Flavio Briatore Ban Overturned by Courts

Briatore gets another chance, whilst Renault find his replacement.

This is F1 Minute and it’s the 5th January 2010.

Flavio Briatore’s lifetime ban from F1 has been overthrown by the French courts, after legal action from the Italian against the FIA. He was awarded 15,000 Euros as compensation, with the judge ruling that the ban had been irregular and illegal, although the FIA would like to point out that they didn’t rule it was wrong. The ban wasn’t wrong, just that it wasn’t their domain to hand it out. The FIA are considering their right to appeal. Briatore said: “Let me take a little time to enjoy this moment of happiness after this difficult period. As concerns my possible return to F1, there is plenty of time to talk about this.”

Meanwhile, his ex-position at Renault of team principal has been filled by Eric Boullier, who is linked to the new investors in the team. He has plenty of experience, is relatively young, and replaces Bob Bell, who stays with the team but in the design department.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

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Toute à L’heure

Sebastien Bourdais during the French Grand Prix weekend. This past weekend in Germany is most likely his last, according to all rumours and reports and despite denials from the man himself. His replacement would be current third driver Jaime Alguarsuari.

Credit: GEPA pictures/ Mathias Kniepeiss

Eyeing Nico’s Drive

Nico Rosberg heads down the pitlane during the French Grand Prix in 2008. Patrick Head has been talking about the 2010 season, and suggests that if Nico were to leave the team in search of a more competitive car, then Williams would want to hire an experienced driver, rather than promote a newbie.

Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

16-May-09: Two Potential New Teams Confirm Entry Plans

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 16th May.

Yesterday, we found out about two teams that are possibly making their way into F1. We reported earlier that Lola were looking at re-entering the sport, and following a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits of doing so, the team have confirmed that they’ll go ahead with attempting an entry.

Also, Formula 3 team Litespeed has teamed up with Mike Gascoyne to apply for the 2010 season, and confirmed that they were hoping to have enough time to prepare to race next year. Both of these potential entries rely on the fact that the FIA budget cap regulations will remain in place, which of course, the current teams are now urgently discussing.

Meanwhile, there is further unrest in France, as a whole host of tractors drove the streets outside of Paris, today, in an attempt to protest the new circuit for the French Grand Prix. The residents argue that the area is too populated to host an F1 event.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

28-Jan-09: Belgian GP Organisers Worried About ING

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 28th January 2009.

It’s all circuit news today, starting with speculation that the Belgian Grand Prix could be in trouble. Having made significant losses over the past two years, organisers at Spa are worried that the withdrawal of ING from sponsorship could be a problem. Apparently the bank were big on buying tickets, purchasing 3,000 corporate tickets last year. If they don’t do that this time, it will be a huge blow to the track.

The French Grand Prix, meanwhile, had some hope when the government agreed to allow a race at Yvelines. However, it looks as though strong opposition has caused the minister to reconsider, and other options will have to be looked at.

Finally, BMW have decided to test at Bahrain next month, switching from their original plan of joining the other teams in Jerez. They’ll be in good company, though, with Ferrari and Toyota, and presumably, this is down to the bad weather experienced last week in Portugal.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Quotes Roundup – Week Ending 23rd Nov

The very best from the mouths of those in the know.

Testing out the 2009 Spec

We’re not the only ones who don’t like it…

• “I never saw such a sexy car.” Christian Klien
• “Considering this is Formula One – if people think the introduction of KERS and the reduction in downforce and slicks is going to transform Formula One, then forget it. It will still be a wide car, there will still be aerodynamic effect and offline will stay dirty. It will be easier, but it won’t be MotoGP. And people need to understand that.” Pedro de la Rosa
• “Obviously the set-up is far from ideal, especially on my car as I was focusing mainly on the KERS systems. We’re still having quite a few problems there, but at least we have it in the car.” Nick Heidfeld

