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It’s the 3rd July 2009 and this is F1 Minute.

There have been rumours floating around for a while now that Virgin would switch their sponsorship from Brawn GP to Manor Grand Prix, and it looks like this might be closer to fact than rumour. The Guardian have published a leaked email from Alan Donnelly, the FIA representative, who says the deal is done and dusted. It’s unclear why Donnelly is involved at all, with Autosport reporting that FOTA have written to the FIA to question his neutrality, and the FIA suggesting he is simply helping the new teams as part of their bid to improve the sport. No one from Virgin or Manor will comment on the potential sponsorship deal though.

Elsewhere today, organisers of the Valencia street circuit have confirmed that they will be reducing the number of grandstand seats available, down by over 30,000 from last year’s 112,000. Ticket sales have not been very good, and organisers blame both the economy and also the ongoing arguments between the FIA and FOTA.

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

03-Jul-09: Virgin Switch Sponsorship to Manor

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This is F1 Minute for the 2nd July 2009.

Bulgaria look set to be another new addition to a future F1 calendar, as the head of the Bulgarian Motorcycling Federation has been invited to the German Grand Prix as a guest of Bernie Ecclestone. They are already on the MotoGP calendar for 2012 and would like to host an F1 race in 2011, although there are no confirmed circuit details yet. Apparently their plans are under consideration by FOM.

Elsewhere today, Nelson Piquet has admitted that he thinks it unlikely Renault will be able to pull out some wins like they did towards the end of the season last year. He said as it is a development race at the moment, the budgets are really dictating who is doing well, but realistically, Piquet thinks they are fighting for the top five positions, rather than for wins.

And finally, the Goodwood Festival of Speed kicks off in the UK tomorrow with six F1 teams going to be represented there.

That’s all for now, see you again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

02-Jul-09: Bulgaria Hope to Host Grand Prix in 2011

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Welcome to F1 Minute and Welcome to July! It’s the first of the month.

Red Bull announced today that they would be switching third driver Hartley for British F3 Champ Alguersuari. Apparently this has always been part of the plan, with Hartley set to concentrate on his European F3 drive. Alguersuari says his aim is to get a seat at Toro Rosso for next season, with most assuming he would replace Bourdais. However, he says: “It’s going to be tough and there is not much testing to do. But once you get to F1, everything changes. We have seen that with guys like Buemi and Vettel.”

Elsewhere, Bridgestone confirmed the tyre compounds they’d be bringing for four more races from Hungary onwards. They have dropped the extra step in compounds this time, with Hungary and Valencia having the two softest, whilst Belgium and Italy benefit from the soft and mediums. Bridgestone haven’t confirmed if the idea is gone completely but admits that for the next few races, the gap would be just too big to be safe.

That’s all for now, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

01-Jul-09: Red Bull Replace Hartley as Third Driver

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It’s the 30th June 2009 and this is F1 Minute.

The Yas Marina Circuit released an online game today, which supposedly allows fans to have a go round the track and try and set a fast time. I couldn’t get it to load, so we’ll have to take their word on that. Meanwhile, ex-Toyota employee and CEO of the track management Richard Cregan has offered an insight to the game which presumably translates to the real life track as well: “Whether you are accelerating down the longest straight on any Formula 1 circuit, skidding off the track under the grandstand, tackling the tricky Marina and Yas Yacht Club corners or driving beneath The Yas Hotel, every lap offers a challenge.”

Also, yesterday it was confirmed that Kimi Raikkonen will appear in the World Rally Championship in Finland, competing against Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen. Kimi has taken part in a couple of non-championship events but will take to the stage with a Fiat in the gap between Hungary and Valencia at the end of July.

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

30-Jun-09: Abu Dhabi Release More Track Info

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 29th June 2009.

Ferrari have already hinted that they are about to push 2009 under the carpet and turn their attention to 2010. Now, Heikki Kovalainen has said that McLaren are doing the opposite, and are trying to learn from their struggles. However, he does note that they could be preparing for next year as well, saying: “It is still important to keep pushing and trying different concepts and different directions, especially with the aerodynamics – the floor, the wings, to understand and make sure that the philosophy of next year’s car is correct. It will be different to this year’s car.” Let’s hope so.

Meanwhile, Christian Horner has confronted the age old question regarding team orders but says that at Red Bull, there will be full driver equality. He says: “There is no number one driver. Updates are being introduced to the cars equally at every race, and that’s the way it will continue for the rest of the season.”

