Barcelona: Day One

Here we are. One step closer to the beginning of something very beautiful, the 2013 Formula 1 season. Barcelona hosts yet again another four days of testing, raising a couple of issues; will the rain play havoc once again? And will we see pace closer to the race pace we'll see in Australia? Fan favourites like Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Felipe Massa are all in action today. Rookies Valtteri Bottas and Max Chilton were also piloting their Williams and Marussia's respectively. Chilton looks to be in the car for the whole four days unless Luiz Razia can get his sponsorship issue sorted.

Final Standings

  1. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:22.693s

  2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:24.348s

  3. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1:25.017s

  4. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:26.458s

  5. Sergio Perez (McLaren) 1:26.538s

  6. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1:26.574s

  7. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1:27.107s

  8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.541s

  9. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1:28.166s

10. Charles Pic (Caterham) 1:28.644s

11. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1:34.928s

Well... What can I really say? Other than, it looks as if we're in for another 2011. If you're unsure what that means, essentially it boils down to puppet boy getting controlled by the wonderful mind that is Adrian Newey. If you're unsure what THAT means, Sebastian Vettel will fly away to another title that someone has won for him. Red Bull's Mark Webber dominated the session by going 1.6s quicker than Lewis Hamilton in second place. That is an insane pace made on a drying track after rain hit the circuit all morning.

The Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne and Williams of Valtteri Bottas enjoyed quick pace as did Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez who at one point had the quickest time. Max Chilton also continued Marussia's quicker pace over their rivals Caterham.

Felipe Massa had to end his day early after his Ferrari ran out of fuel on track. Reports are that this was deliberate and part of a data programme designed to read how the car reacts under dangerous amounts of low fuel. Going by earlier pace, Massa could have been closer to Webber if he had continued the session, this could contribute to the difference in speed. Another factor that reciprocates throughout every single session is that no one knows just how much fuel anybody has on board at one time, thus affecting the time sheets.

Lotus's misery continues for another day as Romain Grosjean drifted off the racing track. The E21's brilliance from Jerez seems nothing but a distant memory at this point for the fans.

Barcelona: Day Four

It's hard to think that in three weeks time we get the 2013 season started in Melbourne. It's been a long winter testing, and Formula 1's first of three visits (two tests and the Spanish Grand Prix) to Barcelona for testing concludes having provided us with some terrific lap times. Unfortunately, most of the day was dominated by rain.

Final Standings

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1m23.282s
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 1m23.633s
3. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) – 1m24.071s
4. Jules Bianchi (Force India) – 1m25.732s
5. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) – 1m26.239s
6. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) – 1m27.429s
7. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 1m27.563s
8. Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 1m27.616s
9. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1m29.902s
10. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 1m34.800s
11. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – no time
12. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – no time

Red flag waving was common practice today as the rain made the track wet and slippery. It wouldn't be right to read too much into today's session, but at least we had a small indication of how the 2013 models handle in the wet. All quick laps were done in the morning with Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton setting the quickest, 0.3s off former McLaren team mate Jenson Button. Jean-Eric Vergne seems to have gotten Toro Rosso's great testing form back on track as he said he had "another productive day, even with the rain."

Williams had no time set due to practising pit-stops and other pit protocols.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez and Jean-Eric Vergne all ended up in the gravel after sliding off which incurred red flags. Romain Grosjean finished Lotus's poor Barcelona form off with a resounding 10th place finish. Hopefully by the time of the second test here, the Enstone team will have everything looked and and fixed as they really need to hit the ground running down under.

Barcelona: Day Three

On the penultimate day of testing, certain teams will be seeking to continue their great performances so far while others attempt to consolidate their loses and try to get back to some form of normality. Jenson Button is among the new faces to the Barcelona test, others include Mark Webber, Romain Grosjean. The thug himself Adrain Sutil hops back into a Formula 1 car for the first time since 2011, lets hope he doesn't get caught speeding and thrown in jail (heaven forbid).

