In 2006, teams drove almost 34,000 miles around the Jerez circuit, testing their engines, their tyres, their chassis', and making improvements based on the results. The majority of testing is done at this circuit and it is therefore good to see that safety is kept up to date there.

It's also good to see that the Grand Prix Driver's Association are actually doing something. I read a lot of things that tell me what they are saying about safety - David Coulthard is always banging on about making things safer for the drivers - but until now I hadn't seen any action taking place.

The GPDA are planning to inspect the Jerez circuit before testing begins this winter, to make sure that safety has been improved to the standards that they expect. F1 drivers were not happy with standards last year and came up with modifications that they wanted. Now the time has come to go back and see if anything has been done about it.

New GPDA director, Mark Webber, has commented on the action. "It seems we are making sound progress with Jerez," he said. "They needed to, because apparently it was dire. It was so bad, and it might never get out just how bad it was. It wasn't good."

Right. So, it was bad then?