That’s some serious helmet hair

Swiss F3 star Natacha Gachnang is the first female driver to sign up for the new FIA Formula Two Championship. Don’t be surprised if one day she makes it all the way to F1. The 21 year-old certainly has the genes to succeed in motorsport: she is the cousin of Red Bull test driver Sebastien Buemi, who looks set to win a 2009 race seat for Toro Rosso.

The new F2 category will use a new car based on a chassis built by Williams and an engine built by Audi.

Swiss rookie talks talk, walks walk

Sebastien Buemi may come across as a cocky sod (he nominated Jenson Button as his preferred team-mate at Toro Rosso, even though he has yet to secure a seat with the team), but he clearly knows how to drive, so we’ll let him off.

The Swiss youngster continued to impress in testing at Jerez, setting the pace for the fifth day in a row. He was quickest around the Spanish circuit last week on each of the three days when he tested for a seat at Toro Rosso. And so far this week, in his day job as Red Bull’s test driver, Buemi has again proved untouchable (not all the teams were testing, admittedly).

“It’s been a very good test so far, we’ve been improving with every lap, which is really good for next season and I’m happy,” he said.

“We’re learning more about the slick tyres too, which is important. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and trying to improve myself more.”

Sebastian Vettel made it a 1-2 for Red Bull on Tuesday as he finished just under two tenths behind Buemi. The two Sebs were followed by the BMW Sauber pair of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, with Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima in fifth.

German driver let loose in TV studio

In which Seb Vettel gets very, very close and personal with a German studio audience. Excellent close control from the new Schumi, we’re sure you’ll agree.

WARNING: Dont try this with David Coulthard.

[IMotor]

Red Bull driver is back on the market

Twelve-year-old German F1 star Sebastian Vettel has been in a relationship with schoolyard sweetheart Hanna Prater for some time, but the folks at Bild have noticed the relationship status on his official website has changed from “ledig” (”unmarried”) to “single” (er, single).

Unlike Hamilton and Nicole ‘I like to hang around in the pits and hug people’ Scherzinger, Vettel seldom took his lady to the track on race day. When asked why, he simply said: “Other men don’t bring their wives to the office.”

Another team could follow Honda out the door

We’re all still recovering here in the Gridcrasher garage. Honda’s decision to quit the sport left all fans of the sport reeling - and there could be another victim of the global economic downturn.

Indeed, Max Mosley says he suspects another team will drop out before the start of the 2009 season, while Williams’ chief executive Adam Parr told The Times that he expects just eight teams to line up on the Melbourne grid.

Toyota seemed to be the most likely manufacturer to follow Honda, amid a dramatic slump in car sales, especially in the US. But Toyota has confirmed it will compete next season - Honda’s exit means one less rival for them, after all.

If Toyota have decided to tough it out, Red Bull appear less committed. In a statement the team said it was “not surprised” by Honda’s decision to pack up and sell out.

“Numerous other race teams are having similar thoughts,” the Austrian group told AFP.

“The main issue now is whether the reductions in costs all of us must make will come quickly enough to guarantee a sufficient number of teams carrying on.”

Energy drinks giants now owns 100% of STR

Red Bull has bought Gergard Berger’s 50% stake in Toro Rosso. Berger (pictured above, with Seb Vettel) had bought the stake from Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz in 2006, after the Austrian billionaire had purchased the ailing Minardi team and rebranded it.

The sale could spell the beginning of the end for Toro Rosso, who overperformed in 2008. Berger wanted to get out before Toro Rosso started to slip towards the back of the grid.

“The new rules leave no room for improvement for a small team as STR,” the former McLaren driver told Autosport.

“Also, Dietrich’s interest will focus on Red Bull Racing, therefore the support for STR will become smaller and prevent the team from improving further from sixth.”

In the light of Mark Webber’s bike crash down under, which left the Aussie with a broken leg, will teams crack down on drivers’ extra-curricular pursuits?

All F1 drivers are adrenalin junkies, naturally. Which means they get up to all sorts of dangerous activities in the off-season - Kimi Raikkonen loves snowmobiling and rally driving, for example.

But when these adventurous young chaps are being paid millions of pounds by their teams to race, should they be allowed to go off bungee jumping, free climbing and mountain biking?

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