What's been lost

The most significant absence from this year's paddock is the row of yellow trucks that carried more than a third of last season's works entries. SEAT's WTCC programme is no more.

The Spanish manufacturer threatened to quit throughout the 2009 season and stuck to its word over the winter, although it wasn't quite as straightforward as that. Its complaints centred around the technical regulations and particularly the handicapping of its Leon TDi, and this issue was resolved before the close of '09. The prime reason for its withdrawal is financial and it's far from the first manufacturer to walk away from a world championship on that basis in recent years.