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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 7th January 2009.

It’s all circuit news today, starting with Singapore. The organisers of the night race are talking to teams and the FIA about the state of the track, with some revisions being offered for the 2009 event. The chairman Colin Syn says some decisions are already made: “We are modifying turns one, two and three because we want drivers to have more opportunities to overtake this year.” He added that they are also thinking about smoothing the surface – as bumps were the number one complaint from drivers in 2008.

Elsewhere, Bernie Ecclestone has said that Donington Park have a deadline for things to be going to plan. There are a lot of doubts over the circuits capacity for holding a Grand Prix, but Bernie says: “I am relying on what they told me they will deliver, and we have a September deadline to see that all is as it should be. If it’s not then we have 4 or 5 venues ready to stage a race.” Donington Park will receive news on their planning application from the local council tomorrow.

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

07-Jan-09: Singapore Organisers Offer Revisions for ‘09

• Singapore to revise track for 2009 race - "We are modifying turns one, two and three because we want drivers to have more opportunities to overtake this year."

  There are also plans to work on improving the track surface, which drew criticism from drivers as the most bumpy on the Formula One calendar and required teams to make drastic setup changes.

  "We want to reduce the bumps and smoothen out the circuit," said Syn. "So that will be an improvement next year to make the race even better than it was in 2008."

• Donington Park in a race against time to stage 2010 British Grand Prix - The owners of Donington Park, the venue for the 2010 British Grand Prix, face a challenge to raise almost £40 million in funding required to upgrade the track and facilities in time to host the race next year.

  In February 2007 Gillett approached Donington's owner Tom Wheatcroft, who rescued the circuit from decay in 1973, and secured a 150-year lease as well as significant land holdings on the 100-acre site for a sum believed to be £30 million. Just as importantly, he secured from Wheatcroft an introduction to Ecclestone.

• Ferrari is not Honda’s only choice - There has been much reporting in the last day or so which suggests that the team formerly known as Honda Racing F1 is close to a deal to use Ferrari engines in 2009. This is not as clear-cut as some of the stories have suggested.

  Toyota and BMW both had acceptable horsepower levels but it was clear that the fight for the best engine was only ever between McLaren and Ferrari. It is worth noting that engine insiders say that the Mercedes was the better engine because at the end of 2006 the team picked up a lot of people from Cosworth, which was generally agreed to have had the best engine in 2006. Williams left the Northampton firm because there was a better financial deal on offer from Toyota.

Essential Reading for January 7th, 2009

• Collector’s Addition - David Coulthard's old racing cars are being transported from Twynholm to the Birmingham NEC for Autosport International. Make sure you don't miss them.

  The contents of the museum will be transplanted from their home in Twynholm, Scotland, to the Birmingham NEC to be displayed as part of a special tribute to Coulthard's racing career.

• Ferrari laughs off Peugeot KERS stories - Ferrari is currently developing its KERS system in conjunction with Magneti Marelli but there is no reason why the team could not buy Peugeot expertise if this was considered something of value. Peugeot unveiled its 908 HY car in September and revealed that this was going to have a KERS system, the aim being to deliver extra horsepower or better fuel consumption (depending on what was needed at any specific moment) at Le Mans in particular, where the long lap means that KERS could be generating electrical power for about half a minute each lap.
• A deal worth noting - Carlin Motorsport has announced that it is switching to Volkswagen engines in Formula 3 for 2009, following the announcement that it has signed two Red Bull Junior drivers.

  It is thought that Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz's decision to work with Volkswagen is a careful plan to align the two firms int he hope that one day it will provide him with engines for Formula 1. VW continues to say that there is no intention of any move to F1 in the forseeable future, but with a more cost-effective F1 and the likelihood of an eventual economic upturn in the years ahead, nothing is impossible.

Essential Reading for January 7th, 2009

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It’s the 6th January 2009 and you’re listening to F1 Minute.

