This is F1 Minute for the 8th February 2010.

New Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg has been talking about his goals for this debut season in F1 and says the team won’t let him sit back and use the first races as a test session. He said: “Williams expect me to deliver a good job, to drive quickly and do well for them. They would not appoint me as a driver if they didn’t expect something from me. They have not said what that is in terms of numbers or results, but expectations are always there.”

Meanwhile, Force India are due to launch their new car tomorrow but design director Mark Smith has been talking about their lack of testing so far. Autosport reports that Smith isn’t too worried, saying: “When you think about it, it is a bit different for us because someone else has already been running around with the same engine, gearbox and electronics and these are the things that traditionally are more likely to give you problems.” Letting someone else do all the hard work, eh?

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

08-Feb-10: Hulkenberg Prepares for his Debut Season

05-Feb-10: Virgin Racing Debuts Car at Silverstone

It is the 4th February 2010 and this is F1 Minute.

Mercedes GP have confirmed their reserve driver for 2010 and it is none other than Nick Heidfeld. Having missed out on the Sauber seat, it was rumoured that Heidfeld would make the move to the all-German team, alongside Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. He said: “While I would of course have preferred a seat as an active driver, I am really proud to be part of the new Silver Arrows team. I have seen how committed everyone at the team is and I feel the same.”

Meanwhile, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has been talking about the team’s excellent performance in the first pre-season test, but says they’re not about to get carried away: “We can’t take anything for granted and we shouldn’t delude ourselves by indications, which could be completely misleading. We can’t work like in football where two good or bad results are enough to pass from riches to rags or vice versa.”

That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

04-Feb-10: Heidfeld Signs as Mercedes Reserve Driver

This is F1 Minute and it’s the 3rd February 2010.

The final day of testing in Valencia was a big one, with no less than three world champions ready to go. Alonso kept Ferrari on top for the third day in a row, Schumacher finished the day in third for Mercedes, whilst McLaren were fifth with Button behind the wheel. Petrov had his first go in the Renault finishing 6th with just a Williams behind him. And de la Rosa was second in the BMW Sauber, another good showing from them.

Elsewhere today, Virgin Racing were all set for an online launch but technical difficulties saw a severe delay in proceedings. We eventually got a glimpse of the new car and the livery is a nice black and red. The car has been designed solely by CFD with no wind tunnel action, so it is slightly different to the launched cars we have seen already – the nose looks a lot thinner.

Finally, Force India confirmed that they will be launching their car in a similar online fashion, although hopefully more successfully, and that will be on the 9th February.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

03-Feb-10: Alonso Makes it Three out of Three for Ferrari

Welcome to F1 Minute for the 2nd February 2010.

For the second day in a row, Felipe Massa posted the fastest time in testing at Valencia. Sauber put in an impressive performance with Kobayashi second, and Hamilton was third in the McLaren. Renault were much improved on their previous day’s running, fourth instead of last. Toro Rosso were last, but at least worked out their reliability niggles and completed 107 laps. In fact, all the teams averaged 100 laps making it a good day’s work by all.

Elsewhere, it’s been a busy day, as Paul di Resta was officially confirmed as the Force India reserve driver. The teams approved yet another change on the points system to make a win worth 25 and second place worth 18, plus they agreed changes to tyre strategies that sees a driver have to start the race with the same rubber he qualifies on.

Finally, not quite F1 team Stefan GP have said they are testing a car in Portimao soon and they are going to turn up to Bahrain with all their equipment, despite not having an entry… yet.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

02-Feb-10: Ferrari Continue to Lead in Valencia

This is F1 Minute for the 1st February 2010.

The first day of 2010 testing got underway today, but before we get to that, there were two more launches over the weekend, plus one today. Sauber and Renault revealed their new cars at the Valencia circuit yesterday, with Renault dominating most of the headlines for their striking yellow and black livery, and Sauber generating a bit of concern over their lack of livery and sponsors. Toro Rosso launched today with their first car designed in-house. It’s very similar to last year’s but has more red on the nose, presumably to help distinguish from the Red Bull.