Final Standings

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 1m21.875s
2. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 1m22.160s
3. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 1m22.188s
4. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 1m22.611s
5. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1m22.675s
6. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – 1m22.826s
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 1m22.840s
8. Adrian Sutil (Force India) – 1m22.877s
9. Mark Webber – 1m23.024s
10. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) – 1m23.366s
11. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1m25.690s
12. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) – 1m26.177s

The fastest man at the end of the day was Ferrari's Fernando Alonso who provided a set of laps to put him on top for the first time. The time was close to that of Sergio Perez's McLaren yesterday, something which Perez's team mate Jenson Button can't say. He found himself way down the time sheet. Not as bad as Mark Webber who's Red Bull was way off the pace. Caterham have continued to lose out to their closest rival Marussia, a theme which they have tried to prevent for years. It certainly looks as if the gap is well and truly shut.

However in Button's and Webber's defence, they managed to collect rich quality data, something which Grosjean attempted all day after Kimi Raikkonen's data failure earlier on in the week.

It seems as though I have jinx'd Toro Rosso after their impressive form of late. I'm sure they will recover. Under two seconds separated Jean-Eric Vergne from the quickest lap time.

Barcelona: Day One & Two

Testing resumes again this time at the beautiful Circuit de Catalunya in sunny Barcelona. The 2.8 mile circuit plays host to the Spanish Grand Prix, an event that could soon be shared with the Valencia Street circuit. This test will be a more representable picture of race pace for the beginning of the season, unlike Jerez which was mainly used for sorting out reliability issues.

One of the key figures missing from the Jerez test was 2012 runner up Fernando Alonso who was not featured at all. Day one marked the first time that he has been in the F138. Positive performers such as Lotus, Red Bull and Force India will be looking to build on their current foundations while under performers like Mercedes and Williams who were in their brand new FW35 for the first time will be seeking ways of improving.

Day One Final Standings

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 1m.22.616s
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) – 1m.22.623
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 1m.22.952
4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 1m.22.965
5. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1m.23.733
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – 1m.23.884
7. Sergio Perez (McLaren) – 1m.24.124
8. Paul di Resta (Force India) – 1m.24.144
9. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) – 1m.25.124
10. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1m.26.747
11. Charles Pic (Caterham) – 1m.27.534

The top spot was in constant change throughout the day with numerous drivers setting quick laps, some even went on to beat themselves. In the end, it was Nico Rosberg who put his Mercedes on top at the end of the day, finally putting behind all of the mechanical issues of Jerez. Ross Brawn's team look as though they have finally put their demons to rest. Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen also continued to show their unbelievably quick and consistent pace setting the overall second quickest, he was follwed by Fernando Alonso who was the early pace setter. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel also continued a theme of consistency keeping his RB9 within mere tenths of the top spot.

Sergio Perez and McLaren finished a disappointing 7th overall, some have argued that their lack of pace is not a good showing for their 2013 title ambitions. 

On a positive note, the back marker teams of Marussia and Caterham (driven by Max Chilton and Charles Pic respectively) were not too far off the midfield teams. Don't read too much into it though, odds are they'll still cause havoc again this season.

Day Two

A few drivers changed around, Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to emulate his team mate Nico Rosberg's success in day one and the young Flying Finn Valtteri Bottas hops in for his first full taste of the new FW35.

Final Standings

1. Sergio Perez (McLaren) 1m.21.848s
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1m.22.197s
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) 1m.22.697s
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m.22.726s
5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1m.23.247s
6. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1m.23.561s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) 1m.23.718s
8. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1m.23.971s
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1m.24.205s
10. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1m.25.115s
11. Charles Pic (Caterham) 1m.26.243s

Day two marked an event with very little red flags. In fact there were only two towards the very end of the session. Therefore all the simulation work the teams carried out will have collected very rich data, very beneficial as the start of the season looms. The man on top today could not have contrasted any further from his performance yesterday, Sergio Perez drove his McLaren to the top of the time sheet putting a considerable amount of daylight between himself and second placed Sebastian Vettel who was at the top for a considerable portion of the day.

Disappointment and even less laps for Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus today as the E29 suffered it's worst bout of reliability issues yet after suffering a gearbox problem. Not enough to stop him from setting the  third fastest time, but still a cause for concern as Kimi set an unprecedented record last season for completing every single lap in the year. Lotus were not alone, Red Bull and Ferrari both had reliability concerns. Hamilton completed a series of laps to put his crash nightmare of Jerez behind him, moving forwards in good strides.

