02-Dec-08: Berger Spills the Beans on his Toro Rosso Exit
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 2nd December 2008.
Having confirmed last week that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz was buying out his 50% share of Toro Rosso, Gerhard Berger has said he might not be leaving F1 forever. He said: “Let’s put it this way: if one day the right conditions for a return are on the table, then I could consider the possibility of coming back.” He also clarified his reasons for selling, admitting that he was focused on improving Toro Rosso’s performance but needed more funds from Red Bull, and they just weren’t forthcoming. He believes Red Bull will sell STR to put all their energy into their own team.
Also today, Alonso revealed he is targeting his third title in 2009 but he knows it may not go to plan, saying: “The first part of last season was average. I can’t afford to start the championship thinking that I’m not going to win. It’s a very clear goal, although it may have to be altered as the year goes on.”
Finally, McLaren have announced their launch date as the 16th January and it will be in Woking.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Quotes Roundup - Week Ending 30th Nov
November 30, 2008 by Christine
Filed under Weekly Quotes
The very best from the mouths of those in the know.
Toro Rosso Buyout
In which Dietrich Mateschitz regains full control…
- “Dietrich’s interest will focus on Red Bull Racing, therefore the support for STR will become smaller and prevent the team from improving further from sixth. I don’t want to decline, that is not in my nature.”Gerhard Berger
- “I am very grateful to Gerhard for his huge input. Together we turned Toro Rosso into a team that qualified on a regular basis in the top 10 and collected world championship points.” Dietrich Mateschitz
- “I will be out of STR, but the split with STR and Dietrich is completely amicable and there was no rift between us.” Gerhard Berger
The Medal Proposal
Bernie says it will be introduced in 2009…
- “All the teams are happy. The whole reason for this was that I was fed up with people talking about no overtaking. The reason there’s no overtaking is nothing to do with the circuit or the people involved, it’s to do with the drivers not needing to overtake.” Bernie Ecclestone
- “The points are necessary. I was one of the team principals in the team principals’ meetings who advocated that the points should go down to eighth place, because one point to a team down there is as important as a win is to the likes of McLaren and Ferrari, and we must never forget that.” Eddie Jordan
- “There are a lot of people who have ridiculed this suggestion, and honestly I have to admit at first that I thought the stress of divorce had got to him. But I think he actually has a point. Like him, I think the winner of the most races in a season should automatically be the world champion.” Jos Verstappen
Circuits Planning Ahead
Although many are pulling out of the calendar, some are thinking to the future…
- “This will be the first public transport Grand Prix. We are not bringing cars here. We are looking to use public transport from all the major conurbations, the airport and the Parkway station.” Simon Gillett, chief executive of Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd
- “With Bahrain at the start of the year and Abu Dhabi at the season finale there are many projects on which we can work together to attract more spectators, corporate clients and sponsors to both the region’s races.” Zayed Alzayani, Bahrain circuit boss
- “We think Formula One is a very good product, a very good event for Shanghai city so at least from our company’s point of view we want to continue promoting and building the event. Research shows there are more and more race fans in China, so I don’t think we will say no to the Formula One Grand Prix.” General Manager of Event Management at Shanghai
25-Nov-08: Red Bull Buy Back Toro Rosso Share
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 25th November 2008.
Red Bull have bought back their 50% share in Toro Rosso from Gerhard Berger, despite the fact that owner Dietrich Mateschitz was previously contemplating selling his interest in the team. Now, the Austrian says: “I am very grateful to Gerhard for his huge input. Together we turned Toro Rosso into a team that qualified on a regular basis in the top 10 and collected world championship points.”
Also in Red Bull news, Christian Horner says the only positive thing from Webber’s accident is the timing, and they plan to put Vettel and Buemi in the car during upcoming tests. He said Coulthard had other priorities at the moment, having just become a first time dad.
Meanwhile, Rosberg has said he doesn’t regret staying with Williams and will wait to see what 2009 brings before rethinking his position. Obviously he wants the team to get back to their winning ways but knows the field will spread out with the drastic regulation changes in the coming season.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
24-Nov-08: Webber Recovering from Tasmania Accident
This is F1 Minute and it’s the 24th November 2008.
You’ve probably heard by now, but Mark Webber suffered an unfortunate accident over the weekend during his charity challenge in Tasmania. Webber was on the cycling leg of the adventure challenge and was involved in a head on collision with a car. He escaped with a broken leg, although it did require surgery. He is well and according to Red Bull in good spirits. They say he will return to the UK as soon as possible, will miss out on a lot of winter testing, but they’re sure he’ll be back in time for the Australian Grand Prix.
Elsewhere, Dietrich Mateschitz has said he thinks Buemi is “very likely” to get a race seat at Toro Rosso for 2009 although we won’t know the official decision before the final December test.
And lastly, the BBC have confirmed their lineup for F1 coverage next year. Martin Brundle and Jonathan Legard take over commentating duties with David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan as pundits. Lee McKenzie and Ted Kravitz cover the pit lane. I’d love to hear what you think of this lineup at F1Minute.com.
