Rossi Would Drive 3rd Ferrari In New Series
Valentino Rossi has been quoted as saying he would happily drive a 3rd Ferrari race car if one was fielded in the potentially new FOTA racing series.
Everyone thought that the FIA/FOTA war was over as Max Mosley brought the rules for 2010 back to the 2009 ones, said there would be more continuity and also declared he would step down in October at the end of his term as FIA president.
However these promises were thrown into doubt after British newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph produced an open letter sent from Mosley to Luca di Montezemolo the head of Ferrari and the FOTA that he could well stand for another term. Christian Horner said this morning that another war between FOTA and the FIA would be terrible for the sport, but it looks likely the battle’s could begin once again.
Rossi, who just won his 100th Motorcycle Grand Prix has driven for Ferrari twice before, most recently last year impressing with the 2008 car on the Mugello circuit. He has also dabbled with World Rally Championship. His contract with Yamaha motorcycles ends in 2010 and a 2011 race car seat could be beckoning.
“I am quite happy about it, it could happen in 2011 — why not?” Rossi was quoted as saying by Corriere Dello Sport
“In 2010 I have a contract with Yamaha so it would be difficult or even impossible. What’s more, Ferrari do not have a third car and I have taken no decision about changing sport,”
Scrap Empty Stadia Races Like Turkey – Briatore
Flavio Briatore is on the warpath after being named as someone who could advise the FIA and FOM on how to make F1 more attractive to fans by attacking empty circuits.
This season’s Turkish Grand Prix was farcical with thousands of empty seats, as no fans really turned up. This, in direct contrast to Silverstone where it held it’s final British Grand Prix and there were over 100,000 fans present.
The FOM TV coverage tried to hide the lack of fans in Turkey by removing multiple camera angles, but Briatore and indeed the fans see this as no solution.
The tracks that have been constructed in the far flung locations of the world are usually found quite empty, as F1 is not a favourable sport within the countries that the races are present while European races at the old venues are filled to the brim with hardcore F1 fans.
“Even if the likes of Turkey are paying more money, we would rather have stadia that are full,” Briatore said.
“It is better for the spirit of the sport. We want stands full of fans. There is no point spending all that money on an empty cathedral,” he added.
"Spectator" at the Turkish Grand Prix a few weeks ago
Refuelling Ban Still On For 2010 Despite FOTA/FIA Agreements
The refuelling ban set out by the FIA as part of it’s eleborate new rule system for the 2010 season will still go ahead despite the majority of the new regulations being binned after FOTA/FIA agreement talks for FOTA team involvement in the 2010 Formula One Season.
The teams are fairly positive towards the refuelling ban due to the high cost of transporting refuelling equipment around the world, and also some accidents which have led to large fires, such as Jos Verstappen’s memorable pitfire at Hockenheim 1994, Eddie Irvine 1995 at Spa and Michael Schumacher’s at the 2003 Austrian Grand Prix when despite flames licking the car he still went on to win the Grand Prix.
A source within FOTA said this was still on track, despite 2009 rule revisions for 2010.
The source said: “There will be a few amendments to the rules that need to be agreed unanimously. This will be about refuelling and a few other items, and should be completed in the next few weeks.”
A pitfire for Gianmaria Bruni's Minardi in 2004
Just wanted to add, R.I.P Michael Jackson – King of Pop who sadly died yesterday evening of a cardiac arrest.
Zander Parts Ways With Brawn GP
Joerg Zander, the instrumental designer and deputy technical director in the Brawn GP team has resigned.
He was vital in designing the BGP001, which has won 6 races already this season and been on the podium at every single event. With Jenson Button now leading the championship, the BGP has been highly successful in turning around the fortunes of the former Honda team.
Zander has been in F1 for some time, working with BMW Sauber, British American Racing and Honda.
“Joerg contributed significantly to our success so far this season for which we thank him and wish him all the best for the future,” a Brawn spokesperson said.
FIA/FOTA War Over As Agreement Made At Last Minute
An agreement between the FIA and FOTA has been made at the last moment in an emergency meeting called in Paris today.
