Arrows 2-seat F1 machine appears

The day was wet, but this was merely a minor setback for the assembled press and driver Mark Webber.

Webber commented, "The weather's making things a bit miserable but we're making the most of it and it isn't really altering the experience for the passengers. The car drives perfectly, and although the car is longer than a normal F1 car, it doesn't feel too different to drive - but it's exciting to have people in the back."

The journalists were taken around the circuit in a Volvo C70, ostensibly to familiarise themselves with the circuit, but this also had the useful side effect of giving the writers a 'normal' baseline against which to compare the F1 car.

BBC Top Gear's Vicki Butler-Henderson is not short of race-car driving experience, even having tried her hand behind the wheel of an F1 car. Even so, she was blown away by the experience. When asked if her previous drives compared, she answered

"Never anything quite as scary as this! In the seat I felt quite claustrophobic as it's such a tight space, but when we got going it was just so amazing. I felt very safe but found the experience quite physically demanding, and I wasn't even driving!"

The Sun's Sharon Hendry elaborated further on the physical stresses the two seater subjects its passengers to.

"It was actually really fun and you just have to totally put your trust in the hands of the driver. Before I went out in the car someone described it to me as an out of body experience, and it really did feel like that due to the g-force. My yoga breathing came in handy though - lots of deep breathing got me through it!"