Hello and welcome to another edition of TGTB&TB, a weekly run down of all the ins and outs of Formula One, generally from one Wednesday to another. For those of you who are new, the column is split into three sections: The Good, where I’ll be focusing on the stories that I like or amuse me; The Bad, stories that don’t; and The Backmarkers, stories concerning the slower cars on the grid, mainly Lotus, Virgin and Hispania, with a sprinkling of Sauber. On with the column!

The Good

Although the annual driver’s merry-go-round doesn’t really kick in until the end of the summer, this year’s speculation has already started, focusing on who will be sat alongside Fernando Alonso at Ferrari next season. The purple patch that Mark Webber has found himself in has, in some circles, put him favourite to replace Felipe Massa, something which at the start of the season was pretty much unthinkable. Another man on form is the lead driver for Renault, Robert Kubica. Previous readers will know of the French teams usual placing in The Good after most races, especially after Kubica’s podiums in Australia and Monaco. But, have both men really done enough to be offered a place at Maranello?

Webber has the experience, and has mastered a car which in turn has mastered the 2010 version of the regulations. His experience throughout his career in weaker cars is probably his greatest strength. His luck has been an issue, almost jinxing Williams into the state they’re in now, having good finishes snatched away from him through mechanical issues, and even five non-scoring finishes in a row after scoring that elusive first win in Germany last year. The mindset he now has is his key asset, knowing how to deal with those situations, brush himself off and move on. The rise of Webber is parallel with the rise of Red Bull, and he has grown with the team. Moving into a institution like Ferrari though, may be a bit too much.

Kubica has tasted a sustained driver’s title push only as little as two years ago, before a dip in form, and BMW’s change of focus to the next year’s car, dropped him out of the running. Arguably the most consistent man outside of McLaren and Ferrari that year, the withdrawal of BMW at the end of the next left him without a drive. This year’s consistent form at Renault has brought the spotlight back to him, made extra special as the car is not on pace with McLaren and Ferrari, and still nowhere near Red Bull.

Both drivers are worthy of at least a try at Massa’s seat, and the battle between them both over the remaining rounds, starting this Sunday in Turkey, will be a straight fight, winner take all.

Speaking of Red Bull, rumours have started that the team will be selling it’s naming rights to a “luxury brand” starting next season, reportedly for an estimated £30m. Cue the alcohol based jokes. Smirnoff Vodka Red Bull anyone?

The Bad

Force India doesn’t get a lot of mentions in this column, not because I don’t like them, just because they don’t do anything of note. This week they make it as they have decided against running Paul Di Resta in Friday practice in Turkey this weekend so their race drivers can get used to the new upgrades they’ll be bringing. On the Formula1FanCast Forums, I brought up the lack of track time for Friday drivers already, and this decision only backs up what I was saying; no young drivers get the chance they used to in F1 anymore. Prevously mentioned drivers Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica got their chance through running cars in Friday practice, then being promoted to the race seat because of that. Other current drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and Kamui Kobayashi also had testing roles before stepping into race seats.

The ban on testing has also helped remove younger drivers from the opportunities of race seats. We all understand why the ban was put in place (carbon footprint and all that), but it’s just too much to ask of a driver to test for maybe 3 sessions at the start of the year, then step into the same car halfway through the season and be expected perform. Ask Luca Badoer. There is no feasibility of lifting the testing ban, so should every team name a Friday driver? Maybe, but the sport needs a young driver programme to support and nurture drivers into the sport in the safest way possible.

The Backmarkers

Big news for Hispania fans this week; the team has severed links with the Italian car maker Dallara. The car has had upgrades delivered, and have been running them since Spain, but questions have been raised whether the team can keep pushing as much out of this car as possible, or move on to 2011 after only six rounds. Both technical advisor Geoff Willis and reserve driver Chris Klien have been outspoken in the product the team received. In my eyes, no more upgrades means no more speed, so 2011 is the more feasible target. I just hope the money doesn’t dry up before either another supplier or the necessary equipment, then they really will be in trouble.

Lotus won’t use KERS in 2011, according to team boss Tony Fernandes, due to the team sourcing parts all of this year and building up to replacing those parts with in-house ones next year. That’s pretty understandable, as the inclusion of KERS last year meant a massive risk on weight distribution, and for a team like Lotus it’s about doing what they know until they can do it well. Adding more development issues such as including KERS will only slow down the teams aim to be established as soon as possible.

That’s it for this week’s rants and/or raves. Did you agree or disagree? I want to know! Don’t forget to check out all the other weekly articles on the site, including the first edition of a new column The 3-Stop Strategy, and it’s still not to late to check out the Monaco edition of The Top 5 as well. Finally, don’t forget to put your thoughts down in words in the Forums, the only place for F1 banter. See you in seven days!

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