Ross Brawn has been speaking about how the search for a new buyer at Honda is going, and he says his main priority is to find a new owner so that all the employees keep their jobs. Although there is still no news on any of the potential candidates to take over, or if anyone is close to signing on the dotted line, things are looking a bit more hopeful. Brawn talks of his approach to Ferrari to seek out an engine deal for the coming season, and that although nothing is signed, they were quite welcoming to him.

The one downside that Ross did mention is that the team will be unlikely to do any testing during the winter, and with in-season testing banned this year, it could harm the team’s performance. However, that’s probably the least of their worries.

Elsewhere today, Webber has given an update on his recovery from the broken leg he sustained in November. He’s been training hard, still wants to be in the car by February and says he’s glad it was his right leg and not the harder working left leg.

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

06-Jan-09: Brawn Gives an Update on the Honda Buyout

• Ferrari first to launch 2009 car - Ferrari will be the first team to launch its car for the 2009 season.

  The constructors' champion will unveil its latest F1 challenger at its Italian HQ at Maranello on 12 January.

• Thorny claim over racing champ - Handsome, brave and impulsive, he was the golden boy of motor racing. But as fans prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the death in a road accident of Britain's first Formula One champion, Mike Hawthorn, pit lane chatter has turned up a new theory as to why it happened.

  Mechanic Brian Taylor says a Mercedes like Walker's drove past the garage on the fateful day and an arm came up 'in the time-honoured salute'.

  Hawthorn roared after him in his Jaguar, but lost control on the Guildford bypass, dying when he hit a tree.

• Brundle might walk - Motor racing pundit Martin Brundle (right) is in discussion with the BBC's new Formula One production team as to how his celebrated prerace grid walk from his ITV days can best be revamped next season.

  Brundle has his doubts whether the unrehearsed and unscripted interviews will continue to work, especially as the drivers - with other arranged media commitments while on the grid - are becoming increasingly reluctant to chat.

  The likelihood is that the Beeb will cherry pick the best races for the Brundle walk.

• Alonso unhurt in plane incident - "Fernando indeed had a plane incident yesterday. His aircraft touched a building and damaged its wing. Fernando and his family are fine. They will be flying back to Europe today. It's apparently not as serious as some people are trying to make it sound."
• Sir Jackie Stewart delivers damning verdict - “I don't think Bernie can bring people in to help him in a transition phase, he has been so used to total control that if you look at his structure you have to ask yourself 'is there a successor?' and you would say 'no'. That is wrong. The commercial reality has to be recognised … and there has be continuity that the ageing process makes necessary.”

Essential Reading for January 5th, 2009

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Today is the 5th January 2009 and this is F1 Minute.

An interview with Sir Jackie Stewart was printed in The Times newspaper today, and the former Champ has some scathing opinions about Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley, and the way the sport is being run. He believes Ecclestone has too much power and worries that there is no plan for who will replace him when the time comes. Just one quote: “The financial distribution of Formula One appears to have been sorted out by two people who have directed it in whichever way they have seen fit. Although this has been a significant benefit in some ways, it has also hurt the sport because the balance of contribution within Formula One is absolutely untenable.”

Elsewhere today, Red Bull have announced they will launch the RB5 in Jerez on the 9th February, whilst Ferrari are all set to launch the F2009 next Monday. A Ferrari spokesperson also confirmed that the team plan to use their pit stop traffic lights during the season, despite the troubles they caused last year.

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

05-Jan-09: Sir Jackie Stewart Launches Attack on Bernie and Max

• 2009 The new stars - There isn't a team in the paddock who wouldn't give their right wheelnut to employ Sebastian Vettel just now. He has talent, he has car control, and he's also consistent. He had a terrible run of bad luck in the first half of last season, but from Monaco onwards he scored in all but three races, and ended up eighth overall. At 21, he was the youngest F1 race-winner ever. The only people in front of him were the two McLarens, two Ferraris, two BMWs and Alonso in the Renault. In a Toro Rosso car, that was pretty special.
• Why Donington might well work - The bit I was sceptical about was the financing of the whole thing using a debenture scheme.

