Quotes Roundup - Week Ending 30th Nov

The very best from the mouths of those in the know.

Toro Rosso Buyout

In which Dietrich Mateschitz regains full control…

• “Dietrich’s interest will focus on Red Bull Racing, therefore the support for STR will become smaller and prevent the team from improving further from sixth. I don’t want to decline, that is not in my nature.”Gerhard Berger
• “I am very grateful to Gerhard for his huge input. Together we turned Toro Rosso into a team that qualified on a regular basis in the top 10 and collected world championship points.” Dietrich Mateschitz
• “I will be out of STR, but the split with STR and Dietrich is completely amicable and there was no rift between us.” Gerhard Berger

The Medal Proposal

Bernie says it will be introduced in 2009…

• “All the teams are happy. The whole reason for this was that I was fed up with people talking about no overtaking. The reason there’s no overtaking is nothing to do with the circuit or the people involved, it’s to do with the drivers not needing to overtake.” Bernie Ecclestone
• “The points are necessary. I was one of the team principals in the team principals’ meetings who advocated that the points should go down to eighth place, because one point to a team down there is as important as a win is to the likes of McLaren and Ferrari, and we must never forget that.” Eddie Jordan
• “There are a lot of people who have ridiculed this suggestion, and honestly I have to admit at first that I thought the stress of divorce had got to him. But I think he actually has a point. Like him, I think the winner of the most races in a season should automatically be the world champion.” Jos Verstappen

Circuits Planning Ahead

Although many are pulling out of the calendar, some are thinking to the future…

• “This will be the first public transport Grand Prix. We are not bringing cars here. We are looking to use public transport from all the major conurbations, the airport and the Parkway station.” Simon Gillett, chief executive of Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd
• “With Bahrain at the start of the year and Abu Dhabi at the season finale there are many projects on which we can work together to attract more spectators, corporate clients and sponsors to both the region’s races.” Zayed Alzayani, Bahrain circuit boss
• “We think Formula One is a very good product, a very good event for Shanghai city so at least from our company’s point of view we want to continue promoting and building the event. Research shows there are more and more race fans in China, so I don’t think we will say no to the Formula One Grand Prix.” General Manager of Event Management at Shanghai

Essential Reading for November 28th, 2008

Recommended links for November 28th, 2008:

• Exclusive Fisichella Q&A: I’ve been promised a competitive package - "I originally signed a two-year contract which was reviewed in September to incorporate the McLaren deal. In a few words, the team offered me a better car and a different package. I accepted their proposal and both sides signed the new document between Singapore and China. This is why Dr Mallya made the announcement in Shanghai."
• Massa to donate $25,000 to victims of natural tragedy in Brazil - Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa will make a personal donation of $25,000 to the victims of the flooding and earth sliding, caused by heavy rains, at the Brazilian state Santa Catarina. More than 100 people lost their lives and around 54.000 families were left homeless after the natural tragedy.
• Abu Dhabi and Bahrain announce working relationship - "The agreement reached today will see the two organisations work together to identify and harness opportunities stemming from the presence of two of the world’s leading motor racing circuits being present in the region. With the two tracks hosting rounds of the FIA Formula One World Championship in the region in 2009 and beyond, both ADMM and BIC foresee opportunities to harness resulting administrative, sporting and business synergies."
• Fisichella: No doubts about 2009 seat - "I originally signed a two-year contract which was reviewed in September to incorporate the McLaren deal. In a few words, the team offered me a better car and a different package."

BMW Sports Trophy 2008

The BMW Motorsport squad of Formula One drivers (Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld and Christian Klien), FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) works drivers and the junior racers from Formula BMW were joined by over 500 guests at the Postpalast venue in central Munich on Saturday evening for the end-of-year party and Sports Trophy presentation.

As BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen explained: “This event gives us the opportunity to thank our partners, drivers and associates for their commitment during the 2008 season. However, for some of us the season is not yet over; the Formula BMW World Final will take place in Mexico City this coming weekend. Plus, the BMW Sauber F1 Team will have little in the way of a winter break – further testing in Jerez is scheduled for December and preparations for 2009 are already in full swing at the factories.”

Looking back at 2008, Theissen reflected: “We’re proud that we achieved our goals once again in the third year of our Formula One team. We were aiming to record our maiden victory, and we did so with a 1-2. Plus, we collected our first pole position and two fastest race laps. In the WTCC we took six victories, but had to concede the title to our rivals for the first time. And Formula BMW Europe enjoyed a good debut season with its races on the Formula One support programme. However, this evening is traditionally an occasion for honouring those drivers and teams who have competed internationally at a high level of motor racing without works support and have served as crucial ambassadors for the performance capability of our products.”

