The world championship winner team Red Bull Racing has unveiled its latest car, the RB7, in front of the media at the Valencia circuit’s pitlane.

Designed by Adrian Newey and powered by the Renault V8 engine, the RB7 will have the unique opportunity to defend its titles this season.

The car features a high nose, an even higher engine cover compared to the previous Red Bull, the RB6, plus a concept rear wing.

The RB6 dominated the 2010 season, taking nine victories in the hands of world champion Sebastian Vettel and third-place finisher Mark Webber. In addition to this winning performance, last year’s car started on pole position 15 times from 19 Grands Prix.

Can this new RB7 continue that impressive result this season? The new car certainly looks great and Vettel will have the chance to shakedown the RB7 during the opening day’s official practice session at Valencia. Let see how it compares to the other 2011 cars.

The famous black and gold livery makes a return this season as Renault unveiled its new R31 challenger to the press in the Valencia pitlane.

Vitaly Petrov will have the first opportunity to shakedown the R31 during the opening day of official testing at the Valencia circuit, with team-mate Robert Kubica taking over the last two days.

The R31 features a pull-rod suspension for the rear end, while the structure underneath the car (the tea tray) appears quite radical compared to rival cars.

Technical director James Allison described the development direction Renault has taken as ‘brave’ saying:

“Anyone who follows the sport will have seen that words like aggressive [and] brave are being bandied around across several of the teams this year for their solutions.

“I believe that we have chosen a direction that is really on the brave end of brave.”

The team also revealed that former HRT driver Bruno Senna will join Romain Grosjean, Jan Charouz, Ho-Ping Tung and Fairuz Fauzy as part of the team’s test and reserve driving strength.

This is new Sauber C30 powered by Ferrari. The Swiss outfit hopes the new 2011 racer will bring it a step forward in pace with improved reliability, needed to become a more regular points scorer.

The new design features a now standard high nose and a slender rear end compared to last year’s challenger.

Technical director James Key said: “Our aim in the development of the Sauber C30-Ferrari has been to build on the strengths of the C29 and to eliminate its weak points.

“In addition, it is also important for us to go into winter testing with a car we understand, and we have worked hard on ensuring the characteristics of the car are heading in a direction we believe in. There will be much to learn about the new Pirelli tyres and in this respect we want to ensure there are no surprises with the way the car is handling.”

Key said that one of the primary targets for the outfit was to have a car that would be predictable from the start – because there remains so much uncertainty about how the new Pirelli tyres will fare.

“In order to take a step forward in 2011, we were already systematically tackling the C29’s weaknesses over the last season – and we’ve made progress. The insights we gleaned were taken into account when the concept for the new C30 was being drawn up.

“Since some of the changes decreed by the regulations – particularly regarding the tyres – can only be analysed out on track, it was important for us to build, firstly, a fundamentally predictable car and, secondly, one that would provide sufficient flexibility to respond to ongoing findings at the track and during further development stages.”

The new C30 features a fully integrated blown diffuser, and the team has been able to sculpt the sidepods more aggressively through fitting its radiators more vertically.

Sauber has also opted to use a single mounting for its rear-wing, rather than the twin-mounting arrangement it used on the C29.

Team principal Peter Sauber said he hoped the C30 would help the team make progress in the areas where it was lacking last year.

“We want to finish in the points regularly and clearly improve our position in the FIA Formula 1 constructors’ world championship,” he said. “2010 marked the 41st year of our company history and one of the most difficult.

“Never before had we faced such reliability problems, but we managed to overcome them in the second half of the season. We implemented some well-considered structural changes. The appointment of James Key as Technical Director already bore fruit last season, and he is now in charge of development of the Sauber C30-Ferrari.

“At the same time, we have managed to secure our business foundation for the 2011 season. In these economically straitened times that is something we can be proud of too.”

Sauber has confirmed that the KERS units it will use in 2011 will be provided by Ferrari.

As for the drivers, Sergio Pérez will be making his Formula One debut this season. The GP2 runner-up will partner alongside Kamui Kobayashi.

