2013 mid year test dropped

Next season's mid year Formula One test will not go ahead. Team's have also confirmed that they will have three pre-season test's. The first of three four day pre-season test's will start in Jerez, Spain on the 5th February 2013.

The 2013 Formula One season will feature 20 races including a second trip to the US for the New Jersey street race. The season will start on St Patrick's Day 17th March. The fact that the in season test will not go ahead in 2013 mean that the team's will save money on transporting their car's and staff to circuit's for the test. Which will go a long way to saving money.

In related news teams are apparently very close to coming up with the Research Restrictions Agreement. Team's have been trying for a number of year's to come up with an agreement to reduce the cost of Formula One.

Coca Cola considering move into F1 sponsorship

It has been reported over the last couple of day's that Coca Cola, one of the world's largest soft drink producers is considering a potential move into Formula One sponsorship. It is believed that if the company does decide to come in to Formula One it would become the new title sponsor of McLaren.

McLaren already have a title sponsor in Vodafone, however it has been suggested recently that Vodafone are looking to cut costs and that could potentially mean cutting short the agreement with McLaren. Vodafone became McLaren's title sponsor in 2007 when the company took over from the banned West tobacco advertising.

Should Coke decide to come into Formula One it will not be the first time that they have been involved in the sport as the sponsored a number of GrandPrix in the early 1990's.

The company spends millions of dollars a year on sponsoring IndyCar and NASCAR in America and they are very heavily involved in Andretti Autoport through Dr Pepper. I believe it would be a massive boast for both Formula One and Coca Cola as a brand if they came into Formula One as it would show the sport that sponsorship agreements are still doable despite the economic down turn.

I found it extremely surprising at the weekend's Hungarian GrandPrix that the Vodafone logo had disappeared from the rear wing of both McLaren car's and in it's place was Lucazade's brand Maxi Muscle and on the other side the team were promoting their animated series TOONED that features on the Sky Sports F1HD channel.

This makes me believe that Vodafone are considering their options as it would be very uncharacteristic for a company of their size to drop their logo's from the rear wing of the car. Any potential Coca Cola dal with McLaren may have to wait however, as I believe Lucazade would be unwilling to end or indeed share sponsorship space with Coke especially as their deal with McLaren is a relatively new deal.

So we will have to watch this space over the next few week's to see what happens.

Let the Summer Break begin

So with the Hungarian GrandPrix over we go into the 5 week Summer break. Despite the fact we have the break and there will be no on track F1 action there will of course be plenty of news.

I will be keeping the blog going over the duration of the Summer break. My favourite race is coming up after the break. Spa is my favourite circuit. Unfortunately I haven't been to that race before but I am hoping that I might get to it next year. I plan to attend at least race next season.

So what have got to look forward to after the break? We have SPA which is always a fantastic race. Eu Rouge being the highlight for me. Remember last season? Mark Webber's move on Fernando Alonso had to be the overtaking move of the year last season.

We also have the eagerly anticipated return to the United States for the GrandPrix in Austin. I haven't been to the circuit, however I have seen photo's and it looks like a fantastic circuit. I had been thinking about attending this year's race however as it's the first race to be held in Texas I have decided to until next season as I want to see how the race goes this year.

I am a huge Lotus and Kimi Raikkonen fan and they were extremely unlucky not to win in Hungary yesterday. However the team have some extremely exciting new pieces for the upcoming races.

Hamilton wins as Lotus collect double podium

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won today's Hungarian GrandPrix just ahead of a fantastic driver by Kimi Raikkonen and the Lotus team as Romain Grosjean finished in third. It was a great race and Lotus are constantly up there and I am certain that the Enstone based team will get a win this year.

It was a disappointing race for Sebastian Vettel as he started third and went on to finish the race in 4th. in the championship battle Fernando Alonso maintains his lead while McLaren and Lotus have jumped Ferrari in the Constructor's championship.

I think it is fantastic for Lotus and Kimi as they have been extremely competitive this season and Kimi has collected five podium's while Romain has had three podium's so that is fantastic that the team have had eight podium's in 11 race's and a fantastic way to head in to the Summer break.

It was a nervy time for the Lotus team as Kimi overtook Romain coming out of the pit-lane.

So the next race is in Spa, Belgium at the start of September. So the team's go into a mandatory two week factory shut down. So from second down to fifth the championship battle is getting extremely close.

Kimi linked with a return to Ferrari

Autosport are reporting this morning that Kimi Raikkonen could set for a shock return to Ferrari for 2013. In my opinion, the silly season has gone into overdrive as firstly Kimi has a deal in place with Lotus for 2013, and is extremely happy within the team.

In the same article, they said that Kimi is also very close to extending his stay at Lotus beyond next season. The article also suggests that Kimi has held technical meeting with the team about next year's car.

I fully expect to see Kimi remain at Lotus for next year. It would be a huge mistake for Kimi to go back to Ferrari particularly as he said recently that his exit from Ferrari in 2009 could have been handled better. So I can't see him joining Ferrari particular if Alonso wins the championship this year.

Hamilton on pole as Lotus Shine

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow's Hungarian GrandPrix from pole position and will be joined on the front row by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean who had a great session. Reigning champion Sebastian Vettel will start from third on the grid for RedBull.

Jenson Button will start the race from 4th while Kimi Raikkonen out qualified both Ferrari's in 5th place. So it is going to be an extremely interesting start to the race tomorrow as it is expected to rain on Sunday for the race.

It was a very difficult session for Mark Webber who missed out on Q3 and will start the race from 11th. So we are going to have a fantastic race tomorrow. The Mercedes team had a disastrous qualifying as Nico Rosberg will start from 13th while Michael Scumacher will start in 17th so we shall see what happens tomorrow.

Great news as De Villota released from hospital

There was fantastic news today from the Marussia F1 team as they confirmed that their test driver Maria De Villota has been released from hospital in Madrid following her crash in England while testing for the team earlier this month.

Maria sustained serious head and facial injuries following the crash and as a result lost her right eye, however after spending six day's in a hospital in Madrid the were happy to release her. She will now recuperate in Spain with her family around her.

I am delighted to hear that she is out of hospital and it is remarkable that she has made the progress that she has due to her injuries. She has no memory of the crash however she underwent a neurological assessment which came back clear.

Wolff appointed Executive Director of Williams F1

Williams F1 minority shareholder and board member Toto Wolff has been appointed an Executive Director and Assistant team principal it was confirmed today.

Toto Wolff whose wife Susie Stoddart is the team's development driver has been a shareholder in the team since 2009 and the announcement comes just a number of weeks since Frank William's daughter Claire was appointed to the board of the team.

Wolff's new position also means that when Sir Frank Williams decides to retire from his position within the team he will hand over to Toto Wolff. Adam Parr had been seen as the natural successor to Sir Frank, however he left the team suddenly following the Spanish GrandPrix.

