F1 Minute

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 2nd September 2008.

Red Bull haven’t exactly been on top form lately, and boss Christian Horner says that they’ve established the root of the problem. “Tyres are proving to be the biggest factor at the moment. Over the past couple of months, Toyota has looked very strong tyre wise in the higher temperatures. It’s not a case of our rivals suddenly ‘bolting on’ more performance. It’s down to tyre useage and they have handled that better than us. We have understood why this happened and I feel we can get on top of this situation and return to our earlier form for the final third of the season, hopefully starting this weekend in Spa.”

Elsewhere, Raikkonen has finally admitted that he needs a good result in Belgium, to keep his championship hopes alive, but says that Spa is one of his favourite races. About negative stories in the press, he says: “These things happen. It wasn’t for the first time and it might not have been the last in my career. You just have to know how to cope with these situations.”

That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 17^th July 2008.

Another one of those stories that falls into the most unsurprising news ever category, is today’s announcement by Red Bull that they have signed Toro Rosso star Sebastian Vettel for next year. As predicted by pretty much everyone, Vettel will replace the retiring Coulthard and team up with Mark Webber for the 2009 season. Team boss Christian Horner says he knew Vettel was the one: “As he was already part of the Red Bull family, choosing Sebastian as Mark Webber’s team-mate was not a difficult decision.”

And the man himself, Vettel, is obviously happy with the announcement: “I am very proud to be joining Red Bull Racing and it’s always good to have an early decision on what you are doing next year. As a driver your target is always to be with the most competitive team possible and, over the past couple of years, Red Bull Racing has proved it has great potential…”

Finally, this puts pay to the rumours that Alonso will be joining the team. Horner says the timing just wasn’t right for that to happen, whilst Alonso says that doesn’t mean he will have to remain at Renault.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

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Today is the 3^rd July 2008, and this is F1 Minute.

David Coulthard has announced his retirement from F1 today, saying that he will be leaving the sport at the end of the season. His statement included the fact that the decision was made earlier in the year, and that he wanted to leave while he was still competitive. The Scot has been in the sport for 14 years, and says he may not give up on racing altogether. “I have an open mind as to whether or not I will compete again in the future, In some other form of motorsport, so I am definitely not hanging up my helmet!”

Coulthard is set to remain as a consultant for Red Bull Racing, which should keep Christian Horner happy, as the Team Principal has said he will be sad to see Coulthard step down. He released a statement, saying: “Working with David has been an absolute pleasure and his contribution to the team over the past four seasons has been significant.”

Meanwhile, Red Bull confirmed that Mark Webber has had his contract extended for next year, and all that’s left is for the rumours to start about who will partner him. A popular choice seems to be Vettel but let me know what you think at F1Minute.com.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 2^nd July 2008.

Organisers of the Singapore Grand Prix have announced they will be adding at least 1,500 more seats, due to the popularity of the event. They’ll extend one grandstand and build another for the increased ticket-holders. They’ve also reduced the number of corners to 23, after deciding that Turns 10 and 11 should only really count as one.

Elsewhere today, Ross Brawn has apparently said that any team would be interested in signing up Alonso, as indeed are Honda. However, he also pointed out that the Spaniard’s preference for Ferrari would need to be sorted out first.

Finally, two quick snippets, David Coulthard got a sneek peak at the McLaren Technology Centre today, having bid on and won a charity prize for a tour. He took Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Martin Brundle with him, as well. And Lewis Hamilton has signed the previously rumoured personal sponsorship deal with Reebok, although no numbers have been released.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

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It’s the 21^st March, I’m Christine, and this is F1 Minute.

David Coulthard suffered another serious incident in Free Practice 1 today, as his Red Bull hit the kerb at Sepang and the chassis fell apart. The stewards are worried about the safety of the car, after the same thing happened in Australia last week, so they have asked for Red Bull to submit a technical report to ensure that they will be allowed to race. Team boss Christian Horner doesn’t appear too worried, saying that it was just a single component failure and everything is under control.

In other Free Practice news, both Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button appeared to outperform in their respective cars, although both have moved to downplay their positions. Vettel was 5^th in Free Practice 2 but said that the lap times don’t really prove anything, whilst Button was just ahead in fourth, and saying it will not be reflected in the race.

And very quickly, Williams sponsor AirAsia have officially unveiled their new A320 plane in Williams livery, with a cockpit coloured to match Rosberg’s helmet. The plane is called “Sir Frank Williams.”

That’s all for today, join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

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Today is the 19^th December 2007, I’m Christine and this is F1 Minute.

Red Bull have announced they will debut their new car, the RB4, at the Jerez test next month. Team boss Christian Horner said their main rival would be Renault, as their engine supplier, and that improved reliability was the main goal for 2008. Horner also put pay to the rumours about Alonso joining the team before the Spaniard joined Renault, saying the speculation was flattering but there was never any truth in it.

It’s been a constant source of interest to see how Raikkonen would get on within the Ferrari team, and now Luca di Montezemolo has said however Raikkonen wants to act is fine, as long as the wins keep coming. The president of Ferrari said Raikkonen’s reputation for being quiet was fine by him, in fact he likes him because he doesn’t whine.

And talking of Ferrari, they have apparently invited the British photocopy shop owner, who informed them of McLaren’s espionage, out to Italy for a visit to the track and the factory. Di Montezemolo wants to thank the mysterious, anonymous informant personally.

That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.