Essential Reading for February 9th, 2009

Recommended links for February 9th, 2009:

• Donington boss denies debt reports – Donington Park boss Simon Gillett says work on the circuit's revamp is continuing as planned, dismissing reports that his company had debts of up to £66 million.

  "It's business as usual at Donington Park and absolutely nothing has changed," Gillett told the Press Association.

• Technical analysis of the Red Bull RB5 – As the last of the major teams to unveil their car, Red Bull adopted a strategy to keep the design in progress until the last minute.

  It's possible to say that the RB5 could be regarded as radical, but it's perhaps fairer to say the car throws away the book of contemporary F1 design and instead returns to some features discarded from F1 several years ago.

• Limping Webber unveils new Red Bull F1 car – A limping Mark Webber helped unveil the new Red Bull Formula One car on Monday that could allow the Australian to step up alongside new team mate Sebastian Vettel as a race winner this season.

  Webber, who broke his leg in a cycling accident in Tasmania last November, was without crutches but clearly wary of putting too much weight on his leg.

Essential Reading for February 8th, 2009

Recommended links for February 8th, 2009:

• The American F1 team – rumours and possibilities – The idea of the US team has been kicking around for some time and popped up last summer when Ken Anderson was linked to the idea of a second Honda team.

  According to stories we have heard the plan is to design and build the cars in Charlotte, with a European base being established at Epsilon Euskadi, in the town of Azkoitia, near Bilbao, in Spain.

• New American team to launch F1 bid – A new bid to bring an American team into Formula 1 in 2010 is set to be officially launched within the next month.

  The official launch of USF1 will take place on American broadcaster SPEED TV, for whom Windsor commentates, in late February or early March.

• Cost cuts saved my seat – Bourdais – Sebastien Bourdais is the person to add his voice to praise for F1's dramatic cost cutting measures for the 2009 season, saying the reduced budget required by teams to compete was key to his being retained by Toro Rosso for a second season.
• Turkish GP’s long-term future in doubt – Turkish Grand Prix organisers fear they could lose their Formula One race after 2011, amid reports that Bernie Ecclestone does not plan to renew his current deal with the Istanbul Park circuit.

  The Today's Zaman newspaper reports that Ecclestone, who took charge of the track several years ago, has given the circuit's original builder and financier the Istabul Chamber of Commerce notice that he plans to take the race off the F1 calendar after three more years.

Essential Reading for February 5th, 2009

Recommended links for February 5th, 2009:

• Jonathan Noble: Online – It's official, the Internet represents the future for Formula One, so says FIA president Max Mosley.

  "I would revolutionise the way we do the Internet," he said. "The Internet is the great neglected area of F1."

• FIA could help safeguard British GP – Max Mosley says the FIA would be willing to help keep the British Grand Prix on the Formula One calendar if the national governing body the MSA approached it in the event of problems with Donington Park's rebuild.

  At a media lunch this week, Mosley said the British GP was one of the traditional races that the FIA felt duty-bound to safeguard if the national body needed assistance.

• Bringing down the F1 budgets – The FIA says it is continuing with its efforts to bring down the budgets in Formula 1 to levels at which teams can survive with minimal sponsorship income. The aim is to reduce spending to around $65m a year.

  The FIA is the rule-maker but it is important that changes are not bludgeoned through against the wishes of the teams. They can be frustrating at times as agreeing things amongst themselves is not always easy, but much has been achieved in recent months with the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) and it is best to work with this organisation, rather than trying to force through new rules.

• F1 to face radical cost cuts by 2010 – The FIA wants costs of competing to fall from more than €300m (£270m) a year to less than €100m for the powerful manufacturer-owned teams and to €50m for independents.

  By James Allen and Roger Blitz

Essential Reading for February 4th, 2009

Recommended links for February 4th, 2009:

• FIA president Max Mosley to stand for re- election – FIA president Max Mosley has given the clearest indication yet that he intends to stand for a fifth term of office when his current spell expires in October.

