This is F1 Minute and it’s the 10th November 2008.
Force India have confirmed what we all suspected, that they are partnering with McLaren next year. The deal will see the 2009 Force India feature a Mercedes HighPerformanceEngine and a McLaren gearbox and hydraulic system. The agreement lasts for five years, and has given Vijay Mallya a lot of hope for the future. He says: “Of course in 2009 it’s virtually a brand new car and a brand new design. At least from my perspective, winning races I think I can certainly aspire for maybe in 2010, but for 2009 I would be happy if we are regularly in the points. ” For McLaren, Martin Whitmarsh has said the deal makes the two teams very close, and they will discuss all aspects of racing together, however they won’t be making driver decisions on Force India’s behalf.
Also this weekend, the FOTA have agreed that cutting the cost of customer engines is a way to appease the FIA, and have set the price at £4 million.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
The FIA announced today that they’ve had a couple of interested parties in the standard engine tender, and therefore they’ll be going ahead with the plan to introduce them from 2010 to 2012. We also learned that regardless of whether a team chooses to build the engine or buy it, the entire grid’s engine power should only vary by 1%. Interestingly, Autosport.com is reporting that a source within the FOTA has said that none of their member teams will be applying for the engine tender. Someone outside the sport, then?
Elsewhere, Honda have said they will be testing like mad over the winter in an attempt to move further up the grid. Team Principal Ross Brawn said: “”We’ve kept our testing mileage and our tyres for the winter testing, which is another thing that is reflected this season. I believe we have more tyres left for winter testing than any other team, which is something we consciously did because of our approach.”
That’s all for today, I’ll be back with another F1 Minute tomorrow.
Max Mosley and the FOTA have met today in Geneva, with Luca di Montezemolo and John Howett representing the organisation. After the meeting, a joint statement was issued saying that significant cost savings had been agreed upon for the next two seasons, with 2010 and beyond still to be decided. No real details were released, but we do know that engine life will go up from two races to three from next year, manufacturers now have to supply customer engines at an agreed price, and there will probably soon be an agreement that bringing a standard KERS unit into the sport is a good idea.
There is plenty still up for discussion, including customer cars, and testing limits, but the current standard engines proposal is notably missing from the FOTA statement. Before the meeting, Mosley said he would be pushing the standard engine as he would prefer F1 to concentrate on technology that will benefit all areas of the motorsport industry.
That wraps up the news for today, please join me again tomorrow for 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.
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.
We heard earlier in the week that McLaren are pushing forward with development this year and it’s good news to hear that BMW haven’t given up on the title, either. Technical director Willy Rampf said that they will still develop despite Kubica being 20 points down on Hamilton. He said: “We will continue though. We will try to have at least small modifications and updates for the next races and hope to get closer to the top. We are not far away, not the team and not Robert as our leading driver.”
Elsewhere today, Autosport.com is reporting that the FOTA are looking at a new concept of sharing commercial revenues between the teams equally. Currently, teams get a bigger share, the higher they finish up the constructor’s championship. You’d imagine the larger teams wouldn’t appreciate getting less money, but Autosport has asked Frank Williams who said it’s the best way of making things more competitive. I’d love to know what you think about this potential new scheme, leave your thoughts at F1Minute.com.
The final in-season test of 2008 has started at Jerez, with BMW, Williams and Honda turning up for the first day. The teams tested three young drivers: Marko Asmer finished the day on top for BMW, followed by Dani Clos for Williams and Mike Conway for Honda. Both Williams and Honda tested out the new KERS technology, but Honda only managed 20 laps whilst the others completed over 70 each.
Elsewhere today, Ron Dennis has been talking about his team’s relationship with Ferrari, and says things have never been better, despite last year’s spy scandal, and the Belgium penalty incident. Dennis spoke out to put pay to rumours that there might be trouble within the FOTA, and of new chairman di Montezemolo, he said: “Luca is an old friend. Granted, inevitably, our relationship has had its ups and downs as a result of the competitiveness of our respective organisations, but there’s a deep and mutual respect between us.”
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Remember last week when the teams got together and agreed to set up a new organisation called the Formula One Teams Association? Well, there has been plenty of discussion about the new group around the internet, whether they are going to be useful, or whether it’s all just talk, but there have been few actual details so far.
Ross Brawn has spoken to Autosport.com and told them that he is more than happy to take charge of the technical side of things for the association, if the other teams are happy for him to do so. The FOTA’s main priority is to come up with some new regulations for the 2011 season that will fit in with the FIA’s plans to become greener and more cost-effective.
Whilst it’s nice to know something is actually happening, Brawn does admit it’s a slow process: “We need the first stage done first, which is about how we can all work together without making it too heavy. We need to have something that is clear, but we don’t want a 100-page document. It would be a shame if it resorted to that.”
That’s rounds up the show for today, join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.