This news is a further sign that the team is looking to the future. The team have so this year had a great season as they have scored more points so far this season then they did during the entire of last season. Their points tally this season includes a win in Barcelona for Pastor Maldonado who scored the team's first win since 2004.

Vettel penalised for off track overtake on Button

RedBull's Sebastian Vettel has been handed a post race 20 second penalty for overtaking Jenson Button off track in the closing stages of today's German GrandPrix. The German driver was challenging Button for second in the GrandPrix and was judged to have gained and unfair advantage on Button. The revised result promote's Lotus driver  Kimi Raikkonen to the podium and puts Button to second

Alonso wins in Germany as Vettel causes controversy

Fernando Alonso won an action packed German GrandPrix in Hockenhiem. There was controversy at the end of the race when Sebastian Vettel overtook Jenson Button to take second place on the podium. The result is under investigation and I believe that as Vettel got the position as a result of leaving the circuit he should receive a time penalty.

In my opinion he should get a post race drive through penalty. It was another great day for the Lotus team as Kimi Raikkonen, who started the race from 10th on the grid went on to finish the race in 4th place, however that could change depending on the outcome of the investigation into Sebastian Vettel.

It was a great race for Jenson Button who finished on the podium for McLaren, however he may take second from Vettel so we will see what happens. It was disappointing day for Lewis Hamilton as he went out of the race. It was another great weekend for Sauber as both their driver's finished the race in the points with Kamui  Kobayahsi finishing 5th and Sergio Perez finishing 6th.

The McLaren team made history with Jenson Button during the race as they completed the fastest ever pitstop once again as they completed his second stop in just 2.4 seconds.

Mark Webber finished had a disappointing race following his win Silverstone as he was only able to finish in 8th place although he maintains his advantage over team Vettel in the Driver's Championship.

Meanwhile it was a great result for Nico Rosberg, who finished the race in the points in 8th after starting the race from 19th on the grid.

De Villota released from hospital and returns to Spain

Marussia have confirmed that test driver Maria De Villota has been released from the Addenbrookes hospital and has returned to Madrid to continue her recovery following her horrific crash at Duxford Airfield two week's ago.

It is fantastic news that she has been released from hospital and has returned to Madrid. She will now continue her recovery in familiar surroundings and with her family by her side.

Alonso takes pole in chaotic qualifying

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso took his second consecutive pole position during an extremely wet qualifying session. Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel will start the race in second place. Mark Webber was in 3rd place however he will take a five place grid penalty following a gearbox penalty.

McLaren had a bit of a difficult session as they will start 6th and 7th respectively. Meanwhile after setting the fastest time in Q2 Kimi Raikkonen will start the race from 10th place for Lotus while team mate Romain Grosjean will have to come from the back of the grid, as he has a grid penalty following a gearbox change.

Due to Mark Webber's grid penalty Michael Schumacher will start from 3rd behind Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

So with tomorrow's race expected to be dry it is going to be a very interesting race. it is quiet difficult to overtake in Germany so it is going to be an extremely interesting race. My prediction for the race? I think that Fernando Alonso will win the race with Webber on the podium and Kimi will finsih in the points and may very well finish on the podium as in the dry he was the fastest in Q2.

Penalties everywhere as Alonso tops final practice

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso set the pace in final practice ahead of tomorrow's German GrandPrix at Hockenheim. The Spaniard completed 14 laps and finished just ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton who celebrate's his 100th GrandPrix start tomorrow. He was followed by Sergio Perez in 3rd. It was a trouble free morning for Kimi Raikkonen as he finished 4th just ahead of the RedBull pair of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

Meanwhile plenty of grid penalties have been handed out. Mark Webber was the latest driver to be handed a 5 place grid penalty for a gearbox change, Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean also have grid penalties for the same reason.

In other news I was delighted to hear that Maria De Villota has returned to Spain to continue her recovery. So we shall see what happens in qualifying.

Maldonado fastest as Schumacher crashes in FP2

Williams Pastor Maldonado set the fastest time in a wet/dry Friday's second practice for this weekend's German GrandPrix. He finished just ahead of home favorites Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. Michael Schumacher had a difficult session as the German crashed his car while talking to his engineers and changing the setting's on his steering wheel.

Meanwhile it was another strong performance by the Lotus duo as Kimi Raikkonen was 10th and Romain Grosjean was 5th.

Sergio Perez was 4th fastest for the Sauber F1 team. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were down in 19th and 20th respectively. Jenson Button was in 8th place just ahead of RedBull's Mark Webber.

I certainly think that we are for an extremely exciting race on Sunday particularly with the unpredictable weather forecast.

Button fastest in FP1 ahead of Sunday's German GrandPrix

McLaren's Jenson Button set the fastest time of 1m.16.595s ahead of Sunday's German GrandPrix. The  session was disrupted by rain so like the British GrandPrix two week's ago it could be another wet weekend in Germany. Jenson's team-mate Lewis Hamilton was second with Fernando Alonso in third. It was a disappointing first session for British GrandPrix winner Mark Webber who was down in 20th place, however the team are testing different part's so they will be very quick for the rest of the weekend I reckon.

The Lotus team have been testing new part's on Kimi Raikkonen's car. He had a new double DRS rear wing fitted to his car this morning, however due to the tricky conditions he only managed the flying lap and ended the session in 15th place while team-mate Romain Grosjean who has a 5 place grid penalty tomorrow was in 10th place in the second E20.

Meanwhile Michael Schumacher was fourth for Mercedes with Sergio Perez in 5th.

In my opinion it is is a mistake to read into the times set on Friday as it's really saturday morning a qualifying that are the sessions that count as Friday morning is used for set-up work and it gives the team's a chance to evaluate new update's for the weekend.

Sebastian Vettel for example was down in 12 place in his RedBull. We will have a better understanding of the order for the weekend at the conclusion of FP2 this afternoon.

I will keep you updated on the the times from FP2 later today.

Port Imperial Street circuit lay-out revealed

I picked up a copy of the August edition of F1Racing Magazine today and I was delighted to see a feature on the proposed 2013 GrandPrix of New Jersey. Formula One is making a long overdue return to the US in November for the US GrandPrix in Austin Texas. In my opinion, the race in Texas is going to be a MASSIVE success.

New Jersey is set to host America's second F1 race next season on a street circuit with the Manhattan skyline as the backdrop for the new circuit. Now Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt on the New Jersey race, he believes that it will not go ahead. However construction of the circuit is progressing nicely and they are doing very well with the pit buildings.

In my opinion America is the most important market for Formula One and with two races there next year it is going to be an incredible year for F1 in 2013. Recently RedBull staged an event to promote the GrandPrix in Austin with David Coulthard behind the wheel. The event was a huge success. In June reigning champion Sebastian Vettel was in New Jersey driving an Infiti road car around part of the   new circuit. And he believes that the race will go ahead as planned next year.

