World Motor Sport Council - Decisions

The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on 5 November 2008. The following decisions were taken:

From 2009, engine life will be extended from two to three races.

During the 2008 season a review took place of the stewarding arrangements in F1. The current panel of stewards consists of two international stewards and one national steward, all of whom must be eligible for the FIA’s super licence. For 2009, the following updates will be made:

• Any national steward participating who is officiating for the first time will be required to ‘observe’ a minimum of one Grand Prix prior to their event.
• At five Grands Prix in 2009, a number of trainee Stewards, nominated by their ASN and selected by the FIA, will be invited to attend.
• Before each Grand Prix, a short CV of each steward will be posted on the FIA website.
• With the benefit of a new replay system available to the stewards, all incidents will be investigated and appropriate action taken during the race, unless it is essential to seek further evidence afterwards.
• Following the race, a short written explanation of steward’s decisions will be published on the FIA website. This will supplement the formal steward’s decision which largely defines the breach of the rules
• Where appropriate, additional film evidence that the public may not have seen but which was reviewed by the stewards, will be made available on both the FIA and FOM websites.

Note: No former driver is excluded from seeking their ASN national stewarding licence and then, as with all of the existing stewards, if they gain the necessary level of experience in stewarding events at a national, regional and international level the FIA can consider them for a steward’s super licence.

Calendar

29 March	Australia
5 April	Malaysia
19 April	China
26 April	Bahrain
10 May	Spain
24 May	Monaco
7 June	Turkey
21 June	Great Britain
12 July	Germany
26 July	Hungary
23 August	Europe (Valencia)
30 August	Belgium
13 September	Italy
27 September	Singapore
4 October	Japan
18 October	Brazil
1 November	Abu Dhabi

Note: The races in Australia and Malaysia will start at 1700 local time, in Singapore at 2000 local time, and in Japan at 1500 local time.

25-Jun-08: Kovalainen Heads Up Silverstone Test, Day 2

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 25^th June.

Kovalainen was fastest on Day 2 of the test in Silverstone, with Trulli and Rosberg behind him, and Massa all the way down in 7^th. There were several red flags today, one of which caused by Fisichella, who crashed after being caught in a gust of wind. He was taken to the medical centre and then a nearby hospital for checks on his wrist. He is okay, though.

Elsewhere, the FIA have been busy, with the World Council meeting in France. Firstly, they released a statement officially announcing they would review how F1 is governed. They also promoted their new feeder series for F1 called Formula 2, and they decided that they’d only raise the entry fee costs to F1 for teams by the rate of inflation.

Finally, they released a provision calendar for 2009, which sees the races starting and ending much later in the year, France is included, whilst the US is not, and the season closer will be in Abu Dhabi, the only new addition. Notably Turkey has been returned to its slot further down the calendar.

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

25-Oct-07: The 2008 Calendar and Other Stories

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This is F1 Minute, it’s the 25^th October, and today I have lots of little snippets for you.

First up, the 2008 calendar is finally confirmed, with all the provisional tracks approved, including Valencia, and the Singapore night race.

Apparently, Kimi’s first words upon landing in Europe as the new World Champion were: “I am so happy it almost hurts!”

The British Racing Drivers Club have awarded Lewis Hamilton their 2007 Gold Star, for his success during the season.

Michael Schumacher got behind the wheel of this seasons Ferrari F2007 for a demonstration celebrating the companies 60^th birthday.

The reports earlier this week claiming that Hamilton had admitted an error on his part have been proven to be false. The reporter behind the story revealed that he had heard the information second hand and it was not a direct quote.

And finally, Ferrari have been granted special permission by the World Motorsport Council to continue to supply two customer engines in 2008 and 9, despite the rules stipulating only one.

Those are the many headlines today, join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.