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Formula One and ads don’t really go together any more now that the BBC has taken over from ITV (at least in the UK.)

No longer do we need to worry about missing something vital just as the producer cuts to an ad break – although for those without the ability to pause live TV this has been replaced with the new problem of when to go for a ‘comfort break’.

But just because we hate ads interrupting races doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate a good commercial on our own time.  So with that in mind, here are five of the best F1-themed adverts, ever.

Sky – Monsters: The awesome Sky ad on the right is by Italian advertising agency 1861.  It is worth having a browse around their site just to see some of their other print and video work.

Tag Heuer – The Duel: In 1969, Tag Heuer introduced the world’s first automatic chronograph.  The ‘Monaco’ was radical for its time in also being the first square-cased, water resitant watch in history.  A year later Steve McQueen wore a blue Monaco in the classic motor racing film Le Mans.  Now, forty years later, Lewis Hamilton stars alongside Steve McQueen in a video promoting the Monaco.  If you guess who will win you can win some nice prizes including a limited edition Monaco watch.

Honda – Impossible Dream: At the end of 2004 Honda were on a high.  Their engines had driven BAR to second place in the Constructors’ Championship in a season dominated by Schumacher and Ferrari.  In September of 2005 Honda purchased the remaining 55% of BAR to become an F1 constructor in their own right for the first time in nearly forty years.  Over the next few years Honda would slip further and further down the results before selling the team to Ross Brawn in 2009.

But in December of 2005 the future still looked bright for Honda and they released the ‘Impossible Dream’ commercial, featuring British actor Simon Day riding and driving various Hondas through the New Zealand countryside.  Starting on a monkey bike, he progresses from a Super Cub scooter to an ATV, an S500 sports car to a huge Gold Wing motor cycle to a FireBlade superbike.  He blasts an S2000 down a gravel road and a TT bike up through a forest.  An NSX, the supercar designed with Ayrton Senna’s help, makes an appearance before the beautiful 1965 RA272 F1 car morphs into the BAR 007.  Finally, Day drives a powerboat off the edge of a waterfall only to emerge in a hot-air ballon.

Unfortunately for Honda, it really was an impossible dream.

Shell – Refuelling: In 1997 Shell took an airplane, a Formula One car and some cameras deep into the Mojave Desert.  What they came out with was pure, unrefined awesomeness.

Shell – Circuit: We finish with another Ferrari/Shell ad that could possibly be the greatest motoring advert of all time.  ‘Circuit’ features a stunning array of Ferraris from the last 60 years driving the ultimate street circuit through Rome, New York, Rio, Hong Kong and Monaco.  The cars are beautiful but the sounds they make are sublime. Turn it up.

Ferrari have unexpectedly announced that they are terminating Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen’s contracts at the end of the 2009 season to make way for Lewis Hamilton and Felipe’s dad.

Neither of the two Ferrari cars finished the race at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday and despite both drivers having signed contracts until the end of 2010 it seems Ferrari have had enough of them both.

In a statement issued by Luca di Montezemolo the  Ferrari chairman said:

Australia was a terrible start to the 2009 season and neither of our drivers finished.  That’s just not good enough for Ferrari.  I mean, seriously, what are we paying these guys for?  Felipe’s a nice guy and all but I think it’s time we gave his dad a shot.

It is understood the two drivers will finish their season at the Scuderia this year although Massa’s dad is keen to step in as soon as possible:

I’ve spent the last twenty years preparing Felipe to win the Championship and when he finally gets the chance he blows it.  Well that’s it.  I’m going to show the kid how it’s done.

There had been rumours that Felipe’s dad would be making the move from race dad to race driver when Felipe said at the Australian Grand Prix:

He (Hamilton) is just another one, I don’t care. (MotoGP champion) Valentino Rossi as well and maybe my father will drive for Ferrari next year.

Despite previously saying he wanted to finish his career at McLaren, Lewis Hamilton was happy to make the move to Ferrari after the MP4-24 failed to live up to his expectations saying:

Yeah, I know the F60 doesn’t look too good at the moment but they drove a lorry load of cash up to my house.  I think that shows they are serious.

BMW, Toyota and Ferrari must be wondering whether it was such a good idea to abandon Jerez to test at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit.

Wednesday’s morning test session was red-flagged when a sandstorm prevented the medical helicopter from taking off.  The same thing happened on the opening day of testing on Tuesday when the helicopter was grounded by fog.

After the first group test in Portimao was disrupted by heavy rain the three teams were hoping for some fine weather to justify the hundreds of thousands of pounds extra it costs to test in the Middle East but the outlook for the rest of Wednesday doesn’t look good.  Even if the wind stops the track will have to be cleared of sand so the teams might not be able to continue testing until Thursday.

Meanwhile, back in Spain, Mark Webber has climbed into an F1 car for the first time since breaking his leg in a cycling accident three months ago.  He took the new Red Bull RB5 out onto the Jerez circuit for the first time on Wednedsay.

Image: Ferrari S.p.a.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Bernie Ecclestone has said that the only team he would really be sorry see to go is Ferrari.

He had previously said that Honda’s recent exit from Formula One was “no great loss” but these latest comments will do little to quell suspicions that Ferrari receive favourable treatment by the sport’s administrators.

Ferrari is the only team to have been in F1 since the inaugural Championship season in 1950 and Ecclestone has previously admitted that Ferrari receive more money than the other teams.

Ecclestone told the FT:

It’s bad for me to say this, but the only team we would really say we would miss is Ferrari.

I was starting to worry that Bernie Ecclestone hadn’t said anything controversial for a while but his surprise visit to ‘Wrooom’, Ferrari’s annual ski trip at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy, last week provided ample opportunity.

He surprised everyone by showing up last Thursday wearing a bright red ski jacket, leading some to suggest he was trying to make up with Luca di Montezemolo who has been critical of the way Ecclestone has been running F1 and the amount of money the teams receive.

But when he was asked whether he would be meeting with the Ferrari president, Ecclestone replied:

I’ve no idea. It is not my intention.  To be honest it is a cheap weekend for me.

And as for his 50 percent share of Formula One’s commercial earnings he said :

Now that we have really managed to reduce the costs a lot, we will be able to pay them less money! They don’t need so much money.

He also used the opportunity to respond to Sir Jacki Stewart’s recent criticism in the Times:

Most times — and I am frightened about this — when people get older, they become a bit senile and he’s just caught it a bit early, that’s all.