Louis Saha has handed Evertonians a major pre-derby boost by signing a contract extension at Goodison.

The Frenchman has put pen to paper on a two-year extension to his existing contract today (Friday), ensuring he will remain at Everton until the end of the 2011/2012 season.

Saha, 31, is the Blues’ leading scorer this season with 13 goals from just 20 starts.

His contract was due to expire this summer and media speculation had claimed interest from a host of top European clubs.

But Saha, who arrived from Manchester United in the summer of  2008, will remain part of David Moyes’ squad – revealing the decision to remain with Everton was a straightforward one.

Saha Signs Extension – News Archive – News – evertonfc.com – The Official Website of Everton Football Club

Virgin Racing has revealed its first Formula 1 car, the VR-01.

The VR-01 was due to be unveiled on the team’s website this morning, the team having opted for an ‘all-digital’ launch to mirror its ‘all-digital car’ – reflecting the fact that design company Wirth Research created the car entirely using computational fluid dynamics rather than using a windtunnel.

autosport.com – F1 News: Virgin reveals its VR-01 F1 contender

Formula 1 will have a new points system for the 2010 after an agreement between the governing body (FIA) and the teams.

The new system will see places rewarded in a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 sequence.

F1 bosses believe a seven-point gap between first and second place, rather than the current two-point separation, will promote a ‘race-to-win’ attitude.

New tyre rules mean drivers must start races on the same tyres they set their grid time in, while ‘double diffusers’ will be banned from 2011.

The Formula 1 Commission, a decision-making forum for the teams and major stakeholders, agreed the amendments to the sporting and technical regulations at a meeting on Monday.

Scoring changes have been suggested several times over the past year and two months ago the F1 Commission initially opted for a 25-20-15-10-8-6-5-3-2-1 format.

However, the disparity of points between the top three was no greater in percentage terms than the 10-8-6 system currently used.

Previously, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone tried to introduce a medals system, with the championship being decided by race victories rather than cumulative points, but the idea did not catch on with teams.

The decision to ban the ’split level’ or ‘double-decker’ diffuser will not come into effect this year. The main diffuser will be allowed in 2011, but its permitted height will be reduced from 175mm to 125mm.

Diffusers improve downforce by channelling the flow of air smoothly under the car, but in 2009 there was controversy when eventual champions Brawn, Toyota and Williams produced radical versions of their own.

Teams unveiling their 2010 cars have been coy about their rear diffusers, sparking fears that a fresh row could erupt when the season starts on March 14 in Bahrain.

BBC Sport – F1 – Formula 1 adopts new points system for 2010 season

Mercedes-Benz unveiled its W01 in the Valencia pit lane on Monday morning, ahead of the first pre-season Formula 1 test at the Spanish track.

The German car manufacturer had launched the colour scheme of the car in Stuttgart last week, but it waited until shortly before track action began on Monday to show the world the car that will carry the title hopes of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

The car features a radical version of the now typical Red Bull Racing RB5-type V-nose configuration, as well as a small fin on the engine cover.

Rosberg will give the car its first shakedown on Monday morning, with Schumacher due to make his return to the cockpit of a contemporary F1 car for the first time since confirming his F1 comeback.

autosport.com – F1 News: Mercedes rolls out new car at Valencia

Scuderia Toro Rosso became the latest team to unveil its 2010 challenger on Monday, as the Faenza-based team’s STR5 was shown for the first time.

The new car is the first machine that Toro Rosso has had to produce itself, following the effective ban on customer cars in F1.

"2010 is a landmark year for Scuderia Toro Rosso as the new regulations demand that we go it alone in terms of designing and building our car in-house," said team boss Franz Tost.

"After four years of working in collaboration with Red Bull Technology, the TR5 is the first car that is one hundred percent down to our own endeavours.

Although conservative in its philosophy, the car features a fully-optimised double diffuser – with the team having had to incorporate the concept into last year’s STR4 mid-season following the FIA decision that the designs were legal.

autosport.com – F1 News: New Toro Rosso unveiled at Valencia

The Renault Formula 1 team launched its 2010 car at the Valencia circuit on Sunday afternoon and confirmed Vitaly Petrov as its second driver.

The new R30 was unveiled by Russian Petrov and team-mate Robert Kubica, who will form the all-new driver line-up of the French squad this year.

The R30 was presented with Renault’s new colours – yellow and black – following the exit of ING as main sponsor in the middle of last season.

It also incorporates a similar shark fin engine cover, as those seen in the new McLaren and Sauber cars.

The new colour scheme resembles that used by Renault when it first entered Formula 1 back in 1978.

autosport.com – F1 News: Renault reveals the R30, confirms Petrov

BMW Sauber was the third Formula 1 team to show off its new challenger for the 2010 season on Sunday, with the unveiling of the C29 at the Valencia circuit.

