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The 2009 Formula One season will be the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It will be the second season under the new Concorde Agreement. As it stands, there are a total of seven teams (plus Prodrive that will debut in the 2009 season) signed up to compete in the championship through an agreement with Formula One Management (reduced from eight following Super Aguri's pull out of the 2008 season), while the other three major manufacturers in the Grand Prix Manufacturers’ Association (GPMA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix to compete in the 2008 season.
Teams
Teams Signed with FOM
GPMA Manufactures
New Teams
Teams and drivers
2009 Race Schedule
Calendar Changes
Rumours
Speculated 2009 race schedule
Changes
Rule changes
On 22 December 2006, the FIA released the technical regulations for the 2009 season.
- Along with changes to bodywork, vehicle weight and tyre size, the document includes details of a "Kinetic Energy Recovery System", or KERS. This is a regenerative brake device that is designed to recover some of the vehicle's kinetic energy that is normally dissipated as heat during braking. The recovered energy could be stored electrically, in a battery or supercapacitor, or mechanically, in a flywheel, for use as a source of additional accelerative power at the driver's discretion.
- There will also be a cap on team budgets starting in the 2009 season.
Broadcasting changes
- The BBC regain coverage of Formula One in the United Kingdom after losing it to ITV in 1996. The deal will last for 5 years and includes TV, radio and online coverage rights.
Possible Changes
Possible Rule Changes
- The rule that forces the authorities to close the pit lane when a safety car is deployed may be abolished by the start of the 2009 season. This follows actions from Rubens Barrichello in Australia, and Nick Heidfeld in Spain, needing to pit otherwise they would run out of fuel. Both drivers got a 10 second stop-and-go penalty, and it is this that Heidfeld wants abolished.
Rumours
Rumoured regulation changes
- Tyre-warming blankets will be banned.
Rumoured driver changes
- During an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live, Fernando Alonso revealed that he could leave Renault at the end of the 2008 season if he wished. This comes after Renault started the 2008 season uncompetitively.
- Italian magazine Autosprint said that Sebastian Vettel will replace Massa at Ferrari and that Michael Schumacher is helping in negotiations. However during an interview with ITV, Vettel's team boss Gerhard Berger had said that the reports are rubbish and that the German will stay at Toro Rosso for the next three years. Massa's dominant victory over his team-mate Kimi Räikkönen and BMW's Robert Kubica in Bahrain is silencing speculation.
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