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Day two of the Valencia test session kicked off this morning, although the weather wasn’t much better than we had seen yesterday, with rain falling and preventing teams from getting in some serious mileage. McLaren chose to field two drivers, running Fernando Alonso again, and seating fellow Spaniard Pedro De La Rosa in the second car. Renault ran two cars, with both of their drivers for 2007 driving, Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen, and Ferrari repeated with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. Continue Reading…

Taking this weeks hot-seat is Jeremy Washington, aka LoudHoward, who is regular visitor and commenter here at BlogF1. Based in Adelaide, Australia, Jeremy has followed Formula One since about the time I started to get hooked myself, and blogs regularly over at MarkWebberBlog. While the bias should be fairly obvious by now, Jeremy managed to give some thoughtful insights into Formula One, including the mooted ‘demotion’ system, the charity and goodwill work some drivers do, and his hopes to see F1 become more accessible in terms of online multimedia. And yes, Mark Webber gets a mention as well. Continue Reading…

The first test with several teams present occured today at Valencia as McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Toyota, BMW, Honda, Super Aguri, Williams and Red Bull took to the circuit to see what their new cars are made of. Previously, the teams had tested in relative privacy, Ferrari sticking to Mugello and Vallelunga and McLaren in Valencia. But today we got our first taste of what these machines are like side by side. While testing times should not be accepted as they are, as fuel loads and further developments need to be factored in along with numerous over variables (it was raining for much of the day), this does give a slight indication as to who is where in comparison. Continue Reading…

McLaren have been talking about it for years, Ferrari almost had it with Sauber, Honda are blatantly exploiting it right now with Super Aguri, and recently Red Bull and Toro Rosso have done it. But are team partnerships good for Formula One, or are they just a waste of money and distract from the competition that most fans want to see?

When I talk about B-Teams, I’m referring to one company owning and running two separate teams in the same sport. Red Bull Racing took over from the failed Jaguar attempt in 2005, and since then the cash rich company has bought Minardi from Paul Stoddart and rebranded the outfit to Scuderia Toro Rosso. Although the team is part owned by ex-F1 driver Gerhard Berger, the team is still – in essence – Red Bull. Continue Reading…

Philip Morris, the owners of the Marlboro cigarette brand have apparently come up with a contingency plan in case their subliminal branding on the Ferrari car is deemed illegal, Paddock Talk have reported.

With tobacco being outlawed, a lot of teams have spent the last couple of years finding other sponsors to fund their teams, with Renault moving away from Mild Seven, and BAT pulling out of Honda entirely. But Philip Morris have recently extended their contract with Ferrari until 2011, going against the trend and insisting that their idea of subtly colouring the car without logos is acceptable. Continue Reading…

The first Adrian Newey designed Red Bull was launched earlier today with much anticipation. Launched at Spain’s main testing circuit and host of their Grand Prix - Circuit de Catalunya - the RB3 has been designed from a blank sheet of paper by the main responsible for countless victories and championships with Williams and McLaren. Continue Reading…

Honda have unveiled their 2007 contender – named the RA107 – in Spain at the popular winter testing track Circuit de Catalunya. Although the teams new livery will not be ready for another month, the new car was dressed in the teams testing colour of black.

Finishing in an improved 4th place in the 2006 season, Honda concentrated on developing the car further in the hope that both drivers can win in 2007 – something Jenson Button managed once last year at Hungary. Continue Reading…

After changing the testing schedule through fears of bad weather hitting Mugello, Ferrari had to call their test at Vallelunga short today when rain and hail descended on the circuit. It was hoped that Felipe Massa would be able to continue developing the new F2007, while Kimi Raikkonen got more practice in driving the 2006 model, the Ferrari 248. It wasn’t to be though and the Scuderia halted the test after just 51 laps had been completed.

Ferrari have extended their testing session by another day into tomorrow, where the weather is expected to be a little kinder to them. Continue Reading…

Renault have unveiled the car they hope to retain the constructors title with in the 2007 season. The R27 was shown to the world’s media today in the usual pomp that Renault enjoy, with Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen enjoying the limelight alongside team boss Flavio Briatore.

The launch took place in Amsterdam, indicating the new relationship the team has with title sponsor ING. Mild Seven have finally left the team following the ban on tobacco advertising, and the new R27 is sporting a striking new livery. Introducing INGs colours of orange, white and dark blue, gone is the light blue that was so closely associated with previous driver and reigning champion Fernando Alonso. Continue Reading…

Following on from last weeks interview with Keith Collantine from F1Fanatic, we enjoy the musings of Roy Madden this time around. Roy founded and helps to run the F1 LinksHeaven site and has been a fan of the sport for many years. Starting out in 1997, Roy has worked hard at discussing just about everything related to F1 on the LinksHeaven forums, ran Fantasy F1 competitions and evolved his site from a collection of links to the well-visited multi-faceted site that it is today.

Read on to find out what changes Roy would make to F1 if he could, whether or not he remembers a driver who won lots of titles and lastly who he thinks will take the 2007 title. Continue Reading…