  But the critical point, according to Gillett, is that the risk on the scheme doesn’t lie with him, it lies with his debenture partners IMG, the sports marketing firm and Goldman Sachs, the investment bank. He says that they committed to the programme before the credit crunch came, so he will get his money anyway whether they sell 10 debentures or 10,000. He gets the up-front money, they get the annual fee.

• Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica goes back to his roots - The Polish Formula One driver has taken up a new challenge by setting up his own karting team.

  Kubica has returned to his roots by going into partnership with the Italian company Birel formed by the Sala family, for which he raced in the European and World Championships in 2000, taking a management role in the team competing in major international karting events.

Essential Reading for January 3rd, 2009

• Economy the winner if F1 comes to Donington - Economic benefits of the F1 British Grand Prix coming to Donington Park will outweigh any negative noise impact on neighbouring communities, a report claims.

  In a report to go before the authority's environmental committee 48 hours before D-day, Mark Alflat, director of community services, recommends support for the project. He says: "The development offers substantial economic opportunities. The Grand Prix has the potential to attract both visitor spend and inward investment. New facilities, along with associated developments, will create substantial construction employment opportunities."

• Times are tough on the circuit, says F1 hopeful - Formula One hopeful Jonathan Kennard believes motorsport’s top teams are worried to invest in drivers following Honda’s dramatic departure from the sport.

  "I was delighted to be called back by Williams to do another test. It was very similar work to the one I did before, but is shows that they thought I did a good job which can only boost me as a driver."

  "The Williams tests have certainly boosted the interest in me for next season and I am in talks with a number of people. However, we will just have to wait and see what the long term effects are with the economic crisis.”

• Hamilton MBE a ‘massive honour’ - Lewis Hamilton said he felt "humbled" after being made an MBE in the Queen's New Year Honours.

  "It is a massive honour and incredible privilege to receive an MBE from Her Majesty the Queen," said Hamilton.

  "It is the most amazing culmination to what has been quite a year for me and something I am very appreciative of."

Essential Reading for December 31st, 2008

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 2nd January 2009.

News is still a bit thin on the ground, so I have two pretty tenuous stories for you today.

Firstly, DTM driver Paul di Resta, who was hoping for a race seat at Force India this year, still believes he could get into Formula 1 now that McLaren are involved. He said: “There’s still a bit of talking to be done before I’ll be able to confirm exactly what I’m going to be doing. One important thing is that F1 remains a possibility.” He adds he’s not giving up on the dream of turning up to Melbourne as an F1 driver.

Elsewhere, Michael Schumacher has been reported as saying that if Lewis had lost the 2008 title in the last race, just like he did in 2007, it would have done some serious damage to his reputation. He’s quoted: “If it happens to you once it is an anecdote but when it happens to you twice it is starting to become a habit. If we saw the championship title slip through his fingers again in the final round it could have been an ill omen for the rest of his career.”

That’s it for today, please join me again on Monday for a new week of F1 Minute.

02-Jan-09: Di Resta Wants a Seat at Force India

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 1st January 2009 – Happy New Year.
Here is a quick catchup of the news we’ve missed over the festive season:

• It almost looked as though Honda Racing would be saved by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, as there were rumours he had visited the factory and was about to sign on the dotted line. He has since come out and dismissed this speculation as “completely false”.
• Hamilton has been named in the Queen’s New Years Honours list, meaning he will pick up an MBE. He says it is a massive privilege and an honour.
• Kubica isn’t rejecting some of the praise he has received after a great year of driving in 2008, but does admit a title would be nicer: “It’s a much better feeling to win the world championship because that is what counts. It would be better for me to win and have people saying that I have not been such a good driver, than it is to finish fourth and have people saying that I did a good job.”
• Finally, Bernie Ecclestone has said that Button deserves a place in a top team, and would prefer him to sit out a year rather than be at the back of the grid in 2009.

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

01-Jan-09: Round Up of Festive F1 News