Life in Formula 1 never stands still, and even in the depths of winter there's plenty of intrigue, gossip and innuendo, so we might as well start the 2019 season right here!

Other than the acknowledgement of Michael Schumacher's 50th birthday, which was marked by a statement from his family which didn't really say anything about his condition or prospects, the motorsport press has really woken up this week with the news of Maurizio Arrivabene's not entirely voluntary departure from Ferrari.

Reading between the lines, it seems that this parting of ways was always on the cards, with the late Sergio Marchionne, who appointed the former Marlboro PR man in the first place, as the instigator of his departure. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there was some friction between Arrivabene and technical chief Mattia Binotto, and the Ferrari board decided that they would rather lose Arrivabene than the man responsible for moving Ferrari to the forefront of technical innovation, and find themselves competing against him once any gardening leave period had expired. Binotto is a Ferrari man through and through, having been involved with the Formula 1 team in one capacity or other since 1995.

Arrivabene, according to Mark Hughes, seemed to confuse leadership with being bombastic, and his attitude towards the press didn't exactly win friends and influence people, so expect knives to be sharpened over the next few weeks. At the end of the day somebody had to take the blame for what has been described as "the best car, run by the worst team" in 2018.

Away from Ferrari, and to nobody's surprise Helmut Marko has been talking to the press about the new Red Bull/Honda partnership. If you want to, you can read about it here: https://www.pitpass.com/63758/Marko-...-to-tempt-fate

New car launches begin in mid-February, in advance of the first pre-season Test which begins on February 18th. Hopefully, this year's first Test won't be curtailed by snow, and the teams can get some meaningful running in.

One more snippet of not particularly good news is that Niki Lauda was readmitted to hospital in Vienna having spent Christmas with his family at home in Ibiza and contracted flu. Niki underwent a double lung transplant late last year, and was making a good recovery according to reports, but his weakened immune system left him vulnerable. He is expected to be released later this week.