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New Williams looking good!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFagk2lpseQ

...Silly noses gone( mostly), and the back-end looks fearsome!

James Allison: Mercedes appoint ex-Ferrari technical director.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38992303
No surprise there...

New cars starting to appear and looking pretty.

Renault sounding optimistic about their engine. Honda not so optimistic, sadly.

Looking forward to first tests next week.

Well we've seen most of the cars now. Tomorrow we get to see them on track at the first test.

Interesting to compare the noises coming from the teams: Quiet confidence from Mercedes, nervousness and reluctance to make promises from Ferrari, forceful playing down of expectations from McLaren. Red Bull, on the other hand, seem to be playing up expectations. They say that the Renault engine is massively improved and yet it blew up in the Toro Rosso the other day. I wonder what game they're playing?

No change for McLaren. Alonso lost the first 5 hours of day 1 testing Mercedes putting in the most laps so far.

TESTING stats from this mornings testing.

FASTEST VET: 1:22.791

MOST LAPS BOT: 79

Ferrari time set on mediums whereas Merc time on softs. Is the Ferrari really that fast?

Same old?

Merc still look way out in front. Just racing themselves.

Ferrari and Red Bull probably still forming the second division. Based on previous years we might suspect Ferrari are showing off and Red Bull holding back.

Actually I'm surprised to see that Ferrari might still be in the top three at all. After they lost James Allison and seemed to be descending into civil war last year I thought they might go backwards this year.

Sadly Williams seem to have a rather ordinary car and the 18 year old with L-plates and Massa don't look like a good driver pairing. Looks like they might drop back a bit, maybe overtaken by the likes of Renault, Haas and/or Toro Rosso. Maybe not Force India, though, as they're not looking so great either.

And as for McHonda!? Can the world's biggest engine manufacturer not do better than this? Maybe they're pushing everything to the limit and will blow everyone away when they get it working properly. Or maybe they're just rubbish.

Well testing did not throw up any surprises.

I like the Toro rosso, livery looks good. But I think running Ferrari 2016 engine?

As for Ferrari, Not sure how things will pan out for them this year, they had an ultimatum for the boss improve or go work somewhere else.

Williams not looking good. I think they will struggle this year against Force India, who are sandbagging and already have updates to bring to the car.

Bottas did well in the Merc overall both drivers looked quite comfortable.

Renault, I think they will make good progress over the next few years, However, still a way off from winning any races.They have given themselves 4-5 years before they win not sure if they meant races or titles.

Only a couple of weeks to go until the first race.

Testing latest :

"That 1m19.3s from Bottas is four tenths quicker than he managed last week, and on a step-higher compound of tyre too – his benchmark in the opening test came on the ultra-softs."

Looking interesting this year... So far, it's hard to see if anyone is truly dominant...

Mercedes are looking strong, as to be expected, and Bottas might not be as docile as everyone was thinking he was, but time will tell... Still, my money has to be on Merc this year... The car looks awesome.

Ferrari are being quietly confident, and i see them and Red Bull pushing each other off the road for the majority of the season....

....Go, Kimi!!!

Renault and Williams is a tricky one, but since i'm a Massa fanboy, and given his decent showing in testing, i'm going to say Massa will end the season higher than either Hulkenberg or Palmer...

...Lastly, i think Force India have taken a step back into the clutches of Torro Rosso... Whilst Perez might be capable of one or two top-ten finishes, i really don't see them being in the points very often this year.

So, whilst i think the podiums are going to be a very interesting mix throughout the season, i really don't figure for much excitement in the midfield....

...Or at the back...

...Or behind the back, where i think McHonda will be flintstoning around.

Encouraging to see Williams looking better and fair play to Massa for hanging on for some very long runs.

Very disappointed with Honda. Best car I ever owned was a Honda (Civic CRX a.k.a. Del Sol) and one of its best features was its engine. Maybe they'll pull it all together but not looking good at the moment.

Previous years would still suggest that Mercedes and Red Bull actually have better cars than the headline numbers imply and that Ferrari are not really quite as impressive as their testing times, but still very impressive.

Basically, if anyone, be that Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams or even a bit of Japanese wizardry, can challenge Mercedes then we might get a show. Otherwise Kimi beating Vettel would be quite satisfying

Stoned thought: imagine Felipe Massa fighting Lewis Hamilton for championship. What a season that would make, eh?

John Surtees: Former F1 world champion dies at 83.

what a legend, what a sad loss.

Starting to think Ferrari's pace might be genuine. Just maybe we'll get a race at the front.

Not sure that Honda really got through seven engines. Would they really have built that many? Seems more likely to me that they were re-using repaired engines. They still look rubbish though.

Glad to see Williams looking much better in the second week. Some are saying that they might be at the front of the midfield, i.e. forth best after Merc, Ferrari and Red Bull, so that might give me someone to cheer on.

Informal talks between McLaren and Mercedes over possible engine supply if true and come to something would shake the grid up as McLaren chassis and downforce supposedly very impressive.