05-Oct-08: Mateschitz May Not Sell His Toro Rosso Share
Today is the 5th October 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
Half of Toro Rosso has been up for sale for a while now, and we haven’t heard of any buyers. Now it looks like Dietrich Mateschitz may want to keep his 50% stake in the team, after some good results. Of course, we could be reading too much into the quote, which simply says: “We will see if an interested buyer shows up, but it might happen that we do not want to sell at all any more. Right now, I would say nothing is fixed yet.” Mateschitz is mainly worried about the customer car regulations, so he wants to wait and see what happens with that.
Meanwhile, the Red Bull boss has also admitted that several teams are interested in Sebastian Vettel, but they want to build a good enough car to keep him at the team and Dietrich admits they would be disappointed if he wanted to leave. Vettel has also got into the good books of Bernie Ecclestone who predicts the youngster will win a championship one day. He says: “Sebastian is young, smart and friendly so he is the ideal example for other young drivers who one day hope to join the F1 circus.”
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
24-Sep-08: Berger Wants More Support From Red Bull
It’s the 24th September, and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
Although Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has already expressed his desire to sell sister team Toro Rosso before the end of 2009, co-owner Gerhard Berger wants more investment into his team. He believes Toro Rosso’s first win should inspire more support to get better results.
As well as that, customer cars are being outlawed after next season, and Berger knows they will need to increase the infrastructure. “If we need to build the entire car, it’s clear that to do that I can’t wait until 2010, I will have to start before then, and I will need more people. From the 160 staff we are now, to build and produce the entire car in 2010 we’ll need to grow to 230 people.”
Elsewhere today, Nakajima has spoken about Bridgestone’s new one-size fits all wet weather tyre, as he tested it at Jerez last week. He concludes that it was way too slippery, like driving on an ice rink: “It is the first generation one and I think we need to do a lot of work there.”
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
14-Aug-08: Webber Says Red Bull are Aiming for Fourth
Today is the 14th August 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
A few snippets of news today, starting with Mark Webber who says that Red Bull are targeting fourth in the constructor’s championship by the end of the season. They’ve struggled slightly recently, but Mark believes they can get back on form: “It’s a significant target and it would be nice to get it. Dietrich Mateschitz is very keen to finish fourth and there’s always pressure. We know what we have to try to achieve, but I don’t think he’s going to sack everyone if we finish fifth instead.”
Also today, my favourite story for a long time, it’s emerged that Kimi Raikkonen is to be honoured on some Finnish stamps. They are to celebrate the Finnish Postal Services 370th birthday, and Raikkonen will get his very own copy of them at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Finally, Fisichella still says he is happy with Force India, despite the fact that he’s heading towards his first pointless season of his career, and says he looks forward to next year’s car instead.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
01-Jul-08: Toro Rosso Future Uncertain, But Okay For 2009
It’s the 1st July 2008 and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
Although Toro Rosso have been put up for sale and face an uncertain future, team principal Franz Tost says there is no need to panic just yet. He said that when the rumours were non-stop a few weeks ago, it did unsettle the employees and strained the running of the team, however things are calming down again. Tost says: “The message we have from Dietrich Mateschitz is clear, that for 2009, everything will remain stable, not just in terms of employment but also in terms of the budget. Then, from 2010 we will see what happens.”
Toyota have signed a deal with Warner Bros to promote the new Batman film at this weekend’s British GP. The cars will run a Batman inspired livery, and the overalls and motorhome will receive similar treatment. The Batmobile will also be making an appearance for an on-track demonstration with the Toyota close by.
Finally today, Bridgestone have announced they have had to modify the slick tyres compound for next year, after the tyre warmers ban was pushed aside
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
08-Apr-08: Super Aguri May Miss Barcelona Test
This is F1 Minute for the 8th April, and these are your top headlines for today.
Takuma Sato has let slip that Super Aguri will not be attending the test in Barcelona next week. Although the team has been bought by the Magma Group, the deal is not yet complete, so Super Aguri have no more budget than they did pre-season. Missing out on yet more tests can only compound the miserable start to the year for the team.
Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has said that Fernando Alonso was a contender for the team ahead of this season, but he was only available for one year. Red Bull would have snapped him up if his contract was less complex, and he had been available for two seasons. This will only add weight to the speculation that Alonso is at Renault for one year only before joining Ferrari in 2009.
Finally, today, the controversy surrounding Alonso and Hamilton’s crash looks as though it has been cleared up now. Renault have already shown the data proving that Alonso was trying his best to accelerate out the corner, and now McLaren have the data to prove that Hamilton’s front wing was already broken.
That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
18-Mar-08: Scuderia Toro Rosso Team Put Up For Sale
Hi everyone, it’s the 18th March and this is F1 Minute.
It’s now official that Toro Rosso have been put up for sale. Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed that the Red Bull B team will be sold before the anti-customer car rule changes come into effect in 2010. He says he doesn’t see the need to sell Toro Rosso in 2008, but wants to find someone worthy of the team by the end of next year.
Sir Jackie Stewart has criticised Lewis Hamilton’s decision to stay away from the GPDA for the time being. New chairman Pedro de la Rosa said he wanted to encourage younger drivers to the team, but Hamilton said he was too busy to give it his full commitment. Stewart has hit out at that, saying: “I’m surprised and disappointed. He has been badly advised. It is completely wrong not to be involved.” He believes that the younger drivers like Hamilton and Raikkonen are becoming complacent about safety.
And a final snippet, Jean Todt has stepped down from his position as CEO of Ferrari, although he remains on the board.
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.