This is the brand new and more aggressive looking T128 from Team Lotus. The outfit has pinned hopes that this 2011 racer will make them midfield contenders and bring them their first world championship points.

Even though the T128 will not appear in public until later this week, when it joins the second day of the Valencia test, Team Lotus have chosen to reveal images of the new car in a special edition of its Team Lotus Notes online magazine.

The outfit had always admitted that last year’s T127 was a deliberately conservative machine built simply to get the team onto the grid in a very limited timescale, rather than with outright performance in mind.

It halted development on the 2010 car early in the season to focus on the 2011 design, which is more in line with modern Formula One practice, and features Renault V8 power and transmission systems from Red Bull Racing.

These images released so far suggest the T128 features a more intricate front wing design, sharply sculpted sidepods, as well as a more conventional higher nose plus an airbox/roll hoop reminiscent of the 2010 Mercedes – suggesting Lotus has found a way around the rules that appeared to have outlawed such ‘blade’ designs.

The team’s chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne is confident that Team Lotus has achieved everything it wanted to with the T128.

“I think that basically this car looks like a frontrunning car in every area,” he said. “We said very clearly that we want to start challenging the established teams and I think that’s very achievable.”

The dispute regarding the Lotus naming rights continues despite the new car launch and yet, Tony Fernandes’ outfit had chosen to continue with the traditional Lotus type numbering system by choosing T128 for its car, rather than the TL11 title that was initially announced.

Fernandes said it was a relief to be able to focus on the new car after a winter of legal disputes with Renault’s new title sponsor Group Lotus.

“There has been so much has focus off-track it’s a thrill to be able to get back to talking about racing,” Fernandes admitted.

“The launch of the T128 is a big step forward for Team Lotus and I want to thank the whole team for the amount of hard work that has already gone into T128, and I want to thank Renault and Red Bull Technology for their tremendous support in helping us make this step forward and for being such great team partners.”

The team’s driver line-up remains unchanged for 2011, with Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen and Italy’s Jarno Trulli at the wheel.

Scuderia Ferrari became the first Formula One team to unveil its 2011 racer, the F150 at Maranello.

Following the final-race heartbreak that cost the world drivers’ title in Abu Dhabi last year, the Italian outfit hopes that the new design of the F150 can deliver better results.

The design of the F150 incorporates the numerous 2011 regulation changes, including an adjustable rear wing and the return of KERS, as well as the removal of items now banned, such as F-ducts and double diffusers.

“The major aspects with the most impact on the project were connected to the aerodynamic development,” explained technical director Aldo Costa. “The double diffuser, the F-duct, is gone. The driver can’t change the car’s aerodynamic set up anymore. The underbody won’t have any ‘holes’ in the central part anymore. This is a fundamental change.

“The rear wing will be movable, so that the driver can overtake the car in front of him and use it in the qualifying according to his needs. The KERS is back. Although we’ve improved its size, it’s still quite big. Therefore the technicians had to redesign the car’s layout.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali is well aware that the team lost vital ground in the early stages of last year, so he is keen for the F150 to be competitive from the off.

Speaking to the media earlier this month, he said: “For 2011 our goals are very clear, that we are aiming to win both the titles, constructors’ and drivers’ titles, this must be the goal of our team.

“And so the expectations, that of being able to have a car competitive from the start, a reliable car, a strong car, and I have to say that we’ve seen this last year.

“If you’re not perfect within such a competitive environment, with opponents that are so strong with teams, which also varied numerically, then it becomes difficult to win.”

Fernando Alonso will have the unique opportunity to drive the car during some promotional filming at Fiorano, weather permitting. As for team-mate Felipe Massa, he will shake down the F150 the next day, before its first proper test at Valencia next week.

From next year, the 2005/06 championship-winning Renault F1 team will be known as Lotus Renault GP as Group Lotus became a major shareholder and title sponsor.

According to a report on The Daily Telegraph, Renault agreed a $100m title sponsorship deal with Lotus Cars, which will see the team re-branded in 2011.

The deal will see Renault sell the remainder of its shares to Genii Capital, which bought 75% of them last year.