I must say, the one team who have continued to impress me throughout every single test session this  year is Toro Rosso. They are doing an excellent job and I hope it brings them good fortune this year. I need someone at Red Bull whom I actually like instead of a German 'yes man.'

Check back here tomorrow where I will have a run down of day three!

Note

There will be no review of the Williams FW35. The car is very much unaltered and I am not particularly fond of the idea of Pastor Maldonado still retaining his seat. I think Valtteri Bottas will surprise quite a lot of people this year, I have my eye on him. I will say though that despite my previous Renault engine theories, Williams have decided to go with the vanity cover, a move I am very pleased to see.

Force India will not be receiving any further coverage from me on my blog. I am totally appalled by their decision not to announce a second driver. It is terrible management and they will be putting someone in the car with little laps under their belt. It doesn't matter if they run every lap of the third test, they will still be at a disadvantage and therefore a risk to drivers around them plus a potential threat to our viewing pleasure. 

Jerez: Day Four

Jerez's hosting came to an end at the final day of testing on day four. The track has been unbelievably hospitable to our sport, despite what some tosser at Pirelli thinks.

Felipe Massa gave way to reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa for the final day. Alonso's presence has been missed but he'll give it a real go in Barcelona. 

At the beginning of day one I stated I believe there is no way test pace and race pace are related and I stand by that. But I really hope this result is the way it stays!

Final Standings

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) 1m.18.148s
2. Jules Bianchi (Force India) 1m.18.175s
3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1m.18.565s
4. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), 1m.18.669s
5. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1m.18.760s
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1m.18.905s
7. Sergio Perez (McLaren), 1m.18.944s
8. Valtteri Bottas (Williams), 1m.19.851s
9. Pedro de la Rosa (Ferrari), 1m.20.316s
10. Charles Pic (Caterham), 1m.21.105s
11. Luiz Razia (Marussia), 1m.21.226s
12. Paul di Resta (Force India), 1m.23.435s

The Iceman tops the time! The Flying Finn finished up wonderfully well, marking Lotus's second time be remaining on top. Their lowest position in Jerez testing was 4th (day three), proving that the E21 is off to a great start which is exactly what they need if Kimi is to mount a serious title challenge this year.

Force India are really coming off as the dark horse from the midfield after Jules Bianchi finished near thousandths off Raikkonen. Sauber would need to watch out, although Esteban Gutierrez impressed with his quickest lap yet. Lewis Hamilton completed a serious need of a load of laps, although his time is indeed questionable.

Pedro de la Rosa had a first day to forget as his Ferrari bursted into flames. Gearbox issues rearing their ugly head already. The top seven drivers were separated by under a second and hopefully after these past four days, all the little issues have been sorted and all the drivers are comfortable.

Barcelona kicks off their test on the 19th of February and I'll be providing similar coverage (but in better time) so stay tuned!

FACTS

Quickest Time: Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1m.17.879s (Day Three)

Slowest Time: Max Chilton (Marussia) 1m.24.176s (Day One)

Jerez: Day Three

Day Three saw even more driver switches with some stepping into the car for the first time like, Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, Charles Pic, Jean-Eric Vergne and Valtteri Bottas. This was the biggest day for me as it saw The Iceman step into the E21 for the first time and I wasn't disappointed.

Final Standings

1. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1m17.879s
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1m18.766s
3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1m19.052s
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) 1m19.200s
5. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1m19.247s
6. James Rossiter (Force India) 1m19.303s
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1m19.603s
8. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1m19.934s
9. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1m21.269s
10. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1m21.575s
11. Charles Pic (Caterham) 1m22.352s
12. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1m23.729s

After a pretty quiet and bleak start to testing, Ferrari's Felipe Massa topped the time sheets, a stark contrast to this time last year for the team and the Tifosi. 

This was a day of many positives for a lot of teams. Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel managed to repeat the similar set times by his team mate in the days before him, showing just how consistent the RB9 is at this stage. Though be under no illusion I'm sure it'll be absolutely magnificent as Newey always makes it. So long as there's no repeat of 2011 we'll be fine. Max Chilton managed to beat Charles Pic in the battle of the back markers. The greatest achievement was Nico Rosberg finally getting a good lap out of the Mercedes to go second overall.

