HAMILTON ON FIRE

Lewis Hamilton had the measure of Ferrari for a second successive day as he again set the fastest time in the final pre-season test at Barcelona.

With the curtain-raising grand prix in Australia now 19 days away, Hamilton and McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen were considerably quicker than world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

On a dry day, the 22-year-old was almost a second quicker than his best time of Monday - posting a lap of one minute 21.234 seconds for the 4.655km Circuit de Catalunya.

Kovalainen was 0.2secs adrift, with Raikkonen almost 0.5secs off the pace - and while it is difficult to determine fuel loads in testing, there is no doubt Hamilton will be buoyed by the result.

Williams again suggested they will be pushing the old guard as Nico Rosberg was fourth fastest ahead of Felipe Massa, resuming testing duties from Michael Schumacher in the other Ferrari.

Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella was seventh quickest, followed by Sebastian Vettel - who was driving for Red Bull on Tuesday rather than Toro Rosso.

David Coulthard was forced to withdraw with a neck injury sustained on Monday - and with Red Bull Racing running two cars this week and Toro Rosso the one, Vettel switched between the sister teams.

MCLAREN TO TRY OUT TO EXTENDED RIM SHIELDS

McLaren, who are desperate to wrestle back the Constructors’ title and Driver’s title from arch-rivals Ferrari, took the plaudits for sending out their 2008 MP4 model with a new set of front rims in Jerez, Spain yesterday.

The team decided to try out an extended front rim shield design which the McLaren engineers have been working on for the past few months.

Quite a few of the other teams have attempted to launch their own versions of front shields last season with the primary purpose of directing the hot airflow generated under braking away from the wheels and underneath the car but none were successful. McLaren’s latest front rim design looks way more complex than any of those seen before and if successful, the new component will be fitted onto the MP4 and used for the entire 2008 season.

The MP4-23’s latest shield design features a new section that extends forward to form a kind of fairing that sits parallel to the tyre sidewall.

Another part of the MP4 that McLaren is trying to improve this year is the car’s rear wing positioning. The engine air intake has been fitted further behind the headset to improve the quality of air directed to the rear wing. Whether or not it will be used when the first race day flags off in Australia is still undecided.

FISICHELLA BATS FOR FORCE INDIA

Giancarlo Fisichella has insisted that his team of Force India are not there to wind up at the rear of the grid and will be there giving competitions to all the other experienced teams at the start of the season.He also insisted that he got offers from Renault and Sauber to be their test driver but he flatly refused the offers saying that he was a racer and wants to win badly.He said that he did not know Vijay Mallya for too long and he was looking forward to establish a proffesional relationship with him.He was very confident that the Force India team would do very well in the coming races of this season.

NIGHT RACE IN SINGAPORE

Well I hope everyone are aware that a historic night race in Singapore is a part of the F1 calendar this season.The latest news regarding that is that the FIA has confirmed the night race timetable for the Singapore grandprix.The inaguaral Singapore grandprix will be held on September 28.The race will start under the floodlights at 2000 hours local time. The qualifying sessions on Saturday and the second Friday practice session will also run after sunset.

In order allow the drivers to become accustomed to the new track, the first practice on Friday 26 September will take place from 1600-1730 hours, before the second session is run after dark, from 2000-2130 hours.

The final FORMULA 1 practice session on Saturday will run from 1700-1800 hours, with the qualifying sessions starting after sunset at 2000 hours.

HAMILTON SUBJECTED TO RACIST ASSAULT

Rookie Sensation of formula one Lewis Hamilton was subjected to racist assault at the Spain Testing held at Catalunya.Hamilton was subjected to racist abuse as he drove between the mclaren motor home and team garage.The Spanish F1 fans are unhappy at him as they think that he was the main reason for Alonso not winning the title last year.The FIA is said to be disappointed by the crowd's behaviour and they may take a strict action by stripping the Circuit De Catalunya off the F1 calendar.Last year in the drivers championship Hamilton finished second and Alonso who has rejoined with Renault finished third.

HAMILTON VERY CONFIDENT OF WINNING TITLE

Without the polarising Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton is confident enough to settle for nothing less than the Formula One title this year.

"I think there are no excuses if I cannot win this year," the 22-year-old British driver said of his aspirations for the new season that kicks off on 16 March at the Australian Grand Prix.

"Last year, the only excuse was that I was a rookie and that it was all new. But this year, I have no doubts. I know I am going to be better prepared. I am already better prepared. And I think we have a better package this year. I do not feel there is any room for error."

Hamilton won four races in his debut season to finish with 109 points, one fewer than eventual champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Despite his aim, Hamilton prefers to remain as a team player rather than McLaren's number one driver.

"I like fairness and I want Heikki Kovalainen (his team-mate) to have the exact same opportunities."

Hamilton also feels encouraged by the support of McLaren, who announced a five-year extension to his current deal earlier this month.

"I feel in the right place," he said.

WILLIAMS LAUNCH NEW CAR

With the efficient FW29 from last season as their blueprint, the Williams Formula One team has been able to design and produce a much improved car, a product of innovation and stability, said Team technical director Sam Michael, who was in Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo Racetrack to witness test driver Nico Hulkenberg taking the FW30 for a spin in its track debut.

“With four years of regulation stability, we have a good basis to be progressive about the development of this season’s car,” explained Michael. “With a good reliability record last year, we have been able to build on this quality while also turning some of our attention to clear performance objectives.”

Much of the stability comes from sticking to settled regulations governing aerodynamics; retaining their highly skilled technical team and maintaining close contact with engine supplier Toyota. This is why the FW30 retains much of the same flavour as the Williams’ products before it, the zero keel and dual pillar rear wing a permanent fixture in the new model.

