Essential Reading for January 5th, 2009

Recommended links for January 5th, 2009:

• Ferrari first to launch 2009 car – Ferrari will be the first team to launch its car for the 2009 season.

  The constructors' champion will unveil its latest F1 challenger at its Italian HQ at Maranello on 12 January.

• Thorny claim over racing champ – Handsome, brave and impulsive, he was the golden boy of motor racing. But as fans prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the death in a road accident of Britain's first Formula One champion, Mike Hawthorn, pit lane chatter has turned up a new theory as to why it happened.

  Mechanic Brian Taylor says a Mercedes like Walker's drove past the garage on the fateful day and an arm came up 'in the time-honoured salute'.

  Hawthorn roared after him in his Jaguar, but lost control on the Guildford bypass, dying when he hit a tree.

• Brundle might walk – Motor racing pundit Martin Brundle (right) is in discussion with the BBC's new Formula One production team as to how his celebrated prerace grid walk from his ITV days can best be revamped next season.

  Brundle has his doubts whether the unrehearsed and unscripted interviews will continue to work, especially as the drivers – with other arranged media commitments while on the grid – are becoming increasingly reluctant to chat.

  The likelihood is that the Beeb will cherry pick the best races for the Brundle walk.

• Alonso unhurt in plane incident – "Fernando indeed had a plane incident yesterday. His aircraft touched a building and damaged its wing. Fernando and his family are fine. They will be flying back to Europe today. It's apparently not as serious as some people are trying to make it sound."
• Sir Jackie Stewart delivers damning verdict – “I don't think Bernie can bring people in to help him in a transition phase, he has been so used to total control that if you look at his structure you have to ask yourself 'is there a successor?' and you would say 'no'. That is wrong. The commercial reality has to be recognised … and there has be continuity that the ageing process makes necessary.”