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

• A good feeling in the team after the first day of testing. Felipe’s first impressions are positive: a better beginning compared to last year. Inside Ferrari
• Williams are not launching as such, when the car rolls out at 10am, that will be its debut. Claire Williams
• STR5 was wheeled into pit lane at 9.05 and the photographers did their stuff. Special guest? Schumacher was having a good look at our car. Toro Rosso Spy
• My new car is just about to turn it’s first wheel in anger at Valencia… Wish I had a live feed!! Jenson Button
• Four kilometers of cueue to get into the circuit… It is Alonso mania at Valencia with more than 30,000 people attending the testing session. Inside Ferrari
• Already in barcelona! I really think we have a great car! This season will be exciting! Ou yesssssaaa! Jaime Alguersuari
• Mr Wirth’s Virgin car looks very IRL to me. Hope it doesn’t only turn left. Shakedown is at Silverstone and the pit exit’s a right! Will Buxton
• Forecast for Jerez is 60% chance of rain all four days. Not good news for Red Bull, Force I and Virgin who have first runs on new cars. James Allen
• Lots of tweets about Mercedes and Ferrari copying our chassis design. All rubbish: do they have propellers and a flamethrower? I think not… Red Bull F1 Spy
• Good that Anthony Davidson is back on the BBC in 2010. Last year I invested in a Kangaroo TV, so I could hear Ant and Crofty every session. Adam Cooper

Tweets of the Week – 7th February 2010

Michael Schumacher concentrates on the task at hand during the Valencia test in February 2010. His new team Mercedes GP have been quick to dismiss concerns that the pressure is mounting on them, what with a championship to defend, plus a seven times world champion on their books.

Credit: Mercedes GP

Great Expectations

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

Nick Heidfeld poses at Melbourne Zoo for BMW ahead of the 2009 season. The German has been confirmed as reserve driver at Mercedes GP for 2010, making it an all German outfit based in Brackley. Heidfeld says he is slightly disappointed with not having a race seat for the upcoming season but is determined to make it work with his new team.

Credit: BMW AG

Out to Pasture

2010 looks set to be one of the most exciting seasons yet with World Champions from the last two years – Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton – driving as team mates in McLaren and F1 legend Michael Schumacher returning to the track for Mercedes.

Plus, there are new teams, new rules and new venues to add into the mix.

The BBC TV presentation team returns with anchor Jake Humphrey joined by Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard as expert pundits.

Commentary comes courtesy of Martin Brundle and Jonathan Legard with reporters Lee McKenzie and Ted Kravitz bringing all the interviews and action from the pits.

Plus the legendary F1 voice Murray Walker is once again part of the team with online blogs/reports at regular intervals during the season.

The BBC Radio 5 Live commentary team is led by David Croft alongside Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson, providing a driver’s perspective to events, and pit lane reporter Holly Samos with all the news and reaction as it happens.

The BBC’s Head of Formula 1 Ben Gallop says: “We’re delighted with the way 2009 went and we can’t wait for the 2010 season to start.

“The BBC Sport team will once again be bringing great coverage across all our platforms, meaning F1 fans can follow the action and interact wherever they are, whenever they want.

“We’re proud to offer our audiences the opportunity to follow the great stories and share all the excitement of this fantastic sport.”

TV Coverage
Live coverage of every qualifying session and all 19 races live on BBC One [1]:

• All races and qualifying sessions that finish before 10.00am to have full repeat on terrestrial TV later in the day
• One-hour evening highlights programme on BBC Three

BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra
Live commentary of every race plus:

• Coverage of all the stories as they break plus big name interviews from the drivers, owners and personalities
• 5 Live Formula 1 on 5 Live Sport every Friday night prior to a race, previewing all the action with expert analysis and the latest news from the track
• Coverage of practice and qualifying sessions
• Chequered Flag podcast available to download at bbc.co.uk/5live with expert analysis and reaction from the circuit

BBC Radio 5 Live’s Formula 1 coverage is produced by USP Content.