Record entry list for BMW Sports Trophy; Franz Engstler tops the rankings.

With 141 independent drivers signing up, the entry list for the BMW Sports Trophy was longer in 2008 that at any time in its 40-year history. The previous year, 98 amateur racing drivers applied – also a record at the time. In 2008 the privateers picked up points in more than 20 race series around the world at the wheel of various BMW models. The candidates for the € 250,000 prize fund came from almost 20 different countries.

At the end of the day, it was Franz Engstler (47) who fended off the international field to claim the spoils. The former DTM driver from the Allgäu region of Germany had already won the Sports Trophy in 2005, and amassed his points this year in the WTCC, Asian Touring Car Series, ADAC Procar Series, and in the Nürburgring and Dubai 24-hour races. Engstler lined up in a BMW 320si, BMW 320i and BMW Z4 M Coupé in the various competitions and picked up a cheque for € 30,000 in Munich.

The runner’s-up prize (€ 25,000) went to the Swedish Touring Car Championship winner Richard Göransson. The Swede won the Sports Trophy back in 2004 and finished third last year. Mat Jackson (GB) claimed third place (€ 21,000) this time around, as well as finishing second in the British Touring Car Championship.

28-Nov-08: Abu Dhabi and Bahrain Team Up to Increase Spectators

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You’re listening to F1 Minute for the 28th November 2008.

Organisers of the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix have joined forces to share their knowledge and try and expand their events. The Bahrain International Circuit and Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management have agreed a deal, and the chairman said: “There are many projects on which we can work to attract more spectators, corporate clients and sponsors to the region’s two races.”

Fisichella has spoken about the rumours he may be replaced at Force India, insisting that he has faith in his employers. He said: “I originally signed a two-year contract which was reviewed in September to incorporate the McLaren deal. In a few words, the team offered me a better car and a different package.” He said he already knew Pedro would be in the car for a test, and finds the speculation uninteresting.

Finally, it’s not really F1 news, but ex-driver Tiago Monteiro’s company has bought a GP2 team, moving him into the field of management, and being the first Portuguese team in the series.

That’s it for today, have a great weekend and I’ll be back on Monday for another F1 Minute.

News in Brief for 2008-11-27

Notices for November 27th, 2008:

• Webber believes/hopes he will be back in the car by February, following a slow process of resting, then walking, then training up again. [link]

27-Nov-08: Webber Hopes to Return to the Track in February

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 27th November 2008.

Webber has confirmed that he hopes to be back in action in February. Speaking about his injuries and recovery, he said that both bones in his lower leg were broken which does complicate things, but he’s starting the slow process to being well again: “At the moment there is pressure and swelling whenever I stand up. There is talk it will be like that for the next two or three weeks and come the first week of February we should be on target for me to be able to walk unaided.” He hopes to get back in the car and be fully fit by the season opener in Melbourne.

Elsewhere, organisers at Donington Park hope the British GP in 2010 can be a car free event, with every spectator arriving by public transport. They say that buses will be available from nearby towns, plus there’s East Midlands airport and a railway station set to open. For an F1 race, it doesn’t seem to fit for organisers to say: “We are not bringing cars here.” Nevertheless, it fits with the current green initiatives.

That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

Essential Reading for November 27th, 2008

Recommended links for November 27th, 2008:

• BMW to unveil F1.09 at Valencia - BMW Sauber has announced that it will unveil its 2009 car at the Valencia track on 20 January.

  The F1.09 will be driven on an installation lap in front of the assembled media before a press conference with drivers and team personnel, with the team then commencing fully-fledged testing at the track after lunch.

• Donington GP to be ‘car-free’ event - Donington Park is aiming to make the 2010 British Grand Prix a 'car-free' event, with the crowd arriving entirely by public transport.

  The circuit's chief executive Simon Gillett says the track will arrange bus links from nearly towns and cities, and encourage fans to fly into the nearby East Midlands Airport or use the new East Midlands Parkway railway station that is set to open next year.

