Until the first race is out of the way I have no idea how it will go. I would love Kimi to win it because I've been a Kimi fan from day one and Lotus beating Red Bull who also use the Renault engine would be fantastic. At the start of last year he was a little hesitant but really came back strong in the second half. He completed all but one of the race laps last season which says it all how good he is. Now he's got his eye in again he should be quick.

Apart from Hamilton crashing not a lot happened. Luis Razia made his debut with Marussia who have two rookies this year. Still no word on Di Resta's team mate and the Force India sim driver did some running today, presumably to see if both matched. Pretty sure Williams did the same last year too and weren't bad at the start.

Caterham are causing a stir already.They have fitted what many teams claim is a fin or similar that's sole purpose is to direct the exhaust gases but that's illegal. Gases from the exhaust must find their own way out and past the rear wing and teams want to know quickly if they can use it too

The Williams exhaust (along with Caterham) has also been deemed illegal but both teams are seeking some clarification on the FIA regarding some of the technicalities in the legislation. Watch this space.

Adrian Sutil has had a seat fitting with Force India, which was last week but considering that Bianchi has been doing most of the testing I'm not sure what their position is with him (Sutil).

It's cold and wet in Barcelona so the teams are testing with wets for a change.

As you can imagine in testing, teams are always trying to obtain an advantage so here's a pic (from Twitter) of an unknown team member getting a shot of Jenson's rear tyre after he stopped in pit lane, not sure which team he is from though:

Either something's been eating those tyres or else Jens was picking up marbles for some reason.

It's degradation. The person taking the photo is from Lotus. Lots have said the tyres are too soft compared to last year. Apparently they only have one fast lap in them then after that they fall away. Think it would be fine if it was a quali tyre but it's not.

Paddy Lowe is now joining Merc next year and will not be present for McLaren this year, Guardian are reporting.

Not sure where it leaves Ross Brawn?

Maybe he will go back to Ferrari i think they are on good terms.

The only who knows what is happening is Ross himself, as Merc were saying nothing last night on the "Brawn-Lowe" affair except Niki Lauda:

Lauda

: "

I cannot offically say anything because nothing has happened yet. If Paddy Lowe is coming or not, I cannot tell you now. Make up your own, whatever you want to do. McLaren have put him on gardening leave so let's wait and see. Ross has not even been discussed, which is important. But there's peace. Ross is in his position, he will stay in his position, so everything is under control

"

McLaren have confirmed that Paddy Lowe is now on "gardening leave" for the remainder of the year and that Tim Goss has been made Technical Director with immeadiate effect.

It's degradation. The person taking the photo is from Lotus. Lots have said the tyres are too soft compared to last year. Apparently they only have one fast lap in them then after that they fall away. Think it would be fine if it was a quali tyre but it's not.

Which is sort of what I meant about something eating them.

It's degradation. The person taking the photo is from Lotus. Lots have said the tyres are too soft compared to last year. Apparently they only have one fast lap in them then after that they fall away. Think it would be fine if it was a quali tyre but it's not.

I just hope this increased degradation doesnt turn F1 into a tyre management excersise as its supposed to be a sprint race. Qualifying could end up a total farse as teams decide its better to start 10th but with new tyres rather than push for a highr placement but use 2 sets of tyres to achieve it. I dont thinh faster degrading tyres is the right solution. I still maintain lowering ultimate aero capability would even the field somewhat and allow fro closer racing.

Increased tyre degredation is stupid thing to ask for from pirelli, if the intention is to promote better racing then whats the point in littering the track offline with marbles so there is absolutely no chance of making a move on someone without paying with reduced traction. Gone are the days when the driver behind could show a dummy move down the outside then switch to the inside and late brake and block the apex. The marbles are so bad no one ever leaves the racing line meaning the racing is stale as a result. I say take the tyres out of the equation and keep the racing on the track not in the pit lane.

I just hope this increased degradation doesnt turn F1 into a tyre management excersise as its supposed to be a sprint race. Qualifying could end up a total farse as teams decide its better to start 10th but with new tyres rather than push for a highr placement but use 2 sets of tyres to achieve it. I dont thinh faster degrading tyres is the right solution. I still maintain lowering ultimate aero capability would even the field somewhat and allow fro closer racing.

It's not a full solution, but I found myself wondering about making teams that don't set a Q3 time start the race on the tyres they set their fastest Q2 time on, and not allowing them to change before 1/10 distance except in the case of a puncture or rain.

