Testing, Testing
In which I get excited to see cars go round a track again. Plus the usual updates on words written, read, and spoken.
It’s that time of the year when my sporting obsession fires into life again with the start of F1 Pre-Season Testing. For three days this week, we get to watch the new cars being shaken down to see if the latest design ideas and tweaks the teams have spent the winter developing have worked.
Sure at times it’s not the most entertaining spectacle watching cars just pounding around the track - but it was just good to see the new 2025 cars in action.
As this is the fourth generation and last year of the current design rules there were no real surprises. And with just two days done as I write this, what have we learned so far?
Day One:
Lando Norris was quicker overall on the day. His McLaren looked dialed in.
The Ferrari looked quick in a straight line but lacked a bit of downforce in the corners.
The five rookie drivers did a solid job with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli the fastest of the bunch.
Haas had a different run plan that sacrificed speed for heavy fuel-load reliability distance runs putting in more mileage than any other team.
Every team managed to run a minimum of a full Grand Prix distance.
Day Two:
Carlos Sainz in the Williams was the fastest on the day, which was unexpected and a sign of how quickly he has come to grips with his new ride and it appears the car has made a big step forward.
Alpine seems to be in a better position at the start of this season than they were at the start of last season.
A better day from Ferrari.
Red Bull’s program was delayed by an apparent water leak.
In the surprise rain shower, only Haas ventured out to test on wet weather tires.
I’m now keyed up and looking forward to the start lights going out on the first race in Australia in two weeks.
Alan
Other Stuff
Welcome new folks
Wow, it’s crazy to think that this week sees the 100th edition of this newsletter.
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Brabazon Bits
One of my favorite parts of the book writing process. Mug of coffee and red pen at the ready. Time to do the final galley proofs check. I had a busy time last weekend reading back through the Brabazon book. It was fun to revisit it.
Just a reminder that we will celebrate the UK launch of the Brabazon book at the Aerospace Bristol Museum on Saturday, June 7th.
I have started to book some podcast interviews to talk about the writing of the book, as well as the Brabazon’s story. - The first one is scheduled for this coming week. I’ll be posting the link once it goes live.
“Bristol Brabazon: The Ocean Liner of the Skies and its Ongoing Legacy” will be published on 30 MAY, 2025 in the UK and 30 JULY, 2025 in the US.
There is now an increasing list of online bookstores where the book is available for preorder
Bookshop.org (US) - helps independent stores
Waterstones (UK) - Free shipping in the UK
Word Slinging
With all the podcasting recently the writing has been a little in the background but there has still been a bit of progress on the work-in-progress short story.
Work on the Casino Royale book has started up again with some planning for the next few chapters around the story behind why Casino Royale 1967 ended up as a multi-storyline comedy.
Podcast Procrastinations
It’s been a busy few weeks of talking about stuff.
Over the last few weeks at the On Her Majesty’s Secret Podcast network, we recorded an episode of Rogue Agents covering the second issue of the recent Dynamite Comics run Your Cold, Cold Heart. You can give it a listen here.
We have also recorded the next Bond vs SpyMovie episode in which we compared Sean Connery's return in Diamonds Are Forever with the 1971 British spy outing Catch Me A Spy starring Kirk Douglas. I’ll post the link once it goes live in the next few weeks.
I also had fun talking about the process and craft of writing for the Maryland Writers Association A Book Finds You podcast - more on that when it posts in a couple of weeks,
The latest Chronological Christie podcast episode on The Secret Adversary continues to generate interest and great feedback. We’ve been very pleased with the reception so far. As well as discussing the novel, we also chat about various TV adaptations and the graphic novel.
The next episode on The Murder on the Links has been recorded, edited, and staged ready for release in early March.
If you haven’t given the podcast a listen yet you can check it out at https://creators.spotify.com/pod/chronologicalchristie
And for updates and reminders, you can also follow the podcast's Instagram account @chronoligcalchristie
Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2025 - “High Performance: When Britain Ruled The Roads” by Peter Grimsdale.
If, like me, the names MG, Lotus, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Healy, or Chapman, Clark, Moss, and Hawthorn make you smile in nostalgic recognition - Then this is the book for you.
A delightfully written affectionate celebration of the period between the end of WW2 and the late 1960s when the British motor industry rose from the ashes and innovated its way to being one of the strongest in the world automotive market on both the road and race track.
Over at our online bookstore at Bookshop.org I’ve now added a new section listing books read so far in 2025, so you can pick up copies of any that interest you, while also helping out local independent bookstores.
Weekly Web Round-Up
Batman On The Cover - https://www.tumblr.com/batmanonthecover - We continue our chronological look at Batman’s publishing history as we move in to December 1969 with new issues of Detective Comics, Batman, Brave and the Bold, Justice League of America, and World’s Finest from DC Comics
My pick of the week isn’t the most artistic or even the best designed from that bunch - but it’s the one that means the most to me.
Given my love of motor racing and comics (as outlined in a recent edition of this very newsletter) this particular comic was a must-have when I started collecting. Yes Batman looks out of place in the car (and having it sponsored by Wayne Enterprise is a bit of a giveaway), and Wonder Woman isn’t in costume (this was her de-powered ‘Emma Peel’ period), but I still enjoy the action, the setup, and the sheer silliness of it.
Where on the Web is Alan?
You can now find links to all the places you can find me online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on my personal website.
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See you next time
Alan J. Porter
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