More disappointment for Jenson Button and McLaren as his time wasn't overly quick and he stopped towards the end of the session. Valtteri Bottas (who was the subject of my very first blog) was a bit of a disappointment for me, but a reminder here that Williams are running their 2012 car with 2013 livery and some 2013 parts. We will not see the full potential until Barcelona.

Jerez: Day Two

Day two saw a few driver changes, such as Perez, Hamilton, Razia and Force India's James Rossiter got to run a few laps towards the end of the session.

Final Standings

1. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1m18.218s
2. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1m19.003s
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) 1m19.134s
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1m19.338s
5. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1m19.502s
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m19.519s
7. Sergio Perez (McLaren) 1m19.572s
8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1m19.914s
9. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) 1m20.693s
10. James Rossiter (Force India) 1m21.273s
11. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) 1m21.311s
12. Luiz Razia (Marussia) 1m23.537s

Romain Grosjean affirmed team boss Eric Boullier's prediction of competitive times when he set the fastest lap time of the session and the test so far. He was nearly 0.8s quicker than the next car down, which just happened to be another blinder of a session by Paul di Resta.

Day two was an extremely tight session with seven cars being split by under a second. Both van der Garde (typing his name out is going to be a bag of fun this season  and Razia went quicker than the teams previous times (Chilton ran day one) with the Caterham still ahead.

Without doubt the biggest disappointment of the day came from Lewis Hamilton (albeit not his fault). His maiden run for his brand new team ended in disaster when his brakes failed, rendering him a passenger as his car headed for the tyres. Luckily he was unharmed but the problem couldn't be mended in time to get him back out. Two major problems in two days is pushing it, even for testing. He remained fairly upbeat and he was posting fairly quick times before the failure. There was hope yet.

Jerez: Day One

Welcome to my take on the first pre-season test in Jerez! We got our first glimpses of the cars that will make our lives so much more interesting come mid March! Bare in mind that no matter what my opinion, I am still very adamant that there is no existing correlation between test pace and actual race pace.

Final Standings

1. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1m.18.861s
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1m.19.709s
3. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1m.19.796s
4. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1m.20.343s
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) 1m.20.401s
6. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1m.20.536s
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1m.20.699s
8. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1m.20.846s
9. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) 1m.20.864s
10. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) 1m.21.915s
11. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1m.24.176s

Rosberg had managed to set the fastest time at one point but his running was ended whenever his Mercedes F1W04 hit mechanical issues. A fault in the car produced mass flames from the rear. This was the second time the session was red flagged. The first came whenever Button's McLaren MP4-28 showed it's consistency early on. Consistency that is in the form of reliability issues. The disappointment ended there, whenever the team managed to get the car going again he posted the quickest lap of the session.

Romain Grosjean managed to keep Lotus's brand new E21 out of the gravel and out of other cars as he produced a wonderful set of laps placing his car in third behind Mark Webber's RB9. Paul di Resta was the quickest of the midfield teams pipping Ferrari's Felipe Massa, a feat also achieved by Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo.

Giedo van der Garde started off his new career on a high after going two seconds quicker than fellow back marker Max Chilton in the Marussia.

A great crop of drivers kicked off testing, day one (like the majority of pre-season tests) is usually the day when niggles like seating issues are addressed and if things didn't go wrong, then that's when people should start getting worried. McLaren and Mercedes will have questioned why both their respective cars developed faults and how to prevent them happening again in the future. This is why for me there were no real disappoints for day one.

2014 - The Formula 1 Tsunami

No doubt by now you've heard me bang on about the regulation changes to the current engine formula (that has been in place since 2006) which will make teams reinvent the way Formula 1 cars are designed in 2014. Lotus technical director James Allison has provided further insight into why the 2014 season is going to be such an important milestone in Formula 1 history.

"2009 changes were a ripple compared with the tsunami in 2014" - James Allison

Allison was talking specifically about the most recent set of regulation changes which impacted aerodynamics involving altering the levels of downforce to improve the chances of overtaking.

The brains behind the new Lotus E21 also stated that work on the 2014 challenger began as early as mid season 2011.

