Last week saw the start of Formula 1 pre-season winter testing at the Valencia circuit, Spain. Despite being unable to travel in person due to parental responsibilities, it was interesting to watch the results as they come in via various websites and trying to work out which teams appear to have got their sums right and who has not.

Innovation seems to be the key word with the various designs seen so far – witness the forward facing exhaust on the Lotus Renault sidepods and McLaren’s U-shaped sidepods which are both unique and are the nucleus in each team’s quest to recover the downforce lost as a result of the new regulations.

New liveries and drivers are to the fore with the likes of Williams, Force India, HRT and Sauber all providing the chance for young drivers to showcase their talents on the world stage. While us Brits will no doubt welcome all with warmth, perhaps the most eagerly anticipated of all the debutants, is Scotland’s Paul di Resta who has replaced Tonio Luizzi in the Force India alongside German Adrian Sutil.

Not since the season-ending 2008 Brazilian GP when David Coulthard took his leave from the sport have we had three homegrown gladiators to marvel at in the grand prix arena. There is no doubt di Resta impressed the team during his time last year as test and reserve driver – when he took to the world’s circuits on a Friday and lit up the timesheets. There is however, a great difference between being a Formula 1 driver, and not. The pressure will be immense from the get go and he will be up against a team mate who is ear marked for greater things and was at one point last year, rumoured to be in consideration for Michael Shumchacher’s seat at Mercedes for the 2011 season.

Ferrari seem to have hit the ground running; giving Fernando Alonso the first two days in the new F150 before handing over the keys to Fillipe Massa on the final day. And they say here’s no outright No1 at Maranello…

Last year’s champions Red Bull have been seemingly delivered another contender courtesy of the genius that is Adrian Newey. The RB7 is similar in design and livery to the all conquering RB6 which took Sebastian Vettel to the championship last year and both he and team mate Mark Webber will be hoping it is just as successful.

Renault – sorry, Lotus Renault, seem to have a decent car and could be the surprise of the year. Robert Kubica was quietly confident of reaching the top step of the podium this year before his disastrous crash while competing in the Ronde di Andora rally near Genoa, Italy. His subsequent injuries will keep him out for the majority of the 2011 season and this has left the team with a massive problem. Their innovative exhaust system may prove to be a stroke of genius and while the car looked a little nervous around Valencia last week, there is potential for a race winner and team boss Eric Boullier has made no secret of the fact that he will not rush into a decision. Many drivers are currently being touted as replacements and it will be interesting who emerges as likely contenders over the next few days.

In Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP had a solid driver pairing in 2010 but a poor car- following the lack of development while the team chased both the drivers and constructors championships under it’s former guise as Brawn GP the previous year. This season however, team boss Ross Brawn is optimistic that many of the issues from last year’s machine have been eradicated this time around and the stage is set for the 42 year-old Schumacher and Rosberg to be in contention for race wins from the first race.

The last of the ‘big hitters’ to reveal their challenger to the world, McLaren unleashed the MP4/26 in Berlin last Friday and firmly believe their U-shaped sidepod design will be a race winner. Electing to choose a late launch of the chrome-clad beauty they hope will carry either Jenson Button or Lewis Hamilton to championship glory, the team have spent that little bit longer on the drawing board and in the wind tunnel fine tuning their challenger.

They will be hoping the gamble will pay off in Jerez this week when the F1 circus decamps in southern Spain for the second pre-season test of the winter. It should be an interesting few days and will give a clearer indication on who could be in for a good year…

All the best,

Max

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Photo (c) Red Bull Racing and Getty Images

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