17-Dec-08: Prodrive Boss Indicates Desire to Return
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 17th December 2008.
Prodrive boss Dave Richards has indicated that the new cost-cutting regulations may mean his team can enter the sport. Prodrive were intended to arrive on the grid this year but couldn’t make it work. Now Richards says: “I have always said there are two criteria for Prodrive’s return to Formula One: one, we want to be competitive, and two, it must be financially viable. If we tick those two boxes there is a strong likelihood we will be back there.”
Elsewhere, Vettel has finally ended Buemi’s run at the top of the testing timesheets. He finished ahead of his Red Bull compatriot at the final Jerez test day of the year. BMW were third fastest, still working on their KERS device, although they did suffer a setback with a suspected fire.
Finally, ex-Williams sponsor Lenovo have announced they’ll be partnering with McLaren from 2009. The deal sees Lenovo providing “mission-critical computing solutions.”
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
08-Dec-08: Reactions Flood in Over Honda Withdrawal
Today is the 8th December, and this is F1 Minute.
There’s been plenty of reaction to the Honda exit news, so let’s quickly run through some of the things we’ve heard:
- BMW, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, Toyota and Williams have all said they are committed to their future in Formula 1. Red Bull also said both their teams intend to stay in the sport, although motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said they were going to be looking at the budget quite closely. The only team we haven’t heard from is Force India.
- Outsiders have been sharing their opinion, with Jacques Villeneuve saying Honda’s decision was purely political, and Dave Richards saying it’s a harsh lesson for Formula 1 to learn.
- The team themselves are still hopeful they can find a buyer, and will accept a relatively small price. Ross Brawn says he’ll stick with them to the end, whatever that might be.
- The FOTA are meeting with Mosley this week to look at more cost-cutting measures, and the organisation also want to meet with Bernie to discuss the possibility of teams getting a bigger share of F1 revenues.
That’s it for today, join me back here tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
10-Jan-08: Wurz Returns to F1 with Honda
It’s the 10th January 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
Alex Wurz has come out of retirement to sign for Honda as third driver this year. Wurz retired from racing at the end of last year, to be replaced at Williams by Nakajima. However, lured by working with Ross Brawn, Wurz has joined the team to help develop the car.
Force India held an event in India to officially confirm Fisichella as their number one driver, with Adrian Sutil as team mate, and Tonio Liuzzi as test driver. Fisichella was quick to point out that this was not his only opportunity, but the best one.
Toyota launched their 2008 contender this morning, in Cologne. The drivers and management were present, with everyone pretty much admitting the pressure is on to get some results after a disappointing 2007.
And very quickly, the Autosport International show has started today in Birmingham, and an interesting snippet comes from Dave Richards, who has said that customer cars are looking really unlikely, and therefore Prodrive’s plans are basically scuppered.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
10-Oct-07: Prodrive Worry About 2008 Entry
Hello everybody, this is F1 Minute, I’m Christine and these are your top headlines for 10th October.
Autosport.com are reporting that Prodrive, the 12th entrant for the 2008 season, may actually struggle to have a car ready in time for the season opener. After the FIA announced the hearing for the legality of customer cars in a couple of weeks, Prodrive’s misery has been compounded by McLaren dropping negotiations to be the supplier, for the time being. Team boss Dave Richards remains confident these are just short term issues.
McLaren have also made headlines today by reiterating their equality policy for drivers, especially for the last and deciding race in Brazil. There have been mumblings in all directions that either Alonso or Hamilton will be favoured, but McLaren are adamant this will not happen, despite strained relationships within the team.
And finally, UK newspaper, the Daily Mail is reporting that Williams have made a £28 million loss in 2006, down from a similar sized profit the previous year.
Please join me tomorrow for another F1 minute.