2010 will be full of surprises !!

At least at the beginning of the season. 2010 is promising to be full of surprises.

Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo has revealed that the Italian team will not stand in Michael Schumacher's way should he decide to join Mercedes GP.

Much of the off-season news has been dominated by speculation that Schumacher will come out of retirement to join Mercedes GP, with one stumbling block believed to be that the German is contracted to Ferrari as a consultant.
This no longer appears to be the case, with di Montezemolo telling Reuters that Schumacher's deal is 'not binding'.

Should the German decide to join his compatriot Nico Rosberg at Merc GP, he will end a 13-year association with Ferrari. 

Nico Rosberg insists that if Michael Schumacher were to join him at Mercedes GP that he would not be the former World Champion's number two.


The Brackley-based outfit have already confirmed youngster Nico Rosberg as one of their drivers for the 2010 season, and the former Williams man insists that even if a legend like Schumacher was to join the team he would not be the team's number two driver.

"At Mercedes, there is no hierarchy. It has always been commonplace, that there are two equal drivers," Rosberg told Bild newspaper.

Sir Richard Branson's love of Formula One today resulted in one of the world's richest men throwing the full weight of the Virgin brand behind one of the sport's new teams.
Manor GP, one of four new marques who will help make up an expanded 13-team grid for next season, have been rebranded Virgin Racing thanks to a multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Branson.
Tycoon Branson confirmed one of F1's worst-kept secrets at a press conference in Notting Hill, London.However, his decision to leave Brawn / Mercedes for Manor leaves a huge question mark.

Meanwhile, Kamui Kobayashi has been named as one of Sauber's drivers for the 2010 season - a much deserved race seat for the best rookie we saw in many years.

The Japanese driver made his F1 debut for Toyota earlier in the year, having replaced the injured Timo Glock for the final two races of the season.

It was believed that Kobayashi would have been given a drive at Toyota next year had the manufacturer remained in the sport, but he has secured a seat despite their exit, with impressive performances in Brazil and Abu Dhabi enough to convince Peter Sauber of his talents.

In Italy, Felipe Massa continued his return to full fitness with a practice run at Ferrari's Mugello track on Tuesday.

The Brazilian managed 30 laps in a F2007, his first genuine stint behind the wheel since his horrific accident in Hungary, having completing a handful of demonstration laps in an F60 at the Ferrari World Finals day.

Adverse weather conditions meant that Massa was only able to get out on the track in the afternoon, with his run cut short as darkness closed in.

Despite the disrupted day, the 28-year-old was delighted with the experience.

"I'm happy that I could get into this car and it's always a pleasure driving on a track like Mugello," said Massa.