by Tess Tarossa on Dec 23rd, 2010

It's only 2 days until Christmas, and the hectic Formula 1 circus is taking a well-deserved break!

PODIUM.  Vitaly Petrov -

Erm, a 2-year deal with Renault?  Well, so, a Merry Christmas for Vitaly Petrov!?  How many wheel-barrows of cash did it take to get that deal done?  Fair enough his team-mate is none other than Badger's Top Dog Robert Kubica, but Petrov is nowhere near even touching the exhaust fumes of Bobby K.

PITS.  F1 'characters'  -

With it now looking fairly certain that BBC commentator Jonathan Legard will be out of a job in time for the 2011 season, POP is suddenly a bit bereft.  Who will POP berate and throw cheap shots at?

Nelson Piquet Jr's gone (classic target), so has Flavio Briatore (who provided enough material for what could have been his own dedicated column, 'Flavio Watch'), and now ... Jonathan Legard too!

He was highly irritating during races, but somehow POP will miss his little mishaps and Legardisms.  Oh well, farewell Legard!  Up the hill with you!  What can he do POP wonders?

Bring back some proper F1 characters, and soon!

PODIUM.  Ace F1-related Christmas pressies -

Team-wear from your favourite team is always a winner.  In POP's humble opinion us F1 fans don't really get into the team spirit enough, and wearing the colours is a great way to feel more involved.

A track day is the mecca of all F1-related presents (yes, Santa, that is a very very unsubtle hint).

PITS.  Lame F1-related Christmas pressies -

You know these sorts of presents.  Sure, we like F1, but we do actually have taste thanks very much!  The new Ferrari perfume is a case in point.  Check out the amazingly hilarious advert featuring aspiring model, Fernando Alonso...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61WD5Ph_7xM&feature=player_embedded

Special mention goes to the book, 'Michael Schumacher: Driving Force': featuring some pretty disturbing photos of Schumacher with his shirt off (help!), this is one Christmas gift POP would never ever want to unwrap...