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Bernie Ecclestone will not be able to believe his eyes. For years, decades even, Formula 1's impresario has derided Silverstone, criticising one of the sport's most historic venues for being shabby and behind the times, at times effectively calling it a national disgrace.
No longer.
The full scale of the track's ambition to upgrade itself into a cutting edge 21st century facility to rival any on the grand prix calendar became clear on Monday, when Silverstone's managing director Richard Phillips gave a tour of the spectacular new pit complex. It was something of a culture shock.
While Ecclestone's criticisms of Silverstone were always exaggerated for effect, it is fair to say that in certain ways the circuit was a touch outmoded. Inevitably, perhaps, for a place that has grown organically over the years from its initial role as a World War II airfield, it has long felt a little cobbled together and rough around the edges.

The Silverstone Wing towers over the Northamptonshire track (Photo: Getty)
But the new pit complex, while still a building site, changes all that. Designed by the same architects as the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, the massive new structure bears comparison with those at some of the state-funded new generation of tracks in places such as Bahrain and China.
There may be no gleaming white hotel lit up with multicoloured LEDs such as in Abu Dhabi, but Silverstone's new 'Wing' is impressive nonetheless.
Whether you deem it attractive will be a personal opinion. Its angular roof, with an upturned 'blade' at one end, was intended to evoke a sensation of movement and speed, although the building reminded me a little of an aircraft carrier. But imposing it certainly is.
Three stories high and 390m long, it has cost £27m - a tiny fraction of the money poured into places such as Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, which have a dual role of also being monuments to their governments' global ambition.
There is no shortage of ambition at Silverstone, but it is a more modest one - to keep the British Grand Prix and host it in a facility of which F1 can be proud.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner joined the media on the tour, and was undoubtedly impressed, even if as a member of the British Racing Drivers' Club which owns Silverstone he was hardly unbiased.
"It's fantastic," he said. "It puts Silverstone right up with the best in the world. It's quite staggering, the scale of what's been built here.
"It gives the circuit a whole new scale and dimension. Silverstone has come in for criticism compared to rivals, certainly in some of the emerging markets, and this is phenomenal.
"It's great for British motorsport. It makes Silverstone a first-class facility. There have never been any question marks about the track itself. It is one of the last remaining serious challenges - Silverstone, Spa and Suzuka are the type of circuits the drivers revel in. And with the facilities now in place it makes it comparable with any other circuit in the world."
The redevelopment of the track followed negotiations with Ecclestone that led 18 months ago to a 17-year contract that should keep the grand prix at Silverstone until 2027.
Replacing the ageing old pit building was a non-negotiable part of the deal from Ecclestone's point of view. But Silverstone argued that it needed a long-term contract, previously unavailable, to give it the stability and security to commit to such a mammoth project. The 17-year deal complete with commitment to rebuild the facility was the result.
The first stage was a new track layout, which made its debut at last year's British Grand Prix. This new building, complete with new pit lane and paddock, is the final step, although a new visitor centre is also planned in the future.

Christian Horner and Silverstone managing director Richard Phillips praised the new developments
It needed to be impressive - but it also needed to be cost-effective. Silverstone does not have the luxury of open-ended government finance to fund its development and, as Phillips put it, the new building must "pay for itself".
Much emphasis was put on the number of kitchens, and the building's ability to host up to 4,000 guests for hospitality events, the income from which is needed to balance the books in the face of the £300m Silverstone needs to find to fund the full duration of the F1 contract.
On Monday, the place was very much unfinished. Huge areas of what will be grass were churned up mud. Hard hats were required to go into the building. The pit lane was still being built. But already it is possible to see what a spectacular venue it could become.
Clearly, a lot of thought has gone into it.
The new pits are between Club and Abbey corners, at the other end of the track from the old pits. The architects have used the contours of the land to create an interesting situation where the pit-lane entry is above the level of the track, but the exit is below it, in a fashion not dissimilar to Abu Dhabi, but without the tunnel.
Team personnel will walk to the pit wall from the garages down paths between areas of lawn in what for some will be an echo of the old Silverstone 'village green' F1 paddock, which was replaced by a characterless asphalt one in the mid-1990s.