With all FOTA member teams present, along with members of the FIA, including the contraversial Max Mosley who also said today he will not stand for another term as president, a deal was reached for a single racing series – F1. FOTA will now not breakaway from the standard formulae.
The concorde agreement of 1998 will be continued, along with new rules which agree to cost cutting over the next few seasons. Technical assistance will also be offered to the three new teams allowed into F1, USF1, Campos and Manor.
“There will be no split,” said Mosley. “We have agreed to a reduction of costs. There will be one F1 championship but the objective is to get back to the spending levels of the early 1990s within two years.”
“They’ve got the rules they want and the stability; we’ve got the new teams in and the cost reduction…so that’s very helpful.”
Mosley added “As far as I’m concerned, the teams were always going to get rid of me in October. Well they still are.”
The official statement from the FIA read;
“The manufacturer teams have further agreed to the permanent and continuing role of the FIA as the sport’s governing body. They have also committed to the commercial arrangements for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship until 2012 and have agreed to renegotiate and extend this contract before the end of that period.
“All teams will adhere to an upgraded version of the governance provisions of the 1998 Concorde Agreement.
“As part of this agreement, the teams will, within two years, reduce the costs of competing in the championship to the level of the early 1990s.
“The manufacturer teams have agreed to assist the new entries for 2010 by providing technical assistance.”
The teams and FIA made a unilateral agreement for the future...
Domenicali Infuriated By KERS Failure And Waste
Stefano Domenicali, the boss of Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team has told reporters how infuriated he is with the complete flop of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems.
The Italian, normally a quiet and reserved character was scathing over the KERS system which is being described as a “white elephant”. With BMW Sauber, McLaren and Reanult – the 3 teams who still used KERS alongside Ferrari – all opting to disband and discontinue development, the Scuderia are the last team with the boost button.
The extra weight carried by the systems means that the boost is an in-effective equal compared with teams like Brawn and Red Bull who do not carry they weight and systems. Ferrari alledges that it has ruined handling of the 2009 Ferrari aswell.
It has been a waste of money and time for the Italian’s who are lagging well behind in the title championship.
“A lot of money was spent without the desired effect. Let me put it this way: if it had been spent instead on the car, Ferrari would now be just as fast as this Red Bull,” Domenicali insisted at Silverstone
“That is something easily said, but it is true. [that KERS is a failure]“
“For passenger cars, KERS is the future, but in Formula One we are in a different environment. For us there are too many compromises: ultimately, it is all about the speed of our cars.”
Toro Rosso Awaiting Red Bull Aero Updates
Toro Rosso, the feeder and sister team to Red Bull Racing have admitted they expect progress to be slow until they recieve the aerodynamic upgrades which powered the RB5 to victory at the hands of Sebastian Vettel last weekend at the British Grand Prix.
The new aerodynamic updates included a new front wing and nose section, new diffuser, floor and rear wing.
Toro Rosso were formed in 2006 after Red Bull admitted desire for a second team, and with one owner not being allowed to own two teams Gerhard Berger and Franz Tost were co-owners with exclusive Red Bull support and sponsorship. The team are still based in Faenza, Italy and scored their first win last season in Monza.
“We suffer from the lack of new specification aero parts,” Franz Tost told F1Live.
“We will have these for Hungary, when I expect and hope that this will bring us back to the front end of the midfield.”
Surfers Paradise For FOTA’s 17 Round Calendar?
As the rumours continue to hot up over FOTA’s breakaway series from F1, one which looks ever increasingly likely Surfer’s Paradise was one of the tracks banded around as a possible venue for a GP.
The track in Queensland, Australia is an exciting street track which could be known as the Pacific GP as Adelaide was mentioned as the possible Australian Grand Prix event location.
Surfer’s, a place which considered taking the F1 race from Melbourne late last year as it’s future dwindled has previously hosted CART and ChampCar events and this year hosts a round of the A1GP Championship by Ferrari.
