The Formula 1 blog is full of news features and race reviews, and will be very busy as the new season gets into it’s stride!

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The 2009/2010 season is coming to an exciting end with many titles and promotions to be won, whilst teams will be desperate to avoid relegation heartbreak. With the World Cup only a couple of months away, it promises to be a cracking summer! Follow the blog for daily World Cup reports when the tournament gets underway on June 11th.

I wish everyone a very happy New Year, and may it be a prosperous one.

I am going to create two new blogs, I will post the links on this page and on Twitter once the accounts are set-up. One of the blogs will focus on football, whilst the other will be for my F1 followers.

These are the two sports I have the most knowledge on. I feel giving my time to two sports instead of four will improve the quality of the writing, which will aid me as a writer, and you the audience.

I will also be setting up new Twitter accounts, I will post the links later.

Many Thanks

Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo said: “If he takes another road, our agreement will no longer be valid. You can’t work with a competitor and with us at the same time.”

“I still haven’t spoken to him about it. He is only a dear friend, not a team member. He is a consultant for our road cars,” Montezemolo added.

Schumacher was on course to return to the cockpit last season, he was due to replace the injured Felipe Massa, who fractured his skull during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. However, he was advised not to return by medical experts after it emerged that the German hadn’t recovered from a neck injury he sustained earlier this year.

A potential move to Mercedes would be a sensational swoop for the German team, who have had a mixed off-season so far. Newly crowned World Champion, Jenson Button has moved on to McLaren, whilst Rubens Barrichello signed for Williams. However, Mercedes have had some good news to report too – they bought out former team, Brawn GP and have signed Nico Rosberg to drive one of their cars.

It is understood that vice-President of Mercedes-Benz, Norbert Haug, wants an all-German dream-team. And, if the reports are to be believed, he may get his wish very soon.

Another German has been linked with the second drive at Mercedes, Nick Heidfeld. The former BMW driver has been linked with the team for months now, and is keen on a move to the team. Yesterday he said: “It is my plan for the future and my objective to once again enjoy success with Mercedes.”

The fact that Heidfeld hasn’t signed yet suggests that Mercedes are waiting for news on Schumacher before making advances elsewhere. Heidfeld has also been linked to Sauber, who bought out BMW in November. He would effectively be returning to he team he has raced for since 2006.

Schumacher is the front-runner for the drive at Mercedes though, and if he was to return to the cockpit in 2010, he would be challenging World Champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton from McLaren, as well as Fernando Alonso from Ferrari. Having four World Champions on the grid next season would be a mouth-watering prospect.

Trulli signs after leaving the beleaguered Toyota team, whilst Kovalainen joins after being replaced at McLaren by World Champion, Jenson Button.

The pair have over 250 grand’s prix between them, and should be solid and resolute partnership for the forthcoming season. They will be joined by Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy as their reserve driver.

Ambitious Team Principal, Tony Fernandes said: “The team shows our seriousness to be a world championship contender.”

Of his new drivers he added: “Trulli will bring us lots of experience to develop the team, and Heikki is a young driver but has phenomenal experience so I think we have two fantastic drivers with Fairuz as well.”

Whilst the team are unlikely to give their rivals sleepless nights, the team’s enthusiasm and ambition will put them in a good state of mind for next season. Lotus could well surprise some people next season.

When asked about whether his side was still in the title-race, Wenger said: “Mathematically yes, and mentally certainly.”

Elsewhere, Arsenal’s title rivals slipped up; Chelsea could only manage a draw against a depleted Everton side, neutral fans would have enjoyed their 3-3 draw. Manchester United, deservedly, lost at home for their first time this season, the Red Devils lost 1-0 to Aston Villa, thanks to a Gabriel Agbonlahor goal.

With Villa winning, the pressure was on Manchester City and Spurs to maintain their Champions League push. However, neither could pick up three points, relegation candidates Bolton secured a 3-3 draw with City in a cracking game. Spurs lost at home for the third time this season, they went down 1-0 to other relegation candidates, Wolves.

As Wolves and Bolton picked up valuable results, teams at the bottom of the table needed some points to keep them away from the drop zone. Portsmouth secured a last-minute draw with Sunderland to boost their points tally but remained bottom of the table. The big losers of the weekend was West Ham United, they went down to Alex McLeish’s much-improved Birmingham City. Gianfranco Zola’s side needed something to show for their efforts, but an old boy came back to haunt them – Lee Bowyer scored his fifth goal of the season to lift the Blues to eighth in the table.

And finally, Burnley and Fulham shared the points after a 1-1 draw, as did Hull and Blackburn who drew 0-0 after a dire encounter.

Elsewhere in the world of sport, Pakistan’s cricketers are battling New Zealand for the third test in Napier. The series is currently level at 1-1, and with this being final test, expect fireworks on the final day tomorrow.

The prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year took place last night in Sheffield. Ryan Giggs claimed the main award, beating Jenson Button and Jessica Ennis. Elsewhere, Usain Bolt won the Overseas award and Seve Ballesteros won the Lifetime Achievement award.

Ballesteros’s award was one of the emotional moments of the night, the Spaniard has been recovering from a brain tumour and has had four major operations. He received a standing ovation and a moving speech from compatriot Jose Maria Olazabal

Eddie Izzard won a special award after his work for Sports Relief, he completed 43 marathons in 51 days. Tom Daley won the Young Sports Personality of the Year award for the second year-in-a-row.