For spectators, there will be a new viewing area towards the end of the lap, complete with giant TV screens, which Phillips hopes will become Silverstone's version of 'Henman Hill' at Wimbledon.
And the redevelopment will have an intriguing impact on the racing.
Moving the pits means Copse will no longer be the first corner, but does create the enticing prospect of a full field of cars streaming together into the brilliant new flat-out Abbey right-hand kink, which last season immediately entered the track's list of great corners.
On the old layout, after Copse, the cars veered through high-speed bends at Becketts and Stowe and did not reach an overtaking point until Vale - more than halfway around the lap. Now, a quick left-hander, which is barely a corner, is quickly followed by the slow Loop hairpin, by which point the field will still be bunched together. As Horner put it, with raised eyebrows belying the understatement, it should be "fairly exciting".
And that seems a pretty fair summation of the future for Silverstone. Frustrated by short-term contracts and the constant threat of the race being taken away, this much-needed new development has been a long time coming. But now it's here, it seems the track can look forward to many successful years of Formula 1.
"It takes a lot to impress Bernie," Horner said, "but I think he will be pleased with what he sees here. He's given it a bit of flak in recent years and if that is what has provoked this, it's been well worth it."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/silverstone.html
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Sebastien Buemi, who has enjoyed a promising start to the new season with the Toro Rosso team, takes his turn in the hot seat in our new-look classic Formula 1 series.
For those unfamiliar with the format, BBC Sport has asked all the F1 drivers for their five favourite grands prix. Those choices will then be serialised before every race this season in order to whet your appetites for the action ahead. Highlights will be shown on this website and the red button on BBC television in the UK.
The first two drivers to reveal their top-five picks were world champion Sebastian Vettel and countryman Michael Schumacher.
Buemi - a 22-year-old Swiss - is next. He may not be as famous as Vettel or Schumacher but he has come up with some interesting choices.
Unlike Vettel and Schumacher before him, Buemi has, for the most part, picked races that he does not feature in - perhaps because he is in only his third season in F1.
Nor has he chosen the incident for which he is perhaps most famous for - the crash during practice for last year's Chinese GP when both wheels came off his car simultaneously.
What he has done is pick four iconic races from F1's recent history, plus an event that resonates particularly with him:
1) The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, the first of two infamous collisions in title-deciding races at Suzuka between arch-rivals Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
This one was at the chicane - Prost turned in on McLaren team-mate Senna when the Brazilian tried to overtake him and the two collided. The Frenchman was out of the race, but Senna rejoined and went on to win, before being controversially disqualified, handing the title to Prost.
2) The 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, the second of two infamous collisions between Prost and Senna at Suzuka. This time, the two men only reached the first corner.
Senna, after being beaten away from pole position by Prost's Ferrari, was determined the Frenchman would not make the corner and barged into the back of his car at 160mph. The incident took both drivers out of the race and left Senna as champion.
3) The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, a dramatic race from start-to finish, including what Buemi describes as "the biggest pile-up ever" on lap one.
The race is actually infamous for two incidents - the 13-car pile-up at the start that Buemi is referring to and Michael Schumacher's retirement after he had run his Ferrari into the back of David Coulthard's McLaren in appalling visibility.
The Scot was trying to let Schumacher lap him but the German, who could not see very well in the spray, did not realise his rival had slowed down and made contact. Given he was in a title fight with Coulthard's team-mate Mika Hakkinen, Schumacher sensed a conspiracy and charged down the pit lane to remonstrate with Coulthard. The two men had to be physically separated.
The incident left Damon Hill in the lead ahead of Jordan team-mate Ralf Schumacher. After team boss Eddie Jordan instructed Schumacher not to try to race Hill, the two finished one-two for Jordan's first F1 win.
4) The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix - famous for the nail-biting climax to the world championship, which hung in the balance until the final corner of the final lap.
With Ferrari's Felipe Massa driving to a dominant victory, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton needed to finish fifth to win the title. But the race did not go well for the Briton, who started the last lap in sixth, having lost fifth place to Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.
