| Button loses first head-to-head clash with Hamilton (PlanetF1.com) Jenson Button has once again insisted that he can beat Lewis Hamilton at McLaren next season.
| Jenson slower than Lewis, but bullish (F1Network.net) Jenson Button made an appearance on the BBC's Top Gear show yesterday evening in an effort to propel himself up the F1 Power Laps leaderboard. The World Champion had set a time of 1m44.7 in the Suzuki Liana which was later equalled by 2010 teammate Lewis Hamilton in far worse conditions.
| Mercedes signs Petronas + new livery pic (F1Complete.com) Mercedes GP is delighted to announce the signing of a long-term agreement with Petronaswhich will see the Malaysian national oil and gas company become the title partner to the new Silver Arrows works team.From 2010, the new team will compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship as the Mercedes GP PetronasFormula One Team and will carry the distinctive Petronasbranding across the car and team liveries. Leveraging Mercedes-Benz's rich motorsport heritage and the long-standing involvement of Petronasin Formula One, the new title partnership also paves the way for future collaborations between the two companies.For PETRONAS, the partnership will enable the oil and gas giant to generate sustainable business growth, particularly in their downstream lubricants market, through the strategic partnership and business alliance with Mercedes-Benz, one of the most prestigious global automotive brands. The Mercedes GP PetronasFormula One Team's challenger for 2010 will make its track debut in its new livery at Valencia on 1 February 2010 for the first of the pre-season tests ahead of the 2010 Formula One season. Petronaswill continue to be the title sponsor of the PetronasMalaysian Grand Prix, scheduled to be the third race of the new season, which will take place at the Sepang International Circuit on 4 April 2010. Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports, said: 'We are very pleased to begin our long-term partnership with our new title partner PETRONAS. Daimler, our premium brand Mercedes-Benz and Petronaswill work together both on and off the track and I am sure that everybody involved will guarantee their absolute dedication to success. PETRONAS' home base in Kuala Lumpur is located in the middle of a fast-growing region for the automotive industry which makes this new partnership even more valuable. Within the limits of the new Formula One resource restrictions, the Mercedes GP PetronasFormula One Team will be well positioned to achieve our goals. We will all strive to present efficient success in the future knowing at the same time that the new Formula One season with some fundamental rule changes will be a particularly challenging one.' Ross Brawn, Team Principal of the Mercedes GP PetronasFormula One Team commented: 'Everyone at Mercedes GP is delighted to confirm our long-term agreement with Petronasand we look forward to working closely with our new partner in the future. The collaboration of the premium automotive brand Mercedes-Benz and a company as prestigious as Petronasgives our team a fantastic base from which to achieve our ambitions of competing at the top level of Formula One and building on the success of 2009 which saw the team achieve the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships. Our plans for the new season are progressing well, as is the development of our 2010 challenger, and we look forward to seeing the car run in the new Silver Arrows and Petronaslivery at the Valencia test in February.'
| Michael Schumacher fit to race in 2010 (espnF1.com) It is looking increasingly likely that Michael Schumacher will make a return to Formula One after his manager declared him fit to race
| Ferrari explains Raikkonen exit, admits Alonso concerns (Crash.net) Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo rubbishes suggestions made by Kimi Raikkonen that the Finn was replaced by Fernando Alonso to please sponsor Santander - as he admits to some prior concerns about the Scuderia's new charge.
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