Valentino Rossi was overjoyed - perhaps as much as onlookers were surprised - at the Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday as the MotoGP World Champion concluded his Ferrari Formula 1 test with a highly impressive lap time.

MotoGP star Valentino Rossi has concluded his two-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya, though once again his programme was affected by the weather.

Pedro de la Rosa has received backing from Spanish banking group Santander ahead of his full-time comeback season in Formula 1. The Barcelona-born driver was confirmed at Sauber on Tuesday alongside Kamui Kobayashi, having last raced in F1 for McLaren at the end of the 2006 season.

McLaren has begun a contract with its next racing protégé, 14-year-old Dutchman Nyck de Vries, who joins the company's young driver development programme and is managed by Anthony Hamilton, father and Manager of 2008 World Champion Lewis.

McLaren has signed Dutch kart racer Nyck de Vries to its young driver development programme. The 14-year-old will be managed by Anthony Hamilton and the Hamilton Management Group, who firmly believe in Nyck's status as an up-and-coming junior racer.

Kimi Raikkonen on a F1 return, McLaren sign up another rising star, plus other stories and rumours

Jarno Trulli admits that Lotus cannot dream of expectations as high those of former team Toyota, as he moves to the brand-new Norfolk-based squad this season. Impressed by the facilities that the 1Malaysia-run outfit has to offer, however, the Italian confesses that his situation is better than he had expected.

Kimi Räikkönen has said that he will wait until later in the year before deciding whether to return to Formula 1 next season. The Finn is rallying in the World Championship with Red Bull's Citroën Junior Team this year, having clinched the F1 title in 2007.

World Champion Jenson Button will soon be honoured in hometown Frome as a footbridge is named after him. The McLaren driver, who won the title with Brawn GP last year, celebrated his 30th birthday on Tuesday and will be handed the recognition by Frome Town Council.

Felipe Massa will continue his rehabilitation from injury by testing a 2008 Ferrari on Friday.

Former double World Champion Fernando Alonso has sported Ferrari's new Santander livery, courtesy of an outing at Paul Ricard for a television commercial. With the Spaniard driving last year's car, the new colour scheme features chiefly white sections for both the front and rear wings.

Valentino Rossi was pleased to see the sun come out late on Thursday morning as his second of two days of testing a 2008 Ferrari began in Spain. With a dash of rain having hit the Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday, clear blue skies now signal low chances of a repetition.

Dieter Gass, former chief race and test engineer of the Toyota team, has followed in the footsteps of driver Jarno Trulli and joined Lotus F1, GPUpdate.net can confirm on Thursday. The move has also been mirrored by Gianluca Pisanello, Race Engineer to Trulli.

Mark Gallagher, Cosworth's General Manager for Formula 1, has described the company as one 'picking up the pieces' this year after several key manufacturers pulled out of the sport.

The Ferrari team is the first to show off its racing colours for the upcoming season. This year, its legendary scarlet red is joined by more white than in 2009 due to the arrival of new title sponsor Santander. Former double Champion Fernando Alonso will also be racing with a predominantly blue crash helmet.

Valentino Rossi was pleased with the amount of progress made as he started his 2-day test at the wheel of the Ferrari F2008 on Wednesday. The 7-time MotoGP World Champion was rewarded the run for winning his latest title and managed to cover some 300 kilometres (186 miles) despite a sprinkling of rain.

McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh is satisfied to see Pedro de la Rosa back in a full-time Formula 1 race seat this year. The Spaniard has tested for McLaren for the past seven seasons although the Barcelona driver is yet to enjoy a permanent race position since that with Jaguar back in 2002.