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It was an interesting way of hearing the views of the key figures in the Williams team - each would take their seat with us for one of four small courses of brunch, then be whisked off to another table for the next, to be replaced by someone else. Sir Frank arrived at the table and, asked of his opinions on the forthcoming season, replied: "It's looking like a rerun of last year, isn't it?" Which was not to say that the team isn't giving its all in trying to improve, but that the realistic picture - as can be seen from the pre- season test 'grid' at the front of this week's issue - shows Ferrari/McLaren out front fighting only each other, well clear of the same tight upper midfield group as last year. But however similar the competitive hierarchy turns out to be, the hope is that the off-track politics don't spill over into the championship the way they did in '07. The ramifications of the espionage case are still very much in Frank's thoughts. "One hundred million dollars!" he says. "That has got to hurt [McLaren]. I think it was calculated very carefully so as to badly hurt but not quite cripple them." Someone then asked if he thought the penalty was justified, and he tellingly said he was frightened to answer that question. "Max [Mosley] has cast himself as the avenger and now stands victorious with his sword bloodied. And we, the teams, are all cowed." © 2021 Autosport
In the magazine: Wheldon the Lionheart In AUTOSPORT magazine this week, we reflect on the life of Dan Wheldon with those who knew him best, and remember the day, just a month before his death, when he showed off IndyCar's staircase of talent Mag 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... A law that invariably applies in racing: the genie will not go back into the bottle once released F1 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... Competitors entering motorsport are getting ever-younger - but are even the youngest missing out on a crucial age in physiological development? F1 
MPH: Mark Hughes on... So, team orders failed to secure the world championship for Fernando Alonso. But neither he, nor the Ferrari team, can function happily – or truly effectively – any other way F1
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The Formula Vee maverick who has reached the top For a second consecutive year, a self-built machine has won the Formula Vee championship. But James Harridge's 'Maverick' comes from the very humblest of origins - with some parts even salvaged from a skip National 
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