The owner of the track seemed welcome to the idea, especially if they charged less than Bernie Ecclestone wants for F1.
“We couldn’t do this sort of bid on our own but if Queensland Events backed us we would be very interested,” said Ron Clarke.
“There is the chance this breakaway group might not charge as much as the original series organisers,” acknowledged Clarke.
Other circuits mentioned for the FOTA Racing Series included Jerez, Buenos Aires, Imola, Mugello and Silverstone.
Branson Unlikely To Put Money Into Brawn As Virgin Sponsorship Dwindles
Sir Richard Branson has dashed hopes for Brawn GP of more sponsorship finances, a new livery and possibly new name as he claimed he would not be putting millions into the GP team as we head over towards the half-way mark of the 2009 season.
The British born billionaire owner of the Virgin group began sponsoring Brawn GP not long after the cars appeared in Australia with minor logos which have expanded across the cars which remain largely blank. With Brawn’s early successes, and Virgin using BGP in their current online and newspaper commercials, many analysts believed that Virgin could be on the verge of re-branding the team altogether.
However in a 5Live interview all this seemed to be gone.
“We got in when it was very cheap and it’s been great for us with global coverage, but I suspect next year the price will be astronomical and we may have to look somewhere else with a smaller team,” Branson commented.
It is believed that Branson invested £250,000 into Ross Brawn’s small team.
Newey Remains Cautious Over RB5 Despite Epic Weekend In Britain
Adrian Newey has declared himself slightly cautious over whether the Red Bull Racing RB5 can continue it’s mega dominance over the F1 field after an epic victory in Silverstone yesterday.
The RB5, designed in Milton Keynes not far from the Silverstone Circuit featured massive aerodynamic upgrades for this race including a new nosecone, floor and rear wing endplates.
Newey, modest as ever with his fantastic technical ability wants his star driver Sebastian Vettel and team mate Mark Webber to keep their feet on the ground despite Vettel being able to pull away by 1 second per lap from the previously unbeatable Brawn cars.
“I think this circuit is one that was always likely to suit us, and I was hoping it would suit us anyway,” Newey told Autosport this morning
“It would appear that some other teams had tyre warm-up problems, at which point suddenly the performance difference can be much bigger than it would be at other circuits. So obviously we have got to see how this carries over onto other circuits.”
“I will continue to take each weekend as it comes, and do the best we can in those weekends.”
BBC Top Gear’s Stig Revealed As Michael Schumacher
The popular BBC motoring magazine show Top Gear returned to UK television screen’s this evening with a brand new series, and a promise that the infamous “Stig” character would be revealed.
The Stig, also known as the Tame Racing Driver has been a prominent feature of the show since it returned to television screen’s under the guidance of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and later James May. The original Stig, former F1 and sportscar driver Perry McCarthy was killed off in a fictitious aircraft carrier accident using the old TG Jaguar after he revealed his identity in his Autobiography.
The new white overalled Stig’s identity has been talked about on the internet for years, with most fans thinking it was either Ben Collins or Damon Hill. After Hill visisted Top Gear and was photographed with The Stig, Ben Collins was the sure favourite for the role.
However when Stig finally removed the white helmet for the first time it was indeed Michael Schumacher under the lid, the famous 7 time F1 World Champion. He had a brief, comic interview with Clarkson after hustling a Ferrari FXX supercar around the track in a 1.10 lap time taking it to the top of the powerlap leaderboard over the Gumpert Apollo.
Clarkson jokingly pretended not to recognise the German driver and asked him his name, before shouting to the audience: “It’s Michael Schumacher!”
“As a television moment, it’s up there with Neil Armstrong walking on the… corpse of JR Ewing,” Clarkson claimed in The Sun this morning.
Rumour’s have started that the German isn’t the Stig and was only brought in to drive the FXX, but I think if the show is to be believeable then we have to give Clarkson & Co the benefit of the doubt that The Stig is the greatest racing driver of all time. What a fitting man to be under the overalls.
Schuey or The Stig?!
