NEWS ARCHIVE
F1 NOSES TO BE REDESIGNED?
The FIA Institute has announced that it is planning a series of tests this summer to learn more about wheel over wheel accidents.
GOOD NEWS
It is great news that the FIA has issued what amounts to a sensible entry list for the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship and has not tried to force matters along by excluding any of the existing teams. There will, no doubt, be sighs of relief across the F1 world that this has happened.
THE BRDC MOVES ON
The British Racing Drivers' Club, the owner of Silverstone, has elected Damon Hill to be its new chairman.
MEANWHILE IN LAS VEGAS
If Formula 1 is really serious about going to Las Vegas (and we do not believe this to be the case), things are going to need to move quickly.
BUDWEISER INVESTS MORE IN SOCCER
Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch has become the first company to sign up as a FIFA World Cup sponsor for the period spanning 2007 to 2014.
RICHARDS HAILS "WONDERFUL NEWS"
Prodrive boss David Richards says that it is wonderful news that the company has been granted the 12th entry in the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship.
FIA CONFIRMS PRODRIVE ENTRY FOR 2008
The FIA has confirmed the 12 teams that it will have in its Formula 1 World Championship in 2008.
INFORMAL DISCUSSIONS AFTER IMOLA
Some of the teams competing at Imola were rather surprised to see the speed of the Ferrari 248 at the recent San Marino Grand Prix and there are reports that at least one has written to the FIA, on an informal basis, claiming that the rear wing of the Ferrari is flexing rather too much, creating less drag at very high speed.
MANSELL AND PLANNING PERMISSION
David Richards is not the only one with planning permission worries at the moment. Down in Devon, Nigel Mansell has been getting in the newspapers with his plans to expand the facilities at the Dunkeswell kart track near Honiton, which Mansell is rumoured to have bought last year.
ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA
The Greek alphabet is always a useful thing for companies that cannot think of good names for its businesses while they are sorting out company structures during an acquisition phase.
AGURI AND YUJI IDE
Yuji Ide has not had a great Formula 1 season to date. He did not get much time in the Super Aguri before the season began and he does not know the race tracks and in Imola he blotted his copybook by tipping Christijan Albers into a fairly nasty crash on the first lap of the San Marino Grand Prix.
RED BULL GOES SHOPPING IN WOKING (AGAIN)
Red Bull Racing has struck again and is hiring McLaren's Team Leader of Operational Research, Neil Martin. Martin will become RBR's head of strategic operations at Milton Keynes.
THE MARCH OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
It can only be a matter of time before nanotechnology arrives in Formula 1 with a whole range of exciting new materials which can outperform the existing products. Progress in developing these new super-materials has been very rapid in recent years but it is continuing apace.
A LITTLE SECRET ABOUT HONDA
Honda is not very keen on the current discussions about the curbing of technology in Formula 1. The company has always used the sport to help its engineers create new ideas and to learn how to react quickly to change.
SHOWING THE POLITICIANS
The Motorsport Industry Association is to bring a group of politicians to the British Grand Prix in June to underline the importance of the sport to Britain.
LIUZZI WALKS AWAY FROM A BIG ONE
Tonio Liuzzi walked away from a sizeable accident at Silverstone yesterday, after the car went out of control at Becketts at 275kph. The car spun and hit the wall on the right side of the track.
A REMINDER IN NEW ZEALAND
There are some who think that motor racing has become so safe that the issue is no longer important, but racing at the Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand over the weekend gave a clear reminder that safety cannot be taken for granted.
A GOOD SIGN IN ASIA
Although Formula 1 continues to suck in most of the money around the world that is available for the sport, depriving up and coming stars of funding unless they have rich families and friends or show exceptional talent, it is nice to be able to report that the sport is growing in various places, notably in Asia.
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER'S CONTRACT
There are widespread reports that Ferrari is offering Michael Schumacher a new two-year deal worth $45m a year, with a clause which would allow him to leave if he wins the World Championship. This makes sense although everyone involved is dismissing it as pure speculation.