In the Ferrari pit, team personnel - including Massa's father - celebrated as their man crossed the line. But then came a dramatic late twist. With rain falling increasingly hard, Hamilton, who was on wet tyres, closed inexorably on the Toyota of Timo Glock, who was struggling on untreaded dry tyres. Hamilton eventually passed the German as they accelerated out of Juncao corner on to the start-finish straight for the final time, prompting delirium at McLaren and despair at Ferrari.
5) The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix, which Buemi has picked for two reasons. Firstly, it was Red Bull's first win, with Vettel leading home team-mate Mark Webber.
Secondly, Buemi, who had made his debut in Australia just two races previously, scored points for the second time in his short career. He had finished seventh on his debut in a race marked by very high attrition. In China, he drove superbly to finish eighth on merit, ahead of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica and Giancarlo Fisichella.
We have chosen one race to highlight by embedding it in this blog - and we have opted for the 2009 Chinese race. Long highlights are below, with links to shorter highlights underneath. There are also links to long and short highlights of Jenson Button's brilliant victory in last year's Chinese Grand Prix. This year's Chinese race is Sunday, of course.
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WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2009 CHINESE GRAND PRIX
WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 CHINESE GRAND PRIX
WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 CHINESE GRAND PRIX
We are also making available the full BBC 'Grand Prix' highlights programme from one of Buemi's other choices - the 1989 Japanese GP. The programme is being broadcast for the first time since the evening of the race 22 years ago - and you can watch it here.
The classic races will be shown on the red button on BBC digital television in the UK from 1400 BST on Wednesday, 13 April until 0830 BST on Saturday, 16 April.
On Freeview, they will be available from 0415-0545 BST and 1915-2315 BST on Thursday, 14 April and 0040-0255 BST and 0435-0655 BST on Friday, 15 April.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/classic_f1_2011_-_sebastian_bu.html
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In Shanghai
Rookie Paul di Resta has been the subject of high praise in the Formula 1 paddock in Shanghai after scoring a point in each of his first two races.
The Scottish Force India driver was even likened by one journalist to French legend Alain Prost, another rookie who collected points on his debut.
Praise does not come much higher than that - Prost, who first burst on to the F1 scene with McLaren in 1980, went on to win four world championships and 51 grands prix.
But Di Resta is refusing to get caught up in the hype bubbling around him because he views his performances in Australia and Malaysia somewhat differently.
"All I can say is that we expected a bit more but for whatever reason it didn't quite come," Di Resta told BBC Sport.
"It's nice to get [my first points] out the way at the first and second grands prix.
"But that is the job we're out there to do and it has been a realistic target on both occasions."
Talking to Di Resta in Shanghai, I was impressed by his aura of almost palpable steeliness mixed with calm. Here is a man with a definite plan.
If the main priority on his F1 tick-list was collecting his first F1 points, then the second is beating the man in the same machinery.
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Di Resta, who was signed by Force India in January after learning the ropes last season as the team reserve, has already out-qualified team-mate Adrian Sutil twice and finished one place ahead of the German in Malaysia.
He had also been ahead of Sutil in Melbourne but the pair swapped places in the pits because they were running on different strategies and Di Resta crossed the line just behind Sutil in 10th.
"You can gauge yourself against your team-mate," added Di Resta. "And I've got a lot of respect for Adrian.
"I'd like to keep it where it's been and through the races I'm gaining more confidence. I did get the better of him in Malaysia but it's not always going to be like that.
"I wouldn't say he has to be afraid. Adrian is very quick and he's established, all I can say is that our performance has been comparable."
Winning a place in F1 has also given Di Resta, who is the cousin of the three-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti, a second chance to test his mettle against his former rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
In his junior career, Di Resta raced against the future F1 world champions, notably beating his then team-mate Vettel to the Formula Three Euroseries crown in 2006 when the German was already dipping his toe into F1 as a tester for BMW Sauber.
Now he has returned to competition with his teenage rivals, does Di Resta think they have grown beyond him in terms of talents?
"They've got good equipment and they're good drivers but at the same time I don't think that anybody's special," he added.
"It's been good [to be competing against them] but at the same time they are a little bit up the end of the grid.