British Grand Prix 2009: Vettel Storms To Victory In Unstoppable Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel stormed to an epic win, something that his fellow countryman Michael Schumacher, the greatest driver of all time would have been proud of. Vettel, the young German who takes his 3rd race win of his short career led from start to finish in a fashionable style pulling away from Rubens Barrichello at a rate of 1 second per lap for the first stint.
Race Review
From the start we knew that the Red Bull’s were fast, sporting their brand new aerodynamics created by a brilliant Adrian Newey who had been working around the clock to make the RB5 competitive against the Brawn GP cars, and with Vettel carrying plenty of fuel it looked like the German had it in the bag. We weren’t going to be proved wrong.
Kimi Raikkonen had the pick of the starts, wedging his Ferrari down the outside into the first corner of Silverstone, using the KERS system to full effect. His team mate Felipe Massa also had a terrific start getting ahead of championship leader Jenson Button, the plucky Brit only managing an overtake through sheer luck of Massa making a minor error.
For the first stint Mark Webber was stuck behind Rubens Barrichello, until the first stops when he could make it past but would play second fiddle to Vettel who had a pitstop sized gap between himself and 2nd place.
The McLaren’s of last years pole position man and winner just went backwards, and while the battle down the field was very entertaining – so much so we spend a good ten laps or more following it on the FOM wold feed between Alonso, Hamilton and Piquet it certainly was not where the former two wanted to be. World Champions pretty much propping up the table.
Kimi Raikkonen looked to be on for a good race with him closing the gap to Nico Rosberg and Rubens Barrichello, and indeed after having dealt with Kazuki Nakajima it would be the Finn’s downfall to get stuck behind Jarno Trulli after his stop.
While that was Raikkonen’s loss it most certainly was not for Massa who jumped ahead of that slow pack as he made his way to 4th position. Nico Rosberg followed in 5th at the end, despite a resurgent Jenson Button who spent the race complaining about the BGP001 [which he described as a monster in Turkey] in 6th place.
The only mega action incidentally came from the two McLaren’s. A lighter and faster Lewis Hamilton made a move over Kovalainen who lost a little concentration, he noted Sebastien Bourdais behind him and blocked going into Club corner where the Frenchman slammed into the back of Kovalainen causing massive debris around Club corner just after the crest. Both men dropped out a lap later, and both blamed each other for a silly error. Hamilton provided action at the same corner as he pushed the McLaren hard he slipped it onto the grass and spun out, but managed to continue to 16th position.
A quick shout for Giancarlo Fisichella too who finished in 10th place, a valiant performance for the Italian veteran racer.
Classified Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | S. Vettel | Red Bull Renault | 1.22.49.328 |
| 2 | M. Webber | Red Bull Renault | +15.188 |
| 3 | R. Barrichello | Brawn Mercedes | +41.175 |
| 4 | F. Massa | Ferrari | +45.053 |
| 5 | N. Rosberg | Williams Toyota | +45.915 |
| 6 | J. Button | Brawn Mercedes | +46.285 |
| 7 | J. Trulli | Toyota | +1.08.307 |
| 8 | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | +1.09.622 |
| 9 | T. Glock | Toyota | +1.09.823 |
| 10 | G. Fisichella | Force India Merc | +1.11.522 |
| 11 | K. Nakajima | Williams Toyota | +1.14.023 |
| 12 | N. Piquet | Renault | +1 lap |
| 13 | R. Kubica | BMW Sauber | +1 lap |
| 14 | F. Alonso | Renault | +1 lap |
| 15 | N. Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | +1 lap |
| 16 | L. Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | +1 lap |
| 17 | A. Sutil | Force India Merc | +1 lap |
| 18 | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1 lap |
Fastest Lap: S. Vettel (Red Bull Renault): 1.20.735
Retirements
| Driver | Team | Lap | Reason |
| S. Bourdais | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 25 | Crash Damage |
| H. Kovalainen | McLaren Mercedes | 24 | Crash Damage |
British Grand Prix 2009: Vettel Storms To Pole Position!
