As I expected, Nick Heidfeld has been named to team with Mark Webber at Williams in this years World Championship. The word is that engine maker BMW had strong influence in the decision as Heidfeld is German. This is interesting as one of the teams' top sponsors, Petrobras, the Brazilian national oil company, was keen to have Antonio Pizzonia, a Brazilian in the seat.

This leads to the speculation that Pizzonia may indeed look to the CCWS for a ride. This has to have the beleaguered series salivating. Although Pizzonia may not be a household name in America, getting a guy who performed admirably in Ralfies absence last season at Williams has to be considered a feather in their cap.

And those looking for a "household name" won't really find any unless they look to NASCAR. Times change.

Anyhow, the CCWS may also be getting Christiano DaMatta back. Reports that other name drivers may also be looking to America has to help. Although some of those may end up in the IRL.

Speaking of the IRL, Mo Nunn has sold his equipment to Ron Hemelgarn who will return to the track this year in the IRL. Nunn, who last season campaigned Tora Takagi, had won a couple of races in the IRL, but last season was a disaster. Hemelgarn is expected to run Paul Dana in the series.

With the Daytona 500 just three weeks away, the teams head to Las Vegas for practice this week. I'll be doing a NASCAR season preview later this week.

God it is time for some racing!!

All the F1 eyes are on Grove this weekend in anticipation of the release of Williams FW-27. The new car, designed with a more conventional nose than last years car is to be unveiled Monday. Of course the real news is whether Nick Heidfeld or Antonio Pizzonia will get the seat next to Mark Webber this season. When tests concluded in Valencia on Thursday it was Heidfeld on top of the time sheets with Pizzonia a close second.

The good news is that the competition for the seat has allowed Williams to get some very good test results so far as both drivers have really worked to convice Sir Frank of their merits. Frankly either one would probably be a decent fit, but ultimately will be keeping the seat warm for Jensen Buttons imminent arrival at Williams.

Pizzonia fared decently last season in his substitute job for Ralfie, while Heidfeld has usually chruned out good results with less than top notch equipment. The only thing that may keep Pizzonia out of the seat is a percieved feud between him and Webber dating back to their days at Jaguar.

Honestly I don't think Sir Frank will allow that to make a difference, but I honestly think Heidfeld's experience will ultimately win the seat. Stay tuned.

We’re still nearly 3 months from the start of the 2005 F1 season, but that doesn’t mean that there has been no activity since we left off in October.

Most of the teams are in the process of unveiling their 2005 cars and hitting the circuits for preseason practice. BAR in fact (if that is what they will be called this year) has already been to Barcelona, got mad and left because of the condition of the track surface.

The offseason has seen Bernie in court, the amazing uprising of the A1 Grand Prix series, revelations by a former Ferrari doctor that some of the drivers are coked up, the impending, yet doomed sale of Eddie Jordan’s team, the purchase of BAR by BAT and Honda and the ongoing saga of Jaguar.

Other than to say that Ferrari will once again be dominant it is probably too early to speculate on how the season will shake out. Last year BAR was fast in testing, but no one really bought their reported times. However, when it came down to it, the Brackley team ended up second in the constructors race.

There has been some changes in the driver-car lineups for this year. In addition, it appears as thought Antonio Pizzonia will end up in the second Williams car despite some tension between him and Mark Webber. Here is the lineup as of December:
1, Michael Schumacher (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro), Ferrari;
2, Rubens Barrichello (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro), Ferrari
3, Jenson Button (Lucky Strike BAR Honda), BAR-Honda
4, Takuma Sato (Lucky Strike BAR Honda), BAR-Honda
5, Fernando Alonso (Mild Seven Renault), Renault
6, Giancarlo Fisichella (Mild Seven Renault), Renault
7, Mark Webber (BMW Williams), Williams-BMW
8, TBA (BMW Williams), Williams-BMW
9, Kimi Raikkonen (West McLaren Mercedes), McLaren-Mercedes
10, Juan Pablo Montoya (West McLaren Mercedes), McLaren-Mercedes
11, Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber Petronas) Sauber Petronas
12, Felipe Massa (Sauber Petronas) Sauber Petronas
14, TBA (Jaguar Racing) Jaguar-Cosworth
15, TBA (Jaguar Racing) Jaguar-Cosworth
16, Jarno Trulli (Panasonic Toyota Racing), Toyota
17, Ralf Schumacher (Panasonic Toyota Racing), Toyota
18, TBA (Jordan Grand Prix) Jordan-Toyota
19, TBA (Jordan Grand Prix) Jordan-Toyota
20, TBA (TBA Minardi TBA) Minardi-TBA
21, TBA (TBA Minardi TBA) Minardi-TBA.

As you can see the teams at the back of the pack are where they usually are at this time of the year, without a solid driver commitment.
Well that is going to be it for today. I’ll have more as the next month unfolds and all of the teams hit the tracks. Full coverage of each team and their outlooks plus there will be NASCAR reports when Daytona rolls around in a month. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.