"I'd like to be racing against them. One day I'm sure we will be but I'm not going to compare myself against Sebastian when I'm not in the same car."

Di Resta has out-qualified his experienced team-mate in both races so far. Photo: Getty
And what if Di Resta was alongside Vettel in the second Red Bull?
"I'd be hopeful I'd be as competitive as Sebastian," he added.
"How much he has developed and how much I've developed from 2006 no-one will ever now until we are in the same position again."
Di Resta is refreshingly clear and open about where he finds himself in his fledging F1 career and where he wants to go.
But there are two points on which the Scot would not be drawn; what his ultimate aim is for 2011 and what difficulties he is contending with.
"I've tried not to think about personal targets at the moment," added Di Resta, whose preparations for the Chinese Grand Prix were hampered by a fuel-pressure problem that kept him consigned to the pits for second practice on Friday. "It's too early to do that.
"I'll take it week by week but what I've achieve I want more now of - and you keep wanting more until you've got it.
"I'm not going to speculate on what [I find difficult] as there are people who will pick up on it and I believe that on the outside you need to show you're strong.
"That is the whole idea of competitive nature, you pick someone's weak bits and you bounce on top of it."
There is one wish, however, that Di Resta is happy to talk about and that is the treat he would like for his 25th birthday, which he celebrates this weekend.
"I'd like some more points," he says instinctively. "I'd like some nice cars but there is plenty of time later in life for that, so I'll take some more points."
POST-QUALIFYING UPDATE, 1100 BST, SATURDAY 16 APRIL:
Di Resta's quest to end his birthday weekend on a high with more points to add to his tally was given a nice boost by a career-best qualifying performance in Shanghai.
The 25-year-old had not done any qualifying simulations during his limited running on Friday but he battled his way into the top-10 shoot-out for the first time and claimed eighth on the grid.
Di Resta, who passed Nico Rosberg of Mercedes in Malaysia and almost got the better of Michael Schumacher's Silver Arrow in a battle for ninth place, is now feeling confident he can move forwards during the race.
"Our race pace doesn't seem to be too bad," said Di Resta. "So fingers crossed we can pick up some points again."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sarahholt/2011/04/di_resta_takes_praise_in_his_s.html
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I'm sitting on the plane that is bringing me home from the opening trio of races, and I'm reminiscing.
I'm not daydreaming about the first time we heard the engines roar for 2011 in Albert Park, Sebastian Vettel's dominant start to the season, Vitaly Petrov flying or Lewis Hamilton's slow, steady reeling-in of Vettel this weekend.
Nope, I've gone a little further back: I'm re-living 1995. Trawling through the plane's CD library I've stumbled upon the breakthrough album Different Class by Pulp. It reminds me of my mum's pistachio green VW Polo, studying for my A-levels, David Coulthard's first Formula 1 win and me, at 17, thinking the world started and stopped at the Norfolk county border!
However, one thing slightly tainting the fun of air-drumming to Common People is that I've just realised Vettel would have been seven years old at that time. Ouch!
OK, I'm going to park memories of my oversized The Sweater Shop jumper - which was a must-have item for a lanky lad in Norwich in the mid-90s - and cast my mind back to the more recent memory of two races that have set the benchmark for the 2011 season.

Lewis Hamilton celebrates victory at the Chinese Grand Prix. Photo: Getty Images
To be totally honest, I think that, while we all enjoyed the opening round in Australia, it disguised just how frenetic this year is likely to be. I was chatting to some guys in the paddock on Sunday who were speculating that if that race was run again tomorrow, Pirelli would bring the even more marginal Supersoft tyre to Australia.
I think that is an indication of the success of having these new tyres. As DC said at the end of the commentary on Sunday: "Thank you Pirelli".
While I agree with that sentiment, I think we should be thanking F1. I've been sharing this flight with the likes of Ross Brawn of Mercedes, Williams designer Sam Michael and Paul Di Resta, who has been mightily impressive for Force India. Those three guys, and the rest of the designers, technicians, drivers and team principles up and down the pit lane, want cars that are fast in every circumstance.
