Steve Hindle

Scuderia Ferrari has already made the headlines at today's Indian GP; not because of the titanic battle between Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel and the Italian team's matador, Fernando Alonso - but instead for carrying the Italian Navy's emblem on both of its cars during this weekend’s Grand Prix.

With Caterham F1 due to launch their 2012 car in less than 48 hours, Kimi Raikkonen out on track in the 2011 Lotus Renault yesterday and Williams F1 sneaking a peak of their 2012 chassis whilst at Sky's...

The dust might have settled on the Buddh International Circuit but the celebrations of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix will doubtless have lasted long into the night. Before arriving in New Dehli, many in F1 had raised doubts as to whether the country and its new race track would be ready for a spectacle of this caliber.

Today registered another tragic loss in the world of motorsport. Marco Simoncelli was a remarkable motorbike racer; he was also a son and a lover.

But the loss of this prodigious talent has been overshadowed by the disdainful reaction of some within the online world. Numerous editors, bloggers and forum users rushed to upload links to video footage of the accident and photos of the reaction of Marco’s family & girlfriend. What purpose does this serve?

“How do you solve a problem like Maria?” ... A question that may not instantly be burning on the lips of every motorsport enthusiast, but one, all the same, that requires consideration.

It was whilst watching Dragon’s Den on BBC TV the other evening that I started to wonder about the physical input (time, management, direction) given to those who successfully pitched their ideas. The financial element is, of course, clearly stated but as most of us know, any venture that is struggling to capitalise on its potential needs more than just hard cash and “association”. This was absolutely the case with the fancy dress business which was eventually taken-on by Duncan Bannatyne.

The golden heads of rapeseed flowers wallowed loftily next to a lush green Duxford meadow last Wednesday. A more fitting backdrop to the stunning livery of the new Team Lotus Caterham could surely never be found.