Formula One News — February 2003

Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer crashed the new F2003-GA Friday while testing the car at the Jerez circuit in Spain. The Italian escaped unscathed after leaving the track and hitting a barrier, but the car suffered damage that could not be repaired at the circuit. The team will return to Maranello to examine the car.

Toyota has announced that it will shortly introduce the Lexus brand to Japan. Lexus was developed as a brand apart from Toyota in the United States because of restrictions of imports but has since expanded to become a strong luxury brand in its own right.

The first official test for the Telefonica World Series in Barcelona saw a number of ex-F1 drivers and F1 hopefuls in action in the 450 horsepower cars.

The city of Bangalore in India is currently considering building a Formula 1 circuit and the plans for Bangalore to play a big role in the future in India's high technology industries has been given a boost this week with the news that General Motors is opening a new technical centre there.

Testing continued Thursday across Europe, as the teams put the finishing touches on the cars they will take to Australia next week, and continue to develop new systems for the future.

Renault has been owned or controlled by the French government since 1945 when Louis Renault was accused of collaboration because his factories had produced war material for the Germans.

As expected Renault Sport has taken on a new manager to help Flavio Briatore run Renault Sport operations in Paris. Although the new man is actually the old man as the company has decided to rehire Bernard Dudot,

Sir Frank Williams says that he is confident that there will soon be a new deal between Williams and BMW despite the fact that the team is currently not very competitive.

Giuseppe Morchio is expected to be named as the new chief executive of Fiat tomorrow as the company undergoes another management reshuffle and Umberto Agnelli is named chairman.

The FIA says that it will propose the cancellation of the 107% qualifying rule because of the new format in qualifying which may result in some rather unconventional grids and lap times.

It is likely that the FIA will allow the screening of F1 dirver briefings on Sunday mornings to fill the slot left open by the cancellation of the warm-up. Up to now the meeting has been held in private although there have quiet often been incidents between drivers in these meetings

The Foster's brewing company has stepped in to take the title sponsorship for the San Marino Grand Prix, beginning in 2003. Foster's is already the sponsor of the Australian GP and of the British GP.

The RTL network has concluded a new four-year deal with the Formula One group to continue its coverage of F1 in Germany. The company is reportedly paying $91m a year for the races which are amongst the most popular TV shows in the country, thanks mainly to Michael Schumacher's recent successes with Ferrari.

F1 bosses Ron Dennis and Frank Williams have responded to FIA president Max Mosley's most recent letter to the two with a further threat of arbitration over the recent F1 rule changes imposed by the governing body.

Testing intensified Wednesday as the teams are running out of testing time before the season starts in Melbourne in just over a week. The Imola, Jerez and Silverstone circuits were all very busy on the day, with development work and final shakedowns for the cars to be run in Australia.

The FIA has clarified the new one lap qualifying rules to be used throughout the 2003 season, which will kick off in Melbourne in a week and a half.

CART team owner - and the biggest shareholder in the CART business - Gerry Forsythe says that he thinks it would be a great idea for American-based series to merge with F1.

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says that the teams have only themselves to blame for what happened with the regulations and agrees that the FIA had to act to safeguard the future of the sport.

The German newsagency DPA is reporting that Audi chief executive Martin Winterkorn has confirmed that the Ingolstadt company has no plans to enter F1. Winterkorn says that the company which has been dominant at Le Mans in recent years will spend less on the sport this year but will up the budgets again in 2004.

Despite optimistic noises from Belgium's deputy head of Wallonia regional government, Serge Kubla, about the future of the Belgian GP, the FIA president Max Mosley has made it clear that there is no chance of a race in 2003.

Paolo Fresco, the boss of Fiat, is to quit on Friday, opening the way for Umberto Agnelli to take on the role that was previously held by his brother Gianni. Fresco has beenw ith Fiat since 1998 when he joined from General Electric.

Serge Kubla, the deputy head of the Wallonia regional government, was in London on Monday to discuss what can be done to save the Belgian Grand Prix with Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone.

This is the final week of testing before the teams head for Australia for the opening round of the new season, and the teams were busy Tuesday at circuits across Europe.

The following is the text of a letter sent by FIA President Max Mosley in reply to the February 20, 2003, letter from Ron Dennis and Sir Frank Williams:

FIA President Max Mosley has replied to the recent letter from Ron Dennis and Frank Williams about the changes to the F1 regulations, saying that he is "disappointed" at their decision to take the FIA to arbitration.