"Most of the way the 2014 championship will be was laid out sometime ago and you deal with a huge change like that by not leaving it to the last minute before you think about it."

Allison also believes that Renault (the team's engine supplier) will not prioritise championship team Red Bull over Lotus.

"They (Renault) offer an even-handed approach but they are also extremely conscious of the fact they need to make a car that works well in 2014, not just an engine."

Even though Red Bull are the works team, Lotus was still Renault for years. In my eyes the supplier will always be closer to Lotus than Red Bull.

Lotus E21

The E21 has got off to a flying start in Jerez for pre-season testing with Romain Grosjean running the car for the first two days and 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen taking over for the final two.

Final Lap Times For The E21 So Far:

Day One: Romain Grosjean 1.19.796s (3rd fastest on the day)

Day Two: Romain Grosjean 1.18.218s (fastest time of the day)

Day Three: Kimi Raikkonen 1.19.200s (4th fastest on the day)

W04 / MR02 / CT03

Yet another triple review for you today! The last three cars have finally been revealed, Williams have yet to officially launch their FW35, but at the test in Jerez they ran the 2012 car, only in the 2013 livery with some 2013 parts so they will get their own review at the end of the month when they launch on the 19th February.

The first test is well under way at Jerez, I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that I will be publishing a full review of the four days after the first test is over. Keep up to date on Twitter @Houston60 for more info!

W04

I covered the launch for Let's Talk F1, including a comprehensive review of the launch, my thoughts on the car and provided lots of photos of the Mercedes F1 W04. Click here to read it. 

Feel free to check out the rest of the site and get in touch with us at @LetsTalkF1.














MR02

Marussia have came back from an okay 2012 campaign that saw them nearly get that very valuable 10th place in the constructors championship.











Right after their last race, they saw rookie Charles Pic leave them for Caterham and recently tsaw veteran Timo Glock depart for the DTM. Before Glock left, Marussia had confirmed the signing of GP2 ace Max Chilton and the line up was not fully completed until today when the team announced they had signed another GP2 name in Luiz Razia.

The MR02 essentially looks nearly the same as the previous model, maybe a design change but nothing clearly visable. 

The car has adorned the optional vanity cover that is used to hide the ugly boxers nose of 2012 regulation changes. There is still a visible slope but it is nowhere near as bad as last season.

The technical aspects of the car remain the same although with the dissolution of HRT, they are now the only team on the grid to run the Cosworth engine. Throughout the year they may look for a better engine deal in order to prepare for the 2014 season where the sport undergoes a massive regulation change. I'll speak more about that at the end of this post.

What Marussia have done is introduced the KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) to their car, a first for the team. This will close the gap between them and fellow back runner team Caterham who were already equipped with the technology.

The team have all the mechanical components for success, but after allowing a driver like Timo Glock to slip through their fingers, they lack that experience. But I have faith in young Chilton and I believe that this is the season where they overtake Caterham in the pecking order.



CT03

Caterham have seen a reshuffle of members including two new drivers and a new team principle. Giedo Van der Garde completes the driver line up for this season.











First of all, the car looks FANTASTIC. I love the brighter shade of green and having always wanted to own a Caterham car, I am naturally drawn to the colours. Because of Tony Fernandes's departure from the game, the stupid soccer ball team logo is removed from the car. Soccer ball doesn't belong in a real sport like F1. 

If you're not a regular reader (you should be it's great) you would have known that I made a prediction about the Caterham having the stepped nose and why. In my Mercedes W04 review, I stated that it might have something to do with the Renault engine. So far, all the Mercedes powered cars, all the Ferrari powered cars and the one Cosworth powered car have opted to cover up the stepped nose. Lotus's E21, Red Bull's RB9 and now Caterham's CT03 (all Renault powered cars) have all decided against using a vanity panel, citing performance over beauty. Is there maybe a cooling issue with the Renault engine or other components that deem a vanity panel unnecessary? Lotus cited a weight issue, but if the majority of teams have added it to their cars, surely it doesn't mean a thing? It's a disappointment to know that we're going to have a very stupid looking field next season, but what's worse is that if the panels mean lesser performance, the covers will all be dropped meaning one more season of the disastrous looking noses!

