The very best from the mouths of those in the know.
The Force India / McLaren Partnership
On what that deal means for the team, and the sport…
“Force India Formula One team has been in existence for only one year, and inevitably our first season has constituted a learning period. But we said at the outset that we meant business and were not interested in merely making up the numbers.” Dr. Vijay Mallya
“I would love to see a Force India car on the podium in the inaugural Indian grand Prix. Obviously that has to be a core objective as well. Now that is in 2011 and I say why not? I’m sure Martin would love to see a Force India and a McLaren racing each other” Dr. Vijay Mallya
“We are going to learn lessons by looking over the shoulder of Force India. I believe that we will become stronger as a consequence of this. I would not have gone into this partnership unless I believed it was going to help us to win world championships in the future.” Martin Whitmarsh
Ongoing Circuit News
Canada and China both worry about the future, Singapore doesn’t…
“We’re doing the assessment. By next year we should be able to give you an answer. We want to create a win-win situation, for our side and for Bernie and the F1 organisers as well. If this is something we can do, and our cooperation is very happy and smooth, we will consider it.” Qiu Weichang, deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Sports
“We need to know if we’re going to have a Grand Prix in 2009. We’re trying to find a proposal that will meet with the approval of Bernie Ecclestone and his board of directors. He’s not interested in where the money’s going to come from, he just wants to get the money to which he thinks he’s entitled.” Gerald Tremblay, Montreal Mayor
“We have received a great many compliments from around the world since the running of the race in September, but this is an award given by our peers, the professionals who work in motor sports. It therefore is especially gratifying to receive this award.” Jonathan Hallett, Singapore GP’s media director
Upcoming Test Drivers
We’re going to see a few new names on the timesheets in Barcelona…
“Going back to Enstone will be very special for me. I often used to go and train there when I was on the Renault Driver Development programme. So I’ll be seeing people I already know. That will help me to integrate into the team more easily.” Giedo van der Garde
“To have this opportunity is a dream. Even though I’ve been racing for only four years, it’s as if I’ve waited for ten years to drive an F1 car. I’ve worked hard in preparing for it, on the neck particularly. GP2 in any case is a good basis.” Bruno Senna
“I don’t expect Barcelona to be easy at all: it’s the first time that I will be testing against the regular drivers in Formula One, so that’s obviously going to be interesting!” Sebastien Loeb
Today is the 14th November 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
A number of UK newspapers are reporting that Bernie Ecclestone’s wife Slavica has moved out of the family home, and the possibility seems to be pretty high that a divorce will follow. Apparently Ms Ecclestone moved out whilst Bernie was at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Whilst what happens in Bernie’s personal life isn’t really any of our business, this could be the UK’s most expensive divorce and it may even affect the ownership of Formula 1.
The Telegraph is reporting that Bernie says his wife moved out due to the noise of building works next door, and he doesn’t know if divorce is on her mind or not. Slavica won’t comment on rumours that she has already spoken to lawyers.
Elsewhere today, there is talk that organisers of the Chinese Grand Prix are considering not extending their contract post 2010, as ticket sales have been poor, sponsors may be pulling out, and of course, costs are only ever going to go up.
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
The World Motorsport Council met in Paris today and came up with some interesting developments, including the latest version of the provisional 2009 calendar. This time round, France has understandably gone, and China has moved from the bottom of the calendar up to the third race of the season. Notably, the Canadian GP hasn’t been restored, but apparently there is still hope.
The WMC also moved to make stewarding more transparent. There will be more information about the credentials of each steward available, and selecting them will be a tighter process. All penalties should be handed out in the race, unless there is a real need to see the footage after the event. Talking of which, any evidence the stewards see to help them make their decision will be made available on the FIA and FOM websites. This is real progress.
Away from politics, Alonso’s future decision has finally become clear with Renault announcing he’ll stay with them until 2010, and they’ll also keep Piquet on for another season.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
Luca di Montezemolo has been busy this week, but still has time to request a regulation change. He wants to get rid of the team orders ruling, as he says it’s really quite hypocritical. After the Ferrari switch at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, opinion is divided on whether the ruling should be ditched because teams are obviously flouting it, or whether the FIA should tighten up on the regulation and stop it happening. We heard yesterday that Kimi was more than happy to step down in favour of Felipe, and di Montezemolo says that was the right thing to do: “The important thing is not to damage others. Besides that, team work, in a team sport, is one of the best things.”
Another follow up on yesterday’s minute is the meeting between the Montreal mayor and Bernie Ecclestone, with the mayor saying: “”We have a better understanding of the issues, we still have a lot of work to do to evaluate all the options, but it is still possible to hold a Grand Prix in Montreal in 2009 and subsequent years.”