Sebastian Vettel stormed to a British Grand Prix pole position, his second in a row this season and will be hoping to convert it into a win. Team mate Mark Webber held good pace throughout the session and will start 3rd.
Webber is behind Rubens Barrichello, a man who loves this circuit out qualifying Michael Schumacher here 3 times in the Ferrari days. His team mate, the home favourite and world championship leader Jenson Button only starts 6th after a lacklustre showing.
His British compatriot Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 winner starts a lowly 19th place after a catastrophic qualifying which saw the other McLaren start 13th.
Raikkonen was the best of the Ferrari’s in 9th, with Massa in 11th split by Fernando Alonso in the Renault.
The main action came from Adrian Sutil who appeared to have a brake failure at Abbey, just before Bridge and his Force India smashed into the barriers with half the car missing. The rear wing ended up over the crash barriers with the marshals. He emerged unscathed, although at first it looked like he had hurt his back, spinal x-rays showed he was all clear.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:18.685 1:18.119 1:19.509 2. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:19.325 1:18.335 1:19.856 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:18.674 1:18.209 1:19.868 4. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:18.886 1:18.240 1:20.091 5. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:18.530 1:18.575 1:20.216 6. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:18.957 1:18.663 1:20.289 7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:19.228 1:18.591 1:20.361 8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:19.198 1:18.791 1:20.490 9. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:19.010 1:18.566 1:20.715 10. Alonso Renault (B) 1:19.167 1:18.761 1:20.741 11. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:19.148 1:18.927 12. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:19.730 1:19.308 13. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:19.732 1:19.353 14. Piquet Renault (B) 1:19.555 1:19.392 15. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:19.559 1:19.448 16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:19.802 17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:19.898 18. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:19.909 19. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:19.917 20. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:20.236
F1 Is Over As FOTA Pull Out
Good evening everyone who is reading, or follows my blog. Today is one of the most pivotal days in Formula One’s history. As we enter the British Grand Prix weekend, it was annonuced very early this morning that the remaining FOTA member teams will be leaving Formula One and starting their own racing series.
The announcement follows months of political deliberation, open letters, arguments, scuffles, driver questions, theories, rumours and a good helping of bad publicity for the sport which has been thrown into disrepute repeatedly since 2007 with Spy-Gate, Max Mosley’s dealings in a sex dungeon and now the end of the motorsport as we know it.
FOTA members; Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing, Panasonic Toyota F1 Team, BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso and ING Renault have all said they will leave F1 after no agreement between FOTA and the FIA has been reached over rule changes.
If you follow F1, this has been coming for a long time. Too many rule changes, too many restrictions and Max Mosley took it one step too far this time and has led to the downfall of the sport.
“The teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship,” said a statement issued by FOTA after the meeting.
“These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.
“The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series.”
Max Mosley has done what he always does and says “They can’t do that” and will be launching a legal case against FOTA, which will probably get nowhere. It’s a knee-jerk reaction which may cause minor ruptions but Mosley seems to be missing the bigger picture. And with Bernie Ecclestone saying Max needs to sort it out, the head man of the FIA looks set to be the bad guy in this, which in all truth’s is deserved as his meddling has got us into this mess.
“The FIA’s lawyers have now examined the FOTA threat to begin a breakaway series,” said the FIA in a statement.
“The actions of FOTA as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious violations of law including wilful interference with contractual relations, direct breaches of Ferrari’s legal obligations and a grave violation of competition law.
“The FIA will be issuing legal proceedings without delay.
“Preparations for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship continue but publication of the final 2010 entry list will be put on hold while the FIA asserts its legal rights.”
It has left F1 with a roadshow for 2010 and only 5 teams. Williams and Force India who brokeaway from FOTA are now stuck in F1, along with Manor, US F1 Team and Campos who all were accepted entries into the sport for next season. The teams which failed including Lola and N.Technology have all swiftly withdrawn any such entries in the wake of the FOTA break-away and one can imagine they will be applying for the new series if such applications are formally allowed.
