As requested by rydocf1 I’ve uploaded the 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix; an interesting race with one of the scariest first lap incidents of recent times. The coverage is from ESPN and the quality of the capture is not great, however it’s only a small download because of that and so it weighs in at only a tad over 500mb. Requested at the same time was Melbourne 2001 so I’m uploading that now, look for it in the coming days.

RBR technical director and lead designer Adrian Newey has spoken about the season ahead today at the Autosport International Show where he toned down expectations of the RB3 and the teams chances in 2007.

“Unfortunately I think expectations do seem to be quite high, which is a shame.”

“We are still a young team and that means some of our infrastructure and our resources are not as good as some of the more established teams, so how much that will hold us back? If that sounds like an excuse it is not meant to be, it is a fact. I think we have the basic structure and basic facilities to do a decent job this year and then try and build it from there.”

It appears as though Adrian is taking a realistic outlook amid a whirlwind of expectation. In a recent poll DailyF1News readers said it was more likely that Red Bull Racing would win the 2007 constructors championship than defending champions Renault. Teams tend to talk up their chances at this time of year, and it is unusual and somewhat disconcerting to see a technical director downplaying his own car before it’s even turned a wheel; hopefully he’s just be cautious with his reputation and not hinting at another possible Red Bull design flaw debacle.

Newey also mentioned just how different the RB3 is to it’s predecessor the RB2, infact only a single part is being carried over from the old car; the brake pedal. What this says about the RB2s accelerator pedal I know not!

Marks hero as he came up through the racing ranks was none other than Michael Schumacher. When Mark first got into F1 it was great, the two of them got on well and Mark even adjusted his driving style after spending a lap behind Schumi at Imola in ‘02. Unfortunately they ended up clashing heads a bit when Mark was a GPDA director where he and Michael never quite saw eye to eye, this lead to Webbers retirement from that position (He has recently been voted back). The slight irritation between them came to a head in Turkey 2005 when Mark, who was a lap down after a puncture, came across the off-the-pace Schumacher. After a bit of a dance down the straight they tangled into the tight final complex, this is what Mark had to say about Michael after:

“Even when he’s in the shit he doesn’t like to be overtaken so…but that’s probably why he’s a good champion”

It’s a pity they never got to go head-to-head in similar machinery, they’re so alike it would’ve been very exciting. I’m glad to say in Michaels final year they seemed to have reconciled somewhat, especially after Monaco they had a chat and Mark seemed content with what was said.

I had a request for a race around the old Adelaide GP circuit, so here it is. This race is of particular significance for a reason I’m sure you all know. The commentary is in English but it’s EuroSport coverage instead of the usual BBC/ITV feed, the quality isn’t great but it’s not too bad so you can still enjoy the race and get the warm fuzzy feeling of seeing Damon Hill act (I’m not so sure it is an act) like a complete clutz.

Reports are coming in from the Austrian media that Red Bull Racing will be announcing a new partner for 2007. Apparantly there has been a press conference called by RBR for the 23rd of January, David Coulthard and Adrian Newey will be in attendance. Red Bull have generally adopted a no major sponsors rule when it comes to their lead F1 team.

The tip is that it will be an Austrian company from the technology sector. Ian (the admin) at SportNetwork thinks it could be Telekom Austria, while I’m going to go for a company with a few more international interests; AIM Software.