As for the circuit itself? Turn 1 is a fantastic 90 degree left hander following the short start finish straight. Turn 2 is another 90 degree corner, this time a right hander. Turn 3 is a very fast right hander with a climb up to Turn 4. We will have some fantastic views of the Manhattan skyline. Turn 4 is very fast 90 degree right hander with possibly a full speed run up to the hard braking point the chicane of Turns 5 and 6, possibly a great place to overtake.

Turn 6 is followed immediately by Turn 7 and Turn 8 with a loop into Turn's 9, 10 and 11 before a long run up to Turn 12.

I suspect that Turn 13 will be taken flat out and will provide some exciting overtaking opportunities. From Turn 13 it's full speed followed by heavy braking into Turn's 14 and 15. From there it will be full speed once again through Turn's 16 and 17 before the heavy braking and possible lock up zone of turn 18, expect plenty of mistakes here and overtaking possibilities. From Turn 18 we have the entrance into the pit-lane just before the final Turn 19 before flying down the main straight and over the start finish line. DRS and KERS will make this race incredible.

The circuit is 3.2 miles long however it is not yet known how many lap's the race will have. We will have to wait and see what happens..But when and not if the race goes ahead next year it is going to be a cracking race.

F1 set for busy week

Formula One is back this weekend for the German GrandPrix. This year the race returns to Hockenheim after alternating with the the Nurburgring. It could be a very interesting and indeed tough time ahead for the circuit owners at the Nurburgring as it is believed that they may be in financial difficulty so the race could return to Hockenheim permanently from next year.

Last year's German GrandPrix was won by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. It is going to be interesting to see if he can get his second win of the season following his victory in Canada earlier this year. It will also be interesting to see if Jenson Button can regain the momentum that saw him win his first race since the opening round of the champion in Australia in March.

It is also going to be very interesting to see how Kimi Raikkonen does on his return to the track that has not been very kind to him in recent years. He is hoping that he can challenge for the Lotus team's first win of the 2012 season. the race could also be a massive indicator on who has the momentum going into the Summer break.

At the moment Ferrari's Fernando Alonso currently leads the championship by 13 points from Mark Webber. So it could be a very interesting this weekend. Not only do we have a race this weekend, but we also have one next weekend in Hungary, so it will be a very quick turn around for the team's. It could be problematic if any team's have any major failures over the weekend.

I am absolutely delighted that there are two races in quick succession as we have the month Summer break following the Hungarian GrandPrix.

London GrandPrix a step closer

Formula One in London, took another step to becoming a reality with the news that the Olympic Stadium had received and accepted the bid for the event. The idea is backed by Bernie Ecclestone, however he is not behind the bid.

The bid for the stadium was lodged by Intelligent Transport Services in association with Formula One. The bid faces stiff competition from West Ham United who have bid in. I believe that it would be a fantastic opportunity for London and it would also be a permanent to run alongside the British GrandPrix.

It would also bring a massive revenue stream into the heart of London and would be a huge spectacle. It is believed that the company wouldn't own the stadium, they would lease it and the event would run in and around the Olympic stadium.

We'll have to wait to see what happens

Caterham ready to go

The Caterham F1 and their GP2 team are ready to take a massive set forward as they prepare to move the team from their current base in Norfolk to their new facility in Oxfordshire. The team are relocating to the former Arrows factory in Leafield.

The team will make the move over the four Summer break following next weekend's Hungarian GrandPrix. Caterham employ around 200 people within both their team's. The factory in Oxfordshire is a lot bigger then their current base.

I have no doubt that the move will be a huge benefit to the team who entered Formula One in 2010 along with the then Virgin Racing team and the HRT team. At this moment in time Caterham appear to be the best placed of the new team's to pick up their first ever Formula One point.

I believe that it is only a matter of time before this happens as they have managed to get into Q2 a number of time's this season and in Mike Gascoyne they have one of the sport's most respected technical directors at their team and he has helped team boss and owner Tony Fernandes build the team from the ground up.

The Leafieldd Technical Centre is the former home of Tom Walkinshaw Racing who owned the Arrows Formula One team who were based at the factory. The team went bankrupt in 2002. The factory was then taken over by former Formula One driver Aguri Suzuki as he set up his Super Aguri F1 team with the help of Honda. The team collapsed in 2008.

So despite the fact all the F1 team's who have been based in Leafield have folded Caterham F1 won't go this way as they are a team who are on the ascendency.

Car not the cause of De Villota crash

The Marussia F1 team have concluded an internal investigation in the cause of the crash that resulted in their test and reserve driver Mara De Villota losing her right eye. In a statement on the team's website they confirmed that there was no fault on the car that caused the accident. They have passed their findings on to the HSE who are carrying out their own investigation into the accident.

When the crash happened the runway was extremely wet and I believe that this may have been a factor in the cause of the crash as Maria did everything right when she brought the car back to the pit area.

There of course will now be a load of speculation as to the cause of the crash. And there will be those who will say it was driver error, well if anyone says that they should look at the fact's of the case. The main one being that Maria had tested A Formula One car a number of times and she is an experienced racing driver.

Once all the investigation's are concluded I am sure that we will get answers. The main question that needs to be answered is why was the lorry ramp at the height where it could cause serious injury? Why wasn't it closed up as there was no car waiting to be loaded or unloaded.

Mid-season report

So this weekend's German GrandPrix marks the half way point in the 2012 Formula One season. The season started as normal in Melbourne, Australia where McLaren's Jenson Button came out on top beating Sebastian Vettel to the victory by 2.1 seconds. Lewis Hamilton was third. It was a successful return to Formula One after two season's away for Kimi Raikkonen who has signed a two year deal to race for the Lotus F1 team as he finished in the points in 7th place.

The teams then moved on to Malaysia where the surprise of the race was Sauber's Sergio Perez who challenged Ferrari's Fernando Alonso for the win and took a fantastic second place finish for the Swiss team. It was another great race for Kimi Raikkonen who finished in 5th place at a circuit where he took his first F1 victory back in 2003.

I have to say that I was extremely surprised that two races we had no RedBull win, so heading to Shanghai for the Chinese GrandPrix I was certain that the team would return to the top step of the podium. I was wrong!! In qualifying I was amazed by the pace of Mercedes GP AMG's Nico Rosberg who put his car on pole position and went on to take his first ever Formula One victory. It was a fantastic result for the Brackley based squad and their first win under the guise of Mercedes.

Round four of the championship was the Bahrain GrandPrix that was scheduled in 2012 despite the fact that there has been political unrest in the country since last year that resulted in the race been cancelled last year. So under a cloud and anger in the media, the race went ahead. Sebastian Vettel managed to take the win just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus who managed to achieve his first podium in only his fourth race in his comeback season.

So he managed to do in four races something that Michael Schumacher was unable to do in two year's back in Formula One.

