But in case you were wondering...

It's understood that a non-championship F1 race, to be held in central London, will be announced within the next few weeks.

According to reports the British government has been working behind the scenes with the Mayor of London, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and various sponsors, team owners and 'show business promoters' in order to get plans finalised before the end of April.

The reason for the apparent 'rush' is because the government, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and the consortium behind London's bid for the 2012 Olympics believe that the announcement of an event as significant as an F1 race, might be enough to convince the International Olympic Committee of London's ability to stage the 2012 Olympics before it makes its decision in July.

Quite what the format of the race will be is not known, however, it's believed that the event would be held over a weekend in May 2006, with a qualifying session on the Saturday morning followed by a 'sprint' race later in the day. Sunday would witness a slightly longer (one hour?) mini-race, the grid order decided by the result of Saturday’s race.

Also, to further spice up the action, it is rumoured that the Saturday sprint race could be held in the early evening, which would surely look dramatic on TV.

All the British-based F1 teams are understood to have agreed to the event, realizing that it will be a major coup not simply for F1 but also London's Olympic bid. Should the foreign-based teams opt not to compete, teams would be able to enter three cars.

In addition to the F1, there will be support events including a race featuring celebrities driving Minis and possibly the Minardi 2-seaters. Furthermore it is hoped there will be a number of other major events, including rock concerts, to ensure that the entertainment is non-stop and that there’s ‘something for everyone’.

By holding the event at a weekend - unlike last year's F1 parade - disruption should be kept to a minimum. Furthermore, if, as we hear, the event is held during a Bank Holiday weekend, this should make things even easier for organizers.

The one thing not known is the exact layout of the race circuit, though previous reports have suggested Hyde Park.

At the time of writing nobody was willing to go 'on record', however a spokesman at County Hall said that; "an official announcement will be made in days".

Our picture shows a (spoof) artist's impression of how Rubens Barichello might look if the race is held in the early evening.