You can listen to 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra via DAB digital radio, Digital TV and online at bbc.co.uk/5live; 5 Live is also on 693 & 909 MW.

BBC Red Button
Live coverage of all on-track sessions including practice sessions plus the following options:

• Network feed with choice of commentary from 5 Live or TV for qualifying and Grands Prix
• In-car camera feed and leaderboard
• Rolling highlights
• Coverage of Friday and Saturday practice sessions
• Up to an hour of analysis on the red button immediately after all races with Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle. Viewers are invited to e-mail/text in, ask questions and interact

BBC Sport Website
Live video streaming of all on-track sessions, including:

• Network TV feed with choice of commentary from 5 Live or TV
• Option to choose a high-quality video stream
• In-car camera feed
• Rolling highlights
• Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle provide up to an hour of analysis available immediately after all races, with viewers invited to e-mail/text in, ask questions and interact

Editorial coverage to include:

• Latest leaderboard
• Full statistics from all on-track sessions
• Distinctive live text commentary
• News stories
• Martin Brundle, Mark Webber, Mark Hughes, Ted Kravitz and Lee McKenzie columns
• Blogs by Jonathan Legard, Jake Humphrey and journalists Andrew Benson and Sarah Holt
• Murray Walker regular post-race video summary and Q&A
• Interactive world venue map and circuit guides, including animated laps of tracks
• Driver and team profiles
• Chequered Flag podcast available to download at bbc.co.uk/5live
• The BBC has a five year deal to broadcast F1, which runs from 2009 to 2013 inclusive, and includes exclusive rights to TV, radio, full broadband and mobile.

Notes to Editors
[1] Please note: all broadcast details subject to change, including accommodation of the General Election.

2010 Formula 1 on the BBC

Like Michael Schumacher before him, Nick is another former Mercedes Junior who returns to his motorsport roots. After winning the 1997 German Formula 3 Championship, as a junior driver supported by Mercedes, Nick tested a McLaren Mercedes Formula One car for the first time.

Nick was the McLaren Mercedes test driver for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, during which time he had two successful years in Formula 3000, as runner-up in 1998 and winning the Formula 3000 Championship, held alongside the Formula One races, in 1999.

Nick began his Formula One career with the Prost team in 2000 and since then has participated in 167 Grands Prix driving for Sauber (2001-2003), Jordan (2004), Williams (2005) and BMW Sauber (2006-2009). He had his best Formula One season in 2007 when he finished in fifth position in the World Championship. To date in his Formula One career, Nick has achieved 12 podium finishes.

Nick Heidfeld: “I am very pleased to be joining the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team. It’s the team which has attracted the most interest in the close season, not only because of the comeback of Michael Schumacher, but also because this season sees the return of the Silver Arrows cars as a Mercedes-Benz works team for the first time in over fifty years. Whilst 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. I will be doing my very best to support Michael and Nico this year.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: “It’s a great pleasure for us to have signed a driver of the calibre and experience of Nick Heidfeld as our Reserve Race Driver and Test Driver for the 2010 season. Nick has over ten years of experience in Formula One working with established teams and he will be a great asset to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. I am confident that his input into the development of our MGP W01 car will be invaluable. We look forward to welcoming Nick to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS and working closely with him.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “To sign Nick Heidfeld as Reserve Race Driver and Test Driver for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team means another re-enforcement for our team. We have known each other for many years and Nick was supported by our junior drivers programme from 1997. During his 10 years in Formula One, circumstances often made it difficult for him to achieve his breakthrough. However Nick is extremely capable, he will be an asset to our team and he will show this.”

Nick Heidfeld Signs for Mercedes GP Petronas

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

The brand new VR-01 was revealed to the world today, after a short delay. Virgin had planned an online launch, but their virtual photos took a while to be released due to technical difficulties. Nevertheless, the black and red livery was finally available to view with Lucas di Grassi and Timo Glock on hand in their matching overalls. The car is due for a shakedown at Silverstone next week.

Credit: Virgin Racing

Launched For the Very First Time