I write this diary entry from seat 1a on flight SK1622 from Düsseldorf to Copenhagen. I am on my way back from Panasonic Toyota Racing´s preseason event, the launch of the TF108 car for the 2008 season.

I flew down to Düsseldorf yesterday as the team had invited me to dinner. It turned out to be more than an ordinary dinner: We - many of my colleagues had flown in from all over Europe - boarded a boat right outside the hotel, and for a couple of hours we cruised up and down the Rhine; enjoying a great dinner. During dinner, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock went from table to table and sat down for 10 or 15 minutes, which gave all os us the opportunity to talk to the Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers in an informal atmosphere before the official launch.

Jarno was great company - as always. “I am a little tired because yesterday evening we had a small, unofficial launch of the new car for our sponsors,” he said. “And today I have been busy at the factory with all the photo shoots.”

“So it was back to reality after the winter break? Back to business after a quiet winter break?” I suggested. “Yes - when the season ends, I switch off from F1 completely. I spend time with my family and play with my children - I don´t read magazines and I don´t watch TV, so I really get F1 out of the system. So I can´t really comment on all the things that went on in F1 in the last couple of months with espionage and what have you. I have just relaxed and recharged my batteries for the new season,” Jarno said.

“And what are the prospects for the 2008 season?” I asked. “You know - at this time of the year, everybody will be World Champion,” he said with a smile when I asked him about the prospects for 2008. “No - seriously: I think one of the many lessons I learned from 2007 was that it is a good idea to keep a low profile before the start of the season. So all I will say is that I HOPE we can improve on our 2007 performance. The first step for us would be to get back to our 2005 level, when we were able to fight for top-five positions in all the races. I think that should be possible...”

When I asked him about the problems which turned 2007 into a somewhat disappointing season for Panasonic Toyota Racing, Jarno said: “The main reason was that we underestimated the influence on the car from the new generation of Bridgestone tyres. OK - we switched to Bridgestone already in 2006, but the 2007 tyres were completely different and that affected us badly. But we were not alone: Many other teams had similar problems.”

It was nice to talk to Jarno again after the winter break and it was nice to see the new TF108 this morning. Visually, it is the most interesting new F1 car for a long time and I look forward to see it on the track. I will be back with more news from Panasonic Toyota Racing in two weeks time but I have to stop now: The “Fasten Seatbelt” signs just came on!

When was the holiday break? Three weeks ago? It feels several months ago already!

The 2008 Formula One season is in full swing and this is a busy time. There are new car launches every week and the teams move from one circuit in Spain to another testing their new cars. After the Panasonic Toyota Racing team launch in the H.Q. in Cologne last week, the new TF108 was immediately taken for Jerez for testing and this week the team is in Valencia; joining all their rivals except Super Aguri in this winter´s biggest test so far. And soon everybody will head a little further North to the Circuit Catalunya outside Barcelona (some teams - including Panasonic Toyota Racing - will also travel to Bahrain for hot-weather testing soon).

I flew down to Valencia on Monday. There are no direct flights from Copenhagen so I had to go via Madrid, which meant I was travelling for most of the day - leaving my home at 08.00 and only arriving at my Valencia hotel at 17.00. Still my schedule was nothing compared to Timo Glock´s: He had been to Minorca, where many teams are conducting aero testing on a long runway these days. “So you travelled for nine hours to get here? My trip from Minorca to Mallorca and then Valencia took more than 12 hours - including a long delay on Mallorca,” he told me when we met for dinner.

Jarno Trulli was also supposed to come to the dinner but left after a very short time. He was suffering from flu and was ordered off to bed so he could be fit for fight when testing started on Tuesday morning.

But even without Jarno we still had a great evening. Timo was good company and full of enthusiasm for the 2008 season. As you know, traction control has been banned, and some drivers have told me it would be difficult to adapt to the new cars. But Timo thinks this will not be the case. “No - remember the F1 drivers are supposed to be the 22 best drivers in the world,” he said with a smile. “Last year, I was racing in GP2 where traction control is not allowed and I was testing F1 with traction control. For me that was not a problem - I am sure we have forgotten all about traction control after the first couple of races!”

“But in the rain it will be very difficult,” he went on, now more seriously. “Remember how much it rained in the Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji last year? I am not sure we can drive in similar conditions without traction control,” he went on.

He is a good guy, the new Panasonic Toyota Racing driver. I wish him “Best of Luck” for the coming season - I am sure we will see the “Best of Glock”!