Major Phil Packer won the Helen Rollason award for his extensive charity work, and Doreen Adcock won the Sports Unsung Hero award.

Finally, Fabio Capello won the Coach of the Year award and England’s men cricket team beat the women to the Team of the Year award.

Have a good week!

The Englishman who scored 103 goals in 249 career appearances, was due to play against Greece in a friendly but a broken ankle ended that possibility. He endured several operations to try correct the long-term problem but has struggled to gain full fitness and has now followed advice from his medical team to hang up his boots.

It’s a very sad day for a player to call it a day, but for a player with the best years supposedly ahead it must be devastating. Everyone in the football world wishes Dean Ashton all the best for the future.

This weekend features some intriguing games, and as the mad rush of matches is nearly upon us, teams will be desperate to grab as many points as possible before the festive mayhem begins.

This week’s pre-match analysis is focusing on two teams who are on a slippery slope. However, one side started a lot earlier than the other. Arsenal visit Liverpool on Sunday, and if it’s anything like last season, the neutrals are in for a treat.

Liverpool are performing consistently, but unfortunately for Rafael Benitez, it’s not the positive consistency he is looking for. The club is out of the Champions League, which after a dismal European campaign, was summed up by a sloppy 2-1 home defeat to Fiorentina. The Reds aren’t performing to the standards that they are capable of in the Premiership either, the club has won just two out of the last eight games and are three points off a Champions League spot.

Arsenal aren’t in a rich vein of form either, but have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League in top spot. Arsenal are currently eight points behind Chelsea with a game-in-hand and some pundits are claiming that the title-race is a two-horse race. However, with Chelsea losing vital players in the New Year to the African Cup of Nations, don’t rule out the Gunners just yet.

TEAM NEWS:

Fernando Torres could make his first start in six weeks after a niggling hernia problem. Another boost for Rafa Benitez is that Alberto Aquilani didn’t suffer any side-effects after his first start against Fiorentina in midweek, which means he could start again. However, don’t be surprised if he is named on the bench. Ryan Babel is a doubt with an ankle injury, but other than that, the Spaniard has a full squad to choose from.

Arsene Wenger claimed that this season has been the worst, in terms of injuries. With the likes of; Bendtner, van Persie, Eboue, Clichy, Gibbs, Rosicky, Djourou all sidelined, he may have a point. The news doesn’t improve either after it was revealed that Eduardo and Abou Diaby are doubts. However, Alex Song returns from suspension, which will be very welcome news to Wenger.

Last season, fans were treated to an epic, unpredictable 4-4 draw and whilst bookies will be hoping it won’t happen, picking a winner is very difficult. Having Torres back for Liverpool is such a morale boost, and will give surrounding players the impetus to play well. Therefore, I predict a 2-1 win for Liverpool, solely because of the Torres-factor.

As always, look out for Leicester City, who after two back-to-back defeats will be looking to bounce back against Sheffield Wednesday at the Walkers Stadium.

Enjoy your weekend!

Pompey have also denied that owner Ali Al Faraj is not committed to the club, and insist that CEO Peter Storrie would not be leaving the club, despite charges brought upon him of tax evasion.

It’s been a miserable time for Pompey who have been going through a major transformation. The club has gone through numerous protracted takeovers, the club has had to sell top players to balance the books and a transfer embargo has landed on the club.

Even though the club say that administration is not on the horizon, the horrid facts remain the same and fans will be concerned that the dreaded prospect could be close.

Pompey remain defiant though, the statement reads: “The owner and board of Portsmouth Football Club are disappointed at recent inaccurate media speculation regarding the club’s finances and the threat of administration.”

It also read: “The club is not going into administration. If that were the case it would have happened in September or early October.”

The possibility that the club could have gone into administration earlier on in the year will not fill the fans or players with much confidence. Furthermore, the club would suffer a ten-point reduction if it was to happen, which as things stand, would see their points tally read zero.

The statement also claims: “Constant malicious rumours and speculation do not assist with the major long-term funding that is currently being put in place.”

Fans will be worrying about the short-term though, the club is in serious danger of dropping into the Championship, which as proved this year features a lot of teams that can challenge the top, so there would be no guarantee that they would bounce straight back up at the first attempt.

Pompey have a new manger at the helm, Avram Grant, and they gained three vital points against Burnley last weekend. However, the continuing speculation will do nothing but hinder the players. The former Chelsea manager must battle the growing negativity if he is to create a miracle.

Italian Trulli is without a team after Toyota pulled out of F1 shortly after the season finished in Abu Dhabi. However, speculation was rife that he wouldn’t carry on with the team anyway due to the team’s desire to bring a younger driver in.

Trulli has previous experience working with Lotus Technical Director, Mike Gascoyne. The pair worked together at Toyota before Gascoyne left the Japanese outfit in 2006.

Fernandes said in November that he had signed his first driver for 2010, but wasn’t disclosing who it was. Therefore, this announcement that Trulli is on the shortlist may just be the starter before delivering the main course, that indeed Trulli has signed.

With the Italian very likely to drive for the team in 2010, the big question is who will partner him? Fernandes has said that he wants the best available partnership, and with some good drivers still on the market, ambitious Lotus should have a strong line-up next season.