It was also a great result for Romain Grosjean, Kimi's team -mate as he joined him on the podium giving Lotus their first double podium.

Following the Bahrain GrandPrix we headed back to Europe for the Spanish GrandPrix, the big question on everyone's lips was would we have a fifth different winner in 2012? The answer to that question was yes we would as Williams driver Pastor Maldonado picked up the Grove based squads first victory since the 2004 Brazilian GrandPrix. Kimi Raikkonen also picked up his second podium in two races with a superb drive to third.

I was delighted to see Williams win again. The victory was long overdue. However the win was overshadowed my a massive fire that broke out in the Williams garage following the team's victory celebration's. Fortunately no one was killed however a number of F1 team personnel received treatment for burns and smoke inhalation. One Williams mechanic received very serious burns however he returned to work last weekend for the British GrandPrix following a long stay in hospital.

So following the dramatic scenes in Barcelona, F1 moved to Monte Carlo for the most glamorous race of the season, the Monaco GrandPrix.

In qualifying, Michael Schumacher was fastest, however the Mercedes driver lost his pole position due to the fact that he was given a five place grid penalty as a result of causes a crash with Williams driver Bruno Senna during the Spanish GrandPrix, that meant that Mark Webber started on pole for RedBull the Aussie taking his first pole of the season.

Mark went on to win the race to take his first victory of the 2012 season and it was another great result for Nico Rosberg who finished the race on the podium in second place for Mercedes just ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

From Monaco the F1 circus rolled into North America for the first of two scheduled visits in 2012. First up was the Canadian GrandPrix in Montreal. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton who had yet to win a race in 2012 had to really fight for victory as he managed to hold off the star of the race Romain Grosjena who finished just 2.5 seconds behind Hamilton in second place. It was another fantastic drive by Sauber's Sergio Perez who, once again showed that the team have a competitive car this year as he finished in third place, taking his second podium so far this year.

Hamilton's win in Montreal meant it was official, this year's F1 season had become a record breaking one with 7 different winners in the first 7 races, a feat that had never been done before.

Following the Canadian GrandPrix F1 returned to Europe for the European GrandPrix at the Valencia Street circuit. In my opinion this race can be a boring event however this years race was far from boring. It was action packed and it was fantastic to see home favorite Fernando Alonso take his first home win he also became the first repeat race winner of 2012. He was followed home by the Lotus driver of Kimi Raikkonen who collected his third podium of the year and for the first time since his return to Formula One in 2010 Michael Schumacher was on the podium for Mercedes in third place.

So we had three former world champions on the podium which was great to see.

From the heat and sunshine of Valencia it was off to the very wet and windy British GrandPrix in Silverstone last weekend. The organizers of the race had not predicted the torrential downpours and this caused traffic chaos at the circuit and reproduced scene's of 2000 which saw tractors being drafted in to help pull cars out of mud filled carparks.

Qualifying had to be red flagged following Q1 due to the bad weather. It was suspended for 90 minutes before it was dry enough to enable the teams to complete the session. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso won the battle for pole position with RedBull's Mark Webber in second place. The Aussie once again outqualifying his team mate Sebastian Vettel so in quali so far this season it's 5 - 4 to Mark.

On race day the rain stayed away and it was an incredible race. Fernando Alonso led from the start and looked set for his third race win of the season, however with four lap's to go Mark Webber was extremely quick and managed to catch up and overtake Alonso much to his own surprise to take his second victory of the season. He followed up from this victory by signing a new one year contract with RedBull for the 2013 season.

So Formula One has a very busy few day's ahead as we have the German GrandPrix and Hunagrian GrandPrix back to back before the Month long Summer break. Here's hoping that the second half of the 2012 season is as exciting if not more exciting as the first half. I will be continuing to give my thought's on the latest news and race results.

What should Hamilton do next?

During the week we had confirmation that Mark Webber is staying at RedBull for the 2013 season. With that announcement a piece of the F1 jigsaw puzzle has been put in place. It also closes a potential door for McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton made his debut with McLaren Mercedes in 2007 and had a fantastic debut season. He won the driver's championship in his second year with the team but now appears to have become disillusioned with the performance of this year's McLaren car. Lewis has only managed to pick up one win so far this season at the Canadian GrandPrix in Montreal.

At the European GrandPrix he was involved in a accident with the Williams of Pastor Maldonado an accident that was completely the Venezuelan's fault and then last weekend in Silverstone he finished in 8th place and he is now in 4th place in the driver's championship on 92 points, 37 point's behind leader Fernando Alonso and he is just 9 points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who is having a fantastic comeback season with the Lotus team.

A number of week's ago Hamilton said that he would not announce his future plans until the end of the season so we'll have to wait and see what his result's are like for the rest of the year. In my opinion the next two race's in Germany and Hungary are going to be crucial for Hamilton's future.

It is looking increasingly likely that there will be no change's at any of the top team's for next season with Mark Webber signing and extension to his RedBull deal there is no seat there. Ferrari are looking likely to re-sign Felipe Massa although had he been leaving the team there was going to be no way that Lewis would have partnered Alonso again after their disasterous year they had together at McLaren in 2007.

Mercedes look set to hold on to Schumacher and Lotus have their driver's signed up for at least another year. Lewis has never had to negotiate a new contract as his first deal in F1 was for five years. Following his win in Canada, McLaren chairman Ron Dennis said that Hamilton would have to settle for a pay cut as his last deal was struck when the economic situation was a lot better.

McLaren never reveal how much a driver's deal is worth however it is believed that Hamilton has been on around £15 million a season.

Lewis has a new management team in XIX entertainment so it is going to be an interesting few months to see what deal they can come to with the team. One sticking point apparently is the fact that Lewis wants to keep any future 1st place trophies that he may win with the team.

However the team keep all winner's trophies and the driver has to commission a replica.

In my opinion I think Lewis should stay at McLaren because like Mark Webber at RedBull he knows the team inside out, he has been associated with them since he was a kid and I think he is going to find it very difficult to a sit at a top team if he were to leave McLaren.

Wolff to test for Williams

Williams development driver Susie Wolff is set to get her first taste of F1 during a straight line aero test in October, that's according to this week's Autosport. The news comes as Marussia test driver Maria De Villota continues to make remarkable progress as she recovers from her crash while testing for the team last week.

Susie joined the Williams team in April this year and currently races in the German Touring Car championship. She has attended a number of GrandPrix with the team and has completed many hours in the Wiliams F1 simulator.

I think it is fantastic that she is getting her chance to drive an F1 car. Maria De Villota tested a Renault F1 car last year and got on extremely well. It would be fantastic for the sport if there were female driver's competing. The American IndyCar Series has a number of female driver's. In 2009, Danica Patrick became the first female driver to win a major open wheel racing event when she won the Japan Indy 300 in Motegi.

She is now competing full time in the NASCAR series and is doing a pretty good job. The Williams team are a hugely successful team and it is great that Susie Wolff is involved with the team.

