BMW & Williams keep same webmaster after split?

Despite what appears to be an acrimonious split between BMW and Williams, they've both just unveiled new websites for 2006 which look remarkably similar in concept. Both feature an F1 car covered with a shroud. The Williams site shows a little bit of tyre (Bridgestone), while the BMW site shows a completely covered car.

Both also feature a count-down to when the new cars will be unveiled: BMW in 5 days, Williams in 15 days.

On the subject of websites, the Midland F1 website is properly live now, and the Scuderia Toro Rosso site also has some more material. Still waiting for Super Aguri to put their website live, though...

Why Narain Karthikeyan should accept Williams offer

Narain Karthikeyan is apparently considering accepting an offer of a second 'Firday drive' at Williams for 2006, alongside Alex Wurz. While this may seem to be a fairly poor offer on the face of it, it could be the only chance he has to prove his worth and spring back into a race seat in 2007 or 2008.

The ex-Midland driver's other option could be a seat at Super Aguri, although this seems unlikely since his sponsorship conflicts with Honda's sponsorship of Aguri, besides any other doubts about the availability of the seat. A seat at Super Aguri would not give Karthikeyan a good chance to prove his skill, while at Williams, he'll have an opportunity to prove he can out-pace other highly respected drivers, which could re-start his ailing career in F1.

Super Aguri may change drivers mid-season

There's been talk for a while that Super Aguri may run only Japanese drivers. Perhaps they're confusing Formula 1 with A1GP, which is nation-based...

This appears to put Anthony Davidson out of the running for a seat, which is a real shame, since he's from my home town of Hemel Hempstead and so of course gets my support.

However, Super Aguri have indicated that Anthony Davidson might still be in the running for a seat mid-season, when the team's new chassis is introduced at Imola. Anthony Davidson would no doubt go with the blessing of current team Honda since they're sponsoring Aguri, and have already indicated that they will not stand in the way of a race seat for Davidson.

This announcement was made by Aguri Managing Director Daniele Audetto. Source: F1Central.net

Perhaps it's not enough to have lots of sponsorship

Poor Narain Karthikeyan . The prospects of a 2006 drive seem to be slipping away from him, despite quite a lot of sponsorship. Of course, drivers come and go, but Narain is immensely popular in India, often called 'the fastest Indian in the world'. If Narain doesn't obtain a 'Friday' drive with a team for 2006, it'll dash the hopes of a nation.

However, Karthikeyan only actually announced his 2005 drive in February, so maybe he'll be lucky and obtain a late offer.