28-Oct-08: Ferrari Warn of Exit Over Standard Engines
You’re listening to F1 Minute and it’s the 28th October 2008.
Finally, we are getting word from teams about how they feel the standard engine will affect them. Toyota president John Howett said that manufacturers would be bound to leave if the standard engine came in to the regulations. He said: “If it is forced through, then it is not a decision we will take here, it will be taken by the board in Japan, but they want a degree of differentiation between teams.” Ferrari also issued a warning saying: “The use of same engines would deprive F1 of its competition and technological development. The board reserves the right to consider, together with our partners, our presence in this discipline.”
Despite two of the major teams in F1 admitting they might leave, the FIA remains steadfast on the ruling. The governing body issued a statement saying it wasn’t up to them to give in and change it, but for teams to either agree or come up with a suitable alternative.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
14-Oct-08: Toro Rosso Won’t Announce Drivers Till Season End
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 14th October 2008.
Just a few weeks ago, it seemed really obvious that Bourdais was going to get the push from Toro Rosso and two new drivers would be stepping in to the team for 2009. Now, though, Gerhard Berger says that there’s no rush to announce a new lineup, and they’ll probably wait until after the season. He spoke out after the Japanese Grand Prix but wouldn’t be drawn on whether Bourdais’ recent improved performance could guarantee a renewal: “I don’t want to say anything at this stage because we have to sort out everything in a quiet way. But that’s exactly what we need to see him doing as he did today. It was a good result.” Berger also defended Bourdais and said he did nothing wrong in the Massa incident.
Meanwhile, BMW have said they will do all they can to back Kubica for the title, now he is only 12 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton. Whilst Mario Theissen says there’s nothing they can do to make the car faster, they won’t step back just yet.
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
13-Oct-08: Hamilton Blames Massa for Deliberate Incident
This is F1 Minute for the 13th October.
Following the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, Lewis Hamilton has said Massa’s actions may not have been an accident. Hamilton said: “I took the corner normally and Felipe came back very aggressively and hit me. I think that was pretty much as deliberate as can be.” Massa, meanwhile, has defended himself, saying it was a racing incident, he was only off track because Hamilton had forced him wide earlier, although he doesn’t want to criticise the other driver. “I have a good relationship with Lewis and I will not do anything to destroy it. Definitely not. I’m not the kind of guy who brings problems on the track to the outside, and I will not change my approach.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s day gets worse, as race winner Fernando Alonso has apparently been quoted as saying if he can do anything to help Massa win the title, then he will do it. However, he’s not confident on who will clinch the title: “In this championship the drivers who are up there have scored few points. But in the end the one who makes the least errors will win. We’ll see.”
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
12-Oct-08: Second Consecutive Victory for Renault and Alonso
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 12th October 2008.
Alonso has taken a second surprise win in Japan, following his first victory of the season at the last race in Singapore. Both Ferraris and Hamilton ran wide at the first corner, which pushed them down the order, and allowed Alonso, Kubica and Kovalainen through into the lead. Massa tried to overtake Hamilton moments later, and spun the McLaren round. He received a drive through for this incident, whilst Hamilton was given a drive through for forcing Raikkonen off the road at the start.
After the penalties were taken, Hamilton and Massa were well down the order, and it looked to be a fight between Kimi and Heikki. However, Kovi’s engine blew up in a rare show of McLaren unreliability. Raikkonen kept his speed up but ended up third on the podium behind Alonso and Kubica.
Massa managed to claw his way back up to 8th, and after an incident with Bourdais as the Toro Rosso came out of the pit lane, found himself in 7th when the Frenchman was given a post-race 25 second penalty.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
11-Oct-08: Hamilton Takes Pole Position in Japan
Today is the 11th October 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
Free Practice 3 was declared wet on Saturday morning in Japan, although the rain had stopped and the track dried throughout. We saw a mixed up session, with Kubica, Glock and Piquet ending up the fastest three.
For qualifying, the rain had well and truly gone, and the sun came out. Hamilton took pole position by two tenths of a second. Raikkonen managed to improve on his recent qualifying performances by lining up second on the grid. Meanwhile Massa posted the third fastest time, but was pushed down by both Kovalainen and Alonso, and so lines up fifth.
