Jerez Test: Day 4

The fourth and final day in Jerez was filled with first's. Fernando Alonso became the first driver to exceed a century of laps in just one day as he clocked 115, closely followed by Kevin Magnussen on 110, despite him having his first accident in a Formula One car. Nico Rosberg became the first man to complete a full race simulation run and Felipe Massa topped the timesheet for the first time behind the wheel of a Williams. Caterham became the first Renault powered team to rack up more than 50 laps in a day, while Red Bull's woes showed no signs of relenting as they could only manage another seven laps before the team put an end to the misery and began the pack-up before lunch.

Check out Sky Sports F1's image gallery for day four at Jerez

Williams FW36 Unveiling

The first of several articles this evening is an analysis of yesterday's main event - The online reveal of the FW36, which answered many of the questions still remaining after Force India's canny launch. The FW36 features the anticipated nose structure, in compliance with the lower chassis height requirements this season, which seems to have been dubbed the 'anteater nose,' . Meanwhile, the images show a rather peculiar rear wing structure which is certainly not what was expected.

The Williams FW36, featuring the aesthetically questionable 'anteater' nose.
(c) Williams F1 Team

Williams Bolster Technical Team

After yet another disappointing campaign, Williams seem as determined as ever to turn their fortunes around. After making two technical signings before Christmas, the team have added three more engineers to their ever growing technical team. They seem to be conducting a Mercedes-esque overhaul and with Pat Symonds at the helm, Williams are a remarkably stronger outfit than they were just 12 months ago.

2013 Team Reviews: Ferrari

A team with the prestige and history of Ferrari always have high hopes of success when heading into any season. Unfortunately for the passionate Tifosi, 2013 was yet another trophy-less season - the last championship success came courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. Appropriately dubbed, "The Bull Fighter" Fernando Alonso once again finished second to Sebastian Vettel in the Drivers Championship, yet the Spaniard was once again Mr.Dependable, picking up two victories and a further seven podium finishes. Meanwhile, teammate Felipe Massa suffered another disappointing season claiming just one season. However, Maranello will be a hive of excitement as their Finnish son returns to partner the chosen one. It could be explosive!

Allison Completes Ferrari Move

Amid speculation of the deal at the weekend, Ferrari have now announced that former Lotus Technical Director James Allison will join the Scuderia on September 1st. The appointment has caused a minor reshuffle of posts within the team, as current Technical Director, Pat Fry, will now take the title of  Director of Engineering, as Allison is given the role of Chassis Technical Director.

Hungarian Grand Prix: Weekend Preview

Three weeks without F1 is always a painful experience however, as the paddock arrives in Hungary anticipation for the latest installment of the 2013 season reaches a crescendo. Following the YDT at Silverstone, the Pirelli tyre concerns seem to have abated yet now attention turns to mastering and understanding the new compounds. In terms of the complex battles within both championships, can anyone catch Sebastian Vettel? Can McLaren overturn the deficit to Force India? Can Lotus maintain momentum following their impressive double podium in Germany?

Spanish Grand Prix: Saturday Analysis

While Mercedes are known as the Silver Arrows, they are fast becoming a stealth squad, after Nico Rosberg stole another unexpected Pole Position in Barcelona, with teammate Lewis Hamilton locking out the front row. Following a highly underwhelming Friday, Mercedes justified their lack of short runs in yesterday's sessions. Undoubtedly  they are strong on Saturday's, however, their long run performance suggests that success tomorrow may be unlikely.

Bahrain Grand Prix: Friday Analysis

Ahead of this weekend, many pundits and analysts, including myself, believed that Lotus would be the standout performers in Bahrain. Following their Friday running, few people would retract their predictions, as Lotus impressed with spectacular long run pace. Moreover, Raikkonen also displayed fantastic qualifying pace, claiming the top spot on the FP2 timesheet. It was an ominous display from a Lotus team who threaten to dominate this weekend.

Chinese Grand Prix: Friday Analysis

The Chinese Grand Prix weekend begun slowly today, with activity in FP1 significantly limited by the green circuit. This was compounded by the fact that the soft compound tyre appears to have a similar drop off rate as the medium tyre did during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. Subsequently, tyre conservation was the order of the day. Nevertheless, the FP1 and FP2 sessions answered several questions, with Mercedes proving to be the surprise of the field. Meanwhile, Ferrari and Felipe Massa also appeared to have very good long and short run pace. It is certainly finely poised heading into tomorrow's Qualifying.

2012 - A Year In Review

2012 was an incredible year of sport, and Formula One played its part. The longest season ever brought 20 spectacular races, each filled with excitement, drama, and controversy. Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso took the title fight to Brazil; a race with enough action to fill an entire season, let alone 90 minutes. Vettel briefly lost the title, then recaptured it, completing a stunning comeback drive, reminiscent of Schumacher's Brazilian heroics of 2006. A stunning race, encapsulated a stunning year.