The 2010 F1 season finally kicked off and the sport definitely has a lot of things going for it this year. You have a new phenom in Sebastian Vettel trying to take over the sport, you have a former double world champion in Fernando Alonso who was finally awarded with the machine that could get him back on top of Formula One, and then you have the returning Michael Schumacher who is out to prove how good he can still be at 41.

So how did Michael Schumacher's first race back to Formula One go? Well, it wasn't the typical Schumacher dominance we've been accustomed to in the past but still, a 6^th place finish at 41 years old isn't bad, not bad at all.

That's right, Michael Schumacher, starting 7^th in the grid, finished 6^th to kick off the season in Bahrain. That's a good start if you ask me and if Schumi at 41 years old can still keep them good finishes coming for his new teammates from Mercedes GP, then we definitely have one intriguing season ahead for sure.

Schumi spoke a day after the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix and he was understandably happy about the way his first race back turned out.

''Still today, a day after my comeback race, I feel extremely well,'' Mercedes GP driver Michael Schumacher told his official website. ''With regards to the fitness, this race was not at all difficult for me and I was not exhausted at all. This is partly due to...''

That's right, the 2010 F1 season will kickoff in Bahrain this Sunday with defending world champion Jenson Button looking for a re-peat while the youngest world champion in F1 history, Lewis Hamilton, looking to repeat the championship season he had in only his second year in the sport.

And in case you didn't know, both Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton will be teammates this season at McLaren, leading most fans to believe that these two will be at each other's throats at some point this year since both guys' gigantic egos will be going for the same thing in this campaign.

Of course, for now, both guys are still playing the part their bosses from McLaren are paying them to. Hell, both of them even jokingly acknowledged that they're just doing what they were told to do. As Jenson Button so eloquently put it, ''It's all for show! We're doing exactly what we were told to do by Steve (Cooper, the McLaren PR).''

Surely, nobody can argue that right.

For now, both drivers are ready for what could be one of the most intriguing seasons in F1 history. With Michael Schumacher back and young new players like Sebastian Vettel...

Yes, in case you didn't know, the 2010 F1 season will kick off this weekend in Bahrain for the first time. And as far as the favorites for the 2010 title is concerned, well, let's just say it's everybody's game with Michael Schumacher returning, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton still trying to find their dominant selves and young kids like Sebastian Vettel trying to own everything five years early.

Yup, most pundits are claiming that Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel could very well pose a threat to this year's world championship. He led Red Bull to a fantastic showing last season and it's understandable why everybody's paying attention.

On the other hand, Vettel's teammate, Mark Webber, isn't fazed by all the attention his teammate has been receiving. He's determined to have a strong campaign in 2010 and he's not worried about Vettel one bit.

''A lot of people see my teammate, Sebastian Vettel, as my biggest rival this year,'' Mark Webber said in an article in The Guardian. ''I have to say that there's a lot of quick drivers out there and some pretty good teams. Seb is going to be a quick driver, no question about it. But I'm not going to bed thinking about him; I'm going to bed thinking about myself and doing the best job I can, to get the best results I can, for myself.''

''There's many things to look forward to in this year's Championship. It's good for Red Bull Racing because we've got a lot of continuity in the team.''

''We're still with Renault engines and, driver-wise, we're very...''

Michael Schumacher is set to return to Formula One after signing with Mercedes GP for the 2010 F1 season. Yes, in case you didn't know yet, he's coming back and he won't be driving for Ferrari no more. Instead, he'll compete for Ferrari's rivals from Mercedes after a three-year sabbatical.

Can Michael Schumacher recapture the greatness he once had after three years being away from the sport? If you've been following F1 for quite some time, then you should know by now that betting against a guy like Michael Schumacher is a bad idea. As far as him winning another title at 41 years old is concerned, Jarno Trulli believes Schumi can do that too.

''Why not? Being 41 is not a problem; age is just a number. He's still in very good shape, and physically and mentally I don't think he's going to have any problems,'' Jarno Trulli said in an interview with Crash.net Radio.

''I think the only trouble he will find is returning to racing after three years, it's not that easy to get back into the same rhythm in Formula 1. I think it will take him some races before he can really begin to attack again, but that is the only issue I can see him facing.''

Like Schumi, Jarno Trulli will also be driving for another team. You see, Toyota is no longer competing in Formula One, forcing Trulli to move to a new player this season, Lotus.

''We have to be realistic,'' Trulli said. ''It's going to be a tough season, and to begin...''

In case you haven't been watching the 2009 F1 season, to say that it hasn't been Ferrari's year could be an understatement.

Next season, it looks like Ferrari intends to make a huge bid as far as the 2010 title is concerned because they just signed former double world champion Fernando Alonso to a three-year deal.

That's right, Fernando Alonso, for the second time in his career, is leaving Renault to sign with another team, this time with Ferrari. Just a few years ago, he left Renault to sign with McLaren. The honeymoon between him and McLaren ended when a young Lewis Hamilton entered the picture. Luckily, Renault was there to take Alonso back, only for him to leave the team again to sign with Ferrari.

Alonso signing with Ferrari means he'll be teammates with his rival Felipe Massa. That also means Kimi Raikkonen is leaving the team but I reckon with Alonso's skill set, the Italians won't miss the Finn one bit.

