Essential Reading for December 8th, 2008

Recommended links for December 8th, 2008:

• Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington favourite to win BBC Sports Personality award – The 19-year-old, who won two gold medals in Beijing, is now odds-on favourite at 4/5, while Hamilton drops into second at 2/1.

  "It seems the public feel that Olympic achievement outdoes a contest held annually," said Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for William Hill.

  "Or maybe Lewis's lustre has come off because he is seen as a tax-dodger."

• Trust Red Bull – Red Bull Racing have announced a new Team Partner for 2009: Trust.

  Both Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel will sport the Trust name on the chin bar of their helmets next season. The Trust logos will not be making an appearance on the RB5 livery, but will be present on the team’s partner branding areas for 2009.

• Oris extends sponsorship engagement with Williams F1 – Ulrich Herzog, Executive Chairman of Oris SA, commented, “We are pleased to confirm our continued partnership with the AT&T Williams team. The agreement is important to our business in the Oris world of motor sports watches and we are convinced of the value of the partnership we have developed over the past six years.”

  Frank Williams, the AT&T Williams Team Principal, responded, “I am delighted that Oris, together with Philips and Allianz have all recently extended their partnership agreements with the team."

• 2009 testing to resume at Jerez this week – Formula One cars return to the track this week as pre-season testing recommences in Spain and Bahrain. With the first race of 2009 little more than three months away, development work will continue in earnest at the Jerez and Sakhir circuits.

  Most teams begin a three-day test at Jerez from Tuesday, though Williams are expected to start a day early to give another outing to Formula 3 Euro Series racer Dani Clos following the Spaniard’s F1 debut with the team back in September. Toyota, meanwhile, will be running solo in Bahrain from Wednesday.

• Alexander Rossi wins BMW Sauber F1 test – Young racing talent Alexander Rossi has won himself a full day of testing in the BMW Sauber F1 team race car. The 17-year-old won this weekend's Formula BMW World Final in Mexico City and as a reward for his victory Rossi will be given a drive in a BMW Sauber F1 car.

  "The very thought of driving a Formula One car makes me speechless," Rossi said. "Since I first saw Formula One, I have wanted to drive such a racing car. Now this dream becomes reality.