THE LAST GREAT RECORD
Formula 1 records long since ceased to have much importance, if only because of Michael Schumacher's domination of the sport in recent years which has made all previous records fade into insignificance.
A1 GRAND PRIX BEEFS ITSELF UP FOR 2006-2007
The A1 Grand Prix series is due to kick off this year in October at Zandvoort but already there are signs that the series will be stronger next year than it has been this year.
LIUZZI BACK IN A RED BULL THIS WEEK
Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Tonio Liuzzi will be back in a Red Bull-Ferrari this week in the testing at Silverstone and that must be sending worrying messages to regular driver Christian Klien.
A SETTLEMENT FOR F1
The ever-excitable Formula 1 Internet media - most of whom have never set foot in a Formula 1 paddock and make it up as they go along by putting their own spin on other people's stories - decided over the weekend that a deal was close between the GPMA teams and CVC Capital Partners, the F1 commercial rights holders.
MOSLEY LOSES ANOTHER ALLY
Max Mosley has lost his second major ally within a couple of weeks with the death of John Large, a man who played a key role in Mosley's control of the FIA through his influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Large was 67.
ZANDER JOINS BMW
Jorg Zander has been hired by BMW Sauber to be the Swiss-based team's chief designer. The 42-year-old German will start work in Hinwil in July and will report to BMW Sauber technical director Willy Rampf.
RACE REPORT - FAST TIMES, SLOW TIMES
Michael Schumacher took pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix - and perhaps that was the key moment of the Imola weekend. No-one knew why the car was suddenly so much quicker than it had been in Australia and Malaysia but obviously there was a little black magic from Bridgestone.
PIQUET LEADS GP2 AFTER IMOLA
Nelson Piquet Jr now leads the GP2 series championship lead after finishing finished fifth and second in the two races over the weekend at Imola. Piquet is followed in the championship by ex-F1 driver Gimmi Bruni, who win at the weekend for the new Trident Racing organisation.
SUNDAY PHOTOS
San Marino GP - Sunday Photos
SUNDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
San Marino GP - Sunday Press Conference
SUNDAY TEAM QUOTES
San Marino GP - Sunday Team Quotes
RACE INCIDENTS
San Marino GP - Race Incidents
RACE RESULTS
San Marino GP - Race Results
GREEKS NARROWING DOWN F1 PLANS
The Greek Tourism Development Ministry has finalised the conditions required for locations which are bidding to be the venue of a Formula 1 track in Greece.
QUALIFYING REPORT - FERRARI'S BLACK MAGIC
A year ago at Imola, Michael Schumacher's Ferrari, which had done nothing in the early races, suddenly found a huge amount of speed in the San Marino Grand Prix. Michael was second right behind Fernando Alonso's Renault. And yet as the season went on that speed seemed to disappear again.
SATURDAY PHOTOS
San Marino GP - Saturday Photos
SATURDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
San Marino GP - Saturday Press Conference
SATURDAY TEAM QUOTES
San Marino GP - Saturday Team Quotes
QUALIFYING RESULTS
San Marino GP - Qualifying Results
PRACTICE 3 REPORT - THINGS START TO GET SERIOUS
After a day doing homework on Friday the F1 teams started to get serious on Saturday morning with tyre choices made and set-ups decided upon.
PRACTICE 3 RESULTS
San Marino GP - Practice 3 Results
PRACTICE 2 REPORT - FERNANDO NIPS BUDDING FERRARI
Hope springs eternal in Italy when Ferraris are running around race tracks but even the team's famous magic at Imola was unable to stop Fernando Alonso setting the fastest time on Friday with a blistering lap of 1m25.043s in the final seconds of the second practice session.
BEHIND THE MOTORHOMES IN IMOLA
Alex Shnaider has been rather excited in recent days about rumours suggesting that he is selling his MF1 Racing Formula 1 team. Indeed he has even become rather impolite on the subject.
