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Jarno Trulli has hinted he has various options open to him for 2010 following Toyota’s Formula One withdrawal. Trulli will attend the Japanese team’s end-of-season event at Fuji Speedway this weekend after travelling from the US where he tested a Toyota NASCAR machine on Wednesday.

“I haven’t signed with anyone yet and I’ve talked to teams,” the Italian told the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) website after running almost 300 laps of Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in the team’s Toyota Camry Cup car. “My door is open right now.”

2009 marked Trulli’s 13th year of F1 competition and saw him finish eighth in the standings after three podiums, one pole position and one fastest lap. Media speculation has linked him to a drive with the new Lotus squad, whose technical team is headed by former colleague Mike Gascoyne, but Trulli is not expected to confirm any decision until after his final Toyota commitment.

Trulli’s NASCAR test was conducted alongside another ex-Toyota F1 star, Mika Salo, and afterwards the 35-year-old admitted it had been an eye-opening experience.

“I didn’t know about NASCAR until (ex-McLaren driver) Juan Pablo Montoya made his move,” he said. “In the beginning, it was a big shock for me. It was the first time in my life I was leaving pit road in a closed cockpit.

“I needed to get used to that feeling of not having my head out. I’m used to being in a stiff car on the ground. The Cup car moves around a lot. It requires skill, feeling and understanding. There are so many different factors and you need to be a smart person to be aware of what is happening around you.”

MWR’s Executive Vice President of Competition Steve Hallam, a former head of race operations at McLaren and an F1 veteran of 27 years, was impressed with the performances of Trulli and Salo.

“Both Jarno and Mika have done really well,” he said. “They have both delivered competitive lap times. They bring a different perspective to our ears. We are able to hear about the cars in a different way. It has been a really positive test and has brought good value to us.”

Trulli will be return to more familiar machinery for the aforementioned Toyota Motor Sport Festival, which takes place this Saturday and Sunday (21-22 November).

McLaren have announced the signing of reigning world champion Jenson Button on a multi-year deal that will see him partner 2008 title holder Lewis Hamilton next season. It marks the first pairing of two British world champions since Graham Hill and Jim Clark at Lotus in 1968.

The news follows weeks of speculation surrounding Button’s future with 2009 team Brawn GP, whose 2010 driver line-up remains unconfirmed following their takeover by McLaren engine suppliers Mercedes earlier this week.

“It’s always a difficult decision to leave a team when you’ve been there for so long, but life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it’s about challenging yourself,” said Button, who’d been with his previous team in its various forms since 2003.

“So, although I won the world championship with Brawn GP last year, and I’ll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges. So that’s why I’ve decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.”

Commenting on Button’s signing, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: “Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Jenson to our team. It has always been our policy to employ the two very best possible drivers – and, in Jenson and Lewis, we feel we not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid, but also the two most complete, professional and dedicated drivers in Formula One.”

Despite reports suggesting that pay had been a major stumbling block in Button’s negotiations with Brawn, Whitmarsh insisted his move to McLaren hinged purely on his desire to remain in a race-winning car, having scored six victories this season.

“I want to make clear that Jenson’s decision to join us was in no way motivated by money,” he said. “We’ll be paying him no more than he could be getting elsewhere, and that fact is a reflection of not only Jenson’s belief in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but also his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season.”

For Hamilton, 2010 will mark his fourth season with McLaren, with Button becoming his third new team mate in that time.

“I already know Jenson, and we get on very well together,” he said. “We both really want our team to succeed. Although we’ll be pushing each other hard, I’m sure we’ll very quickly establish a great working relationship. He’s an exceptional driver: very controlled and very smooth, and he has a real depth of knowledge and experience.

“I think we’ll complement each other very well, and our collaboration will make the team stronger as a result. Also, I’m delighted to be racing alongside a fellow British world champion, and I believe we can pull together to make Vodafone McLaren Mercedes the best team on the grid.”

For his part, Button added that he was delighted to be joining such an iconic team.

“You can’t help but be affected by this team’s phenomenal history,” he said. “McLaren is one of the greats of world sport, and its achievements and list of past champions read like a Who’s Who of Formula One – Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and of course my new team mate Lewis Hamilton. I’ve followed the McLaren team ever since I was a small boy, and it feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it.

“It’s also a great pleasure to be joining a fellow British world champion. Lewis has achieved an incredible level of success in a very short period of time, and he’s a wonderfully gifted driver who has earned the respect of every Formula One driver. I’m sure there’s plenty that we can learn from each other, and I’m really looking forward to using our combined knowledge to push the team forward.”