“With much regret, taking into consideration the highly questionable process conducted by the FIA, which is affected by many irregularities, and the uncertainties regarding the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the MSC board decided last night to withdraw its application, as Team N.Technology, under the new regulations allowing entry of ‘capped budget’ teams,” said the statement.
“MSC believes that through its wrong actions and objectionable management methods, the FIA severely hurt MSC’s efforts to become a new team and undermined the Formula 1 sport, taken as a whole.”
So what next for FOTA and indeed for this blog. Well, I am probably going to loosely cover the F1 event of this weekend the British GP [in time] and again some coverage until the end of the season. But if FOTA launch a rival series, F1Fanatics WILL, i repeat WILL be following the teams and supporting the new series. A post will be brought up soon with how FOTA could go about launching the new series. Keep your eyes peeled, and remember support FOTA’s actions.
British Grand Prix 2009: Vettel Fastest In FP1
Sebastian Vettel stormed to top spot in FP1 at Silverstone’s last F1 race for 17 years, proving that the new upgrades were pushing them ahead of Brawn GP.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:19.400 20 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:19.682 + 0.282 19 3. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:20.227 + 0.827 20 4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:20.242 + 0.842 29 5. Alonso Renault (B) 1:20.458 + 1.058 26 6. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:20.471 + 1.071 23 7. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:20.585 + 1.185 32 8. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:20.650 + 1.250 26 9. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.815 + 1.415 32 10. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:20.838 + 1.438 25 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:20.913 + 1.513 22 12. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.029 + 1.629 22 13. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:21.103 + 1.703 24 14. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:21.179 + 1.779 27 15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:21.384 + 1.984 23 16. Glock Toyota (B) 1:21.386 + 1.986 32 17. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.489 + 2.089 26 18. Piquet Renault (B) 1:21.525 + 2.125 30 19. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:21.590 + 2.190 37 20. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:21.801 + 2.401 16
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Pantano Looking At Campos Seat For 2010
Giorgio Pantano has wasted no time throwing his hat into the ring for a chance at the seat with the new Campos Cosworth team, officially entered into Formula One yesterday with FIA approval.
Campos, a GP2 racing team will be powered by Cosworth B8′s and have a chassis built by Dallara Engineering.
Pantano, the current GP2 champion with Racing Engineering raced with Campos previously, taking them to victories and 3rd in the 2007 Championship.
The Italian is no stranger to Formula One having raced with Jordan in 2004.
“There is nothing that we can say at the moment, just that we have had a good relationship, myself and [Adrian Campos], and also that we had a great time together,” Pantano told Autosport
“We’ve had a good announcement from the FIA and I am happy for him and the people working for him because they are wonderful. Now we’ll see if there is a chance for me there.”
“My dream is Formula 1 or IndyCar, they are the first series that I want to be involved in. I don’t want to race in other categories, my focus is on them, and otherwise I’ll think about changing my job if there isn’t something good. I have to look at my future now.”
Pantano is the first champion of the GP2 series not to get an immediate drive in Formula One. He races in Megane Eurocup, and will be in the Superleague Formula Series when it gets underway for its second season later this year.
Cosworth Delighted With F1 Return
The Cosworth engine name, synonymous with racing and sports cars is to return to Formula One after today’s 2010 Entry List announcement.
Cosworth were a rock of engine supply into Formula One both under their own moniker, and with the Ford brand name. They left racing after a largely unsuccessful season with the Williams team in 2006.
However, the three new teams in F1, Campos, US F1 and Manor are all to use 2.4 V8 engines from the UK based manufacturer/.
"I am pleased that Cosworth’s exceptional mix of capabilities has enabled us to provide a solution for Formula 1 that sits so neatly with our existing operations in the aerospace and defence sectors," said Cosworth CEO Tim Routsis.
"Cosworth is proud not only to be able to provide a solution that will deliver the performance needed by these teams to compete in this most technologically challenging sport, but also to extend its long association with Formula 1 as a truly independent provider of competitive motive power.
"The engineering expertise we have accumulated over four decades in the sport has enabled us to broaden our reach into many different high-technology sectors.