FRIDAY PHOTOS
San Marino GP - Friday Photos
FRIDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
San Marino GP - Friday Press Conference
FRIDAY TEAM QUOTES
San Marino GP - Friday Team Quotes
PRACTICE 2 RESULTS
San Marino GP - Practice 2 Results
PRACTICE 1 REPORT - SCHUMACHER PLAYS THE MAGICIAN
Ferrari always seems to have a little magic available when it comes to its home circuit at Imola and we saw it once again on Friday morning when Michael Schumacher emerged from the pitlane after 55 minutes of the one hour session and promptly set the fastest time of the session on only his second flying lap.
PRACTICE 1 RESULTS
San Marino GP - Practice 1 Results
GERMANY TO CHALLENGE EU TOBACCO BAN
The German government is reported to be planning to take legal action to stop the European Union imposing a ban on tobacco advertising. The move comes in response to the EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou's plan to take Germany to the European court.
THE 12TH F1 FRANCHISE
The word in the paddock in Imola on Friday was that the FIA has decided that the 12th team in F1 in 2008 will be David Richards's Prodrive. This is no surprise as Prodrive started out as the favourite to get the deal.
THURSDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
San Marino GP - Thursday Press Conference
TODT HARSH ON MASSA
Felipe Massa has, in the mind of most of the F1 circus, done a good job this year as team mate to Michael Schumacher. Coming into a top team for the first time and getting even close to a seven-time World Champion (and beating him on occasion) is a pretty good effort for a young driver like Massa.
RENAULT TALKS OF THE FUTURE
Alain Dassas, the new boss of Renault F1, has been talking about the team's plans for the future.
EMIRATES SPENDS ITS MONEY IN SOCCER
The Emirates airline has signed a $195m deal to become a partner of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) from 2007 to 2014.
NASCAR PUSHES FOR INTERNATIONAL GROWTH
Although Formula 1 people like to say that NASCAR is only a domestic championship there are increasing signs that the search for more revenue will eventually push the American stock car series to move into the international markets.
OVER THE WEEKEND
There was good news for Raikkonen Robertson Racing over the Easter weekend with two wins for Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, in the opening rounds of the British Formula 3 Championship at Oulton Park.
MF1 RACING SAYS YES TO DEL MONTE
Midland Formula 1 Racing has announced that Fabrizio Del Monte will be a test and reserve driver with the team. It remains to be seen when he will be seen in action but the 26-year-old Italian tested for the team in Jerez de la Frontera in December last year.
TODT TALKS ABOUT SCHUMACHER'S FUTURE
It being the holidays, the recent days have seen the Formula 1 rumour mill busy speculating about the future of Michael Schumacher. The 37-year-old Ferrari star says that he is not planning to make any decision about his future until July.
THE FUTURE OF FOSTER'S IN F1 - OR THE LACK OF IT
In the last few days in Australia Foster's has announced the end of its sponsorship in Formula 1 after 20 years. This follows the sale of the Foster's brand name in Europe to Foster's UK brewing and distribution partner, Scottish and Newcastle. Different regions will now make their own decisions about sponsorship.
RENAULT STILL ON TOP IN BARCELONA
Renault headed the times on two of the three days of testing in Barcelona this week, with Heikki Kovalainen setting the fastest time overall of 1m 13.928s on Friday to head team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella.
MIDLAND HITS BACK
Following recent speculation that managing director Colin Kolles is about to decamp MF1 Racing has taken the unusual step of issuing a press release confirming that it is alive and well and not about to lose further staff.
WEBER STALLS ON RENAULT'S ADVANCE ON SCHUMACHER
Michael Schumacher's manager Willi Weber is stalling over an approach to the seven-time champion from former boss Flavio Briatore of Renault.
ECCLESTONE STEPS BACK INTO BRDC FIGHT
Bernie Ecclestone has stepped back into the political fight currently raging within the British Racing Drivers' Club.
RAIKKONEN DEAL WITH FERRARI DONE A YEAR AGO?