''We are very proud to welcome to our team another winning driver, who has demonstrated his amazing talent by winning two world championships in his career to date,'' said Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

''Of course, we wish to thank Kimi for everything he has done during his time with Ferrari.''

''In his first year with us he managed to win the...''

And although he didn't win the Brazilian Grand Prix, Jenson Button scored just enough points to secure the world championship this 2009 F1 season.

However, there are rumors that claim Brawn GP could lose the newly crowned champion to McLaren. Yes, you read it, McLaren is once again making some moves to land them a world champion. They did the same thing to Renault's Fernando Alonso a few years ago and just recently, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. Why not go for another one and go after Brawn GP's 2009 champion Jenson Button?

With Brawn GP not as rich as the big boys of Formula One like Ferrari, McLaren and Renault, they are in danger of losing Button if those richer teams start waiving more money in front of the British sensation. Team owner Ross Brawn knows it too, saying that it's up to Button now.

Apparently, Jenson Button wants to earn the £8 million a year he was earning before taking a £5 million pay cut when former team owners, Honda, pulled out last December. Brawn knows money is the striking point in contract negotiations.

''Jenson has a contract with us. But that contract is not the salary of a World Champion, not the salary of a team that is in a much stronger position than it was 10 months ago,'' Ross Brawn said. ''We're working with Jenson to find a balance between what we can afford and what he feels is fair for his status and the contribution he can make in the future.''

The problem is, they don't have anything to lure Button back...

Looks like McLaren - Mercedes is already making some moves to rectify the pathetic campaign they've been having this 2009 F1 season. In case you haven't been paying attention, McLaren's defending champion, Lewis Hamilton, has only won a couple of races this season and the team in general hasn't been faring well too, dropping to fourth in the constructors championship standings.

With Lewis Hamilton struggling this year, McLaren has to come up with an insurance policy for next year's run and with the team signing a former world champion like Kimi Raikkonen, they may have found exactly that.

Kimi Raikkonen raced for McLaren a few years ago so there won't be any adjustments as far as the Finn is concerned. Back in 2007, Kimi Raikkonen left McLaren for Ferrari in a £25 million a year deal that made him the highest paid driver on the grid.

He rewarded them by winning the world championship in his debut campaign but his position came under threat when Fernando Alonso, Renault's double world champion, was rumored last year to join Ferrari and replace him.

The major problem has been Raikkonen's $50 million (£31 million) a year contract with...

You read it, the 2009 F1 season continues this week in Brazil where Felipe Massa will make his return after severely injuring his eye back in the horrific freak accident in Hungary. Yes, he's back. But he won't be where you'd normally expect him to be.

You see, Felipe Massa will indeed be back in the 2009 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix but he won't be racing for Ferrari. Instead, he'll be there as a special guest to wave the checkered flag in what should be an emotional homecoming for Brazil's hometown hero.

Felipe Massa, who has not ruled out the prospect of driving in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 1, will return to his home country Brazil for the penultimate round on the calendar.

Massa will become the third celebrity to wave the checkered flag at Interlagos in the past eight years, following in the footsteps of Pele and model Gisele Bundchen. Hopefully, Massa will at least have his eyes on the conclusion of what could be the title decider, unlike Pele, who famously failed to carry out his duty.

The world's most famous footballer was looking the other way when...

Ah yes, conspiracies and controversies have not been new to the 2009 F1 season. And in case you didn't know, the entire Renault F1 team is in the middle of the latest one coming to this weekend's Singapore GP.

Yup, the 2009 F1 Singapore Grand Prix is this weekend and Fernando Alonso will try to defend the title he earned last year. After all, the Singapore GP is the ONLY race in the F1 racing calendar held at nighttime and since the inaugural race last season, the event has become one of those races you just have to win if you're a Formula One driver.

However, there seems to be a problem about the way Fernando Alonso won the race in Singapore last year. It turns out that team Renault ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash his car on purpose to give Alonso an unfair advantage.

You see, Nelson Piquet Jr. crashing his Renault last year meant that Alonso had taken his first pit stop before the safety car was deployed. Thanks to Flavio Briatore's ingenuity, the plan worked perfectly and Alonso ended up with the win on Singapore's inaugural night race.

Fernando Alonso, as of this writing, still claims he was on the dark about the devious plan to give him the edge through the safety car. As far as he's concerned, he doesn't know squat about the incident.

Alonso is confident that he'll be able to win again in Singapore, with or without...

It turns out that Bernie Ecclestone's friendship with Flavio Briatore has suffered in the wake of the race-fixing scandal that transpired last year in Singapore. This is definitely something any F1 team can't have coming to the 2009 F1 Singapore Grand Prix this Sunday but as far as Renault is concerned, they can't do a damn thing about it.

In case you didn't know, Flavio Briatore was handed a lifetime ban from all FIA - sanctioned events this 2009 F1 season for his role in the conspiracy which resulted to Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashing his car to virtually hand Fernando Alonso the win in Singapore last year.

And while Bernie Ecclestone felt the lifetime ban on Briatore was a tad overkill, he was still a part of the 26-man World Motor Sport Council that slapped the disgruntled Renault boss with the punishment.

Flavio Briatore felt that Ecclestone should've been more lenient considering that they were buddies. Unfortunately, Ecclestone felt he just couldn't defend Briatore.

''He's not talking to me, I don't know. He thinks I should have defended him, which I couldn't,'' Bernie Ecclestone said.

''If you look at it sensibly, the people at the top...''