The news marks the end of Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren race career after two seasons as Hamilton’s team mate. The Finn, who finished 12th in the 2009 drivers’ table, seven places behind Hamilton, must now look elsewhere for a 2010 seat.

“I want to thank Heikki for his selfless contribution over the past two years,” said Whitmarsh. “As well as being very quick, Heikki was and remains a great character whom we’ll all miss considerably. It goes without saying that we wish him all the best, and would be very pleased if he were to secure a good drive for 2010.”

McLaren say they are delighted with the changes in their relationship with engine partners and shareholders Mercedes-Benz, following Monday’s announcement that the German auto giant has purchased a controlling interest in the Brawn GP team.

As part a realigned long-term alliance, McLaren will continue to use Mercedes engines until at least 2015, and will buy back the 40 percent share of the team currently owned by Mercedes’ parent company Daimler AG in a phased purchase over the next two years. The team will continue to be known as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and its distinctive silver-with-red livery will remain unchanged.

The new arrangement removes potential conflicts arising from McLaren’s plans to begin manufacturing its own range of high-performance production sports cars from 2011, part of the group’s long-term strategy to widen its commercial activities.

“This is a win-win situation, for both McLaren and Daimler,” said Ron Dennis, founding shareholder of the McLaren Group. “I’ve often stated that it’s my belief that, in order to survive and thrive in 21st-century Formula One, a team must become much more than merely a team.

“That being the case, in order to develop and sustain the revenue streams required to compete and win Grands Prix and world championships, companies that run Formula One teams must broaden the scope of their commercial activities.

“Nonetheless, all of our partners will of course continue to play a crucial role in our Formula One programme. For that reason, and because the engines they produce are very competitive, we’re delighted that Mercedes-Benz has committed to continue not only as an engine supplier but also as a partner of ours until 2015 – and perhaps thereafter.”

Having started in 1995, the McLaren-Mercedes partnership is already one of the longest engine-supply associations in Formula One history; 2009 was its 15th consecutive year and 2015 will be its 21st, by which time it will have become by some margin the longest such relationships since the sport began.

“I want to thank McLaren for a successful collaboration over the last decade and a half,” said Dr Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “For the benefit of both Mercedes and McLaren, we will continue our partnership cooperation in future. We will be rivals on-track but, off-track, we will cooperate with McLaren and the other teams in order to create the best possible product for spectators worldwide.”

Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, added: “We look back on 15 successful years of great collaboration with McLaren; in that time, we won four world-championship titles and finished ten times as runner-up in the drivers’ and constructors’ rankings.

“Since the first victory in the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, the modern Silver Arrows have achieved a total of 60 victories in 223 races to ensure that our brand symbol, the star, stands for the greatest successes in Formula One. We thank our partner and will continue to work with McLaren based on an excellent partnership.”

German car giant Mercedes-Benz has taken over Brawn GP, it was announced on Monday. Mercedes engines powered Brawn to victory in both the 2009 drivers’ and constructors’ championships. The team is expected to be rebranded Mercedes GP for next season, with Ross Brawn remaining as team principal.

Mercedes will also continue to supply long-term partners McLaren with engines until at least 2015, but the company’s 40 percent shareholding in the team will be reacquired by McLaren over the next two years.

Along with its investors Aabar, Mercedes’ parent company Daimler AG will take over a 75.1 percent stake of Brawn GP, the team formed by Ross Brawn and his colleagues less than a year ago after previous owners Honda announced their withdrawal from Formula One racing.

“Brawn GP has been through an incredible journey over the last 12 months,” said Brawn. “From fighting for our survival to forging a strong relationship with Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, winning both the constructors’ and drivers’ world championships, and now accepting Daimler and Aabar’s offer to buy our team, which will secure its future.

“The senior management group will remain in place to lead our team and on behalf of everyone at Brawn GP, we are honoured to be representing such a prestigious brand as Mercedes-Benz in Formula One next year and will be working together to do our best to reward their faith in our team.”

According to Mercedes, the decision to step up their level of Formula One involvement was prompted by recent agreements on ways of cutting expenditure in the sport and by the higher levels of income afforded to teams following the signing of the new Concorde Agreement earlier this year.

“Mercedes-Benz is the most valued and best-known premium automotive brand in the world. This brand looks for competition of the utmost quality in all relevant fields in order to continually improve its performance in the face of such new challenges,” explained Dr Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

“Due to the new Formula One environment, we will face the competition in future on the most important motor sports stage with our own Silver Arrow works team. Our new Silver Arrow Formula One team is a great sporting and technical challenge and we will tackle this with sporting spirit and full of enthusiasm.”