Having said that, there are still significant changes in the make of the FW30. There are the three-plane front wing, larger side-pod top cooling louvres, the side-pod and side-impact sails, and increased cockpit sides to ensure better driver safety.

“Our focus has been on performance as well as refining our packaging and weight distribution,” added Michael. “We are designing a tidier car with a higher standard of build quality. The FW30 should represent a good step forward when all of the many small areas of attention and improvement are brought together in the overall package.”

Team Williams have also spent a lot of its resources readying the car for the new standard ECU and tweaking it to satisfy the condition of traction control prohibition. A new seamless-shift gearbox is another important feature in the FW30, as well as bio fuel compliance, a product of research with fuel partner Petrobras.

All said and done, it is now time to see if the FW30 really produces the performance it is capable of.

KIMI FULL OF PRAISE

Kimi Raikkonen believes Ferrari are in a "great position" with their F2008 just two months prior to the start of the new season.

Raikkonen, who is chasing back-to-back World titles this year, took part in Ferrari's first big test of the year at Jerez this week where both himself and his team-mate Felipe Massa proved to be on the pace.

The duo in fact led the way on the opening day of testing, beating McLaren's new MP4-23 to the top two places on the timesheets.

And although that was the only day of the three-day test which the Scuderia finished at the top of the timesheets, Raikkonen is confident Ferrari will be competitive this season.

FERRARI BOOST

Ferrari have emerged as the fastest car on the first official day of testing.Ferrari struck the first blow of the new year in the battle of the Formula One heavyweights.

Ferrari and McLaren both ran their new cars on the first official day of testing for 2008 following their unveiling last week.

And it was world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who clinched the title in dramatic circumstances last year, and team-mate Felipe Massa who topped the timesheets at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.

After rain in the morning, the track dried out in the afternoon, with Raikkonen completing 59 laps overall with a best unofficial time of one minute 19.845 seconds.

Massa was just under 0.3secs adrift, with McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa another 0.4secs off the pace in third place ahead of the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel.

The second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen was fifth overall, just over a second down on Raikkonen, while Sebastien Bourdais gave Toro Rosso a strong showing with sixth.

Lewis Hamilton, who missed out on becoming world champion by a point to Raikkonen, is on track on Tuesday and Wednesday alongside Kovalainen and is sure to push the Ferraris close.

Overall, nine teams tested, with only BMW Sauber missing out as they launched their new car in Munich today, along with Honda.

James Rossiter was unfortunately last of the 14 drivers due to a problem early in the day with his Super Aguri - with the team awaiting new parts - allowing him to complete just 10 laps.

ALONSO GOT IT RIGHT

Jarno Trulli believes Fernando Alonso made the right decision in returning to Renault.

Trulli spent two seasons as Alonso's team-mate at Renault in 2003 and 2004, before switching to Toyota towards the end of the latter year.

The French marque then helped Alonso become world champion in 2005 and 2006 before his ill-fated move to McLaren for last season.

An ignominious campaign culminated in a bitter fall-out between Alonso and team boss Ron Dennis, ultimately resulting in the 26-year-old being released at the end of the year.

Despite the saying, 'you should never go back', Alonso now finds himself in familiar surroundings again - despite the fact Renault endured a poor season by their previously high standards last year.

"Fernando is a champion, so we can expect him to be fighting at the front. But then Renault has to deliver a good car, which was not the case in 2007," said Trulli - speaking at the launch in Cologne of Toyota's new challenger for 2008, the TF108.

"I think last season they suffered the same problem as Toyota in that they under-estimated the tyre and the influence that had on the car performance.

"I'm sure they've been working hard over the winter to give him a good car, just as hard as Toyota have been working to give me and Timo (Glock) the best possible car.

"Obviously, I wasn't involved in his situation last season - so I don't know the full facts behind it.

"But it is clear things didn't go very well between them, and in the end they decided to split.

"Whether it is right or wrong, that is hard to say. But it's just a shame to see what happened.

"That's the way it is and better for him to have stepped back and returned to his old team."

There were suggestions Alonso's Latin temperament did not help in a team more accustomed to adhering to protocol.

"Whatever your character, you have to get on well with a lot of people in Formula One," added Trulli.

"There are so many people working on two racing cars, and you have to communicate well in this environment.

"Probably there was something wrong in the relationship, but I cannot judge.

"Of course, I am of Latin temperament as well - although probably a bit more polite and quiet. I try to get on well with everyone."

As the experienced older head in the Toyota team following the departure of Ralf Schumacher and arrival of rookie Glock, Trulli is aware of the responsibility on his shoulders.

With Toyota looking to end six winless seasons in F1, the 33-year-old Italian said: "I am the one who provides continuity - so the team will expect good feedback, especially in the first half of the season.

"But Toyota does not rely on one leader. We have never had, and never will have a leader, because the Toyota concept means you are part of the team - one team, one aim."

With 25-year-old German Glock on board, Trulli insists he is not under added pressure to perform.

"In Formula One there is always pressure. It doesn't matter who you have next to you or in front of you," he added.

"But I'm happy to have Timo on board, because he is very motivated and is someone who will help develop the car."

MASSA CONCERNED

Felipe Massa is concerned about the reliability of his Ferrari.Felipe Massa is concerned about the dependability of the new Ferrari F2008 after experiencing problems with a new car last year that cost him precious points.

"We have the new car and we're going to have to see its reliability. Last year we lost many points due to problems with reliability which ended many races" he said.

But Massa is encouraged by the test results of the new car but remains cautious.

He explained: ”The numbers we have seen, the data in the wind tunnel are positive but of course we have to see what the others are going to do because even if our data is incredible, if others go faster than perhaps they have improved more than us."

"I think the car is going to be ready just before the start of the championship, so we have to develop the car. We are working on it for quite some time," commented Massa.