07-Oct-08: Canadian Grand Prix Dropped from ‘09 Calendar
It’s the 7th October 2008, and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
The shock news of the day is that the FIA have confirmed the calendar for 2009, and have dropped the Canadian Grand Prix. Teams have got back the summer break that they were looking for, but we will no longer be heading to North American shores. Both the Belgian and Italian races have been shuffled by a week as well. Back to the Canadian GP, though, and organisers say that they weren’t informed of this decision ahead of time. They released a short statement that said they had only learnt of it through the media, and would therefore not be commenting until they’d spoken to the FIA and FOM. Needless to say they’re not happy.
Elsewhere today, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that they will be going back to the old lollipop pit system at this week’s Japanese Grand Prix. After many, many pit lane incidents in the last few races, Domenicali says: “We need to stay calm so we’ve decided to go back to the old system.”
That’s it for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
16-Jun-08: Ecclestone Comes Clean About Breakaway Rumours
It’s the 16th June 2008, and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
Bernie Ecclestone has spoken out about those persistent rumours that the teams could breakaway and form their own motorsport series. After the Mosley scandal has left the political side of the sport in turmoil, Bernie has said that he needs to say everything is fine to keep the sponsors happy, but in fact, he has no control. Bernie says that what the teams need is a renewed Concorde Agreement, but Mosley isn’t interested. And the most telling quote from Ecclestone was this: “The teams can do what they like.”
Former F1 champion John Surtees, who took the title in 1964, is being honoured by the Queen of England. He will receive an Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to motorsport and to charity.
Finally today, preparation for France is already beginning, with BMW boss Mario Theissen stating they will not be changing their goals despite the win in Canada, and Lewis Hamilton saying he will still have a good race even though he’s starting ten places back.
That’s all for today, join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
09-Jun-08: Rosberg and Hamilton Penalised for French GP
It’s the 9th June and this is F1 Minute.
After a race like we saw this weekend in Canada, it’s no surprise that today is all about the fall out.
First up, it was revealed moments after I posted F1 Minute yesterday, that Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg would receive ten place grid drops for the French Grand Prix, after the incident in the pit lane. Hamilton has apologised for the accident, but a quote from Raikkonen seemed to infer that he felt the McLaren driver chose him over crashing into Kubica. At the moment, it seems, emotions are still running high.
Elsewhere, Alonso says that an error in his strategy cost him the win on Sunday, despite the fact that when he crashed out he was still effectively running in third. He was behind Heidfeld, which he felt was down to the strategy decision by his team – one that he questioned over the radio to his engineers. Of course, this is all a case of What If.
And finally, Ferrari have conceded that BMW are a real threat for the championship, and that they need to not only keep their eye on McLaren, but also the new winners on the block.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
08-Jun-08: Kubica Takes Maiden Win in Canada
This is F1 Minute for Sunday 8th June 2008.
Kubica took his first ever win in Canada today, after a pit lane incident knocked both Hamilton and Raikkonen out of the race. Kubica kept his head with a two stop strategy, and finished in front of his one-stopping team mate Heidfeld, and an incident-free Coulthard.
An early safety car was brought out by Sutil who pulled off track and out of the race, and his car had to be retrieved. When the pit lane opened, a stream of traffic took the opportunity, and Kubica and Raikkonen pulled up to the red light at the same time. Hamilton, just behind them, made a mistake, either not realising or ignoring the red light, and crashed into the back of Raikkonen.
Elsewhere, Massa had to pit an extra time after a mistake by the mechanics, but pulled off a couple of outstanding overtaking maneouvres to finish in fifth. Both Renaults retired, along with Fisichella and Nakajima. The track seemed to hold up for the entire race, despite previous worries about it breaking up. Alonso did blame it for his crash, however.
That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
06-Jun-08: Massa and Hamilton Lead the Way in Canada Free Practice
Hi everyone, this is F1 Minute and today is the 6th June.
Massa led the way in Free Practice 1 in Canada, with Hamilton taking the top spot during the second session. The day was relatively uneventful, although some rain before practice began in the morning meant the first session was declared wet. There were plenty of drivers running off track but no major incidents. In FP2, both Kubica and Glock hit the wall, both Coulthard and Webber spun on track and both Massa and Piquet suffered mechanical troubles.
