F1 Spy

The 2009 F1 Word Champion Jenson Button, has admitted he is'nt very  'optomistic' over this years MP4-26 car. Button was 0.366 seconds behind Mark Webber's top time of 1:22.544 seconds for Red Bull at testing today. The '09 World Champion told BBC: "I'd be surprised if we can match Red Bull and Ferrari when we get to Melbourne. It's a big ask. To be on their pace is going to be tricky." After a lack of spare parts during their first outing in Jerez - where they launched the MP4-26 - and more reliability problems at the last Barcelona test, another protracted spell in the garage was not what McLaren or Button needed. However, Button's running was limited in the morning because of exhaust problems and the 31-year-old had to wait until after lunch to close down Webber's leading time on a single-lap run.

Formula One's (F1)  youngest ever World Champion, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, has said that he doesn’t think he has changed that much since his title win. He said "although I may have the number 1 on my car, I will treat this season like any other, I will try my hardest [to win the title] and I don’t see why I shouldn’t succeed. The car seems quick this year, and I have had a good winter. I have no advantage by having the number 1 on my car, as Hamilton proved in 2009, but I will work hard and driver to my limits to defend my title"

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said this year's race calendar "is a bit of a squeeze" and that it may be hard to re-schedule the ex-season opening event (Bahrain). The race was set to take place on the 13th of March, but due to riots over political reasons, the FOM (Formula One Management) and race organisers both decided it would be best to cancel/postpone the race. "It will certainly be a challenge to accommodate. But nothing is ever impossible," Horner told BBC Sport. "It's a very busy calendar this year. Already now, at the end of November, we'll have finished 19 races. It was the right decision," he said. "Obviously the country's got bigger issues than a Formula 1 race at the moment. It was only right and appropriate to postpone. It was Bernie [Ecclestone's] decision, along with the Crown Prince. It's not down to the teams to decide which races we go to or not, and ultimately we trusted in Bernie's judgement. It's a great circuit, and a great country to race in, and we've always been made to feel very welcome there. Hopefully we'll be back there with F1 cars before long. For us it's not too bad logistically to accommodate the switch. The cars hadn't left for Bahrain that was the critical point."

Williams have predicted that they should be competitive this year. They announced this during their new livery unveiling earlier today. The British team finished 6th overall last year, and they say their unique rear design of their FW33 should give them the advantage that they need. They said that their testing times have been good and if they keep up with their updates, they should be on the road to success. All teams this year have had to re-think their car designs, and Williams have said that the new regulations have suited them. Amongst the new regulations is the ban on the f-duct, movable front wing and double diffuser, while the KERS (Kinetic energy recovery system) has been brought back. Also, the movable rear wing is a new system, this allows the drivers to push a button on a straight and make the rear wing flat. Williams say that their design suites all of these regulations. A Williams spokesman told BBC "Teams have had to take much bigger risks [this year]" Also he said "There's the Williams gearbox, the Red Bull exhaust system and the way it blows the diffuser, the Renault [forward-facing] exhaust system and the way it blows the front of the diffuser and the Toro Rosso double floor. Those four things are the ones that stand out."

Today F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has announced that the FOM (Formula One Management) have decided to cancel the Bahrain after the civil-unrest in the country during the last week. As protesters demanded yesterday that the Grand Prix to be cancelled, today the FOM agreed and added that they wish to re-schedule the event for later this year. FOM official have said "This Grand Prix has been on the calendar since 2004 and it would be a great shame to loose it, but we have to think of the safety of the teams and the drivers, and more than anything, the fans" Also since the GP is now cancelled, the testing which was meant to be next week has now been cancelled. But the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) have announced that they will have the next testing in Barcelona for a second time this year but at a later date than was organised for the Bahrain testing.

In the opening day of what could be the final testing weekend if Bahrain is canceled, Vettel snaches the lead from the local hero Fernando Alonso. As the day started damp, The track soon dried out as the 2011 cars took the track, as Red Bull take the opertunity to try out the new Pirelli intermidiate tyres.

Today, Nick Heidfel takes the lead in his Renault debut! Renault say that even though they wish Kubica was in the car, that they are very happy with the speed of Nick.

Today was the first day of testing in Jerez. Massa tops the time sheets as all teams apart from HTR (who plan to test at Monza from 14-18 of febuary, the ocward gits) Red Bull's Mark Webber take 3rd ahead of Red Bull test driver Daniel Ricciardo (who drove for Toro Rosso today)

Renault driver Robert Kubica has suffered fractures in his leg, arm and hand in a rally in Italy accident early today. The pole hit a church wall at high speed and had to be air-lifted to hospital by helicopter. His team (Renault) have announced that the 26-year old is conscious but have said they will give a full statement after further medical treatment. It now looks unlikely that Kubica will be ready for the season opening race in Bahrain on the 13th of March. If this is the case, it looks likely that the Renault reserve driver Bruno Senna may take the race seat on a temporary basis. It is believed that Kubica injuries are not life threatening, but after he had surgery to put titanium bolts in his arm in 2003 after a car crash, there are now doubts that Kubica will be able to continue his carrier in the sport.

More news on this story coming soon.........