NOTE

"The technical aspects of the car remain the same although with the dissolution of HRT, they are now the only team on the grid to run the Cosworth engine. Throughout the year they may look for a better deal in order to prepare for the 2014 season where the sport undergoes a massive regulation change."

I recently purchased Jenson Button's book "A Championship Year" and I must say it is a fantastic read, loving every word. The reason why I brought it up is because of how he describes how the Brawn car was so successful in the opening races. In 2008, Honda stopped developing their current car because it was a lost cause, and also because there were big regulation changes coming in 2009. They started work straight away and financial issues aside, they (after become Brawn) developed a championship winning car for 2009. This is because they got ahead of the curve.

Why is this so important? What can be learned? If Caterham and Marussia both separately sat down and said to themselves; "let's do a Brawn" and started focusing their energy on 2014, they could seriously turn things around! I'm not saying they'll have a Brawn story or anything but if they just got over themselves and focused on the important issue, they could find themselves with a bit more respect next season and a status shift from back markers to a midfield team. Brawn done it on a budget, there is absolutely no excuse why these two can't. And who knows, maybe Scorpion Racing (HRT) may have already got the jump on us all. Food for thought right there.

F1W04

Read what I had to say about Mercedes's 2013 challenger, the F1W04 here at Let's Talk F1.

RB9

It's hard to think of any other launch that could have had more eyes upon it than Red Bull's unveiling of the 2013 car from the genius that is Adrian Newey.

Easily the most secretive and most 'touchiest' team about the details of the RB9, team principal Christian Horner made sure he gave nothing away, keeping the environment of which the launch took place in near utter darkness, sparing just the purple lighting of new sponsor Infiniti which now makes the team Infiniti Red Bull Racing. Camera's were also banned from the room preventing any details getting leaked. 

It would be wishful thinking to ask for anything else, the mind that is Adrian Newey has delivered them the double for three years on the trot, it's no surprise that Horner used the most expensive cover in history in the shape of drivers Mark Webber and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel at the RB9's rear.

In contrast to every launch so far, Red Bull did not do a live launch online for fans in order to keep the utmost secrecy possible. Instead, Red Bull delivered something a little more personal in the form of an exclusive video on YouTube. RB9 Rhythm Of The Factory shows how some components of an F1 car are created and then pieced together. In the end it shows a promo shot of the RB9.

First thing I noticed was the continuity of the stepped nose, but since that's one of the only technical aspects I can see, I'll come back to it. There's no hiding that in the past I've been highly critical of Red Bull and in particular Sebastian Vettel. But this isn't a bad looking car, the colours are brilliantly bright and the purple tint is a fantastic addition. Infiniti has replaced Red Bull on the sidepods of the car, and is also a feature on the rear wing.

Chief designer Adrian Newey called the car an "evolution" stating that 2013 will be difficult, giving that there are no real regulation changes. Youngest ever triple world champion Sebastian Vettel echoed Newey's words, stating that "it will be a tough challenge." No doubt Sebastian, you'll find a late surge at the almost purpose built Red Bull circuits in Asia. If there was ever a case to exclude India, Singapore and Korea, it's most certainly the fact they seem to gift Red Bull 1-2's or close to.

The stepped nose rears its ugly appearance on the second car this season, suspiciously on another Renault powered car. McLaren/Force India (Mercedes powered cars) and Ferrari/Sauber (Ferrari powered cars) all opted for the optional vanity panel which allows teams to cover up the monstrous indiscretions. However the Renault machines of Lotus and Red Bull have kept the look of the 2012 models. In my Lotus E21 review I was highly critical of them choosing the boxers nose but If Adrian Newey has kept it, then it has actually given me hope about the E21 being competitive.

Red Bull will be putting every last belief they can into the RB9 in order to bring about a fourth consecutive double. One can't help but wonder if the RB9 will be the last laugh for the Milton Keynes based team or in my opinion, the last fluke. As I've mentioned countless times before, 2014 will provide a huge shake up of the pecking order. Red Bull have had their day in the sun, making the 2011 season boring and blinding everybody by saying Vettel had a stormer in Abu Dhabi last season (two safety cars and several retirements do not count as a sensational drive). They could find themselves in a rather different midfield positions in 2014, something even Adrian Newey may not be able to prevent. I can only hope.