05-Jun-08: Ferrari Chief Changes His Mind on Mosley
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 5th June 2008.
Yesterday, Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo said he felt Max Mosley should resign. He said for “credibility’s sake” Mosley needed to step down. Today, however, Montezemolo has changed his mind, saying: “I am happy Max Mosley has been confirmed as president of the FIA. Through the years he has done an excellent job for Formula One. With regards his future, it will only be up to him to decide if and when to take a step back.” There’s no apparent reason for his change of mind.
Elsewhere, today, it was announced that the new safety car regulation proposals will be tested out during the French Grand Prix weekend. The new system involves making use of the standard ECU to monitor the speed of the cars out on track, therefore allowing the pit lane to remain open throughout a safety car period. It had been intended to be tested at Monaco, but was pushed back to allow the teams more time to get used to the software. It will now be tested during Friday practice to see if it should be implemented.
That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
30-May-08: Canada Kerbs to be Revamped
Welcome to F1 Minute for today, the 30th May.
After Robert Kubica’s nasty crash at Canada last year, it was no surprise to hear that parts of the circuit would get a bit of a revamp to try and avoid something like that happening again. However, it now appears that it’s not just the pit lane and the track surface getting an overhaul, some of the famously high and notorious;y difficult kerbs are also being looked at. The idea is to make them smoother and less harsh so that a car won’t be lifted up into the air again.
Renault’s CEO has been talking about the team’s future in the sport, after there have been rumours that they are losing interesting in the expensive pastime. Carlos Ghosn has been quoted as saying that Renault would never quit while they were on a losing streak, and he thinks they’ll be around for many years to come. Whether that means he thinks they won’t be winning until that far in the future remains to be seen.
Finally, Pedro de la Rosa has given us some insights: that Hamilton was very lucky with his win in Monaco, that McLaren need to keep on improving and that he misses Alonso. Aww.
That’s all for this week, please join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.
26-May-08: Hamilton Savours Highlight Victory
Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 26th May 2008.
A quick catchup with some of the aftermath of the crazy Monaco race this weekend.
McLaren have said that Lewis Hamilton’s victory was vital to their title championship campaign and couldn’t have come at a better time for the team – both numerically and emotionally. Hamilton, meanwhile, has hailed the victory as the highlight of his career, and believes it will be that way for the rest of his life.
Robert Kubica has issued concerns that he believes McLaren and Ferrari might be pulling away from BMW in the championship, but team boss Mario Theissen says their consistency so far means they are still contenders for the title. He says a small tweak here or there will make all the difference.
And finally, Sebastian Vettel celebrated his career best fourth place result by jumping into the Monaco harbour. He leapt from the Red Bull energy station into the cold water, and made quite a splash with nearby photographers. Sorry about that.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
25-May-08: Hamilton Takes Win at Action Packed Monaco
This is F1 Minute for the 25th May 2008.
It is completely impossible to try and fit the Monaco race into 60 seconds so here are the highlights in bullet form:
- Lewis Hamilton won the race despite an early brush with the barriers that may have in fact saved his entire strategy.
- Alonso was overtaking all over the place and causing problems wherever he went – he almost caused a pileup at the hairpin.
- Piquet crashed out, having been put on dry tyres a little too early.
- Rosberg suffered a forcible shunt in the last fifteen minutes of the race. He leapt out of the car okay, despite hitting two walls, but has been taken to hospital as a precaution.
- The race ran for so long, that the two hour limit was imposed rather than all the laps being finished, meaning we only saw 76 of the 78 proposed laps.
- Sutil was running in fourth place at one point, having made some good tyre decisions, but he was knocked out in the last ten minutes by an unruly Raikkonen coming out of the tunnel.
That’s all I can fit in, visit Sidepodcast.com for more info, and join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
24-May-08: Massa Takes Pole in Monaco
It’s the 24th May 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
Felipe Massa scored a surprise pole position in Monaco today, despite saying earlier in the week that he doesn’t like or feel comfortable at the track. He beat out his team mate Raikkonen in second, and both McLarens with Hamilton third and Kovalainen fourth.
Other surprises today came in the form of an errant tyre bouncing down the track which turned out to belong to David Coulthard. He emerged from the tunnel at almost 300 km/h, braked too hard and the car dipped right into the barrier. He slid off track and down the run off area at rather a scary speed. He was unharmed, however, saying he feels fit for the race, if perhaps a bit sore.
Piquet did nothing to impress his bosses who are so eager to keep their eye on him this weekend, finishing in 17th, whilst Alonso managed to end up in 7th. Also struggling, Heidfeld, who finished out of the top ten, whilst Kubica settled in fifth place.
That’s all for today, join me tomorrow for all the gossip from the race itself in another F1 Minute.
