3 For the Price of 1 at Valencia Today!

As Testing was about to get underway around the Spanish circuit Mercedes, STR and Williams showed us their 2010 challengers.

Firstly, Mercedes. With all the glitz and glamour of last week in Stuttgart, this was very low-key for the German marque but with a day's testing ahead there was little time for more than a simple photo shoot.

The car itself is obviously similar tot year's with just a few changes. The sidepods and attached sideplates in particular show obvious echoes to last year's Brawn. As most of the teams seem to be doing, Mercedes has gone with a shark fin over the engine cover. Theirs is more refined though; not flamboyant like the McLaren or overbearing like the Sauber but purposeful, efficient - very German. The biggest difference is apparent with the nose; where the Brawn's was low and 'Hoover - like' this has obvious bearings with the Red Bull; higher with humps halfway along.

Overall, this Mercedes looks good; not as good as the Brawn looked, and I certainly don't expect it to have the performance advantage that the Brawn did but good nonetheless. In its favour however, is that this car should have the most advanced diffuser of the whole field and now the shell is designed to fit the Mercedes engine which should also help to optimise performance.

***

The STR5 is the first Toro Rosso not to be inherited from the parent Red Bull team and so it represents the first time this constructor is fully independent. Mind you, they had a pretty good car as a base (last year's Toro Rosso was the same as the Red Bull so ended the year as the best chassis in F1).

I don't think that the designers have done much out of the ordinary with this car; there is a shark fin, humps on the nose and an aggressive look to the overall package. All of this sounds good, but considering they were features present on the STR4, nothing groundbreaking has come out of the Italian minnows design office this year.

What worries me about Toro Rosso is that they used to be Minardi (perennial strugglers in F1) and they haven't run their own programme since then. However, with a base from Red Bull and an engine from Ferrari there is no reason why this team shouldn't be in the midfield mix at least.

***

Finally to Williams, champions of old who are looking to return to the sharp end. This car is supposed to represent a big move forward from last year. However, they didn't have an official launch and decided just to reveal the car when they hit the track. As yet there aren't many photos to make an impression from but I have to say that I'm not convinced.

If the nose is anything to go by, this could prove to be one of the most individual and distinctive designs on the grid. It almost seems like the front wing is an inconvenient hassle rather than a necessary aerodynamic device. Having said that, it doesn't look bad and could prove to be an effective solution.

Maybe function is the philosophy with this car; a place for everything and everything in its place - a no nonsense chassis, simple (if not yet proven) Cosworth engine and experienced driver (in the form of Barrichello) - very functional.