"Today our engineering capabilities extend beyond racing, encompassing high-technology applications in the aerospace, defence, energy, marine and automotive industries. Cosworth has the necessary infrastructure to fulfil the supply of Formula 1 engines without affecting our other activities."
FIA Announce 2010 Entry List
The FIA have announced the 2010 Formula One entry list, which has been under massive scrutiny for the past few months with big teams threatening to walk away and the entry list of new teams, which totaled 15 but only 3 teams would make it onto the official list.
All of the FOTA member teams appear on the list of entry, but Brawn, McLaren, Toyota, Renault and BMW Sauber are conditional to them signing a new agreement.
The new teams allowed in from the 15 are US F1, Campos and Manor.
| Team | Constructor | About |
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | |
| Scuderia Toro Rosso | Toro Rosso TBA | |
| Red Bull Racing | Red Bull TBA | |
| AT&T Williams | Williams Toyota | |
| Force India F1 | Force India Mercedes | |
| Campos Grand Prix | Campos Cosworth | New |
| Manor Grand Prix | Manor Cosworth | New |
| Team US F1 | US F1 Cosworth | New |
| BMW Sauber | BMW | Conditional |
| Renault F1 | Renault | Conditional |
| Panasonic Toyota | Toyota | Conditional |
| Brawn GP F1 Team | Brawn Mercedes | Conditional |
| McLaren Mercedes | McLaren Mercedes | Conditional |
Donington On Track and Has 17 Year Contract
Donington Park boss Simon Gillet was almost iron fist in his conversation with Autosport this week as he discussed the future of the British Grand Prix and Donington Park’s development into a Formula One ready venue.
Gillet hit out at the British Motorsport Establishment’s criticism of Donington, and also their future as the host of F1.
In direct relation to the claims by media that they would not host the event in 2010, Gillet claimed that was never an option – despite Ecclestone saying they could take one year’s grace.
“Sitting here today, I can’t see any reason for doing that,” said Gillett. “What Bernie Ecclestone has done is given us a safety net. Part of the problem with our financing has been that everyone is out there saying it doesn’t matter if Donington doesn’t make it because Silverstone will pick it up.
“So that’s a distraction for our financiers – they read in the press that Silverstone will get it back so ask why they should go with us. But what Mr Ecclestone did was very carefully say that if Donington is there in 2010, he’ll wait because it’s not going back to Silverstone.
“In doing that, he has made 2010 even more viable because now finance houses understand that it is our contract. To give us one-year breathing space is an absolute show of commitment.”
Gillet confirmed that Donington has an epic 17 year contract, if F1 keeps going that long of course !
“The great thing about the credit crunch is that building is cheaper! So we’re now looking at about £30 million. We’re confident with what we have – and that’s with a 10-year contract.
“Now, with a 17-year contract, we should double that as well. It’s a very solid way of financing. It’s just that we caught the market at the wrong time.
“But now we’re talking to a lot of different funds and individuals about them backing this scheme because people now realise that this current situation is not going to last forever.
“We have a 17-year contract, and everyone knows that we will be out of this within that period.”
Bernie – Team’s Can’t Set Up Their Own Series
Bernie Ecclestone believes that the manufacturer groups threatening to walk away from Formula One over dispute with the FIA, would have no luck trying to found their own series.
Bernie cites issues with sponsorship, events, governance, fans (and lack of) amongst other things, including contracts he holds with them saying they will be in F1 until 2012.
Ecclestone also believes in an era of cost cutting that boards of the major motor manufacturers like Toyota and BMW would be uneasy at funding a brand new racing series.
“If they do try to set up their own series – and I don’t think they will be able to – there are big problems ahead for them,” Ecclestone told the Daily Express.
“Apart from my contracts with teams, if somebody went to any of our contracted people, companies, television contractors, we would view it very seriously.
“That would be inducement to breach contracts and I don’t do that myself, so I won’t stand back and let it happen. Any action could run to hundreds of millions of pounds, who knows how much?”