The title sponsorship deal with Group Lotus is due to run until the end of the 2017 season, with Renault committing to supply engines to the team for a number of years.

Gerard Lopez, chairman of Renault F1 Team, said about the deal: “We are delighted that we can now go public with the news that we will be racing as Lotus Renault GP in 2011.

“It is extremely exciting to begin a new era for the team in partnership with Group Lotus, and we will continue to enjoy a strong relationship with Renault over the coming seasons. It is a tribute to the excellent work this year by the team in Enstone that we have been able to attract both major sponsorship and new investment for a very bright future.”

The iconic black and gold livery as made famous by John Player Special will make a re-appearance on the grid next year, but to confuse matters the Tony Fernandes’ outfit is also considering using the same colour scheme.

In addition, Team Lotus has recently signed a deal to use Renault engines next year, so it will be a case of double vision with two Lotus entries using the same power unit and livery…

It has been an incredible Formula One season in 2010 with so many highs and lows. After the first race in Bahrain, in which Fernando Alonso scored his first win for Ferrari, there were many fans criticising that the new rules have made the racing boring and predictable. And yet, the following Grand Prix in Melbourne was exciting thanks to mixed conditions and a debut win for the reigning world champion Jenson Button at his new McLaren team.

The early races really showcase the speed of the Red Bull RB6 but the reliability was still a concern. If Sebastian Vettel didn’t have that spark plug problem in Bahrain or his spin in Australia due to a loose wheel nut, he would have scored 50 points.

His first victory of the 2010 season came at Malaysia (the third event), when the Renault-powered Red Bull finally holding together. In fact, the race in Sepang was a Red Bull Racing one-two with Mark Webber finishing in the runner-up spot.

Webber achieved back-to-back wins in Spain and Monaco, with the street race being the highlight for the Australian. It should have been a dominant win for Fernando Alonso in the Principality, as he was the fastest driver in practice, but he pushed too hard in the final practice session leading to qualifying and damaged the car…

As for Lewis Hamilton, he was shocked by the speed of the Red Bulls especially in qualifying. The only way he could win a Grand Prix was to have both cars crash into one another and that’s exactly what happened in Turkey!

That incident between Webber and Vettel was a real flashpoint for Red Bull Racing and perhaps the 2010 season. Both were determined to take the win and neither was going to give way. Watching that incident time and again on various different television angles, I still say it was Sebastian’s fault. But the team defended Vettel with that clumsy overtaking move and blame Webber for being too aggressive!

Hamilton took his second victory in an exciting Canadian Grand Prix. Why was it so entertaining? The different wear rates from the Bridgestone tyres made it tricky for grip and it was fascinating to see the drivers plus teams adapting different strategies between the prime and option tyres.

In Valencia, we saw another Sebastian Vettel win but it was his team-mate Mark Webber who was on a high! His car did a flip in the air after crashing into the back of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus. It was a scary moment but thanks to the modern safety in Formula One, both drivers escaped unharmed.

The following race at Silverstone, we witness another fallout between the Red Bull drivers and this time it was over a new front-wing…

During practice Sebastian’s new front-wing collapsed and the team decided to change it by taking Mark’s front wing without talking to the Australian. Webber was livid and in the race, he got his payback by winning the British Grand Prix and telling on the team radio, “he wasn’t bad for a number two driver!”

Speaking of number twos, the Ferrari team opted to use team orders between their number one and two drivers – Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa respectively – in the German Grand Prix.

By ordering Massa to let Alonso through because “he was much faster”, the team’s decision to do a position swap angered many fans. And yet, team orders have always been part of the sport since the 1950s. It was ironic that the so-called ‘ban’ on team orders came into play when the same team Ferrari did the position swap at the Austrian Grand Prix back in 2002 when Rubens Barrichello moved over for Michael Schumacher to take the maximum points…

The team defended the decision and Massa was saying he did the right thing. But the fans didn’t agree. The sport’s governing body issued a fine of $100,000 for mocking the race result in Germany.