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
It’s the 22nd October 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
Kimi Raikkonen has confirmed that he was happy about giving up his place to Massa in the Chinese Grand Prix, and that he’d do so again in an instant. Regarding the switch, Raikkonen said: “Once you don’t fight for the title anymore, it doesn’t make a difference if I come in second or third, as long as the points for Ferrari remain the same.” For the Brazil race, he said: “I’d be glad if I could do something for Felipe, that he can win the title and Ferrari will be again victorious in the constructors’ championship in the last race of the season.” That’s quite a wishlist!
Elsewhere, Autosport.com are reporting that members of the Montreal government have flown in to meet with Bernie Ecclestone in London today to discuss the future of the Canadian Grand Prix. The mayor and two ministers are meeting or have met with Ecclestone, and have said that they are willing to negotiate. Apparently the Grand Prix is worth around $75 million to Montreal, and brings in plenty of spin off tourism as well.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Welcome to F1 Minute, today is the 19th October 2008.
Hamilton has taken victory in Shanghai after a pretty much perfect weekend. He led the race from start to finish, and crossed the line almost 15 seconds ahead of nearest rival Felipe Massa. The Ferrari drivers performed a less than elegant swap in the closing laps of the race, as Raikkonen had led his team mate but couldn’t catch up to Hamilton’s storming McLaren. This now takes us into Brazil with Massa 7 points behind Hamilton.
There were only three retirees, Trulli had a first corner collision with Bourdais, and says this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Sutil’s race was over when his gearbox failed, and he pulled serenely off track, and Kovalainen suffered a puncture and then some kind of pneumatic problem that saw him return to his garage early.
Also today, the FOTA met to discuss their response to Mosley’s cost-cutting plans, and have hopefully come up with their own proposals. They will be presented to Max in a meeting on Tuesday.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Hamilton has taken pole position in China, with both Ferraris behind him, and Kovalainen back in fifth. Webber suffered from a grid penalty, after his engine blew up in Free Practice 3. He qualified sixth but starts down in 16th. That bumped Heidfeld up to sixth, but he’s also received a penalty. In the first Free Practice session, he impeded David Coulthard’s hot lap. The Red Bull team complained to the stewards and Heidfeld received a three place grid drop seeing him start in 9th.
With Hamilton first and Massa third, Kubica will be ruing his performance which sees him start in 11th. He appeared to struggle with the same tyre issues that Heidfeld had last week, and he concedes his title chances are now supremely slim.
Finally, Force India have confirmed they will be keeping both Sutil and Fisichella on for next year, whilst Toyota have announced the launch date for their 2009 car – January 16th. Seems such a long time away.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Lewis Hamilton got his weekend off to a good start by leading both Free Practice 1 and 2 at the Shanghai International Circuit. There were very few incidents of note, although Bourdais did get stuck in the gravel at Turn 1 during the second session, and Piquet imitated Hamilton’s gravel trap pit entrance incident, although managed to make it out safely.
Aside from that, the McLaren’s and Ferrari’s look as though they will be dominating the weekend, although Alonso did score the second fastest time in Free Practice 2, with Piquet just behind him.
Elsewhere today, the FIA have opened the tender process for a standard engine in F1 for the 2010 season and beyond. The statement from the governing body said the chosen third party would supply either a ready manufactured engine or the standard designs for teams to build their own. This doesn’t appear to be a popular decision already, but Bernie Ecclestone says he doesn’t think the manufacturers will stage a mass walkout because they’re simply trying to reduce costs.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
Today is the 8th October 2008, welcome to F1 Minute.
This weekend in Japan, Bridgestone are painting the stripes on their tyres green. The FIA has a promotion called “Make Cars Green”, and in support Bridgestone will be painting every groove on the harder tyre a bright green colour. The announcement of coloured tyres, came with a joint statement from Honda, Williams and BMW, all supporting the idea of Formula 1 becoming greener. I can honestly say the green does not look great, but it’s all in a good cause.
Along with environmental issues, Max Mosley has also issued a stark warning that if Formula 1 doesn’t drastically cut costs it will face serious difficulties in the future. Today it was announced that the FOTA will meet with the FIA president immediately after the Chinese Grand Prix to discuss the matter. The FIA statement read: “At this meeting the FIA will discuss and share with the teams the strategic decisions which are now urgently required, having regard to current world-wide economic problems.”
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
You’re listening to F1 Minute and it’s the 1st October 2008.
With most teams saying they will be focusing on 2009 now, it’s a refreshing change to hear that some updates will be taking place for McLaren. CEO Martin Whitmarsh says Singapore was supposed to be their last upgrade, but now they’ll be bringing in some more aerodynamic “bits and pieces” for Japan and China. Whitmarsh also had a bit of a moan about the penalty process in Singapore, saying that because the stop/go call for Rosberg pitting under the safety car came so late, that he had been able to pull out enough of a lead to effectively cancel it out. Whitmarsh believes Hamilton could have won it had things been different.
Elsewhere today, Malaysia have reportedly said no to the night race idea. Previously Bernie has said that the 2009 race would begin at 7pm local time, but officials have said they will compromise to start at 5pm. They certainly don’t intend to host a race after dark.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.