22-Jan-10: Alguersuari Confirmed at Toro Rosso for 2010

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 22nd January 2010.

Toro Rosso have finally confirmed that Buemi’s teammate for this year will be Jaime Alguersuari. He always claimed he would be there this year and he had a contract to that effect, but he was missed off the FIA entry list, to much confusion. Clearly, there was some kind of delay, but it’s all sorted now and the Toro Rosso line up is complete. That leaves just four seats available for the 2010 season.

Elsewhere, McLaren have announced they will be live streaming the launch of their new car on the 29th January, as it is unveiled at the Vodafone headquarters in Newbury. The launch and the following press conferences will all appear on the website and it all gets underway at 11 o’clock UK time.

Finally, Autosport is reporting that Alan Donnelly will have no role in F1 this year. He used to be a permanent adviser to the stewards, but now that system has been shuffled, he has been moved to a non-motorsport role.

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

11-Dec-09: FIA Confirm Calendar and Points System

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Hello and welcome, this is F1 Minute for the 11th December.

The FIA have been busy today with a World Motorsport Council meeting to discuss many things including the 2010 F1 season. Some interesting things came out of it, including the fact that the potential points system we discussed yesterday has been introduced with a win worth 25, and points all the way down to 10th place. Also, Abu Dhabi got their way and have been handed the final grid slot on the calendar, with Brazil moving up to be the penultimate Grand Prix.

Another key point was the stewarding process, with a permanent panel of three stewards, including experienced ex-F1 drivers, to attend each race, alongside national stewards. There will no longer be a non-voting Chairman, ie. Alan Donnelly, but each group of stewards will elect a Chairman at each race.

That’s all for today, have a great weekend and join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.

03-Jul-09: Virgin Switch Sponsorship to Manor

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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.