The car, which will be powered by Ferrari engines this season, is the first machine from the Swiss squad following the exit of BMW from the sport at the end of 2009.

Peter Sauber, who sold his team to BMW in 2005, is now back in charge of the Hinwil-based squad following the German car maker’s exit.

The team’s place on the grid for 2010 was in doubt before Sauber re-took control of the team and Toyota confirmed it was leaving Formula 1, opening up a slot for the Swiss outfit.

The new C29, which sports a shark fin similar to the one used by McLaren in its new car, will be driven by Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi.

Sauber’s car retains similar colours to those used during the BMW era, but with more white space due to the lack of sponsors.

De la Rosa returns to racing after seven years as McLaren’s test driver.

"At last I can feel like a proper racing driver again," he said. "I’ve really missed the competition out on the track. At the same time, though, I’ve learned a lot technically and on the systems side, and now I want to bring that knowledge to the team."

autosport.com – F1 News: BMW Sauber launches new C29 car

Everton continued their resurgence to shade an evenly contested encounter against Wigan courtesy of an 84th-minute header from Tim Cahill.

Everton were denied a plausible first-half penalty claim when Latics defender Gary Caldwell upended Louis Saha.

Wigan contributed richly to a lively encounter, not least when Charles N’Zogbia hit the bar in injury time.

But by then Wigan had been undone by Cahill, who headed home with typical power from a Leighton Baines corner.

Everton’s win, which extended their unbeaten league run to nine games, offered further evidence that their miserable start to the campaign is now very much a thing of the past.

Solid in every department, they showed enough quality to make it scarcely credible that they were only two points clear of the relegation zone as recently as early December.

Ninth in the table with high-flying Birmingham firmly in their sights, the Toffees, on this evidence, are only a minor injection of creativity away from their very best.

Everton boss David Moyes will doubtless be hoping that Mikel Arteta, returning from long-term injury but absent here with a groin strain, can provide that additional impetus.

But in the Spanish playmaker’s absence, Cahill, whose late goal was his third in as many games, continues to prove an able deputy.

Wigan, on the other hand, remain predictable only in their unpredictability.

BBC Sport – Football – Wigan 0-1 Everton

Russia showed off its first stealth fighter jet today, immediately proclaiming it a challenger to American military dominance of the skies.

The Sukhoi T-50 prototype, a “fifth generation” fighter, completed a 47-minute maiden test flight in Russia’s Far East. The project, three years behind schedule, has been shrouded in secrecy during almost two decades of development and aims to rival the F-22 Raptor flown by the US Air Force, which began flight tests in 1997.

Military chiefs hope to put the jet, also known as the PAK FA, into service in 2015, making it Russia’s first new warplane since the collapse of the Soviet Union. India is also due to take delivery of the stealth fighter in a development partnership with Russia.

Many of the aircraft’s capabilities remain secret but officials have described the T-50 as the first Russian fighter equipped with radar-evading stealth technology, a key component of so-called fifth generation jets. It is believed to combine supersonic cruising speed, an operational ability of more than three hours and a range of up to 5,500km (3,430 miles), nearly twice the distance of the American F-22.

The F-22, which entered service in 2005 after a $65 billion (£40 billion) development programme, is the only fifth generation fighter currently in operation. Its developers, Lockheed Martin, claim that it has a radar signature “the size of a bumble bee” and a top speed in excess of 1.5 Mach, or one-and-a-half times the speed of sound.

Sukhoi said that the jet’s stealth capabilities represented a “significant increase in military effectiveness”. It is armed with advanced air-to-air, air-to-surface and air-to-ship missiles and two 30 mm cannons.

Russia unveils its first stealth fighter jet – the Sukhoi T-50 – Times Online

World champion Jenson Button predicted one of the closest seasons in Formula 1 as he prepares his defence with the new McLaren which was unveiled on Friday.

Button faces competition from team-mate Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher at Mercedes and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Button said: "It’s been quite a while since we had four world champions on the grid. It’s possibly the most exciting we’ve ever seen."

Hamilton added: "Hopefully we’ll push the team to both championships."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said he was optimistic the team’s new MP4-25 car, which was revealed at the Newbury headquarters of title sponsor Vodafone, would enable both drivers to fight for the title.

That was not the case last year, when McLaren started the season nearly three seconds off the pace.

Whitmarsh said: "There are four world champions racing this year and that’s exciting.

"Everyone now wants to see McLaren fighting Ferrari and Mercedes and I’m sure Red Bull will be competitive. We’ve got a really exciting season on our hands."

McLaren acknowledged that one of the biggest obstacles to them winning the championship could be the internal competition between the drivers.

McLaren have undertaken an aerodynamic overhaul with the car tapering to a low and narrow rear with a large ’shark fin’ wing on the engine cover.

BBC Sport – F1 – Jenson Button predicts the most exciting F1 season ever