The drivers ask for consistency and reliability, while the manufacturers want something that is so quick it helps shift their road cars. However, they have agreed to totally compromise their work for the sake of you guys sitting at home.
To improve the show. Vettel didn't want a car that simply "dropped off a cliff" as its tyres were worn at the end of Sunday's race. The strategists aren't keen on the pit wall resembling Air Traffic Control as they desperately try to outwit their opponents and make themselves look clever, and team bosses don't want to have to defend strategic mistakes after every race.
Look back to 12 months ago in Bahrain. Hardly an overtake, and most cars stopping once. This year the sport is totally unrecognisable, and it makes for compelling TV.
I don't envy the boys having to call such frenetic racing in the commentary box but I think they're doing well. Particularly DC, whose experience, knowledge, eagle-eyes and quick wit have surprised even me.
As for Martin Brundle, he's welcome to have his grid walk back! Logistically, it was impossible for him to do it in China so I bravely took on the challenge. But I have enough to think about doing 60 minutes of live TV pre-race, with stories developing around me, and I really didn't like having to doorstep the drivers. It felt a bit like walking into your office and shoving a microphone under your nose as you sit at your desk.
Martin has done more than 200 of them whereas Sunday was, believe it or not, the first time I've been on the grid pre-race. I'm just happy to have survived interviewing a seven-time world champion despite DC totally abandoning me!
After I'd finished that, it was time for the racing. Almost 60 stops in Malaysia, a further 55 in China. And amongst it all a chance to look like a real hero. McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh told me on the pit wall after the race that his team had actually got their strategy wrong and wanted to do only two stops.
Yet, while Vettel demonstrated that, even with his skills it was impossible to make such a tactic work, Hamilton and Mark Webber made a stop more and it paid dividends. In fact, the success of the tyres has totally overshadowed the introduction of DRS (Drag Reduction System) and re-introduction of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System).
It is clear the FIA is still fiddling with the DRS rear wing to encourage overtaking. I don't find it artificial as it still takes skill to make a move stick. What I think we need to avoid is drivers overtaking in only one place, following their rival and not making a move until they can use their DRS advantage. We may also see two zones in Turkey.
You couldn't accuse Lewis of lacking ambition when overtaking though, could you? I was watching the race unfold in the McLaren hospitality area and while everyone was leaping around, hands on heads, almost unable to believe what was happening, the messages coming in thick and fast on Twitter were almost identical.
A good example of the power of Twitter was someone tweeting me a photo of Fernando Alonso's DRS operating outside the prescribed zone. I told the producer what I'd seen and the guys in VT called up the same clip and played it to the nation while Martin and David commented on it.
Anyway, the Pulp album has now rolled around to Monday Morning so I'm going to return to the 90s and leave you guys to a lovely shortened working week. We've stacks of stuff planned for a few weeks' time when we get to Turkey.
Thanks for setting your alarms in your droves the past month - it's good to know that plenty of you were watching as we marched around the pit lane and paddock. Below are my five favourite moments of the season so far - here's hoping for plenty more until 27 November!
1. Lewis's interview in the garage after his first win of the season. He was as open, honest and relaxed as I've ever seen him. I was blown away by the clarity of thought that he described as he closed in on Sebastian.
2. Petrov''s podium. What a car Renault have produced this year, and how cool was Vitaly in Australia? The first ever Russian podium in F1 and a great reward for the team's faith in him.
3. Eddie Jordan totally forgetting his question to Jenson Button on the F1 Forum in Malaysia. Thankfully DC stepped in as JB and I were both corpsing at that moment. Classic EJ and I missed him in China.
4. The RB7. Adrian Newey is an enigmatic individual who seems to have a God-given ability to design the most incredible racing cars - Williams, McLaren, Red Bull. They must all be so grateful they could afford him.
5. The racing. Paul Di Resta beating his classy team-mate Adrian Sutil, Felipe Massa beating Fernando Alonso, Vettel's dominance, Webber's doggedness, Team Lotus mixing it with the midfield and Kamui Kobayashi's racing instinct. Bodes well for the next seven months, eh?
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2011/04/new_season_providing_memories.html
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