the race track in 2010, here’s our handy quick reference guide to the runners and riders in 2010.

Grand Prix 2010 – The Drivers

Our extensive tests have proven that the 2010 edition works perfectly with all varieties of tea, all coffee, Bovril, hot chocolate and cold beverages such as Ribena (and supermarket own brand equivelants), as well as most types of fizzy pop, milk and water (still or sparkling).  If you’re over the age of 18 yrs  (21 if you’re in the states) and plan to drink responsibly, these mugs also respond well to gin, whiskey, rum, wine and other popular alcoholic beverages including beer and ales.

These mugs are only available by winning a race in Fantasy Grand Prix

Even Senna looks surprised!

Images via twitter from the drivers:

Thanks to Joe Saward, LookingSpiffy and F1Lite for these images

Further read: You can learn more about the HRT team here in the Campos Profile

Lada's previous dabbles with motorsport include GroupB Rally

The facts are that Renault, as a company own 25% of the F1 team, the other 75% being owned by Russian money who obviously want more Russian emphasis with the team, hence Petrov being signed, albeit after his dad supplied $12million for the chance.  Whether the latest news of the Lada name to appear on cars is only a step away from a future Lada team, we’ll have to wait and see.

Chandhok will be the second Indian to race in F1, following Narian Karthikeyan’s unspectacular year at Jordan in 2005. Karun is 26 years-old, hails from the city of Chennai and claims to have had 1558 contacts on his phone at the the last count. So now you know the important stuff…

For the past three years he’s raced F1 feeder series GP2, making Chandhok the fitth GP2 graduate to enter F1 this season. In 2007 he took an impressive win in Belgium for the Durango team, before joining reigning champions iSport for 2008. Paired with Bruno Senna- who he’ll partner at HRT- he had a quiet year, taking a win in Germany but ultimately finishing well behind the Brazilian in 10th position. 2009 brought a switch to the Ocean team where endured a difficult season, taking just one podium on his way to 18th in the championship.

Bernie Ecclestone has long championed Chandhok, suggesting Force India should find a space for their countryman in one of their cars. It’s not happened, primarily because Chandhok’s never shone in GP2 and better drivers have been available. Vijay Mallya isn’t a billionaire because he gives people from the same neck of the woods as him a leg-up.

His place at HRT is largely due to his financial clout and Bernie’s wish to boost F1’s profile in India. He’s got a healthy amount of sponsorship, which will help keep HRT afloat, and with Mr. Ecclestone on his side his case was helped significantly. Chandhok’s father, Vicky, is a high-ranking official in Indian motorsport, and is known to be a friend of Bernie’s.

Chandhok (centre) and Senna (right) were GP2 teammates in '08, so wont need any introductions in the HRT garage this season.

HRTeam principal Colin Kolles hinted at the significance of Chandhok’s nationality today, saying “India is a great country. It will be great for the sport to have an Indian driver on the grid for the first Indian Grand Prix”. India is hoping to host its first F1 race next year, something Karun wil no doubt l be hoping to still be around.

It’s going to be a baptism of fire for the young Indian, with HRT having missed all of pre-season testing and only securing their future last week. His new team boss Colin Kolles is know as something of a hard taskmaster, and with Senna having comprehensively beaten him in their time as GP2 teammates he knows he wont have an easy time competing with the Brazilian. But Chandhok’s shown flashes of real pace in the past, and it should be remembered that a certain Kamui Kobayashi failed to set GP2 alight before he exploded on to the F1 scene last year.

So, welcome to F1, Karun, and good luck. You’ll be needing it.

HRT F1 are set to unveil their new car today, so check out Badger for pictures of the Spanish team’s new racer in the coming hours.