Boy, it’s good to hear that bass again…

This is how Roadworks TV suggest the BBC should introduce coverage of F1 next year. Looks good to us, but then footage backed with Fleetwood Mac’s instantly recognisable The Chain is guaranteed to get our pulse racing.

Do you think the BBC should keep The Chain for its newly branded coverage? Vote below or leave us a nice juicy comment…

The Spanish Sulk prepares to hurl toys from pram

Fernando Alonso doesn’t like the direction F1 is heading in, and he’s not afraid to say so. This week, Nando said he would think about quitting F1 if the sport adopted a standard engine from 2010.

“If they approved that, it would be the last straw. It would be time to think about retirement,” the Spaniard said at a charity event organised by ING, who sponsor his Renault team.

Alonso also claimed the new rules (see our idiot’s guide) hindered the progress of F1…

World champ loves his isolated winter training camp

Lewis Hamilton is loving McLaren’s week-long winter training camp at the Kuortane Sports Institute in western Finland. The annual event is scheduled so that McLaren’s drivers can work on their core strength and physical conditioning.

The remote location also means Lewis gets a few days to escape from the glare of the spotlight, before he returns home and prepares for the gruelling awards season (he has just been named on the BBC’s short-list for its Sports Personality of the Year).

“Travelling to Finland for our winter training camp is one of the best weeks of the year for me,” Lewis says.

Crazy Jens can almost taste the victory champagne

Honda’s 2009 car looks quick, will be driven for Jenson by small Asian man

Jenson Button believes Honda will be much more competitive in 2009, so much so that he could even win a couple of grands prix (no laughing at the back). Speaking at the Japanese manufacturer’s traditional end-of-season ‘Honda Racing Thanks Day’ at Motegi earlier this week, Button reassured the 25,000 fans that Honda is a team on the up:

“The last two years have been very difficult for all of us, but I think we have a very strong team and we have a real passion for racing, so things will come good for us.

“I’ve already seen what is happening with the car for next year, and it looks very positive. It feels more like 2006, when I got three podiums and I won my first race.

“So it’s all very positive, and I’m hoping to get some more wins next year.”

The power of dreams, indeed.

Bernie Ecclestone is determined to scrap the points system. Is he mad?

Wee Bernie is hell-bent on introducing his barmy medals system in 2009, despite the fact that most sane people thinks it’s nonsense.

Maybe the news that his giant wife wants a divorce has addled The Meddler’s brain? Whatever, the current points system works just fine, whereas a new medal system would give all but the fastest teams no chance of glory - the likes of Toro Rosso, Force India and Williams thrive on the hope of scoring a few points at each grand prix. Without that incentive, why should they race?

As for ensuring a more exciting championship, the medals system could see the drivers’ title decided with less than half of the season gone - what’s exciting about that?

We agree wholeheartedly that there needs to be more incentive for drivers to attempt risky overtaking moves - that is the raison d’etre of Bernie’s medal system - but there is a much better way to do it: use a variation on the old points system, when the race winner would get 10 points and the runner-up would only get six (1991-2002).

How about this:

Proof that Murray has lost his final marble

Jenson Button can still win the F1 drivers’ title. So says Murray Walker, a statement that suggests the 85-year-old commentating legend might be - how can we put this politely? - living in the past.

When asked to name his top ten drivers of 2008, Murray did not include Button, but went on to defend the English driver:

“I haven’t included Jenson Button, not because I don’t think he’s a damn good driver who’s perfectly capable of winning the championship, because I do think he’s a damn good driver who is capable of winning the championship.

“If he gets the right car next year – and hopefully he will have, because Honda are starting off from the same place as everyone else with the regulation changes – I’m utterly confident that Jenson can win races, and if you can win races you can win the championship.”

Murray’s faith in Button is touching but has no basis in reality. Jenson’s chances of ever becoming world champion are non-existent, unless McLaren or Ferrari suddenly decide to poach him from Honda. That’s not going to happen.

Button may indeed sneak onto a few podiums in 2009 - we’re not saying he couldn’t actually win a race, either - but unless Honda make giant strides in the next couple of years, Button will go down in F1 history as a good driver, not a great one.

Crasher bonus! Button takes on the mighty Nurburgring:

Beeb confirms commentary team for 2009 coverage

After much speculation, the BBC has revealed its team to cover F1 next season. This is how they roll:

Studio anchor: Jake Humphrey
Crasher verdict: The Beeb’s golden boy is likeable but bland and inexperienced. A weak choice, but he’ll be fine as long as he leaves most of the talking to…

Studio pundits: David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan
Crasher verdict: A great partnership in the making. Jordan is always outspoken and DC has great potential

Chief commentator: Jonathan Legard
Crasher verdict: Legard is a safe pair of hands and knows his stuff, but he is rather uninspiring

Test driver not impressed with prototype’s looks

Yesterday Gridcrasher created something of an online storm by suggesting that BMW Sauber’s 2009 prototype is ugly. A controversial statement, obviously - maybe it’s because we used wonky-faced Robert Kubica as a benchmark?

Well, vindication just roared into town, in the form of Christian Klien. The Austrian test driver (pictured) agrees with us that the new BMW is a dog.

“I never saw such a sexy car,” Klien said after testing in Barcelona yesterday (message to our sensitive Polish readers: Klien is making a joke - you see, he doesn’t really think it’s sexy. Clever, eh). “It looks very, very new to everybody.

“To me, for the moment, it’s the worst (looking) Formula One car I have ever seen. It just doesn’t fit together.”

However, in the interests of fairness, can we add that BMW’s new car is uglier than all non-Polish F1 drivers - including Lewis Hamilton. There, we said it.