29-Sep-08: News Roundup Following Singapore GP
This is F1 Minute for the 29th September 2008.
Following on from the great race in Singapore, here are some news snippets we might have missed.
- Bernie Ecclestone has announced that the Indian Grand Prix, due to be on the calendar from 2010, has been pushed back a year. It looks as though construction work will be finished in time for the 2010 debut, so reasons for Bernie’s decision remain unknown.
- Ferrari have confirmed they will be keeping Luca Badoer and Marc Gene as test drivers for next season.
- Alonso says that although he knows he was lucky with the safety car timing at the weekend, he also had a fast car, and he believes this win makes up for what has been a really tough year.
- Ex-F1 champ Jackie Stewart has said the biggest winner from the Singapore race this weekend was Formula 1 in general, because such a fantastic event should help put some of the recent controversies behind us.
- And finally, it’s no surprise that the overhaul of the safety car regulations has resurfaced, with teams very unhappy about the lottery effect.
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
25-Jul-08: Kovalainen Heads Up Final Day in Jerez
Welcome to F1 Minute, it ’s the 25th July 2008.
Heikki Kovalainen put McLaren on top in Jerez for the final day, leading Bourdais in the Toro Rosso, and David Coulthard in the Red Bull. McLaren were running brand new nose wings, similar to Honda, although more elegant, but notably, Kovalainen’s fastest time was set without them. There were three red flags during the day, one from Heidfeld, and two from Kobayashi in the Toyota. He started the day by running into the gravel, and ended it by stopping out on track.
Elsewhere, Max Mosley has launched a new lawsuit against the News of the World. After successfully winning his case for invasion of privacy, he is now suing them for libel, after saying he was lying about the Nazi element of what went on. He is also suing German newspaper Bild. Quite a few top names have come out and said that whilst Mosley has successfully won his court case, he should now step down. They include Jackie Stewart, Eddie Jordan, Paul Stoddart and Stirling Moss.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
02-Jun-08: Stewart Drops Mosley Libel Action
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 2nd June 2008.
Although Max Mosley is waiting for his fate to be decided by the FIA tomorrow, he has had a bit of good news today. Jackie Stewart has dropped the libel charges against him, dating back to last year. Mosley made some comments about Stewart that the latter took to be a reference to his dyslexia, and he sought legal action against the FIA President for libel damages. However, he has decided not to pursue any action saying: “I did think about suing him and was told I had a cast iron case, but it was so petty and I didn’t want to come down to his level.”
In other news today, Alonso has joined in the denials that he is joining Ferrari. The Spaniard spoke out, saying that he hasn’t spoken to anyone, and no one from Ferrari has approached him either.
Finally, two snippets of circuit news: Montreal has unveiled it’s new paddock complex and media centre, giving the teams and journalists much more space to work, and the new Valencian circuit will be put through it’s paces in July when Formula 3 and the GT open racing takes to it’s streets.
That’s all for today, join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
19-Mar-08: McLaren to Revise Pit Speed Limiter System
This is F1 Minute for the 19th March 2008.
McLaren will be looking into their pit speed limiter process after the incident in Australia with Kovalainen. Engineering director Paddy Lowe has said they will be revising the system in future as: “It shouldn’t be something you can pick up by accident when you’re moving your hands around.”
Ferrari test driver Marc Gene has criticised the system used by McLaren, saying he was surprised it happened, as his team has a way of making the button inactive over a certain gear or speed.
The GPDA fallout continues, after Jackie Stewart’s disappointment in Hamilton yesterday. Pedro de la Rosa has said they don’t back this attitude. “We look forward to Lewis becoming a GPDA member at some time in the future. But it isn’t mandatory to join and it isn’t our intention to put pressure on Lewis, as he has always been extremely helpful with any safety issue we have engaged in in the past.”
And a Toyota official has confirmed that Timo Glock will be okay to race in Malaysia this weekend.
That’s all for today, 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.
19-Oct-07: Hamilton, Button, and Sato May Face Penalty
Today is the 19th October 2007, this is F1 minute, and I’m Christine from Sidepodcast.
The Ferrari’s were top of the timesheets for the first free practice session in Brazil, with Raikkonen leading Massa and the McLaren’s nowhere to be seen. The second session, however saw Hamilton lead Alonso, then followed by their rivals.
Hamilton, however, may face trouble this weekend. He, along with Honda’s Jenson Button and Super Aguri’s Takuma Sato, are under investigation by the Brazilian stewards. The three drivers were deemed to have used two sets of wet weather tyres in the first practice session this morning, which is against the rules. They have been summoned to meet with the stewards and a decision should be reached tonight.
And very quickly to finish, while we’re on the subject of Hamilton, Bernie Ecclestone believes the Brit deserves the title more than any of the other contenders, whilst Jackie Stewart believes Lewis would benefit from the experience of losing the title this year.
That’s it for today. Make sure you tune in to the race this weekend, if you can. It’s your last chance for Grand Prix goodness this year. I’ll be back on Monday for another F1 minute.
15-Oct-07: Toro Rosso Appeal Rejected
Welcome to a new week of F1 Minute, I’m Christine and these are your headlines for today 15th October 2007.
The FIA announced on Saturday that they have rejected Toro Rosso’s appeal against Liuzzi’s Fuji Penalty. The team were hoping to have the 25 second penalty revoked and get back the point that was granted to Spyker’s Adrian Sutil, but they have now accepted the outcome of the appeal.
The battle continues to rage between Jackie Stewart and Max Mosley, with the former champion rallying for the FIA President’s resignation. Mosley is adamant that he stands behind everything he has said and everything the FIA has done this year, and even goes so far as to suggest that Stewarts complaints may have something to do with publicising his new autobiography.
Renault boss Flavio Briatore is confident that Renault will bounce back from their bad form this year and start winning races again in 2008. No doubt he is still trying to entice Fernando Alonso back to the championship winning team, as Briatore continues not to announce the driver line up for the next season.
That’s all for today, join me again tomorrow for another F1 minute.
09-Oct-07: Williams Announce Nakajima for Brazil
Today is Tuesday, 9th October, I’m Christine from Sidepodcast, and this is your F1 minute.
Williams announced their replacement for Alex Wurz today as Kazuki Nakajima. The test driver will step up for the race seat as a one-off in season-closer Brazil, and although it’s obviously a great opportunity, Frank Williams has made it clear that he will not be judging the driver for 2008 potential on this one race alone.
Max Mosley stands by his recent unfavourable comments about Jackie Stewart, even though the former world champion is threatening legal action. Stewart has said his lawyers are talking to Mosley and his people, but Mosley is determined to make no apology for calling the Scotsman a “certified halfwit.”
Fernando Alonso was interviewed by magistrate Guiseppe Tibis, regarding the criminal investigation into the Ferrari/McLaren espionage. There was no visible outcome from the enquiry, but questions asked are believed to have been about the email exchange and confidential information received from Stepney.
Those are your F1 headlines for today, join me tomorrow for another F1 minute.