“I’m not sure that the boards of teams such as Toyota and BMW, who are already looking to cut costs in F1, would sympathise and bankroll their teams going off to a series which would not be the FIA F1 championship,”
Turkish GP 2009: Button Wins An Otherwise Lacklustre Race
Jenson Button won the Turkish Grand Prix in easy style, in what was a relatively lacklustre and boring race, apart from when Rubens Barrichello charged through the field ahead of his retirement.
Full report to come.
The Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul, Turkey; 58 laps; 309.396km; Weather: Sunny. Classified: Pos Driver Team Time 1. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 1h26:24.848 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 6.714 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) + 7.461 4. Trulli Toyota (B) + 27.843 5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 31.539 6. Massa Ferrari (B) + 39.996 7. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 46.247 8. Glock Toyota (B) + 46.959 9. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 50.246 10. Alonso Renault (B) + 1:02.420 11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 1:04.327 12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 1:06.376 13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 1:20.454 14. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap 15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap 16. Piquet Renault (B) + 1 lap 17. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap 18. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap Fastest lap: Button, 1:27.579 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 49 Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 5
Drivers Unanimously Support FOTA After Secret Sunday Meeting
FOTA held a secret meeting in one of the team’s motohomes in Turkey this morning, with the drivers in attendance as they look for a solution to the crisis which is splitting Formula One in two.
The meeting hearalded that all of the drivers with the current FOTA members were in favour of their teams views against budget caps, and against having hoardes of in-experienced small teams in the sport replacing the manufacturers.
Jarno Trulli said: “All the drivers have the same feeling: to follow FOTA and respect above all the work they are doing on the coming rules and the running of Formula 1 in a serious way for the future.
“We were called today to be kept informed because of the rules not being clear and, being one of the few things that we have read, do not work and needed to be talked about from our part for reasons of safety.
“(Concerning) these rules, which we do not in any case consider are adequate, we share the same vision as FOTA.”
When asked if he thought there would be a FOTA breakaway series, he commented: “I know that in the next week something should budge, it must move. Otherwise there will inevitably then be a split.”
Litespeed To Use Lotus Name For 2010 If Entry Successful
Team Litespeed, the British F3 team who have made an entry request to join Formula One from the 2010 season are to use Team Lotus as it’s name if they are successful.
The evocative former F1 team and lightweight sportscar manufacturer famous for powering people like Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna to victory, could be on the grid for the first time since 1994.
The owner of the Lotus name David Hunt has confirmed he is allowing the Litespeed runners, Nino Judge and Mike Gascoyne who will be basing the team in Norfolk use of the name.
“Team Lotus is synonymous with great British engineering and F1 innovation, such as the Lotus 25 being the first monocoque chassis in F1 and the introduction of groundbreaking sponsorship, both of which easily demonstrate why ex-Lotus personnel would want to bring this championship-winning name back to the formula,” said Judge.
“Litespeed was born from a similar British background – a factor that was at the core of Colin Chapman’s beliefs and subsequent success.
“David Hunt has been the custodian of the name for so many years and we thank him for entrusting us not just with its safeguard but, more importantly, its development in the racing world of tomorrow.”
Senna in a JPS Lotus
Theissen Confident BMW Are Moving Forward
Mario Theiseen was clearly delighted with his team’s progress in today’s Turkish Grand Prix qualifying session, after his cars will line up 10th and 11th on the grid.
After a disatorous Monaco weekend where Robert Kubica, tipped by some as a title threat, started in 18th position there was a clear line drawn that the F1.09 was not good enough.
With a new aerodynamic package, dropping KERS and adding a new diffuser the BMW is clearly getting back to some form.
“When all the drivers were running in the same conditions, the gap to the front-runners was just 0.4 seconds,” said Theissen. “That proves the new aero package has had a positive effect.
“We produced a solid performance. Obviously, our goal was, to get both cars into Q3, which didn’t quite work out.
“The whole field was very close. Nick missed Q3 by just five hundreds of a second, and Robert was finally tenth. What this means in terms of the race we will only see once we know the competitors’ strategy.”