Both Toro Rossos and both Toyotas are in the top ten, whilst Heidfeld was the surprise of the day, failing to get through the first session. BMW left him on the harder tyre during the first stint to try and save rubber for later on in qualifying, but unfortunately it was the wrong decision, and there was no later on in qualifying for him. Kubica, meanwhile, starts sixth. The other disappointment was from Williams who had been looking strong but start 14th and 15th.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
10-Oct-08: Hamilton and Glock Set the Times at Fuji
This is F1 Minute and it’s the 10th October 2008.
The action kicked off in Japan today, with Hamilton leading Free Practice 1. It was bright and sunny, a vast difference to the state of the track this time last year. There were barely any incidents, bar a few wide corners, and we spent most of the session trying to distinguish between the soft and hard tyres with the lovely green stripes.
Free Practice 2 saw much more action, although still few incidents, and several drivers led the timesheets at one stage or another. Timo Glock ended the day as the fastest man, giving Toyota a much needed boost at their home race weekend. Alonso was close behind in second, whilst early pace-setter Hamilton settled for third.
Elsewhere, the Montreal government have said they will meet with Bernie Ecclestone to try and get the Canadian Grand Prix reinstated. Mayor Gerald Tremblay said he wants to understand the economic state of the race first, as the disagreement with Bernie is worth between $10 and $20 million.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
08-Oct-08: Bridgestone to Paint Grooves Green in Japan
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.
07-Oct-08: Canadian Grand Prix Dropped from ‘09 Calendar
It’s the 7th October 2008, and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
The shock news of the day is that the FIA have confirmed the calendar for 2009, and have dropped the Canadian Grand Prix. Teams have got back the summer break that they were looking for, but we will no longer be heading to North American shores. Both the Belgian and Italian races have been shuffled by a week as well. Back to the Canadian GP, though, and organisers say that they weren’t informed of this decision ahead of time. They released a short statement that said they had only learnt of it through the media, and would therefore not be commenting until they’d spoken to the FIA and FOM. Needless to say they’re not happy.
Elsewhere today, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that they will be going back to the old lollipop pit system at this week’s Japanese Grand Prix. After many, many pit lane incidents in the last few races, Domenicali says: “We need to stay calm so we’ve decided to go back to the old system.”
That’s it for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
01-Oct-08: Whitmarsh Talks Updates and Singapore Penalties
You’re listening to F1 Minute and it’s the 1st October 2008.
With most teams saying they will be focusing on 2009 now, it’s a refreshing change to hear that some updates will be taking place for McLaren. CEO Martin Whitmarsh says Singapore was supposed to be their last upgrade, but now they’ll be bringing in some more aerodynamic “bits and pieces” for Japan and China. Whitmarsh also had a bit of a moan about the penalty process in Singapore, saying that because the stop/go call for Rosberg pitting under the safety car came so late, that he had been able to pull out enough of a lead to effectively cancel it out. Whitmarsh believes Hamilton could have won it had things been different.
Elsewhere today, Malaysia have reportedly said no to the night race idea. Previously Bernie has said that the 2009 race would begin at 7pm local time, but officials have said they will compromise to start at 5pm. They certainly don’t intend to host a race after dark.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
18-Jun-08: Fuji Organisers Sued By Unhappy Fans
This is F1 Minute for the 18th June 2008.
Irate F1 fans in Japan are launching a lawsuit against the organisers of the Grand Prix, saying there were not enough toilets or food stands. 109 fans are complaining that the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka caused them emotional distress, and they are looking for 32 million yen, which is about £150,000, in damages.
Ahead of the French Grand Prix, Fisichella is looking to end his run of bad luck that has seen some poor results so far this year. However, he’s not a fan of the track. He says “It’s the circuit where I had my biggest accident in Formula One, back in 2002… so for sure I don’t have great memories of it. Also I don’t see any particular challenge with it. As you know though, in our job you have to accept the good and the bad.”
Finally today, the results of Jenson Button’s triathlon over the weekend are now widely known, with the Brit placing 117th out of over 1700 entrants.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.