Thanks

It has been really kind to hear all the encouragement for this evening's adventures. Here I am at the venue. Ready to go in half an hour.

Apologies

It has been a frantic few days, getting the decks cleared before departing to London for the weekend. The new season is arriving at speed now and it seems that there is so much to be done before it arrives. Tomorrow I will be travelling and hosting the first Evening with Joe in London. It …

A little fun from Mercedes-Benz

In case you have not seen it, Michael Schumacher has been limbering up for the season ahead with a few activities...

Odd…

A Swiss-based asset management company called Locstein says that it was intending to sponsor USF1, but that it has decided not to "when it was apparent that the team was not able to participate in the entire 2010 season". Locstein said today in a press statement that it "elected to withdraw from further involvement in …

Key joins BMW Sauber

In April Willy Rampf will stand down after 10 years as Technical Director of Sauber. The 56-year-old German will hand over the job to 38-year-old James Key, who has been recruited from Force India. “When you’re Technical Director of a Formula 1 team, the job comes first and everything else is subordinate to it," said …

Qantas returns as Australian GP sponsor

Qantas is to be the title sponsor of the Australian Grand Prix once again. The Australian national airline was the sponsor of the race between 1997 and 2001 and prior to that was heavily involved in the race when it was in Adelaide. "Qantas has sponsored the Grand Prix since its arrival in Australia in …

Key lost – Smith takes over

The Force India team has restructured its technical department, following the decision of James Key, the technical director, to depart. Mark Smith, who was formerly design director, becomes technical director. Key had been with the team since 1998. Smith was one of the three original Jordan Grand Prix engineers and became chief designer before being …

Silverstone becomes a heliport

Silverstone Circuits has announced that it has chosen Heli Air to operate a permanent heliport at the Silverstone facility. There are plans for a new purpose built facility, to provide visitors with helicopter experiences, charter, flight training and full heliport facilities. Heli Air Silverstone has also become the exclusive user of the circuit for the …

Sauber is on the FIA entry list

There as been a few stories today about an FIA season guide that has been posted on the official website which does not include Sauber. I asked the FIA whether this was significant or not and was told that the team "will be in the final version of the entry list we publish this week". …

Soucek goes to Virgin

Andy Soucek, the Formula Two Champion has been signed as Reserve and Test Driver for Virgin Racing. The 24 year old Spaniard will attend Grands Prix with the team during its inaugural season, benefiting from being part of the team’s race weekend preparations whilst standing by to deputise for one of the race drivers if …