As I write this, the start of the 2008 season is only five weeks away. Practice for the Australian Grand Prix in Albert Park kicks off on Friday March 14 but the Wednesday and Thursday before the race will also be busy. In the paddock, it will time to meet friends and colleagues for the first time since we said “bye-bye - have a nice winter” to each other in the Interlagos paddock in Sao Paulo back in October. In the pit-lane, mechanics will be busy putting the finishing touches to the new 2008 cars and in the city there will be several “kick-off” parties for the media and VIP guests. The first race of the season is always special and I am look forward to going to Australia (but not to the 24 hour flight!).

What can we expect from Panasonic Toyota Racing in Melbourne - and in the 2008 season? In the past few weeks I have talked to several members of the team including drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, and there seems to be a lot of optimism in the Toyota camp.

“But it is important to keep a low profile,” Jarno said. “What I want the team to do in 2008 is what BMW has been doing in the last couple of years: Take small steps all the time. The goal for this year must be to get back to the our 2005 level - when we were fighting for points in most races - and then work from there. I am not going to say we can win races or even the championship...”

This is a very sensible approach. The first tests of the TF108 has been promising, and just to prove how committed the team is, Panasonic Toyota Racing was this week the only team apart from Ferrari to make the trip to Bahrain for some hot-weather testing.

2008 will also be Timo Glock´s first year in the team. The young German has impressed in testing, and Jarno is also happy with his new team-mate: “I think he is probably just as quick as I am,” he smiled when I asked him about Timo. “He brings some fresh air into the team and that is good for all of us - myself included. I get on really well with him, and he is working very hard.”

Timo also enjoys working with Jarno, who with 181 Grands Prix under his belt is one of the most experienced drivers in the field. “Jarno is very, very quick - I think he is one of the best drivers in F1 when it comes to producing one fast lap in qualifying. If I can get close to Jarno in qualifying in the early races, I will be very happy with myself,” Timo says.

As you can hear from these comments, there is a lot of optimism (and fresh air) in the Panasonic Toyota Racing team at the moment. Roll on, Melbourne!

We are only three weeks away from the first Grand Prix of 2008. A couple of weeks from now I will start packing my bags and on Tuesday March 11 I will fly to Singapore and on to Melbourne. My first Grand Prix trip of 2008 will be a long one as I will stay in Australia for a couple of days after the race in Albert Park before going to Kuala Lumpur, which hosts the Malaysian Grand Prix the following weekend.

I usually do not enjoy spending two weeks away from home, but at this time of the year - I feel a real “hunger” for F1 at the moment! - it is OK.

But what have I been up to since the last 2007 Grand Prix in Brazil in mid-October? (Apart from writing these off-season diaries, of course!)

Well - it has been another busy winter. Only a couple of weeks after returning from Sao Paulo it was time for another long trip; this time my annual holiday with the family. I may have told you how I won the “Holiday of a Lifetime” competition organised by F1´s “paddock newspaper” Red Bulletin. This was a three-week trip to London, Los Angeles, Hawaii, San Francisco and New York and we had a great time. I do travel a lot during the F1 season and it IS tiring but travelling with the family - we have three kids aged 13, nine and seven - is just great fun.

We returned to cold Denmark in late November; a few days after my latest book - about the 12 leading, Danish racing drivers - had been published. Promoting the book took up a couple of weeks and I also found time to go to BMW´s annual Motorsport Party in Munich. Then came Christmas and in early January I went to the Panasonic Toyota Racing launch in Cologne and a few days later to the first proper test of the TF108 in Valencia. I also found time to write a 100-page preview of the 2008 season (will be published in Denmark next week) and go to Paris for the Renault launch!

As I said: It has been a busy winter. And the so-called off-season is not over yet: This weekend I return to Los Angeles. Yes - I am going to the NASCAR race in Fontana! My friends from Toyota have invited me to this very American series, which kicked off their 2008 season last weekend with the Daytona 500 in Florida. In many ways, NASCAR - we are talking heavy stock-cars on ovals! - is probably as far away from F1 as you can get in racing today. BUT - NASCAR is second only to F1 when it comes to spectator and media interest and it is interesting to note that Toyota is the only manufacturer involved in both championships.

It will be a new experience to see the good old NASCAR boys on the super-speedway in Fontana - and a great warm-up for the long trip to Melbourne next month!