New cars, new looks, same contenders

From the official (see the likes of McLaren's MP4-22), to the not so official (see Renault's R27 racer), new cars are rolling out for 2007, giving us sneak peeks into what the cars will look like once they take to the circuits for a brand new season of Formula One racing.

It's all very exciting to see what shapes and liveries the new cars take on, and even seeing the drivers in their all new looks and do's as well. Fernie with his new haircut and Vodafone suit, Kimi in red (which I personally find not to be his color at all). Unfortunately for us Honda and Jenson fans, we have and will continue to be waiting a tad longer to see what the new car will look and drive like (RA107 launch is late January, with the livery to follow at a yet to be announced date the following month). And because of Jenson's injury, we have also yet to see Jenson suit up and drive during winter testing.

No matter though, a lot if it should still stay the same for Honda and its drivers. It's arguably got the most continuity and stability going for it among the top teams (Gil de Ferran has gone on record saying that it is a positive, as has Nick, although we best not get our hopes up too much). Fernando Alonso echoed these sentiments recently, when sharing how he "fully expects" Jenson to be one of his main rivals for this year's championship (*knock on wood*).

So has anything really changed? In terms of who's favored, probably not. Jenson, Kimi and Fernie are still up there; Massa and Fischi are bound to be mixing it up as well. It's all speculation at this point anyway. But, as a fan, I do hope 2007 will be more exciting, and have more surprises in store for us. And hopefully for Jense fans, it'll be of the good kind - plenty of exciting racing capped by both expected and unexpected wins galore.

Anyone got a fast forward Button? :P

Back to blogging for the new year!

Internet's back! Wohoo! Well, sort of at least. So sorry that I've been unable to update for the past two weeks. I feel like I've missed out on so much already.

So to start off the new year, I'll just be posting some links to some stories that came out the past weeks that might be of interest:

Kimi mentions Jenson as a possible contender, behind Fernando and Felipe.

Honda to unveil RA107 on January 25. Sorry though, it's going to be coming out in its testing colors (likely black). The livery launch will be held at a later date, sometime in February.

Jenson on how winning has... or hasn't changed him.

Button urging Honda to make relaxed predictions. Less time with the press, more time with the car? :P

Blundell on the Brits. With an excerpt (sorry, just couldn't resist with this one :P):

ITV-F1.com: Jenson certainly finished the year with some classy performances following his first win; do you expect that level to continue into the coming season?

Mark: It has to continue.

The raising of his game highlights the increased confidence following his win.

Whenever you get a result like that your confidence level does grow.

And now in the eyes of everybody he is exactly what it says in the history books – a grand prix winner.

He goes into next year with that mindset and that’s the level he has to work from to go and achieve something greater.

There are no ifs and buts any more; he has now achieved what everybody has been waiting for over the past few years.

Britain’s next best hopes are now waiting in the wings, so the current hope needs to deliver the results.

and last but not the least, Honda convinced of competitive engine.

Driving Styles Explained

Ever wonder what exactly people are talking about when they call Jenson Button's driving style smooth, or Fernando Alonso's style aggressive? Want an insider look at how the top drivers handle their cars today?

Here's a great video of Martin Brundle explaining driving styles by taking a look (and testing for himself, giving you an even closer perspective) at the different ways Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher/Kimi Raikkonen drive their cars around the track.

Jenson gets some love from Big Fry

Some nice words from his boss, quoted from BBC Sport:

Button in F1 elite, says boss Fry

Honda boss Nick Fry believes Jenson Button has now joined the ranks of Formula One's top drivers.

The Briton won his first Grand Prix in Hungary last August, and Fry is expecting more success next season.

"I believe that Jenson is up there with both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in the top three," he said.

"There are others that will do well from time to time, but in terms of consistently high performance, he's in the top three."

It's nice to see Nick boosting Jense's confidence even more.

Jenson, you're definitely tops to us fans. Make us proud! :)

Oh Jenson's ribs!

Here's how the news on Jenson seems to have gone these past few days: Ribs, Award, Ribs, Award, Ribs, Award, Ribs.

Funniest take I've seen on it so far was by Kay_zee at the forums right here.

Newsflash!

Jenson has further strained his ribs this week, even though he's been told to play it safe for a few weeks.

It's believed the strain was caused by carrying all his awards home.

Hahaha. Not that Jenson's ribs are a laughing matter at all, it's just funny given the media coverage he's been getting for the combination of both.

I do hope he just heals up in peace. I want to see a healthy Button for 2007. And I don't think he's at much of a disadvantage at all. Despite getting the holidays off like Fernando and Kimi both have, Jenson has the advantage of already knowing who's who in his team. And he's able to attending testing sessions to monitor progress and obtain feedback from Rossiter and Klein. If anything, the rest should do Jenson some good and keep him fresh for his run at the title. :)

There's been talk of how Jenson's time out might negatively affect Honda's chances. Jenson's a pretty resilient driver though, and he's one of the best at adjusting at changing conditions (I read that somewhere, but I've forgotten where), so he should bounce back just fine.

He'll do well in 2007. And we'll all be happily cheering him on. Less ribs, more awards next year aye? :)

Jenson gets more rest

Jenson will be sitting out this week's tests at Jerez, and possibly next week's as well.

A team spokeswoman said: "The doctors took the view today that they would rather let it heal. We will think again later this week about the final test."

Senior Honda sources suggest that they would actually be happier for Button to sit out the final Jerez test next week, so that he is fully fit for the first running of Honda's 2007 challenger in the next year.

"It is better for him to rest and recover fully in time for the new car," said one source.

I think it'd better for him to rest it out, too. I wonder how this'll affect his ROC entry though. Surely it'd be better for him to sit that one out too. Maybe he can have more time to push for that book of his to get finished up and published. :)

Anyhow, that means that three of the top contenders for next year's championship, Jenson, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, will all be getting extra rest this holiday season. Think it'll do the three of them good? Well, I hope it does for Jenson. :)