Elsewhere today, Bernie Ecclestone is in trouble for some remarks he made to The Daily Express, a UK newspaper, which the FIA African Council has found to be unnecessary and derogatory. Ecclestone’s quotes went something along the lines of Max not being able to do his job any better just because he had a few votes from extra Africa. The Council are asking for a withdrawal and an apology.
And finally, there are reports that the Belgian Grand Prix will be held at Spa until 2012 and maybe even 2015.
That’s all for today, I will be back with all the details of qualifying tomorrow in another F1 Minute.
04-Jun-08: FIA Announce Bridge Wing Clarifications
This is F1 Minute and today is the 4th June 2008.
No talk of Max today, except to say that all the news about him yesterday buried an FIA announcement. Teams running the bridge wing on their nose, Honda, BMW and Toyota, for example, will need to strengthen it to stop it wobbling about as they circle the track. It’s unknown whether there was a complaint about the bridge wings or if the FIA are just adapting to the changing components.
Autosport.com is reporting that Bridgestone are set to reject a delay request from the teams, that would see the banning of tyre warmers pushed back to 2010. Bridgestone are saying they do not share the concerns of F1 teams, and in fact have said that the teams are really more concerned about not being able to run the tyres at the optimum pressure anymore, without running a significantly greater risk.
Finally, today, Ferrari test driver Marc Gene has announced that he won’t be at the Canadian GP as scheduled, after his huge crash in testing for Le Mans on Sunday. He’s broken a toe, making it difficult to walk, let alone drive.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
30-May-08: Canada Kerbs to be Revamped
Welcome to F1 Minute for today, the 30th May.
After Robert Kubica’s nasty crash at Canada last year, it was no surprise to hear that parts of the circuit would get a bit of a revamp to try and avoid something like that happening again. However, it now appears that it’s not just the pit lane and the track surface getting an overhaul, some of the famously high and notorious;y difficult kerbs are also being looked at. The idea is to make them smoother and less harsh so that a car won’t be lifted up into the air again.
Renault’s CEO has been talking about the team’s future in the sport, after there have been rumours that they are losing interesting in the expensive pastime. Carlos Ghosn has been quoted as saying that Renault would never quit while they were on a losing streak, and he thinks they’ll be around for many years to come. Whether that means he thinks they won’t be winning until that far in the future remains to be seen.
Finally, Pedro de la Rosa has given us some insights: that Hamilton was very lucky with his win in Monaco, that McLaren need to keep on improving and that he misses Alonso. Aww.
That’s all for this week, please join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.
29-May-08: Mosley Refuses to Comprimise Ahead of EGM
This is F1 Minute and it’s the 29th May 2008.
Today appears to be all about Max Mosley as some big member clubs of the FIA have once again called for him to step down ahead of the extraordinary general meeting next week. Mosley has issued an emphatic no, however. Apparently he has also declined a deal that would have seen him get a vote of confidence at the EGM, but only if he agreed to step down in November, rather than see out his tenancy until 2009. Again, the emphatic no.
Elsewhere today, a Ferrari spokesman has cleared up the rumours of Fernando Alonso signing a contract with them for 2010. It has been reported that the rumours are “absolute nonsense.”
Robert Kubica has effectively ruled himself out of the drivers championship, saying it is between Raikkonen, Hamilton and Massa, although he will take any opportunity he’s given. He also mentioned not having any worries about returning to Canada, the scene of his massive accident last year.
That’s all for today, but I will be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
16-May-08: Trulli Finishes Final Test Day on Top
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 16th May.
The last day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit was a wet affair with rain showers throughout the session. Trulli managed to set the fastest time during one of the breaks in the rain, ahead of Piquet in the Renault. For the past two days the track has been set up to imitate the demands of the Monaco street circuit, but this third day saw revisions made to replicate the Canadian circuit.
Heidfeld caused a red flag by running off track and damaging the suspension at the back of his car, and Sutil also caused a red flag in the last hour of the day.
Also today, the FIA have announced that Mosley won’t be attending any functions as an official representative of the organisation in Monaco. Mosley announced his intention to attend the race a while ago, and after rumours that the teams will try and avoid him, plus attempts to try and keep Prince Albert of Monaco from any embarrassing situations, Mosley will have to keep a low profile. Instead, deputy president Marco Piccinini will fulfill the duties. A statement said Mosley is in full agreement with this situation.
That’s all for this week, have a great weekend and join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.