Sauber Reorganise Directors for 2010 Season
Peter Sauber takes a less hands on role, and Kovi sends mixed signals.
This is F1 Minute for the 8th January 2010.
With Peter Sauber taking back control of his team from BMW, he has been spending some time sorting out who’s in charge of what. Sauber will be the president of the team, heading up the board of directors, and will also take the role of Team Principal. Apparently, though, he won’t be doing much in the way of operations, instead handing the day to day tasks to Monisha Kaltenborn as managing director. Monisha has been on the board since 2001 and she has been part of the legal team since before then, but will now take a more hands on role. It will be good to see a female getting involved at a top level of F1.
Quickly to finish, Heikki Kovalainen has been talking to Autosport during a seat fitting for his new Lotus team, and says being at McLaren taught him a lot and he is a much better driver in every area since his days at Renault, but at the same time he’s always been a good driver. Mixed signals.
That will do for now, have a great weekend and join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.
Lotus Ready to Test for the Mid-Field
Mike Gascoyne is hoping to beat a couple of existing teams.
Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 7th January 2010.
Autosport is reporting that Lotus are pretty sure they will be on track at the second pre-season test in Jerez in the middle of February, and they’ll take part in the following Barcelona test as well – the last outing before the season gets underway in Bahrain. CTO Mike Gascoyne is happy with how their plans are shaping up, particularly as they are doing better than anticipated, he says: “Being a week ahead of schedule is pretty good considering it is modern F1. To get an entry on September 12 and to be there in good shape is not a bad effort.”
He is sure that picking up experienced drivers like Kovalainen and Trulli will propel Lotus to the mid-field, saying: “…with eight cars going out in Q1, you’ve only got to pick up one or two stragglers to get both cars into Q2 – and immediately you are a midfield team.”
That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Sauber Confirm Launch Date for New Car
Sauber plan their launch, whilst Bernie welcomes Briatore.
Today is the 6th January 2010 and this is F1 Minute.
Good news to start with, the ex-BMW team Sauber have confirmed the launch of their 2010 car – it will take place at Valencia on the 31st January, which is the day before the first test of the year. They are the first team to announce a launch date, I hope we’ll hear more from the others now.
Back to the unpleasant Briatore business unfortunately, the Italian has suggested that he will be taking legal action against the Piquet father and son duo, saying “The bad that has been done to me won’t be forgotten in one day.” He also has another go at Max Mosley while he’s at it. Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone would be ready to welcome Flav back to the paddock with open arms, saying: “He was a great character in F1 but I am not sure if that’s what he wants to do now. I think he will move on from that.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
Flavio Briatore Ban Overturned by Courts
Briatore gets another chance, whilst Renault find his replacement.
This is F1 Minute and it’s the 5th January 2010.
Flavio Briatore’s lifetime ban from F1 has been overthrown by the French courts, after legal action from the Italian against the FIA. He was awarded 15,000 Euros as compensation, with the judge ruling that the ban had been irregular and illegal, although the FIA would like to point out that they didn’t rule it was wrong. The ban wasn’t wrong, just that it wasn’t their domain to hand it out. The FIA are considering their right to appeal. Briatore said: “Let me take a little time to enjoy this moment of happiness after this difficult period. As concerns my possible return to F1, there is plenty of time to talk about this.”
Meanwhile, his ex-position at Renault of team principal has been filled by Eric Boullier, who is linked to the new investors in the team. He has plenty of experience, is relatively young, and replaces Bob Bell, who stays with the team but in the design department.
That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Kubica Set to Stay at Renault
Kubica sorts out his future, whilst Button gears up for the new season.
Welcome to F1 Minute, today is the 4th January 2010.
After a worrying period towards the end of 2009, Robert Kubica’s manager has said it’s looking likely the former BMW driver will stand by his commitment to Renault. The pair had been a bit concerned after Renault had serious investment from Genii Capital, and Kubica had some questions to ask, but his manager Daniele Morelli said: “We are going in the right direction. There were no doubts, really, but it was very important we understood who were in the key roles in the team… it is fundamental you have that for the updates to the car.”
Elsewhere, the moment 2009 became 2010, McLaren unveiled Jenson Button as their new driver, with him posing for photos and video beside the car and in the team gear. Jenson is super happy and ready to get to work – he laments there is no testing until February.
That’ll do for now, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