Brawn GP’s UK factory in Brackley is less than 30 miles from Mercedes’ Formula One engine plant at Brixworth, which should make for a highly-efficient operation to be coordinated by the familiar figure of Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

“It is our target to develop a model for our Formula One activities which will initially be run with significantly reduced budgets by Mercedes-Benz and which, in the foreseeable future, will be self-financing,” commented Haug.

“Furthermore, we naturally want to inspire our faithful spectators and TV viewers worldwide and maximize media coverage for our brand. With Formula One, Mercedes-Benz can continue to clearly demonstrate its willingness to compete and win on the most important motor sports competition stage in the world.”

Mercedes have yet to comment on the driver line-up for their ‘new’ team. Rubens Barrichello has already left Brawn for Williams, while speculation continues that world champion Jenson Button could switch to McLaren to partner Lewis Hamilton.

This season Bridgestone successfully managed a smooth transition from grooved to slick rubber, back in use for the first time in 11 years. Next season there are even more changes in store for Formula One racing’s official tyre supplier. The ban on refuelling, a new track in Korea and the planned adoption of narrower front tyres will all be real challenges for the Japanese company, but Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Hirohide Hamashima can’t wait…

Q: What were the key factors for Bridgestone in 2009?
Hirohide Hamashima: We re-introduced slick tyres and this was a significant change in philosophy in the Formula One regulations away from the grooved tyres of the previous 11 seasons. The aerodynamic regulation changes meant that teams had to work hard to develop and refine their cars though the season, and this was made harder with there being no testing. We worked very closely with all of the teams to help them to achieve their goals in this intense competition. This season we also responded to requests to make a bigger difference between the two different compounds that the regulations stipulate we bring to races. We achieved this with the concept of different temperature working ranges for our tyre allocations and this added another element of challenge for competitors at races.

Q: Which were the most significant factors for the sport this season?
HH: I think that the changes in regulations combined with no testing provided the biggest challenge. Previously there would be test days all through the season and teams would be able to develop their cars and test parts with the luxury of time and mileage. This year’s change meant that we saw a variety of competitors at the front of the field, and some incredible developments to the cars over the season despite these limiting factors.

Q: Bridgestone used slick tyres in its first season of Formula One – how much tyre development has there been in the intervening 11 years?
HH: We have learnt a lot from our participation in Formula One. The eleven seasons with grooved tyres were very good for our development. A grooved tyre is not a natural racing tyre so making it perform like one was a big challenge. The return to slicks meant we could apply the technology and lessons learnt to the ultimate racing tyre that is a slick.

Q: Next season there will be a smaller front tyre, tell us about this…
HH: For 2010 we will have a narrower front tyre. This will help to bring a better grip balance between the front and the rear grip of the cars. When we changed back to slick tyres the grooved tyre size was retained, meaning that the front gained proportionally more grip than the rear. This is addressed by making the front tyre narrower.

Q: Also next year, there will be no refuelling – how much of an impact does this have for Bridgestone?
HH: The cars will be around 100kg heavier at the start of a race so the tyre needs to be stronger. However, when you consider that the downforce acting on a car can be as much as 2000kg an extra 100kg is not so much of a change for us in terms of our tyre compounds and construction. For competitors the omission of refuelling will add another challenge and I expect we will see an evolution of race strategies through the season as everyone begins to understand what works best. Drivers will have to use their tyre management skills at the beginning of the race, especially at the start, when the cars are heaviest and the tyres at their coolest.

Q: There is the new destination of Korea on the provisional calendar for next year – are you looking forward to racing at another new location?
HH: We have welcomed many new circuits to Formula One over the past few seasons and it is always interesting to embrace new challenges. Korea will be a new circuit on the calendar and we are also due to return to Montreal which can provide its very own challenges. Nineteen races will mean that we are very busy through the year!

To say that BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld endured a difficult 2009 would be something of an understatement. Not only did he score less than a third of the points he clinched the previous year, he also received the shock news that BMW were to withdraw from Formula One racing at the end of the season. A decision that put his future in Formula One under threat, Heidfeld found it difficult to swallow.

“When the phone call came, I could scarcely believe it,” explained the German on his official website. “It took a while for the reality to sink in. My reaction will been fairly typical, especially because all the members of the team were on holiday and the factory was closed. Everyone had to wait a couple of weeks without knowing or being able to ask what the future held. That was a bad time.”

