Two F1 champions to miss 2010 season opener

Two living world champions look set to be missing at next weekend's F1 season opener in Bahrain.

Last month, the race's organisers announced that all twenty living title winners would attend as part of the sport's 60th anniversary celebrations.

If Jacques Villeneuve is driving for the hopeful Stefan GP, the 2010 grid will already be boasting five of the champions, including Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and 2009 winner Jenson Button.

The other champions confirmed for Bahrain are Mika Hakkinen, Damon Hill, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Niki Lauda, Keke Rosberg, Alan Jones, Jody Scheckter, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart and John Surtees.

83-year-old Sir Jack Brabham, the oldest living world champion, will also be at the 2010 season opener, and the late Juan Manuel Fangio's nephew and namesake will be representing the great Argentinean.

The only two champions who have not confirmed their attendance are three-time winner Nelson Piquet, and 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who has switched full time to the world rally championship.

Also at the circuit will be more than 20 of the cars driven by the sport's legends.

"We expect the majority of the 20 plus cars to be displayed on track and, where possible, be driven by the original world champion," circuit advisor Martin Whitaker is quoted as saying by the Gulf Daily News.

Damon Hill will be on track representing the cars of the 90s, and so his son Josh will drive the Lotus 49 as raced by his grandfather Graham.