Increased tyre degredation is stupid thing to ask for from pirelli, if the intention is to promote better racing then whats the point in littering the track offline with marbles so there is absolutely no chance of making a move on someone without paying with reduced traction. Gone are the days when the driver behind could show a dummy move down the outside then switch to the inside and late brake and block the apex. The marbles are so bad no one ever leaves the racing line meaning the racing is stale as a result. I say take the tyres out of the equation and keep the racing on the track not in the pit lane.

A good point, those marbles effectively make the race track one car width wide. I was dubious about DRS but it seems to work but tyres that shred themselves just seems stupid as it becomes more about strategy and luck effectively as a safety car at a critical moment can see a middle field runner suddenly leading. How is that "earned"?

My money is on GP2 driver Jules Bianchi for them.

Well that failed then - no official word from Force India but Nicolas Todt reported that "Jules Bianchi will not be Paul Di Resta's team mate"

Looks like Adrian Sutil is back in F1!

Yup, Sutil the second driver. Will be interesting to see how he does in the Force India this year, must be a fair bit further up the field than the last one he drove.

More driver news - Marussia have ditched Razia and now have Jules Bianchi at the helm. So after the disappointment of missing out on the Force India seat he gets another.

Word is that Razia couldn't bring enough cash in - sign of the times with the ever increasing volume of "pay drivers"?

Whitmarsh was quoted in an article (BBC I think, I'll look later) saying all/majority teams are currently in survival mode, with reduced sponsor incomes, so they need to look elsewhere to raise the cash, ie pay drivers.

Also, the rumours of Honda coming back into F1 as an engine supplier seem to picking up momentum, with Benson claiming a deal has been struck with McLaren in 2015. Would certainly be interesting, but I've not seen anything concrete yet.

Whatever Benson says I always take with a MASSIVE pinch of salt. Does seem to be accurate though and would makes sense. If it's from 2015 that means McLaren having to buy engines for 2014 so it will be the new Merc turbo. Good chance to look at the rival engine then help develop the Honda unit.

The relationship between McLaren and Merc is certainly going to be strained in 2014, with McLaren virtually being reduced to a "customer" level. I know they are technically a customer at present but I think even more so in 2014.

Whatever Benson says I always take with a MASSIVE pinch of salt. Does seem to be accurate though and would makes sense. If it's from 2015 that means McLaren having to buy engines for 2014 so it will be the new Merc turbo. Good chance to look at the rival engine then help develop the Honda unit.

No idea what your talking about. Benson is brilliant....

.... At making sensationalist headlines where facts are clearly optional . In all seriousness, it is looking likely they are coming back, but Benson states they HAVE decided to come back, whereas (from what I've seen) Honda have said they are evaluating whether a come back is viable or not. Benson annoys me usually, always seems to have an angle when he writes that doesn't nesecarily follow the facts, it baffles me how he is still working for the 'impartial' BBC.

Anyway enough venting, 13 days untill race day!

I can't stand Benson. He's starts rumours then a few months later gets another article out of it by having someone denying it. Sadly this has been rubbing off on the rest of the BBC too. In the space of two days Hamilton goes from no hope to guaranteed to win the Championship, all based on one lap time. Drives me nuts!

Oh Joy. More BBC Sycophancy towards Mr Hamilton:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21769197

That'll please Benson then .. . Guess this replaces Webber's column then, shame as I quite enjoyed them. Could be interesting to hear what he says from his mouth rather than media interpreations, but I doubt he'll get too in depth into certain media questions.

No doubt Benson will fill in the blanks....

I'm all for him basically giving BBC first dibs on his interview time as long as it doesn't affect his racing.

And the 2013 season is (almost) underway! The wait is over, possibly some answers soon.

Free practice 1 is about to begin.

Top 5 positions for FP1 and FP2:

1. Vettel 1.27.211
   
2. Massa 1.27.289
   
3. Alonso 1.27.547
   
4. Hamilton 1.27.552
   
5. Webber 1.27.668
   

1. Vettel 1.25.908
   
2. Webber 1.26.172
   
3. Rosberg 1.26.332
   
4. Raikkonen 1.26.361
   
5. Grosjean 1.26.680
   

McLarens not fairing too well at present but as with pre-season testing, some teams may well be masking their true performance.