28-Nov-07: The Incredibly Popular Force India
This is F1 Minute for the 28th November 2007.
Given all the McLaren headlines of late, you would think they are the team everyone wants to join. But it looks like Force India are giving them a run for their money, with no less than seven drivers hoping for a race drive.
Among the many are Ralf Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella, Christian Klien, Tonio Liuzzi and Franck Montagny. Force India have confirmed that Schumacher and Fisichella will each get a full day of testing in Jerez next week, to assess potential for the spare seat alongside Adrian Sutil. Liuzzi and Klien are both testing for the second time for the team, having been called back from Barcelona.
Current test drivers Roldan Rodriguez and Giedo van der Garde make up the seven interested parties, although neither of them have any race experience within Formula 1. With such big names fighting for a place in a small team, an interesting post over on the International Herald Tribune blog points out that many drivers race for the love of it, rather than simply to win. And apparently, they also get their travel and food expenses for the test paid for them.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
15-Nov-07: Court of Appeal Meet in London
Hi everyone, this is F1 Minute for the 15th November 2007, I’m Christine and these are your top headlines for today.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out the results of the hearing today, but it looks like McLaren’s lawyer was fighting to get the BMW and Williams drivers disqualified. McLaren are adamant they don’t want to affect the championship but Ian Mill told the court that if rules had been breached, disqualification was the only option.
The final day of testing in Barcelona completed Ferrari’s dominance with Felipe Massa topping the timesheets. He was briefly beaten by Kovalainen in the Renault but that time was deleted for cutting the chicane. Franck Montagny finished up his contract with Toyota by placing the third fastest time. Button completed his two days of testing and after his complaints earlier this week, he seemed quite happy with the new style car. There were a total of 12 red flags today, too many to mention here.
And finally, Formula 1 bosses have signed a deal to allow an Indian company to build a race track 30 miles west of the capital Delhi, in time for the 2010 season.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
14-Nov-07: Schumacher Remains on Top in Barcelona
Today is the 14th November 2007, I’m Christine and this is F1 Minute.
Michael Schumacher continued to be fastest in Barcelona for the second day of testing, however he has admitted feeling nervous before climbing in the car again. Speaking to the media for the first time, Schumacher said he was surprised it had only taken him a couple of laps to get back in the swing of things.
In other testing news, Toyota had a bad day with both drivers causing red flags. Test driver Franck Montagny actually hit the wall and caused some damage to the rear of the car. Force India had three drivers during the day, including Tonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien, who are each hoping to get a race drive.
Away from the track, McLaren’s appeal against the illegal fuel situation in Brazil will be heard in London tomorrow. Bernie Ecclestone has said he expects the championship results to remain intact but if they don’t, he will seriously rethink his involvement with the sport. CEO of McLaren, Martin Whitmarsh agrees with him, saying the team simply want clarification of the rules, and do not want Hamilton handed the championship on a technicality.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.