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David Coulthard has continued the recent trend of upsetting the regulars at the top of the time sheets by setting the fastest lap in todays testing at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. It was a welcome upturn in performance, witnessed by Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz who paid the team a visit today. Red Bull Racing had been wallowing towards the bottom of the time sheets, and fans the world over were worried that the new RBR3 would not be able to cut the mustard. That still may be so, but todays performance has certainly raised spirits in the ‘Bull camp before they head off to Bahrain for the final test prior to Melbourne. Coulthard’s team mate Mark Webber finished the day in eleventh, and although he was one second down on David, his placing was still an improvement over previous form. Continue Reading…

In the second ‘catch-up’ post, I take a quick look at some of the more important news items that have happened in the previous six days. Formula One never stops, and although it is currently the off-season, there is still much to digest and discuss.

Peter Sauber, the once owner of the Sauber team, will make a return to the pitlane in 2007 as a reporter for Swiss TV. The cigar-smoking 63 year old will continue his advisory role at the now BMW Sauber team, but will also intersperse his role at the German marque with reporting from the pitlane. Of course, I’m sure his analysis during the Grands Prix will be biased towards his old stable, but it is nice to see Sauber continuing his relationship with Formula One.
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The controversial Scuderia Toro Rosso car was launched while I was enjoying a rainy Italy this week, and although they are only second last to Super Aguri at unveiling, they are certainly leading the way in the controversy race.

The stage was set in Barcelona yesterday for the offical unveiling, and the car was flanked by the recently re-signed Vitantonio Liuzzi. An announcement regarding the second driver is yet to be made, as team chief Gerhard Berger stated that contractual issues are hindering Scott Speed’s re-signing. Continue Reading…

Being away from all things Formula One isn’t easy, despite it still being the off-season. Many things have happened in the past six days and I thought I would just quickly list all the important testing items in one easy-to-digest post. Three days of testing occurred, each with a different driver taking the fastest time. This off season is becoming hard to read, as more than the regular number of teams are seeing significant improvements. However, it is clear that Ferrari and McLaren should be leading the way in Australia in March, with Renault, Williams and BMW snapping at their heels. It is still too early to really gauge Honda and Red Bull, but I for one hope they are sand-bagging at the moment and will be up there with the rest in Albert Park. Continue Reading…

Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one suffering the consequences of poor weather, as it appears heavy rain has descended Spain’s test circuit - Jerez. Renault have already decided to not run today, and are packing up their gear and returning to snowy England. The remaining eight teams are expected to attempt to get some running in, but only time will tell if they manage it or not. The test session at Jerez will not be extended to Friday as previously reported, as the teams need to get to Barcelona for Sunday to begin a three-day session at the Circuit de Catalunya. Continue Reading…

After the interesting finishing order yesterday, Felipe Massa restored order this afternoon by putting his Ferrari at the top of the timing sheets, beating Robert Kubica in the BMW and Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren. Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari was fourth, just under 0.4s shy of Massa’s pace, but suffered mechanical problems during the day and interruptions from the poor weather. Fernando Alonso once again confirmed the McLaren’s speed by finishing the day in fifth, just pipping Nelson Piquet Jr in the Renault by 0.03s. Both Williams were relegated to seventh and eighth, Alex Wurz getting the better of his team mate Nico Rosberg. Although this isn’t quite the spectacular form we saw yesterday, it does still look good for Team Willy. Continue Reading…

Testing got underway again, this time in Jerez, Spain’s other main testing venue. But while McLaren hogged the top spot with Pedro De La Rosa lapping the fastest in 1m19.998s, it was Alex Wurz in the new Williams who raised eyebrows during the day. Wurz managed to finish the day in a credible second, only 0.037s off the McLaren pace. Team mate Nico Rosberg wound up in ninth, but only a further 0.5s down, providing much speculation that the Williams is a vast improvement over the miserable year the team endured in 2006. Alex completed 73 laps in his run to second, and while winter testing should not be considered as the final comparitive pace of the cars, it was certainly a confidence boost for Williams and their adoring fans the world over. Continue Reading…

Dutch team Spyker have unveiled their 2007 challenger, named the Spyker F8-VII. The car, painted in the traditional Dutch colours of orange, was launched at the Silverstone circuit were the team are based, located in Jordan’s old factory. Alongside Colin Kolles, the team principal, were drivers Adrian Sutil and Christijan Albers. Adrian Sutil was chosen over previous Jordan/Midland/Spyker driver Tiago Monteiro, and the team have high-hopes for the young German - Nico Rosberg has already commented on how good of a competitor he was in previous formulae. The team retain Christijan Albers, who put in some great performances last year in a car that was clearly not that fast. The team are also sporting an extensive testing line up, consisting of Fairuz Fauzy, Adrian Valles, Markus Winkelhock and possibly Giedo van der Garde. Continue Reading…

Bernie Ecclestone has officially announced that Abu Dhabi will hold a Grand Prix event in 2009, and the cars will race on a Hermann Tilke circuit, due to be built on a small island just off the coast. This announcement comes just prior to Formula One Festival, an event organised by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, which will run on a specially designed four-kilometre street along the cities waterfront. Continue Reading…

It was young British driver Lewis Hamilton who topped the time sheets on the final day of testing at Valencia this afternoon. Driving his McLaren Mercedes, Lewis lapped the Spanish circuit in 1m 11.120s, beating Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari by 0.7s. BMWs Robert Kubica finished the day in a fine third, beating the second McLaren of Pedro De La Rosa by 0.2s, who in turn finished ahead of Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella by a further tenth of a second. Continue Reading…