At the moment no date in October has been given and there has been no confirmation of the venue for the test.

Something a little different

Ok I am taking a little break for this post. Instead of telling you what I think about the latest F1 news I'm going to discuss what it's like to attend a GrandPrix weekend. I have followed Formula One since 1998, however my first full season watching Formula One was in 1999 when I supported Eddie Irvine and Ferrari.

When Eddie moved to Jaguar in 2000 I moved with him. In 2003 I moved to Jordan Ford following Eddie's retirement. 2003 was a very special year for me as I attended my first GrandPrix when I went to the British GrandPrix in Silverstone.

When I followed Jaguar I was a member of the team's fan club and I joined the Jordan fan club in 2003. When I went to the British GrandPrix in 2003, we stayed in London which for anyone who has not been to Silverstone is a long drive from London. We arrived in England on Saturday morning on time for qualifying.

Following the qualifying session we went over to the JORDAN VILLAGE, which had been set up for the team's fans. Before the race I had been in contact with the head of the Jordan fan club and Saturday I was lucky enough to meet Eddie Jordan and get my photo taken with him which was fantastic.

The race was very eventful, the 2003 GrandPrix was the race that saw the Irish priest run out on track in front of Mark Webber Jaguar. Rubens Barrichello won the race for Ferrari. Following the race we headed back over to the Jordan Village, where once again I managed to meet Eddie again and this time I got his autograph, not only that but I also won a piece of a Jordan F1 car. A used bardge board from the 2001 car. It even has a burn mark on the bottom of it.

On the plane on the way home that night I was talking to people who had been at the race and they couldn't believe that I had met EJ and won the bardge board. That race was certainly a fantastic experience.

My second race was another trip to Silverstone in 2009, when I supported Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari. I went to the race with a friend of mine and when I was there I met a load of other F1 fans. I booked the  ticket's the day they went on sale in July 2008. I was extremely lucky. I managed to get Grandstand tickets for the main straight. It was incredible as opposite us on the grid was Kimi and his team mate Felipe Massa we also had a perfect view of the Ferrari garage.

Sadly I deleted a load of fantastic photo's that I had taken by mistake. D'oh!!! (as Homer Simpson would say).

In September 2010, we went to the Italian GrandPrix in Monza. For this trip with did things very differently. We got a coach from London to France and drove from there up through the Swiss Alps and the Goddard Pass and down into Italy arriving there on the Wednesday before the race. We had weekend Grandstand tickets and on the Thursday we were allowed to walk the pitlane which was an INCREDIBLE experience.

I managed to met a number of driver's, I met Timo Glock, Lucas Di Grassi, Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli and Bruno Senna. Fernando Alonso won the race for Ferrari which was incredible as we were surrounded by the tifosi.

I haven't been to any other races since then however I am planning on going to the American GrandPrix next season in Austin. I am waiting to see how the first race goes in November.

I would strongly recommend for anyone who has not been to a GrandPrix you should go as it is an incredible experience.

Interesting words from Vettel

So Sebastien Vettel said today that the driver's championship lead has the potential to change very fortnight. When asked who would be challenging Vettel's quest to become three time champion this year the RedBull driver said that he felt that Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are the main threat's to him securing his third championship in a row.

He completely overlooked his team mate Mark Webber who is currently second in the championship behind Alonso. This is despite the fact that Mark is 16 points ahead of Vettel.

In my opinion, Mark has the upper hand within the RedBull team and is on a high as he has just won the British GrandPrix and has a new one year deal with the team for the 2013 season. So I believe that Vettel is rattled by Mark's form so far this season.

Following the British GrandPrix last weekend Vettel seemed to extremely annoyed with the fact that 'We didn't win' however his team won but it was the wrong side of the garage that won the race. I feel that Vettel is like a child who when things are going his way he throws his toy's from the pram or whines. For example when he retired from the European GrandPrix, a race that he was leading he blamed the FIA and race director Charlie Whiting for calling out the safety car following a nasty crash.

If Mark beats Vettel this year it is going to be extremely interesting to see what happens in the team next year. So far this year the driver's results in both the races and qualifying have been as follows:


                         Aus/ Mal/ China/ Bahrain/ Spain/ Monaco/ Canada/ Europe / Britain

                        S5     S4    S6        S3          S11     S1            S4           S19      S2
Mark Webber: F4     F4    F4        F4          F11    F1             F7           F4        F1

Vettel:             S6    S5     S11      S1          S7       S9            S1        S1            S4
                       F2    F11   F5        F1          F6       F4            F4        DNF        F3

So far this season Mark has out-qualified Sebastien 5 - 4 and I believe that the RB8 suits Mark's driving style better then Vettel's and this is becoming very frustrating for the German.

Next weekend the F1 circus moves to Hockenheim for the German GrandPrix Vettel's home race. At last year's event Vettel finished in 4th behind Mark as the Aussie finished on the podium and Lewis Hamilton won the race with Fernando Alonso in second.

Next weekend's race marks the halfway point in the season so following the race I will have a half term  report on the performance of all the team's and driver's and I will also be giving them BJF1 2012's half term mark out of ten.

Webber wants to stay at RedBull beyond 2013

In his monthly BBC Sport column RedBull's Mark Webber who has just re-signed for another year with the team said that he wants to stay with the team beyond the end of next season. I have come up with a very interesting scenario.

Sebastien Vettel has been strongly linked with a move to Ferrari to partner Fernando Alonso for the 2014 season. Mark confirmed yesterday that he had held talks with the Italian team about driving for the Scuderia next season however he felt that staying at RBR was the way forward given his current position in the Driver's Championship. 

Anyway it is no secret that Ferrari are very keen to Vettel on board to partner Alonso in 2014 and if that happens we could have a situation where we have Mark as the lead driver at RBR in 2014 with either Daniel Ricciardo or Jean Eric Vernge as his team mate.

I find it extremely interesting that next season there could be very few changes in driver line-eps. Mark Webber was the key to the 2013 driver market and with his seat at RedBull secured that could leave room for Felipe Massa to stay at Ferrari following on from his 4th place finish at the British GrandPrix as the team had wanted to sign Mark Webber or Sergio Perez for 2013. Perez is part of the team's Young Driver Programme.

Michael Schumacher hinted yesterday that he may extend his Mercedes stay as he said that he is not satisfied and is not ready to retire for a second time. Nico Rosberg is tied to Merc on a long term deal. The potential of Schumacher staying at Merc that could scupper Lewis Hamilton's plan's as it is believed that the McLaren driver who is out of contract at the end of the year had been looking at a move to the Brackley based team.Force India's Paul Di Resta was also possibly on their radar however he is likely to stay on at Force India with Nico Hulkenberg.

Meanwhile at Lotus, Kimi Raikkonen has a two year deal and is performing extremely well for the team. It is also believed that Romain Grosjean who is also performing extremely well for the Enstone based team is expected to stay on next year.

