Fantastic gadgets and fast cars go hand in hand. Well, perhaps not hand in hand, but many of those who appreciate consumer technology appreciate motoring and motorsports as well. After all, some of the technology is similar and both are painstakingly complicated when it comes to production.

As the Editor of F1 Racing Magazine, I’ll be making tracks for Melbourne to get right in the thick of the action and secure some great content for the upcoming issues of Australia’s only official Formula 1 magazine. I have a hidden agenda too. As Deputy editor of gadget zone, I’m going to cram as much tech into my carry on bag so I can make the most of my few days in Melbourne. So far this is what’s in the backpack.

Any half-decent journalist needs a good laptop. Something powerful enough to entertain them on long flights but light enough to carry while running after a story. My laptop of choice for this trip will be the Asus U2E. It’s 11.1-inches so has portability covered. It’s also got a thumb scanner to keep my stories safe. I’m hoping the small screen won’t annoy me too much after spending a few hours bashing up stories and then while watching DVDs. I’m going to be relying on battery power a lot so we’ll really see what a full charge gets you.



With practice sessions, qualifying sessions, the race, press conferences, media events and a whole lot more going on, a good watch is a must. But not any old watch, a Seiko Sportura 1/100 Second Retrograde. Seiko is an official sponsor of the Honda F1 team and this one even has the Honda F1 moniker on it. It doesn’t just look the piece, it also features date, stopwatch and 40 Minutes in 1/100th Second Increments… but mainly it looks cool. Hopefully it will be a lot better that last year’s Honda RA107 F1 car which didn’t score a single point in the hands of nine-time F1 winner Rubens Barrichello.