Formula One News — May 2003

Formula 1 lags behind many other sports in its exploitation of the rights associated with the races.

We may think that organizing motor racing is not a difficult business but it is a lot more complicated a business than some would have you believe.

There are a lot of stories circulating at the moment over the relationship between Williams and BMW, with some fairly hard quotes from Gerhard Berger, who is only working for BMW on an ad hoc basis, to finish the dealings between the Munich manufacturer and the team.

This is likely to be the last Austrian Grand Prix for some years and as a result the organizers have invited all the drivers who have won the race to attend.

EM.TV, the German media company, which until recently owned part of the Formula One group of companies, has now decided to sell the Jim Henson Company.

McLaren-Mercedes Benz protege Lewis Hamilton has been named as one of the TAG Heuer ambassadors.

Ford's European motorsport director Martin Whitaker is leaving the company. No reason has been given for his departure.

Recently at Nogaro a young driver called Nicolas Prost impressed spectators on his racing debut in Formule Campus by finishing seventh and fourth in the two events during the weekend.

CART has just released its first quarters financial statements and they make fairly frightening reading.

It has been talked about on and off for many years but it seems that finally logic will prevail and Formula 3000 will be turned back into Formula 2 when the FIA World Council meets in June.

Formula 1 hopeful Bryan Herta has been drafted in to replace the injured Dario Franchitti in the Andretti Green Racing team later this year and will be the team's stand-in driver for Robby Gordon at the Indianapolis 500 - if weather problems in Indiana force Gordon to leave for the NASCAR Winston Cup race

Rubens Barrichello was busy today running the new F2003-GA at the Fiorano circuit in Maranello, while Felipe Massa continued testing behind the wheel of the F2002 at the Monza circuit.

Jean-Jacques His, the man who masterminded the successful Renault V10 F1 engines in the early 1990s has left Renault Sport. He was working as the director of development at Renault F1 in Viry-Chatillon but was recently replaced as managing-director of the division.

The official attendance figure for Monday's London Champ Car Trophy was just under 40,000 with a total audience over the three days of 58,500.

BMW has finally confirmed that it will stay in Formula 1 in 2005 and beyond and is also understood to have rejected the idea of building its own car, but negotiations to extend the current deal with Williams are still going on.

BMW's Dr Mario Theissen says that despite all the talk of manufacturers supplying cheap engine deals for privateer F1 teams, BMW will not be in a position to do so in 2004.

Despite the difficult economic conditions at the moment the DaimlerChrylser empire has announced impressive first quarter results for 2003.

Spanish Grand Prix - Race Report

The focus of media attention at the Spanish Grand Prix was whether or not Jaguar Racing would decide to keep Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia for the rest of the season or replace him with Austria's Alexander Wurz, the McLaren third driver.

Top Grand Prix drivers have careers which span something around 150 to 200 Grands Prix. This takes them around 10-12 years to achieve as there are between 16-17 races a year. Up in the Press Office the numbers are rather more daunting.

Giorgio Pantano, who came close to winning the FIA International Formula 3000 title last year, has staked his claim to this year's series with a win in Barcelona on Saturday.

Formula 1 likes to have a glamorous image and so the annual visit to Monte Carlo is for many the high point of the racing season.

There will be much emotion next weekend at the Lausitzring in Germany where Alex Zanardi is returning for a symbolic appearance at the wheel of a car which will carry the same livery at the one in which he crashed at the German track in September 2001.

Spanish Grand Prix - Race Notes

Spanish Grand Prix - Race Results