The New Boys

We saw some fresh faces in Barcelona, but here’s what they thought…

• “Driving a Formula One car is really, really nice. And I was enjoying myself more and more each lap. Pushing harder and harder makes you find the edge and when the laptime comes from your effort that’s pretty good.” Bruno Senna
• “You can’t compare F1 to rallying, they are so different. It’s not true that rallying is more of a comfort zone, because when I am flat-out on the stages I am concentrating just as hard as I was today.” Sebastien Loeb
• “I only had a big curiosity to know. Well, I’m more and more convinced that with a bit of time I could have become a good F1 driver. It only remains to be seen how good, whether good enough to win or not.” Valentino Rossi

Bernie’s Corner

Three separate stories concerning Mr Ecclestone this week…

• “Given Mr and Mrs Ecclestone were reputed to be worth £2.4bn in the 2008 Rich List, this case may see the highest award to a wife in legal history.” Simon Bethel, family law specialist
• “Everybody understands gold medals and silver and bronze. Nearly all sports are done that way. The whole point will be, when they get to Melbourne for the first race, the guys will want to leave there with a gold medal.” Bernie Ecclestone
• “I think it’s almost certain that there will not be a grand prix in 2010. I always thought the Disney site was the right place for us, the new location that would suit the French Grand Prix. There’s a lot of infrastructure in place, the trains go there, everyone would know it – it was perfect.” Bernie Ecclestone

05-Nov-08: WMC Reveal New Provisional Calendar

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This is F1 Minute for the 5th November 2008.

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.

15-Oct-08: French Grand Prix Cancelled for 2009

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It’s the 15th October 2008 and this is F1 Minute.

It seems only moments since Canada was left off the 2009 calendar, and now France, who had a slot on the season guide for next year, look like they’re pulling out. The FFSA, who organise the sport, have several options as to where the Grand Prix should be held next year, but with the current financial meltdown, the 10% increase in fees, and the fact that the event would most likely make a loss, they just don’t want to do it. They’ve said it would be better to sit out for one year, and come back when they’ve got some long term funding on board. Whether a replacement will be found, or if there will just be a gap in the calendar has yet to be seen.

Finally, I mentioned yesterday that Berger wouldn’t be drawn on whether Bourdais would be resigned for 2009, preferring to wait until the end of the season. Today, Bourdais himself has said that he can’t wait until December for a decision, otherwise he might be left with no other racing opportunities.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back again tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

30-Jun-08: Coulthard Speaks About His Uncertain Future

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 30^th June 2008.

David Coulthard is usually pretty quiet on the subject of his future, which never stops the silly season rumours from flying without abandon. However, today he’s spoken out a little about his future. What he actually says is that he doesn’t know what the future holds, and whilst he would love to keep driving, he knows that it’s very possible the coming race could be his very last British GP. He says there are worse things in life than not having a drive and when the time comes he will move on gracefully.

The BMW boys have differing opinions on how they will fare at this weekend’s race, with Heidfeld confident that the improvements from the recent test will help them get back to form. Kubica, meanwhile, says that their dismal French GP performance will hopefully kick everyone into a new gear, and that Silverstone needs to be a turning point for the team.

And finally, the boss of the Paul Ricard test track, Phillippe Gurdijan has retired and will concentrate on his new project – helping the Abu Dhabi circuit organisers.

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

25-Jun-08: Kovalainen Heads Up Silverstone Test, Day 2

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 25^th June.

Kovalainen was fastest on Day 2 of the test in Silverstone, with Trulli and Rosberg behind him, and Massa all the way down in 7^th. There were several red flags today, one of which caused by Fisichella, who crashed after being caught in a gust of wind. He was taken to the medical centre and then a nearby hospital for checks on his wrist. He is okay, though.

Elsewhere, the FIA have been busy, with the World Council meeting in France. Firstly, they released a statement officially announcing they would review how F1 is governed. They also promoted their new feeder series for F1 called Formula 2, and they decided that they’d only raise the entry fee costs to F1 for teams by the rate of inflation.

Finally, they released a provision calendar for 2009, which sees the races starting and ending much later in the year, France is included, whilst the US is not, and the season closer will be in Abu Dhabi, the only new addition. Notably Turkey has been returned to its slot further down the calendar.

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

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