The Red Bulls were in a different class in the following race in Hungary and many teams were criticising the new flexible front-wing fitted on the RB6. The FIA did some weight tests to see if the new wing was breaking the strict aero rules and yet it passed with flying colours.

Mark Webber rewarded Red Bull Racing with his fourth victory of the season in Budapest, but the race will be remembered over that aggressive moment between Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

Michael squeezed Rubens into the pitwall to prevent the Brazilian coming through. Rubens kept his foot down and made the pass but he was up against the pitwall so close that an inch further could have been nasty…

The next race was at the magnificent Spa-Francorchamps circuit and Lewis Hamilton scored his third victory for McLaren. He had a moment when he slid off the circuit due to the wet surface, but he managed to avoid hitting the tyre wall, recover and take the chequered flag.

His team-mate Jenson Button was taking out of the race by an out-of-control Sebastian Vettel! It was a silly crash by the Red Bull driver as Button defended his track position at the Bus Stop chicane, and yet Vettel was sensing the opportunity to pass but he lost control of his car under braking…

Fernando Alonso also crashed out in Spa but he made amends to this bad form with some excellent race wins in Monza (Ferrari’s home race) and at Singapore.

In those two races, Lewis Hamilton lost some important championship points no thanks to his determination to get pass his rivals. The McLaren driver was out on the first lap at Monza after damaging his right-front wheel against Felipe Massa’s Ferrari. In the night race at Singapore, he attempted to overtake Mark Webber on the outside but the Australian kept his driving line and bashed into the McLaren damaging it.

Webber made it to the finish despite the wheel nearly coming off the rim edge! As for Sebastian Vettel, he drove a solid race to second pressuring Fernando Alonso all the way to the chequered flag.

Vettel was back in the winner’s circle with a dominant drive in the Japanese Grand Prix. He should have won in Korea but his car let him down – a massive engine failure. Vettel shrugged off that disappointment by winning the final two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, sealing the championship for Red Bull Racing and for himself.

That final race at Abu Dhabi should have been thrilling, with four drivers in with a shout of winning the title but the nature of the circuit made it difficult for the cars to overtake and so it was down to race strategy.

Ferrari screwed up on that by focusing too much on Webber and not race leader Vettel. This bad call in the pits affected Fernando Alonso’s race and the Spaniard was unable to win his third title despite heading into the weekend as the pre-title favourite…

As for Webber that crash in Korea – in which he spun off in the wet conditions trying to keep on tabs with Vettel – proved to be very costly in terms of the championship. He was unhappy with Red Bull favouring Sebastian for the title and he simply under performed in the season finale with P5 in qualifying and P8 in the race.

And what about Lewis Hamilton? He had nothing to lose and he raced hard against Vettel to win the final race of a long 2010 season. The win and championship went to the young German after a solid performance.

So does Sebastian Vettel deserve the championship? I would say yes. Okay, he had his fair share of bad luck and crashes, but his form in qualifying has been excellent. Ten pole positions. As for his five victories, it was a master class of driving in the best car.

Other highlights in this intense and dramatic season? Nulk Hülkenberg’s maiden pole position for Williams at Interlagos; Michael Schumacher struggling in his comeback with Mercedes GP but in the final few races, his race pace improved; The battle between the three new teams – Lotus, Virgin Racing and HRT; Kamui Kobayashi’s overtaking moves during the final laps in Suzuka; Korea’s new circuit that was completed just two weeks before the inaugural Korean Grand Prix.

Well done Sebastian Vettel and as for the BBC, I love the extensive coverage on the red button! All three practice sessions, race forum and alternative commentary. I really wish Radio 5 Live’s David Croft and Anthony Davidson are the main commentary feed, as the pair provides more energy, insight and enthusiasm compared to Jonathan Legard and Martin Brundle. I like Martin’s racing insight but his colleague is simply useless at explaining the action unfolding during qualifying and the race! Please change it BBC for the viewers sake.

The new season is just over one hundred days away and I am already looking forward it. Not only to witness Sebastian Vettel defending his title honour with car number one on his Red Bull, but the close competition, new drivers and tyre supplier Pirelli providing the action. Roll on March 2011!