Hamilton considering a move to Lotus

The Daily Mail in the UK is reporting that McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is considering trying to get a seat at the Lotus F1 team. I think that this would be a terrible move for Lotus as they have two driver's in Kimi and Romain who are doing a fantastic job for the team and in my opinion they would be crazy to get rid of either of them.

The pair work extremely well together, and I certainly think that Hamilton would be silly to move to Lotus when he has been at McLaren for so long and he has been linked with every top team in the paddock, McLaren obviously, Ferrari, RedBull, Mercedes and now Lotus.

I believe that this 'rumuor' because that's all it is has been started because RedBull Racing announced yesterday that Mark Webber has signed an extension to his contract with the team. It is also thought that Michael Schumacher may stay on at Mercedes AMG, as he feels that he is not ready to retire for a second time.

Mercedes have said that they will sit down with Schumacher of the Summer break to discuss the future.

De Villota out of ICU

Marussia test driver Maria De Villota has been taken out of the ICU at Cambridge's Addenbrook hospital her sister confirmed this morning. She also confirmed that Maria is no longer under sedation.

It is believed that she could leave hospital to return to Spain at the end of the week.

This is fantastic news considering the fact that she had the accident just over a week ago. There has been no further update on what what caused the crash as the investigation is on going.

Webber signs new deal with RedBull

British GrandPrix winner Mark Webber has signed a one year extension to his RedBull Racing contract the team confirmed in statement today. Webber has been with the Milton Keynes based team since 2007 and is currently Fernando Alonso's closet rival for the championship as he is only 13 points behind the Ferrari driver.

The announcement of the new deal ends the rumours of the Australian moving to Ferrari for next season. It also leaves the driver market wide open as Mercedes, Force India, Sauber, Ferrari, McLaren and Caterham all have yet to announce their full line-ups for next season.

I am a Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus fan however I would love to see Mark beat Sebastien Vettel this year because he has had to play second fiddle to the the German for the last two years. Do I think it was a good idea for Mark to stay at RedBull for 2013?

With the way the championship is at the moment I would say yes it is however having said that the next race is in Hockenheim is Vettel's home race so he will be looking for a strong race. Traditionally driver's never fair too well at their home races.

Also the fact that the team have clearly favoured Vettel of the last couple of season's especially in Silverstone. During last years British GrandPrix Mark and Vettel were challenging for second behind Alonso and Mark was told to hold station behind Vettel and there was also 2010, when the Vettel broke his new front wing in Practice and in qauli he was given Mark's new wing and grabbed pole however Mark went on to win the race.

Mark is certainly back to the form that he had in 2010 and so far he has two win's this season compared to Vettel's one and he is also five/four up on Vettel in the inter team qualifying battle.

So we shall just have to wait and see what happens for the rest of the season.

RedBull want Mark to stay

So with Mark Webber winning for the second time this season he is beginning to show that he is in a great position to challenge for the championship. At the British GrandPrix over the weekend Mark completely outperformed team-mate Sebastien Vettel.

In my opinion Vettel is rattled by Mark's performances so far this season. Mark is currently second in the championship on 116 point's just 13 point's behind championship leader Fernando Alonso. Sebastien Vettel is currently in 3rd on 100 points.

After the race Vettel was apparently not very happy as he said that he was extremely disappointed that 'we didn't win today' but RedBull did win on Sunday. I think that Vettel is rattled by the fact that his superiority in the team has been challenged by Mark. Christian Horner, RedBull's team boss has said that he wants to keep Mark on board for 2013 as the Aussie is on a year on year rolling contract with the team and he sees no reason for Mark to leave the team.

They have said that they will sit down over the next coupe of week's with Mark and discuss a deal for next year. I think it would be fantastic if Mark is able to continue his form for the rest of the season and beat Vettel this year.

Fantastic news as De Villota is awake

There was fantastic news from Marussia team boss John Booth on Sunday night as he confirmed that the team's test driver Maria De Villota is awake and has been talking to her family. This is great news following the horrendous crash that she suffered on Tuesday morning during a test session in England.

The cause of the accident is yet to be determined however the investigation is on going. Although Maria remains in a serious but stable condition it is great to hear that she has been talking to her family and that her condition continues to make progress.

FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting has said that the accident had a once in five million change of happening. They are continuing to work closely with the team's to improve driver safety. The former FIA Medical delegate to the FIA Professor Sid Watkins was at Silverstone for the British GrandPrix however he was not asked about his thought's on Maria's crash.

I think it just goes to show how well she has been looked after as she has had two major operation's since the accident and is awake, bearing in mind the crash happened 5 day's ago. The Marussia team will continue to provide update's on Maria's condition however the next update is not expected until later next week.

Maldonado fined £10,000

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was handed a post race fine of £10,000 following the British GrandPrix after he was found to have caused an accident with Sergio Perez. He was also handed an official reprimand.

Maldonado has been involved in a number of incident's since he made his F1 Debut with Williams last year. He was involved in an accident with Lewis Hamilton. He was then involved in an accident with Lotus driver Romain Grosjean during the opening race of this season. He was also involved in a accident with Lewis Hamilton during the European GrandPrix in Valencia two week's ago.

I really think that Formula One need to follow the lead of the IndyCar Series and bring in a probation period for a driver who is repeated found to have caused crashes in a season. Already this season Maldonado has had three reprimands this season so I firmly believe and this may be a little harsh that he should have his super license suspended for at least a race.

Webber wins as the rain stays away in Silverstone

RedBull's Mark Webber won a dramatic British GrandPrix at Silverstone today. Mark started the race the race on the front row alongside Fernando Alonso. The Australian became the second repeat winner of the 2012 season and remains in 2nd in the championship behind Fernando Alonso. 

Lewis Hamilton finished the race where he started the race in 8th place. Menawhile team Jenson Button came through the field from 16th on the grid to finish in 10th place. 

Sebastien Vettel finished the race in 3rd place after being completely out performed by Mark Webber all weekend. It was another great day for the Lotus team with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean finishing the race in 5th and 6th just behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

After the weather issue's at the circuit over the last couple of day's the rain stayed away for the race and it proved to be a fantastic race.

I thoroughly enjoyed the race and it was fantastic to see Mark grab his second win the of the season. So  yet again the Lotus team have shown that consistency really pays off in one the closet championship's in recent year's as Kimi and Romain have scored point's in every race this season. The F1 circuis moves on to Germany in two week's time.

I believe that Pastor Maldonado should receive a penalty or should be put on probation as he has been involved in yet another incident this weekend. Two week's ago in Valencia he was involved in an accident with Lewis Hamilton and then today he was involved in an accident with the Sauber of Sergio Perez. So we will have to wait and see what happens.