Although BMW have found new buyers for the team, they currently do not have an entry slot for the 2010 championship. That could yet change, following news of Toyota’s pullout, but for now both the team’s and Heidfeld’s F1 fate remain uncertain.

“Clearly there were many factors to take into account,” he added. “But all the same, it’s such a tremendous pity. BMW set out to win the Formula One title and I think we could have achieved that goal. Now I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Sauber get a place on the grid in 2010.”

Although his tally of 19 points and 13th in the final standings look relatively meagre on paper when compared to his 2008 haul of four podiums and 60 points, Heidfeld is hopeful that teams still seeking a 2010 driver will look beyond the numbers and recognise his previous achievements and depth of experience.

“I’m not dissatisfied with my performance in 2009, as I feel that I generally got the maximum out of the car I was given,” he concluded. “But when you’re battling for victories and podiums, people look only at the statistics – in the media at least. Fortunately, the people who run the teams can see beyond that. So all in all, I’m quite optimistic about the future.”

Heidfeld, who made his F1 debut with Prost in 2000, is one of the most experienced drivers on the market, and while he has yet to win a race, he has racked up 12 podiums, one pole and 219 points over his 10-year career.

If ever a driver was destined to make it into Formula One racing then you could argue it was Bruno Senna. And finally it has come to pass. The nephew of the late, great three-time champion Ayrton, Senna will make his race debut with the new Spanish team Campos Meta next season.

At the mature age of 26, by modern F1 standards Senna is not exactly young. So how did he find his way to the pinnacle of motorsport? Here’s the story of his career to date…

If ever a driver was destined to make it into Formula One racing then you could argue it was Bruno Senna. And finally it has now come to pass. The nephew of the late, great three-time champion Ayrton, Senna will make his race debut with the new Spanish team Campos Meta next season at the mature age – in modern F1 terms at least – of 26. Here’s the story of his career to date…

Like all young boys with dreams of racing, Senna tested his mettle in a kart. Of course, not all fledgling racers could stretch their legs on a private family track alongside an F1 legend of an uncle as this Brazilian did, but then not all youngsters would have to face the shock of that same uncle’s untimely death after a crash during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

When his own father was also killed a few months later in a motorbike accident, Senna’s life changed forever and he stopped karting and concentrated on his studies instead. For a boy who had always hoped to follow in his famous uncle’s footsteps, it was no doubt difficult to adjust to life back in the classroom, but he coped well, even starting a business degree when he left school.

But the racing bug remained, and in 2004, ten years after he had turned his back on motorsport, Senna decided to return and moved to the UK. It was a brave decision. Although his name meant he’d have no trouble finding financial backing, in the context of Fernando Alonso winning karting championships at 11 and Sebastian Vettel making his Formula One debut at 19, at 20 years-old he was already considered ancient for a novice. Ayrton’s nephew or not, many thought he’d have his work cut out.

His age, however, didn’t seem to faze the Brazilian and that season he kick started his career participating in the final three rounds of the British Formula BMW series. At Donington Park, in just his third race, he qualified second and finished sixth. That year he also competed in the non-championship Formula Renault race at Macau and took his first-ever podium with an impressive drive to second place.

In 2005 he moved onwards and upwards to the British Formula Three series, and over the season put in several strong performances, including three podiums and one pole position, to finish 10th in the championship. He stayed on for a second year of British F3 in 2006. Racing for Kimi Raikkonen’s team, Raikkonen Robertson, he enjoyed an even better season than his first.

Three pole positions, five wins, two second-places and 219 points secured him third in the championship behind British drivers Mike Conway and Oliver Jarvis. His talent behind the wheel, especially in the wet, was beyond doubt and he even found time to take part in that year’s Formula Three Masters race, finishing seventh, just behind Vettel.

It was becoming clear that Senna was more than a match for his younger, yet more experienced rivals and in 2007 he made the move up to the Formula One feeder series GP2. Racing for Arden, he acquitted himself well, taking one win and a further two podiums to finish third overall. Once again he stayed on for a second season in the series, and once again his performances improved.

Scoring six podium finishes, including two wins and three pole positions, he finished the season runner-up to Giorgio Pantano. Over the winter he’d also competed in the GP2 Asia Series, taking an additional two podiums. It seemed a Formula One drive was already a case of when, not if, and in November Honda granted him his first taste of Formula One power, inviting him to test as they eyed him as a possible 2009 driver. He covered over 140 laps of Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya as he familiarised himself with the Japanese team’s car.