As rumours do the rounds that Michael Schumacher intends to sign a new deal with Ferrari for 2007, sources close to Maranello continue to suggest that Kimi Raikkonen's deal to go there was signed a year ago.
RALLY WORLD MOURNS SHEKHAR MEHTA
The world of rallying is in mourning for Shekhar Mehta, the Kenyan driver best known for winning the East African Safari Rally on four occasions for Datsun
CARLIN WANTS F1 RETURN
Trevor Carlin has admitted that his is one of the 22 team bosses who have submitted an entry for the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship.
MORE PRESSURE FOR KLIEN
Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has again put pressure on Christian Klien to outperform Red Bull Racing team-mate David Coulthard.
WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES WRIGHT REPLACEMENT
WilliamsF1 has signed Scott Garrett as its new Head of Marketing, to replace Jim Wright who left over the weekend of the Australian Grand Prix.
SUPER AGURI TOPS RELIABILITY TABLE
The fledgling Super Aguri F1 Team has unexpectedly topped the reliability table compiled after the first three races of the season.
IDE CLEARED FOR IMOLA
Super Aguri Formula 1 has thrown Yuji Ide a lifeline following suggestions that the Japanese rookie would be replaced before the San Marino Grand Prix next weekend.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES "SAPPED" AUSSIE VIEWERS' ENTHUSIASM
According to a survey conducted in Australia, a disappointing number of people watched the Australian Grand Prix on television.
BOURDAIS WINS, LEGGE IMPRESSES
Two-time defending champion Sebastien Bourdais won the Champ Car World Series opener at Long Beach yesterday over Justin Wilson.
AMMERMULLER WINS GP2 AT VALENCIA
German rookie Michael Ammermuller won Sunday's GP2 race at Valencia for Arden International, ahead of Ernesto Viso in second and Nicolas Lapierre in third.
PIQUET JR WINS GP2 OPENER
Nelson Piquet Jr. won the opening race of the 2006 GP2 championship today in Valencia with a 16 second margin over rookie Lewis Hamilton. Spanish driver Adrian Valles took third.
AN INTERESTING IDEA FROM BMW
The BMW Sauber F1 Team is putting its name to a new "theme park" area at the Nurburgring, in which race fans can get a look up close at what happens in the pit lane and team garages at a Grand Prix.
SUPER AGURI PUTS DOWN MORE ROOTS AT LEAFIELD
Super Aguri F1 has put down some more roots at the Leafield Technical Centre with the news that the Japanese team has leased a portion of the Technical Centre until December 2008.
MF1 LOSES A KEY PLAYER
The MF1 Racing team has lost its Sporting Director Adrian Burgess with immediate effect. Burgess has been increasingly disenchanted with the team in recent months and has now decided to depart.
FAT LADY SINGS IN GASCOYNE CRISIS
Toyota Motorsport and Mike Gascoyne have reached a mutual agreement which will see both parties terminate their working relationship with immediate effect. Gascoyne will remain a fully contracted employee of Toyota Motorsport until the end of October 2006.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD LAW
The European Commission has announced that it is takes action against four member states for their failure to comply with the provisions of European anti-tobacco legislation.
HOW A1 IS DOING AGAINST F1
Although everyone likes to say that the A1 Grand Prix series is not in competition with the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, it is inevitable that the two will be compared.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD EQUIVALENCY
There has been some chuntering in the last few days about the performance of the Toro Rossos in Australia with some of the teams at the back making noises about life not being fair because the team is using V10 engines, albeit in rev-limited form.
MONTOYA, COULTHARD AND RED BULL RACING
In recent days there has been talk that Red Bull Racing is considering hiring Juan Pablo Montoya. This has naturally led to suggestions that David Coulthard may move on.
NO MEETING ON APRIL 10
The various Formula 1 teams - quasi or otherwise - were due to meet with the FIA at the Heathrow Hilton on April 10. It was never really clear what the meeting was going to be about, apart from showing that there were 22 representatives present and that, as a result of this, the sport could go on without the manufacturers.