Alonso on pole as rain disrupts qualifying

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso will start tomorrow's British GrandPrix at Silverstone from pole position. the Spaniard managed to set the fastest time in the final part of qualifying just ahead of Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher. The session was red flagged halfway through Q2 as the circuit was hit by a torrential downpour. At the time of the stoppage Sauber's Sergio Perez was topping the timesheets, however the Mexican will start the race from 17th place.

It was another frustrating session for Jenson Button who struggled to get heat into his front tyre's was knocked out in Q1 and will start from 18th on the grid. Team mate Lewis Hamilton had a difficult session too and will star from on the on grid.

Meanwhile reigning world champion Sebastien Vettel was out qualified by his team mate and will start from fourth while Mark Webber will start from the front row in second. It was a great day for Kimi Raikkonen as he will start the race from 6th on the grid ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg.

Romain Grosjean got into Q3 but he beached his car in the gravel and as a result was not allowed to take part in the final part of qualifying.

With the race set to be wet tomorrow, we are going to be in for a cracker.

Alonso fastest in dry final practice

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in final practice this morning ahead of this afternoon's qualifying session on a dry Silverstone circuit. The Spaniard was just ahead of Jenson Button and the Lotus of Romain Grosjean. Vettel was 4th with Kimi Raikkonen in 5th. The top 6 driver's were seperated by by just 0.3s.

Nico Rosberg endured a tough morning as he was down in 18th place following mechanical problem's with his Mercedes AMG car. Meanwhile his team mate Michael Schumacher who have traditionally driven well in Silverstone was in 14th place.

I will be back later with a round up of the action from quali.

De Villota undegoes further surgery as Hamilton top's practice

Marussia test driver Maria De Villota underwent further surgery today following he crash on Tuesday her team confirmed today. She is now is a serious but stable condition following today's surgery to address the facial injuries that she sustained.

Meanwhile on track today in Silverstone Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheet's during a session that suffered torrential down pours throughout. The McLaren driver was just ahead of Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi. Mercedes were next with Michael Schumacher in 4th and Nico Rosberg 5th.

RedBull's reigning champion Sebastian Vettel was down in 13th while his team mate Mark Webber was down in 23rd place after only completing one lap.

McLaren's Jenson Button was 6th just ahead of the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen. Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen was 8th and after topping the time sheets in first practice Romain Grosjean was down in 21st after only completing an installation lap.

Race organizers of the British GrandPrix in Solverstone have insisted that the race will go ahead as planned on Sunday. However they have told car park pass holders who have not prebooked their pass to stay way due to the poor weather conditions. They have said that for any day's that spectators can't go to the race due to weather they will refund ticket's.

There was chaos this morning as thousands of fan's heading to the circuit for practice missed the on track action due to the huge traffic jams at and around the circuit. Organizers of the race have anoounced that they have launched a full investigation into what it happened.

Lotus team up Batman ahead of Silverstone

The Lotus F1 team announced in Silverstone that they have signed a promotional deal with The Dark Knight Rises movie for this weekend's British GrandPrix in Silverstone. The deal means that we will see The Dark Knight Rises logo on the side of both Kimi and Romain's E20 car's aswell as their overalls and their helmets.

I think it a great idea and the Lotus looks great with The Dark Knight Rises logo on the side of the car. It's not the first time that a Formula One team have helped promote a movie. At the 2003 British GrandPrix Jaguar teamed up with Terminator 3 to help promote the new movie. RedBull Racing have also promoted a number of movies including Star Wars at the 2005 Monaco GrandPrix.

In 2008, The Toyota F1 teamed up with The Dark Knight for the British GrandPrix in a similar deal to the one that Lotus have for the new movie.

The Dark Knight Rises in the final film of Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman film's, Christian Bale returns as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Gary Oldman is back as Commissioner Gordon, Michael Caine is back as Alferd and Morgan Freeman is back as Lucius Fox, Liam Neeson returns as R'as Ghul, the original cast are joined by Tom Hardy who plays Bane and Anne Hathaway who plays Selina Kyle/Catwoman.

The New movie is released in cinema's on July 20th and promises to be an excellent conclusion

British GrandPrix Preview

This weekend sees Formula One head to Silverstone for the British GrandPrix, round 9 of this record breaking season. The British GrandPrix always attracts a massive crowd and this weekend will be no exception despite the fact that the race is on the same day as the Wimbledon Men's final. On Sunday the race build up will be on BBC 1 before moving to BBC 2 for the race.

This week has been an shocking week in Formula One with the news yesterday that Marussia F1's test driver Maria De Villota lost her right eye following her horrific crash on Tuesday and everyone's thoughts are with Maria and her family at this time.

This weekend there is potential for a wet race which could result in an interesting outcome, last year's race winner Fernando Alonso will be hoping for a repeat victory this weekend. Last year's win was Ferrari's only win of the 2011 season however this season Ferrari have two win's to their name as Fernando became this season's first repeat winner when he took a surprise victory in front of his home crowd in Valencia two week's ago following Sebastian Vettel's retirement from the race.

Of course Ferrari and RedBull aren't the only team's in contention for the race win this weekend We also have to factor in McLaren and Lotus who are currently ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors championship in third place despite Ferrari having two win's so far this season as the Enstone based team have been the major surprise this season.

The team are promoting the new Batman film 'The Dark Knight Rises' this weekend with the film logo appears on the car's and both Kimi and Romain's helmets and overalls. I am certainly hoping that the ICEMAN Rises to the top step of the podium this weekend. That may sound cheesey however it is a real possibility if the team can have a great qualifying performance as they have shown that they have the race pace to challenge at the front.

Both Kimi and Romain have been extremely competitive as Romain was competing for victory in Valencia two week's ago until he retired from the race. That promoted Kimi to second. So far this season Lotus have collected five podium's in 8 race's so it is only a matter of time before they get their breakthrough win.

We should also look out for Jenson Button who is hoping to get his championship back on track as he has struggled with his McLaren recently so hopefully he will be up there challenging for victory too.

Mercedes and Michael Schumacher will also be looking to build on their strong performance in Valencia where Michael picked up his first podium since his F1 comeback in 2010. 

But with the way this season has shaped up so far ANYTHING is possible. Some people have said that the unpredictability of the sport this year has made it boring however I firmly believe that this is completely wrong. No team has dominated so far this season so we will have to see what happens come Sunday. 

The race is live on BBC and Sky F1 as they go head to head at the British GrandPrix for the first time. So it is going to be extremely interesting to how that goes. I will of course be sticking with the Beeb this weekend.

The big question on everyone's lips is will we get our eighth different winner of the season? We will have to wait and see. 

FIA need to step up cockpit safety

The FIA really need to step up their efforts to enhance Formula One cockpit safety as soon as possible following the terrible news that Marussia F1 test driver Mara De Villota's racing career appears to be over as news broke today that the Spaniard has lost her right eye following her horrific crash during a straight line speed and aero test at Duxford airfield yesterday.