  He said he expected "six or seven" people to enter the race, although Sir Fred Goodwin will not be one of them. The former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive was linked with the role, but Mosley scotched that rumour. "Last week Sir Fred called me to say it was all nonsense. He was obviously rather embarrassed," Mosley said.

• F1 to face radical cost cuts by 2010 – Formula One’s rule-makers are poised to present its teams with a dramatic cost-cutting package for 2010 that goes much further than savings already agreed, as the crisis hitting the motor industry threatens more withdrawals from the sport.
• Mercedes rubbishes ‘F1 vote’ reports – McLaren’s partner Mercedes-Benz has rubbished reports suggesting its Formula 1 future had been on a knife-edge during a recent board meeting of its parent company Daimler.

  "There was no voting by the Daimler board of management concerning Formula 1,” a Mercedes spokesperson told itv.com/f1.

Essential Reading for February 2nd, 2009

Recommended links for February 2nd, 2009:

• Singapore to be fine-tuned to boost overtaking – Following the huge success of last year's inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, organisers have announced that the layout of the Marina Bay circuit will be improved further ahead of the 2009 event.

  Following consultation with the FIA and the teams, minor changes will be made to Turns One, 13 and 14 to further increase the potential for overtaking, whilst road surface improvements will be undertaken at Turns Five, Six and Seven, and revisions made to the pit-lane entry and exit as well as the Turn 22 runoff area.

• Bid for F1 passes! – Formula 1 fans are being given an unprecedented opportunity to experience a European Grand Prix of their choice from within the Formula 1 paddock as guests of one of the teams.

  Bernie Ecclestone and the Formula 1 teams have offered their support by providing the paddock passes and hospitality.

• Testing ban to be reversed – The on-season testing ban agreement is about to be cancelled, according to test team personnel that attended last week's session in Algarve. With KERS giving a lot of trouble to all the teams, as the batteries lose performance quite quickly and are still far from being fully operative during an entire race distance, there are now moves for at least three test sessions to be held during the season, to help improve the reliability.
• Ecclestone eyes Portugal’s return – Bernie Ecclestone is showing interest in getting the Portuguese Grand Prix back in the Formula One calendar, now that the country has a new, state-of-the-art circuit in Algarve.

  Ecclestone had planning to visit the track during the last test but the bad weather scrubbed this. Ecclestone had his people inspect the facilities and the surrounding area. According to sources close to Ecclestone, he might be looking to hold a Grand Prix in Algarve as soon as 2010, making it the last European race of the season, in the second half of September.

Essential Reading for January 28th, 2009

Recommended links for January 28th, 2009:

• A Crazy-Fast Ferrari F1 Trike – If you think trikes are for kids and over-the-hill bikers, you may want to talk to the guys at Trike Japan who whipped up this F1 Ferrari-styled Suzuki Hayabusa three-wheeler for the Tokyo Auto Salon.

  This F1-'busa conversion takes trikes to the next level, proving a third wheel isn't necessarily a bad thing, even if plating it with gold is.

• Bernie Ecclestone bucks the trend in drawing up plans to avoid another Honda – "The rejection of my medal system p****es me off. It is not fair that the winner scores only two points more than second place. We changed the points distribution because Eddie Jordan was complaining that it looked bad for sponsors to see a team without points. He never considered how bad it might look for his team to have four points and the championship winners 128."
• Renault F1 announces new technical partnership with Hewlett-Packard – The ING Renault F1 Team is pleased to announce the beginning of a technical partnership with Hewlett-Packard. HP equipment supplied as part of this agreement will range from PCs, printers and workstations to Windows and Linux servers for both the Team's Technical Centre and the Race Team.

Essential Reading for January 26th, 2009

Recommended links for January 26th, 2009:

• David Richards’s new dream – If taking over Honda Racing F1 proved to be too big a risk for David Richards in the current economic climate, the Prodrive boss nonetheless refuses to stop pushing onwards and has announced his plan to take Aston Martin to Le Mans to beat Peugeot and Audi.

  There is little doubt that Richards has the dream to take Aston Martin to F1 to help sell more road cars. In the current economic climate that is an impossible challenge, but it could happen one day.