• 25,000 fans on Honda’s ‘Thanks Day’ - On Monday 24 November, Jenson Button wowed thousands of fans at the “Enjoy Honda – Honda Racing Thanks Day” event at Honda’s Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. The annual one-day event brings together Honda Racing machines and stars from two- and four-wheeled competition, both from Honda’s racing past and current series.
• FIA puts brakes on Bernie Ecclestone medal plan - Ecclestone will need FIA endorsement of his idea at its World Motor Sport Council meeting in Monaco next month, but he is not expected to get it. The world governing body is far from convinced that the teams are in favour of the change as Ecclestone has claimed.

  Even if Ecclestone managed to get his proposal through, it would not be implemented until the beginning of the 2010 season at the earliest.

• Italian F3 drivers enjoy F1 debut at Ferrari - The top three in this year's Italian Formula 3 series were invited by Ferrari to enjoy a day of testing at Ferrari's home track Fiorano as a gift for their performance in Italian Formula Three. Edoardo Piscopo, Salvatore Cicatelli and Mirko Bortolotti got behind the wheel between 10.30am and 4.30pm at the Italian track.
• Webber targets return in February - "At the moment there is pressure and swelling whenever I stand up. There is talk it will be like that for the next two or three weeks and come the first week of February we should be on target for me to be able to walk unaided. And then the acceleration between the first week of Feb and the first week of March will be quite extreme in terms of me getting about. "

News in Brief for 2008-11-26

Notices for November 26th, 2008:

• LG Electronics is now a “Global Partner” and “Technology Partner” of Formula 1. They’ll take over the live timing data and TV graphics. [link]
• Bernie says the medal system will begin in 2009, subject to the FIA’s approval. All the teams are happy, but E. Jordan says it’s misguided. [link]

26-Nov-08: Bernie Wants Medals in for 2009

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Today is the 26th November and this is F1 Minute.

Bernie Ecclestone has hit the headlines today by saying he is determined to get the medals scoring system in place for the 2009 season. In a news conference, Ecclestone said: “It’s going to happen. All the teams are happy. The whole reason for this is I am fed up with people talking about there being no overtaking.” Assuming all the teams are happy about this new system, Bernie still needs to get the go ahead from the FIA, who will decide at a World Council meeting next month.

In more Bernie news, he announced a five-year deal with LG Electronics, who become the technology partner of Formula 1. The deal officially includes: Consumer Electronics, Mobile Phones and Data Processing, which actually means they’ll sort out the live timing and television graphics. Despite the economic climate being worrying, LG say there is nothing more important to invest in than their brand.

And a final story, another deal in place, Santander have confirmed a switch from McLaren to Ferrari in 2010.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Essential Reading for November 25th, 2008

Recommended links for November 25th, 2008:

• Sir Frank Williams endorses karting for the disabled - One of Formula One's most successful team owners Sir Frank Williams CBE, has fully endorsed the free Karting for the Disabled seminar which will take place at the very first enABLE show at Coventry's Ricoh Arena on 28&29 November 2008.

  "I fully support this initiative which is opening a new route for disabled participants to become involved in competitive motor sport," said Sir Frank. "With the oxygen of publicity provided by British success in Formula One, it is a great time to be encouraging everyone, regardless of ability or capability, to enjoy full engagement in motor sport."

• Ecclestone: Medal system next year - "All the teams are happy. The whole reason for this was that I was fed up with people talking about no overtaking. The reason there's no overtaking is nothing to do with the circuit or the people involved, it's to do with the drivers not needing to overtake."
• LG Electronics becomes a Global Partner of Formula 1 - "As the Official Data Processor of Formula 1™ LG will be identified and credited on the official live timing service at Formula One events and in the associated timing and data TV graphics. They will also enjoy a comprehensive package of premium marketing rights worldwide in association with the Formula 1™ brand."
• Mark Webber’s Challenge finishes in Hobart - The Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge finished for another year on Sunday in Hobart, Tasmania. With attention focusing on the now wonky-walking Webber after his altercation with a rather large vehicle, news and details of the charity event had been pretty thin on the ground until recently.

  The total sum raised by all participants has exceeded $150,000 for both Save the Tasmanian Devil programme and Leukaemia Foundation. Even though Mark was sidelined on the penultimate day of the challenge, the event continued with Team Red Bull proving victorious by finishing nearly an hour in front of their nearest rivals Team Keen.

• Red Bull buys back Toro Rosso stake - Energy drinks giant Red Bull has bought back the 50 per cent stake in the Toro Rosso Formula One team owned by Gerhard Berger.

  "I am very grateful to Gerhard for his huge input," said Mateschitz. "Together we turned Toro Rosso into a team that qualified on a regular basis in the top 10 and collected world championship points."

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