So, on to testing, and Massa ended the day on top for Ferrari, but all eyes were on Rosberg in the morning for Mercedes, and Schumacher who took over in the afternoon. Michael was half a second faster than Nico, and when the press asked former teammate Rubens Barrichello on any words of advice for Rosberg, he said: “Yea, get out of there.” Toro Rosso suffered reliability issues, and Renault finished last by quite a way, so all eyes are on tomorrow. I’ll be back then, with another F1 Minute.

01-Feb-10: 2010 Testing Gets Underway with Massa on Top

This is F1 Minute and it’s the 29th January 2010.

McLaren became the latest team to launch their brand new car, unveiling the MP4-25 at the Vodafone Headquarters in Newbury. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton pulled the covers off the car, and then answered some questions from the assembled crowd. Hamilton was keen to show the improvements to the car, saying: “The car looks so much different, completely different, and I feel so proud as I have had some input into it. I am sure it will handle completely differently to last year’s car.” Meanwhile, Button said he is more excited than he has ever been going into a new season and added: “Moving to a new team is always difficult and it’s a big change and we struggle with change a little bit. But they really have welcomed me and it’s been a really good atmosphere. It’s nice to finally see the car as one whole piece.”

Very quickly to finish, Williams signed up Formula 3 Euro Series driver Valtteri Bottas as their test drive for 2010.

Thanks for listening, have a great weekend and join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.

29-Jan-10: Button and Hamilton Launch the MP4-25

Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 28th January 2010.

Ferrari launched their new car, today, the F10, which makes no sense because last year’s was the F60 and the year before it was the F2008. Anyway, the livery is still a delicioius red but has added white stripes to coincide with the new Santander branding. Alonso and Massa were present at the launch, along with Stefano Domenicali who said the team deserves to have a car that will challenge for the championship this year. Massa was due to take the car for a spin out on the Fiorano circuit in the afternoon, but they decided against it due to poor conditions. The track was covered in ice, but Ferrari say they will do the shakedown as soon as they can.

Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony is setting up an academy for young drivers to get Formula 1 style testing miles under their belt. Autosport reports that he is hoping to lease out 2009-spec cars, with McLaren already agreeing to supply a couple. The programme will be called GP Prep Drivers Academy.

That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

28-Jan-10: Ferrari Launch the F10 in Maranello

This is F1 Minute for the 27th January 2010.

We’ve heard from many teams who intend to miss the first test of the pre-season, but Campos Meta are taking it a step further, and will most likely skip all the testing. Their head of strategy Daniel Eisen has been talking to the AP, and said: “Bahrain is a test, it’s not a first race for us. The cars are very advanced, we have a driver under contract and our intention is to be in Bahrain for the first race.” He said they are still negotiating for funding but that everything is going according to plan. It also looks as though they won’t be announcing a second driver until much nearer the start of the season.

Meanwhile, Ferrari have become the next team prepared to stream their launch online. The 2010 car will be revealed in Maranello tomorrow and the event will be streamed at ferrari.com.

Finally, new driver Jose Maria Lopez said he was sure his chance of getting into F1 had passed, but says his goal is for US F1 to be the best of the new teams.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

27-Jan-10: Campos Meta Likely to Skip All Pre-Season Testing

Today is the 26th January 2010, and this is F1 Minute.

All sorts of driver news today, as firstly Jose Maria Lopez has been confirmed at US F1 for the upcoming season. He was linked with the team a while ago, but needed to bring the required funding before his seat was secure. With a little bit of government backing, Lopez was confirmed by the President of Argentina as having a drive in F1 this year. US F1 later acknowledged the announcement. A strange way for a driver to be revealed to the world, but they all seem quite happy about it.

Whilst we’re talking about strange announcements, Martin Whitmarsh confirmed to Reuters that DTM driver Paul di Resta would be working with Force India as a Friday driver. Whitmarsh said: “Paul will be running I believe in the majority of the Friday sessions for Force India, so it’s a great opportunity for him… he’s going to push like hell to make his case to have a race drive at Force India during the course of this year.” Very odd.

If anyone else wants to announce something on someone’s behalf, just let us know! I’ll see you tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

26-Jan-10: Jose Maria Lopez Confirmed at US F1