• Rome considering F1 grand prix proposal – Rome is weighing up a proposal for a Formula One grand prix through streets on the outskirts of the Italian capital, local authorities said on Tuesday.

  "It's an idea Flammini has proposed and mayor Gianni Alemanno has said it is possible," a city council spokesman said.

• Freeze drove Toyota’s engine chief out – Toyota’s F1 president John Howett says long-time engine chief Luca Marmorini decided to leave the Cologne-based squad before the 2009 season due to frustration at the lack of engine development.

  “I think that he was frustrated on the one hand that there was really no opportunity for engine development, and also probably didn’t agree with some of the strategic decisions – probably our more conservative approach to KERS."

Essential Reading for January 22nd, 2009

Recommended links for January 22nd, 2009:

• ING troubles to hit F1 program – As part of the cost cuts the company is cutting its Formula One sponsorship by 40 percent in 2009. An ING spokesperson said that the company would assess mid-year whether or not to continue the sponsorship beyond 2009. He also said that the 40 percent cut would have to do with all activities that are not included in the company’s contracts with Formula One.
• What is a Superlicence worth? – Now it is reported by Autosport that the drivers are talking about striking because the cost of their Superlicences has risen dramatically in recent seasons. This year, so it is said, Lewis Hamilton will have to pay $285,000 to get his licence. He will earn probably 100 times that sum. Is that fair?

  The FIA seems to think so.

  If one compares that with the money that journalists spend to visit the races ($40,000 a year) in order to make two or three times that amount if they are lucky, the Superlicence fees seems a very reasonable sum of money.

• Speed king Lewis makes city pit stop – The Formula One world champion made a pit stop at the Shieldhall factory to meet workers and endorse the firm's responsible drinking campaign.

  As well as meeting staff and answering questions, the race ace showed why he's world champ as he took a Formula One car for a quick spin around the car park.

Essential Reading for January 21st, 2009

Recommended links for January 21st, 2009:

• Job losses at Renault F1 – According to sources, the team began a 30 day consultation process on January 7th and 100 staff are to be made redundant either through voluntary or compulsory means.

  It has been suggested that the aero department will take the brunt of the cuts due to FIA cost cutting measures with regards to wind tunnel usage.

• Divorcing F1 boss ditches Withers for Manches – Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has parted company with his divorce lawyers at Withers in favour of Manches' Helen Ward, The Lawyer can reveal.

  It is understood that Mr Ecclestone made the move to Manches at the end of last week. The split from Withers is understood to have been amicable.

• BMW Sauber F1 team loses another sponsor – [Translated] Having already lost Credit Suisse as their sponsor, the BMW Sauber F1 Team loses a further donor: The computer manufacturer Dell. With Dell and the Credit Suisse team loses an estimated budget of 17.5 million euros.

Essential Reading for January 19th, 2009

Recommended links for January 19th, 2009:

• F1 teams warned to expect revenue cut – Bernie Ecclestone has warned Formula One car racing teams to expect a reduced share of revenues from their glamour sport as it faces the toughest financial climate in its history.

  Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari and the F1 teams’ association, last month suggested teams should now receive a greater share of the profits.

  But Mr Ecclestone retorted: “They could ask for more money but they won’t get it.”

• A grip on controls could be what F1 needs – Bernie Ecclestone, an implacable 78-year-old with Andy Warhol-style grey hair and round glasses – and the man who runs Formula One motor racing – is as bullish and relaxed as ever.

  “It’s bad for me to say this, but the only team we would really say we would miss is Ferrari. I wouldn’t want to lose McLaren for sure. I wouldn’t want to lose Williams,” he says, but the strength of the Ferrari brand, in particular, is central to the health of F1.

• Briatore committed to F1 for long-term – Flavio Briatore has dismissed suggestions that he will leave Formula One within the next two seasons.

  "The plan is, I don't know really. I never said that to the Italian newspaper"

• Fernando Alonso approves of Formula One rule changes – "All the results from the wind tunnel, the engine… the results are better than we predicted."

  "I'm much happier this year compared with last. I think the rule changes are a big opportunity. This year everyone starts from zero."

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