Ferrari appear to have hit the track running after a high-profile opening pre-season test - but is the Italian team's early performance a real pointer towards the new season?

Every year, pre-season testing offers the first chance to judge the teams' potential for the coming season and with seven new cars making their track debuts at the same time this week, the opening test of 2010 was a real focus of excitement.

Traditionally, testing times are not easily comparable as the teams all work on different programmes - and that has been accentuated this year by the ban on refuelling, which has

Formula One is back in anger with seven new cars rolled out for their first real runs in Valencia this week - and already the trends are appearing as the shape of 2010 reveals itself.

Most teams began conceptual work on their 2010 cars before last season had even begun - so this is an exciting time in the world of F1 engineering as more than a year of hard work behind closed doors on the 2010 models is finally revealed.

The lack of marketing-driven launch shows for 2010 has led to most teams pushing the timelines of detail development as far as possible. Ferrari was the first team to reveal

Although little appears to have changed in the F1 technical regulations for 2010, the new machines will be quite different when they are revealed at the first of this year's launches next week.

Unlike last year, when the new cars made a dramatic visual impact with enlarged front wings and reduced rear wings, this year's new machines will look relatively similar to their predecessors - but their layout will be significantly different.

The main reason for this is not in fact a technical rule change, but a sporting one - the ban on refuelling, which will have a major effect on design for car

The F1 field is now well formed for 2010 but there is still one gaping hole amongst the leading teams - so what is Renault looking for in its second driver, why is it taking so long and who might end up there?

The team currently known as Renault is very different to the one with which most people associate the name. Flamboyant Flavio Briatore, with his wild but successful management style, is now long gone. So too is the metronomic engineer Pat Symonds, whose feet-on-the-ground approach made him appear constantly calm and who always purveyed an absolute confidence in his and his team's

As the new decade dawns, Formula One's eyes are on a sustainable future - but after the debacle of KERS how can the sport's engineers approach the demands for environmentally friendly racing?

In the great scheme of things, Formula One's collective emissions are miniscule, yet the involvement of global corporations that are seen to be causing harm to the planet creates a dark cloud over the sport.

While it could be argued F1 is so influential, with so many fans around the world, that it is an ideal vehicle for the promotion of sustainability issues, Honda's 'Earth Dreams' car, which aimed to do

This weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix will provide teams with a real test - and while those with the best balance and traction should triumph at Interlagos there's one corner that could make the vital difference.

The anti-clockwise circuit, which despite efforts to improve the track surface is still much more bumpy than other circuits on the calendar, offers dramatically different challenges sector by sector, the first and third parts of the lap fast sections that demand low downforce and good high-speed stability while the central section is exactly the opposite, requiring much more grip to

The World Champion is back on the pace and McLaren are moving on up. But how did they get back on the right track?

Lewis Hamilton proved at the Nurburgring that all his McLaren team's hard work back at their Woking factory was well worth the effort with two practice topping sessions and a fifth place grid spot — even if his own hard work was thrown away in a feisty start that dropped him to the back of the field in the race itself.

The German Grand Prix came just three weeks after a frown-forming performance at Silverstone that typified McLaren's season so far, but a raft of new parts for

Greatest race of 2009: Brazilian Grand Prix

Oh, so many. This year saw some excellent races, from the dramatic downpour in Malaysia to Mark Webber overcoming a drive-thru penalty to win in Germany - but Brazil was the ultimate stand-out.

Set up on the preceding day, when a storm hit qualifying, the enticing grid had Rubens Barrichello (the only driver who could catch Brawn team-mate Jenson Button for the title) on pole and Button down in 14th. Webber lined up second in the Red Bull with team-mate Sebastian Vettel 16th while Lewis Hamilton was only just off the back. The mixed-up field made for