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

29-Jun-09: McLaren Next to Look to 2010

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This is F1 Minute for the 28th June 2009.

I’ve avoided the political wranglings for the last few days, but here is a quick catchup of what has happened since peace supposedly broke out in Formula 1.

Once Max had announced he would not stand for re-election in October, then FOTA held a press conference saying how happy they were. They said some things that got on the FIA President’s nerves and he announced that he wasn’t necessarily out of the picture and if enough people want him to remain as President, then he will stand for election again.

FOTA, wisely enough, did not respond to this, and so far most of the noise has come from the FIA’s side. Now Mosley is saying: “They made the mistake of dancing on my grave before I was buried. I am under pressure now from all over the world to stand for re-election. I don’t actually want to. I feel I am a little bit too old.” And he added: “But if there is going to be a big conflict with the car industry, for example, with the FOTA teams, then I won’t stop.”

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

28-Jun-09: Mosley Confirms Pressure for Re-Election

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This is F1 Minute for the 27th June 2009.

I’m sure this is not in direct response to Rosberg’s warning yesterday that Williams are catching Ferrari up, but the defending constructor’s champions have hinted that they could be switching their attention to the 2010 season.

Naturally, it all depends on what happens with the FIA and that nonsense is still ongoing, but Luca di Montezemolo has said: “I am very confident we can improve our performances in the next race, and then we will be fully concentrated on next year’s car, without KERS, with clear rules…” He seems to blame the grey areas in this year’s regulations, ie. the double diffuser, plus the lack of in-season testing, for the teams inability to drastically improve.

On the subject of KERS, Martin Whitmarsh said this week it is circumstance that has seen the system fail in Formula 1, rather than anything wrong with the devices themselves. He says that the concept was good but to introduce a new technology costs an awful lot, and that is not where F1 is heading at the moment.

That’s all for now, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

27-Jun-09: Ferrari Suggest Attention Will Turn to 2010

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It’s the 26th June and this is F1 Minute.

Rather than the normal party line of “we are moving forward but so is everyone else” Nico Rosberg has issued a rather optimistic warning to Ferrari, suggesting that Williams are catching them up. He said: “In the last couple of races we have been developing the strongest out of everybody – apart from Red Bull who are making big progress – which is very nice to see.” He said they’re beating McLaren, and in the next few races it is mission Ferrari.

Elsewhere, you’ll know we are following the saga of the Donington Park circuit, and they’ve finally had some good news. The final planning permission for the building works and redevelopment has been given the go ahead, so the diggers will be back in action. Boss Simon Gillett says: “There’s no denying that we still have a lot of hard work ahead but we’ll continue to remain positive and do everything that we can to deliver against the promises that we have been made.” And there was me thinking he was the one making promises.

That’ll do it for now, I will be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

26-Jun-09: Rosberg Optimistic Ferrari Next Target

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 25th June 2009.

FOTA held a press conference today revealing their feelings over the compromise with the FIA, and they say they are happy. Flavio Briatore said: “We achieved what we want – an F1 with the best drivers, with the best teams and we want to work to have a better show, entertaining better the people.” On that subject, Briatore is set to work with the commercial rights holder to make F1 a better show. He says he wants to provide what the audience wants to see, but that sounds too good to be true.

Meanwhile, Williams have said they hope to be allowed to return to FOTA, after being suspended when they submitted an entry by themselves. Presumably, Force India feel the same way. During the FOTA press conference, Stefano Domenicali has added that they’ll be glad to welcome new teams into the association, but they need to talk to the teams to see if they want to join and if they have funding for regulations that don’t include budget caps.

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

25-Jun-09: FOTA Prepared to Improve Formula 1

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Today is the 24th June and this is F1 Minute.

Following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council today, Max Mosley announced that those teams threatening to breakaway from Formula 1… are no longer going to do so. We have only heard the FIA’s side of the story so far, but they say they have come to a deal with FOTA. For his part, Max has confirmed that he will not stand for re-election in October. I will believe it when I see it. The teams association are meeting tomorrow and will make a statement then.

The official 2010 entry list has been confirmed, now that the breakaway threat has dissipated. All the current teams plus the three new ones are on there – and there are no more annoying little side notes.

Elsewhere, Hockenheim has been sharing the German Grand Prix with Nurburgring and had it’s turn last year, but it looks as though that could be their last. The City Council is a major shareholder in the track and have unanimously voted not to support the race any longer, despite their contract running out next year.

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

24-Jun-09: FIA Announce Peace in Formula 1