23-May-08: Alonso Escapes Monaco Steward Penalty
This is F1 Minute and today is Friday, 23rd May.
Alonso has escaped a penalty after being called to the Monaco stewards today. He answered questions regarding the incident yesterday, where he smashed into the barrier and drove away with his rear wing hanging off the car. It eventually fell off on his journey back to the pits. Alonso explains that he told the stewards there was nowhere to stop, so he drove as safely back to the pits as he could.
Bernie Ecclestone has written a letter to the FIA in response to Max Mosley’s earlier missive. Max was claiming that if he was ousted from the presidency, Bernie would take over, but Mr Ecclestone simply reminded the FIA that he is quite content and adhering to EU regulations by looking after only the commercial side of things. The FIA welcomed the letter.
Finally today, Piquet has admitted that he was not surprised that he has been told to improve by his team, saying it is normal for drivers to be pushed.
That’s all for today, join me tomorrow for a quick roundup of the qualifying action in another F1 Minute.
21-May-08: McLaren Regain Fifth Garage Position
It’s the 21st May and this is F1 Minute.
McLaren have been moved back up the pitlane in Monaco, regaining the fifth spot amongst the garages that they had at the start of the season. Before the Bahrain Grand Prix, McLaren were pushed down to the last garage, but said it was not a disadvantage and was maybe even a good thing. However, now, and the reason has not yet been disclosed, they are once again in the fifth garage.
Max Mosley has stirred up emotions with a letter to automobile clubs, warning them that if he is ousted from the presidency next week, the FIA may risk losing control of F1 to commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone and FOM. In turn, Bernie has replied and said it sounds a little bit like a threat of war, and if it is so, he is completely prepared to stand his ground.
Elsewhere today, Jenson Button has ordered two planes from Honda in the hopes of setting up an aviation charter business. The light business jets apparently cost over $7 million and will be delivered in 2012.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
20-May-08: Webber Opens Talks of the Future
This is F1 Minute for the 20th May.
It’s a bit early in the year for contract negotiations to become newsworthy, but a battle between the teammates seems to be brewing at Red Bull. Webber recently announced that he would be starting talks with the team for the future, whilst Coulthard is keeping quiet about his own plans. And whilst keeping his future on the downlow, Coulthard had a dig at Webber, saying: “When you think about it logically, you do your private negotiations in private and then when you’ve reached an agreement you make an announcement. I would conclude that it was a positioning tactic rather than anything else.”
Also today, Fisichella has said that when he celebrates his 200th Grand Prix start in Monaco this weekend, he wants to do it with a point or two. “One point is my target - everything else that comes on top of that is a bonus. We have a new aero package that will for sure help us, but the whole race is a lottery so you’ve got to be lucky too.” I thought Force India were still targeting getting into second qualifying, but we will see this weekend.
That’s all for today, join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
19-May-08: Vettel to Suffer 5-Place Grid Drop in Monaco
Today is the 19th May and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
The Monaco Grand Prix weekend hasn’t even begun yet and already Sebastian Vettel has secured himself a five-place grid drop. After testing out the new STR3 at Paul Ricard last week, and saying he was looking forward to running the new car, Vettel has had a setback. The new car cannot house the gearbox in the same way as the old one, and so it will have to be replaced. Under current four-race gearbox rules, that means a 5-place penalty. Team mate Bourdais doesn’t suffer the same fate as he didn’t finish the last race in Turkey. Team owner Gerhard Berger has said: “Monte Carlo is the last place you want a punishment like that.”
Elsewhere, Frank Williams has admitted that he regrets splitting from former engine partners BMW, after seeing how well the manufacturer team is doing by itself. Williams blames the difficult relationship between the two factions on a lack of communication, but said he couldn’t fault BMW on their hard work and decent engines. He did make sure to complement current engine suppliers Toyota as well.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
16-May-08: Trulli Finishes Final Test Day on Top
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 16th May.
The last day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit was a wet affair with rain showers throughout the session. Trulli managed to set the fastest time during one of the breaks in the rain, ahead of Piquet in the Renault. For the past two days the track has been set up to imitate the demands of the Monaco street circuit, but this third day saw revisions made to replicate the Canadian circuit.
Heidfeld caused a red flag by running off track and damaging the suspension at the back of his car, and Sutil also caused a red flag in the last hour of the day.
Also today, the FIA have announced that Mosley won’t be attending any functions as an official representative of the organisation in Monaco. Mosley announced his intention to attend the race a while ago, and after rumours that the teams will try and avoid him, plus attempts to try and keep Prince Albert of Monaco from any embarrassing situations, Mosley will have to keep a low profile. Instead, deputy president Marco Piccinini will fulfill the duties. A statement said Mosley is in full agreement with this situation.
That’s all for this week, have a great weekend and join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.