Both he and the team seemed happy, but then Honda made the surprise announcement that they were withdrawing from the sport. The team morphed into Brawn GP, but the new management were understandably wary of taking too much risk, and opted to run with Honda’s existing and experienced line up of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. It looked as though Senna had missed the boat.

Bitterly disappointed, the Brazilian decided to forgo another series of open-wheeled single-seater racing for 2009, and instead focused on sports car competition, taking part in both the Le Mans 24-hour race and the Le Mans series. Behind the scenes, however, he never gave up on his Formula One dreams and in October it was announced he’d signed to race for Campos Meta, one of the four new teams set to join the grid next year.

Having already visited the factory for a seat fitting and to complete some initial tests, everything looks in place for the Formula One grid to once more be graced by the name Senna. “If you think I’m fast, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno,” was a quote famously attributed to Ayrton, and with the wait nearly over it’s at last time to see if the Brazilian legend was correct. Roll on 2010!

Belgian youngster Bertrand Baguette is the latest name to land the chance to test at next month’s young drivers’ session at Jerez. Baguette will be in action for Renault at the Spanish circuit on December 1, as a reward for winning the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 series.

“This will be a great first for me,” Baguette told his official website. “It’s all my childhood dreams come true and, at the same time, it’s every racing driver’s ultimate goal. It’s thanks to Renault that I was able to get into single-seater racing, by winning a programme set up by Renault in Belgium to discover up-and-coming young talent from karting. Since then, I’ve driven every Renault single-seater, from Formula Renault 1.6 to Formula Renault 3.5 via Formula Renault 2.0.

“Driving the Renault F1 R29 kind of completes the set as far as I’m concerned! The first few laps in Formula One must be really unbelievable, with a lighter, more powerful car that has just phenomenal cornering speeds. I’ll have everything to learn, not just the car itself, but also a new environment, lots of new parameters, a different way of working. The only thing I will be familiar with will be the Jerez circuit!”

Baguette is currently getting ready for the test by following a special training programme and will visit Renault’s UK factory at Enstone in the next few days for a full pre-session briefing.

“The most important thing for me is not really driving the fastest possible lap,” he concluded. “The aim of this day will be to work hard with the team and to carry out the test programme that Renault F1 Team is going to define seriously and professionally. Rather than my outright speed, it will be my ability to analyse the car’s handling and my communication with the members of the team that will be gauged.

“I can’t wait. I’m going to have to take things one step at a time and be cautious. It’s a terrific opportunity to be able to take part in testing with a team as prestigious as Renault.”

Red Bull Junior team driver Mirko Bortolotti will test for Toro Rosso at next month’s young drivers’ test at Jerez. Formula Two racer Bortolotti will be in action at the Spanish circuit on December 2.

“I’m very happy and very proud,” the Italian was quoted as saying by the official F2 website. “My target is to get to Formula One in the next few years so to be selected for this test is very important for my career. Of course, if I can get to F1 even sooner then that will be great, but first I must focus on Jerez! I understand that it is an important test for all of the Formula One teams also.

“Every mile counts particularly with the current testing situation so I will prepare myself well over the next few weeks and be ready to help the team carry out their programme. Of course, I always want to be on top and beat the other guys but I have to be realistic and focus on my own opportunity.

“I will try to learn as much as possible; I want to work closely with the team and see how all of the guys operate. My dream is to reach F1 and I hope this is the beginning of a good relationship with the team.”

Bortolotti’s Toro Rosso outing will be his second taste of Formula One power. The 19-year-old took part in a test for Ferrari in November 2008, after winning the Italian Formula Three title.

British Formula Three champion Daniel Ricciardo will make his Formula One test debut with Red Bull next month. Ricciardo, who visited the outfit’s UK headquarters in Milton Keynes for a seat fitting this week, will be in action at the Spanish circuit of Jerez from December 1-3.

“This is something I’ve dreamed about since I can remember, so I’m really looking forward to it,” the Australian told Red Bull’s official website. “No way did I think I’d be getting this at the end of the year. I’m feeling very, very excited to be here and to see the seat’s getting done.”

The 20 year-old, who has been a Red Bull Junior driver for the last two seasons, scored six wins and 275 points on his way to clinch the 2009 British Formula Three championship. Last season he raced in Formula Renault, winning the Western European Cup.

Ahead of his December run, Ricciardo has spent time in the team’s Formula One simulator and carried out an aero test.

“The F1 car is just a more wild piece of machinery,” he added. “The brakes are probably the biggest thing – the stopping power they have is quite huge. Mentally you have to be more switched on as well as, obviously, everything’s coming at you so much faster.”

Team drivers are not allowed to test until February 2010.