As the investigation into the cause of the crash continues the main question that I would to address is what are the FIA going to do to further improve the safety of F1 cockpits. Since 2009 there have a number of terrible accident's within open wheel racing.

The first one being at the Hungarian GrandPrix when a spring flew off the back of Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car hitting Ferrari's Felipe Massa in the head at speed resulting in a skull fracture for the Ferrari driver. Felipe has since made a full recovery.

The week before Felipe Massa's crash Henry Surtees, the son of former F1 champion John Surtees was killed when he was struck in the head by a tyre from another car during a F2 race in Brands Hatch.

Then last year we had the tragic events at the final IndyCar race in Las Vegas where Dan Wheldon was  killed following a high speed crash. So these kinds of accidents aren't just restricted to Formula One.

The FIA have introduced for this year stepped noses for F1 cars to help protect drivers in the event of side impacts, they have also raised the height of the cockpit walls however as Tuesday's event's have shown in my opinion this hasn't been taken far enough. Exactly two month's prior to this accident in the May 3rd issue of Autosport there was a feature done on cockpit safety.

One of the idea's being suggested is the idea of drivers being covered with a fighter jet-style canopy to protect them from potential debris. However I believe that this could potentially cause problem's if a driver is sent airborne during a crash and lands upside down.

For example, during the 2010 European GrandPrix in Valencia RedBull's Mark Webber was coming up to lap the lotus of Heikki Kovalainen when he went over the back of the car and was launched into the air luckily for Mark he landed upright and was able to walk away unhurt.

In Maria's case however she apparently unconscious in the car following the accident for between 15 and 20 minute's and it took paramedics a considerable amount of time to extricate her from the car.

I am hoping number one that Maria makes a good recovery from her injuries and secondly I really hope the FIA learn something and bring forward their plan to further improve cockpit safety.

The reason the cockpit is open on an F1 car and indeed any other open wheel race caar is to allow easy access to the driver in the event of a crash.

De Villota loses right eye following crash

Marussia F1's test driver Maria De Villota has lost her right eye following her testing crash in Cambridge yesterday the team confirmed in a statement today. The Spanish driver remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital following the accident.

She underwent lengthly surgery yesterday that went into the early hours of this morning.

Anti stall possible cause of De Villota's crash

It has been reported today that the possible cause of Marussia test driver Maria De Villota's crash yesterday was because as she entered the make shift pit-lane the car went into anti stall and propelled the car into the Marussia F1 team truck.

This is only speculation as no fact's about the crash have been released to the media. it was said last night Maria was conscious and undergoing treatment and tests however no further update on her condition has been given today.

The team are conducting an investigation into the cause of the crash.

De Villota injured in testing crash

Marussia F1 test driver Maria De Villota has been injured in a crash while conducting a straight line speed test for the team at the Duxford Airfield in Cambridgesgire. Maria had just completed an installation lap and was returning to the pit's when she reportedly lost control of the car. as she lost control eye witnesses said that the car accelerated before hitting a lorry at the side of the track.

Maria had to be helped from the car by ambulance crews who were at the circuit. She was airlifted to hospital in a serious condition... More news as I get it

UPDATE at 2.50PM:

According to reports Maria De Villota has received face and head injuries however she is in a stable condition in hospital.

Th driver hit the team's support truck that had delivered her car to the straight line test. She returned to the pit's following an installation lap. I have heard a very dramatic recording of the accident and the car appeared to misfire and as she slowed the car it appeared to accelerate and flew foward before hitting the support truck.

The mechanics at the scene have to be praised for their extremely quick reactions calling for the ambulance straight away. Marussia F1 will release a further statement later today.

FURTHER UPDATE AT 3.33PM


A team statement just released confirms that Maria De Villota is conscious and undergoing further medical checks.

FIA caution Vettel over outbursts

Germany's Kolner Express newspaper is reporting today that Sebastian Vettel has been warned to watch his manners. The report comes following Vettel's accusation that the FIA had conspired against RedBull when the safety Car was deployed in Valencia last weekend as a result Vettel claimed to the media that his retirement was caused by the safety car.

It's not the first time this season that Vettel has been warned by Formula One's governing body as following the Chinese GrandPrix he called HRT's Narain Kartikeyan an "idiot and a cucumber'

In my opinion Formula One should have a probation system like the one's that are in place in NASCAR and IndyCar. It would be a very easy thing to do. If a driver makes comment's like Vettel did last weekend they should as he was be warned of their conduct and they should have a three atrike's rule.

How I believe it should work is that if a driver is found to have made comments to the media like Vettel did about the FIA's safety car they should be given an official warning, as in my opinion that amounts to brining the sport into disrepute, it happens a second time they should be given another warning and then if it happens a third time they should be fined and placed on probation and if the driver persists the driver should receive a race ban. That's just what I think should happen but I think it is certainly something the FIA should consider as it would make driver's think about what they say before they speak to the media.

Team's have PR representatives with their driver's after race's for a reason.

Vettel wants Webber to stay at RedBull in 2013

Reigning Formula One World Championship Sebastian Vettel has revealed that he wants RedBull Racing to extend Mark Webber's contract. The Australian is out of contract at the end of the season and     although Vettel has said that he and Mark are not friends he would like to see the team retain the Australian for at least another year. However he admits that any decision on his team mate for next year lies with Christian Horner and the team and not him.

His comments come as the Formula One circus heads to Silverstone for next weekend's British GrandPrix where last year he had a very clear lead to Mark Webber in the Championship when he and Mark were challenging for second place behind Fernando Alonso when Mark's engineer came over the radio to tell him 'Mark maintain the gap this allowed Vettel to finish second in the race and Webber third.

Fast forward twelve months and heading into this year's British GrandPrix it is Mark who has the advantage over Vettel the Aussie is in second place on 91 points while Vettel is in 4th place on 85 points. So we shall see what happens at next weekend's GrandPrix.

I believe that the reason Vettel wants Mark to stay at RedBull is because he see's him a massive threat were he to move to another team for 2013, as it has been suggested recently that Mark could move to Ferrari to replace Felipe Massa, but as he said himself that he is one of a number of driver's who has been linked to a Ferrari drive for 2013.

Mark has also stated any decision on his plans for 2013 will depend on his results this season. I believe  it is far too early in the year to be talking about driver's for 2013 as we are only heading in to round nine of a twenty race season. Mark has a very good relationship with the team and I don't see any reason at the moment at least for him to be discussing his future in the sport as he is doing a great job for the team in this wide open 2012 F1 season.

The conclusion that I have come is why would Vettel want a new team mate coming into his team and establishing themselves in the team. For the moment at least Mark has the upper hand on Vettel in the championship so if it continues which I hope it does Vettel's view may change. I for one would love to see Mark beat Vettel this year, however, I REALLY want Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus to finish ahead of the RedBull team this year. I have a strong suspicion that Kimi and Lotus will be challenging for the win next weekend.