TOYOTA CONFIRMS GASCOYNE "SUSPENSION"
Toyota has announced that technical director Mike Gascoyne has been suspended indefinitely after what the Japanese team described as a "fundamental difference of opinion".
RED BULL HITS RENAULT FOR NEW STAFFER
Red Bull Racing continues its recruiting and has just hit Renault F1 for another key player, having hired the Enstone team's head of manufacturing Keith Saunt. The news was announced at Red Bull this morning.
WHAT HAPPENED AT TOYOTA?
The news that Mike Gascoyne has left Panasonic Toyota Racing came as a surprise as things seemed to be moving in the right direction, particularly with Ralf Schumacher's third place in Melbourne.
WHAT NOW FOR TOYOTA?
The word from Cologne is that the departure of Mike Gascoyne, which is still to be officially confirmed, will see Pascal Vasselon move up from his current role as General Manager (Car Design and Development) to take on Gascoyne's role as technical director (chassis).
THE BRDC TURNS TO DAMON
Damon Hill has been nominated as a potential new President for the British Racing Drivers' Club. The election will take place on April 28 and has become necessary because of the decision of Sir Jackie Stewart not to seek re-election.
EXIT GASCOYNE FROM COLOGNE?
The word on the street on Tuesday was that there has been a major shake-up at Toyota with our sources saying that Mike Gascoyne has departed the team. We contacted Gascoyne to see if there was a story. He is saying nothing at all.
RACE REPORT - BLACK AND BLUE MAGIC
The Australian Grand Prix was a bruising business for most of the Formula 1 drivers. Bodies and egos took a thumping as the F1 fly-boys did their thing between the wicked walls of Albert Park. It is a terrific show with some wild action and some spectacular crashes.
BRIATORE'S HUMOUR LOST IN TRANSLATION
Flavio Briatore is well known for his theatrical tendencies, particularly on the pitwall at races, but his sense of humour landed him in hot water in Germany over the weekend after he went down to the Mercedes-Benz garage in Melbourne to visit Norbert Haug.
SPEED BUTTS HEADS WITH FIA
The FIA Stewards in Melbourne have deprived Scott Speed of his eighth place finish in the Australian Grand Prix. The American Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was reprimanded and given a 25 second penalty for ignoring yellow flags.
SUNDAY PHOTOS
Australian GP - Sunday Photos
SUNDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Australian GP - Sunday Press Conference
SUNDAY TEAM QUOTES
Australian GP - Sunday Team Quotes
RACE INCIDENTS
Australian GP - Race Incidents
RACE RESULTS
Australian GP - Race Results
QUALIFYING REPORT - BOOST BUTTON
Jenson Button took pole position for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne after a incident-packed qualifying session.
SCHUMACHER AND KOVALAINEN
The smart money in the Formula 1 paddock in Melbourne is on a Renault driver line-up in 2007 of Michael Schumacher and Heikki Kovalainen. This may sound an unlikely state of affairs but it makes a great deal of sense for all concerned. That does not mean it is going to happen but it is a logical argument.
SATURDAY PHOTOS
Australian GP - Saturday Photos
SATURDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Australian GP - Saturday Press Conference
SATURDAY TEAM QUOTES
Australian GP - Saturday Team Quotes
QUALIFYING RESULTS
Australian GP - Qualifying Results
WHO ARE THE NEW TEAMS?
The announcement that the FIA has received 22 entries for 2008 is not really a surprise as there is no real commitment necessary at the moment. The various dossiers need now to be examined by the FIA in order to see who is really sensible - and who is not.
CVC BUYS ALLSPORT
As we exclusively predicted some months ago CVC Capital Partners has acquired Allsport Management SA and the business undertaken by the related firm Allsopp Parker & Marsh.
PRACTICE 3 REPORT - A BMW PROMOTIONAL EVENT
Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve ended the third practice session of the Australian Grand Prix with an unexpected 1-2 for BMW.
PRACTICE 3 RESULTS
Australian GP - Practice 3 Results
