Below there are three reviews of the 2009 season. Enjoy …

The survival of the British Grand Prix would appear to be looming as Silverstone bosses have announced that the Northamptonshire venue is close to signing a deal. Circuit owners have a fortnight on Wednesday in which to confirm a contract with Formula 1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone as signed and sealed.

With Wednesday 9 December highlighted as the date by which Silverstone must be ready to either accept or decline a deal, Richard Phillips is confident. “I don’t think there are any real stumbling blocks, we’re going through the last details of the deal.” the Managing Director of Silverstone Holdings explained to BBC Radio Northampton.

“I’m pretty convinced that it will be run at Silverstone next year. There is a lot of detail to go through, so if you make a mistake, there’s a long time to repent; you can come to high level agreements quickly but the devil is in the detail – we’re very, very close.”

With the now cash-strapped Donington Park having been granted a lease of 17 years due to start next season, Silverstone is unlikely to take on this although being host of the Grand Prix for the next decade is a definite target. “We certainly would like the contract to be for more than 10 years, that’s the minimum.” Phillips confirmed.

He added that Silverstone – despite knowing that Donington had won the rights to the event – has always been planning to host the race, should the Midlands circuit’s circumstances allow it. “We always had the faith that the Grand Prix would return.” he admitted. “We’ve been planning for more than a year – we’ll finish the track works in March and start on a new pits ready for 2011.”

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Pirelli has said that it is not considering a return to Formula One following the news on Monday that Bridgestone will no longer be a fixture in the sport from 2011 onwards. With the F1’s sole tyre supplier due to leave after just one more season, more changes are imminent.

With Michelin having pulled out of F1 at the end of 2006 as Bridgestone was selected as sole supplier for 2008 onwards, the Japanese company effectively inherited the role prematurely in 2007. This week, however, Bridgestone joins Toyota in being another major Japanese company to walk away from the sport.

With governing body the FIA now on the lookout for a new supplier, Pirelli has ruled itself out. "Pirelli’s previous position on F1 hasn’t changed." a spokeswoman for the Italian firm is quoted as saying by Reuters. "Pirelli prefers to develop tyres for racing that will also be used on the road. Pirelli sponsors Superbikes, the World Rally Championship and GT2."

The Milan-based company has started 203 Grands Prix in the past, with the first ever Formula One win – courtesy of Giuseppe Farina’s Alfa Romeo – coming on Pirelli tyres at Silverstone in 1950. The Benetton of Nelson Piquet’s clinched the last Pirelli Grand Prix victory to date for in Canada in 1991.

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Here are a few wallpapers, all taken during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of 2009. Click on the preferred size of a picture to see the actual wallpaper.

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Toyota has become the third major car manufacturer to pull out of Formula One in the space of twelve months. With word of the exit having circulated already, confirmation of the Japanese marque’s decision came on Wednesday; the news does, however, mean that there is now space on the grid for the Qadbak-owned Sauber outfit.

With Honda having pulled the plug on its F1 project last December and the same news coming from BMW in July, the latter’s Hinwil-based team now looks to have secured a position on the 2010 grid after Toyota’s announcement arrived.

Having moved out of rallying at the end of the last decade to concentrate on its F1 plan, the Cologne-based team first moved onto the grid in 2002 with Mika Salo and Allan McNish as the driver line-up. Despite its significant budget, no podium result would come until the Malaysian Grand Prix of 2005, courtesy of Jarno Trulli, who followed up on the success to grab pole position at Indianapolis the same year.

Along with Brawn and Williams, Toyota looked to have finally succeeded in gaining an advantage over the rest of the field by being an early developer of a revolutionary double diffuser this season, although the red and white cars eventually fell back into the midfield as the likes of McLaren and Ferrari became stronger.

Toyota’s declaration this week underlines the ever-present economic issues of the sport following teams’ refusal to support a budget cap earlier in the year.

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