Formula One News — August 2003

The remaining two rounds of the FIA Formula 3000 International Championship are going to feature mandatory tire stops, prior to the idea being introduced at every race next year.

French motor racing owes much to Le Mans but the first permanent home of the sport in France was the great high-banked 1.6-mile oval at Montlhery, to the south of Paris.

There are rumors circulating in Europe that suggest that the first step for the Shangsai FRD Grandtour Tyre team from China - which one day hopes to break into Formula 1 - will be to run a program in the FIA International Formula 3000 Championship.

The Denver Post is reporting that there will be a major announcement by CART today. The news came from CART team owner Paul Newman but the film star refused to give any further details.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has said that Canada will not be changing its laws related to tobacco advertising, but it will try to find a solution to the problem of the Canadian Grand Prix by establishing a committee to try to save the race.

There were rumors yesterday that CART was on the verge of a sale and the company's share price jumped dramatically only to fall back today when nothing happened.

The relationship between Jordan Grand Prix and the Ford Motor Company is strained at the moment as the two parties negotiate around their engine deal for 2004.

Lady Diana Mosley, the mother of FIA President Max Mosley, has died in Paris at the age of 93. The FIA President owes a great deal to his mother as he inherited much of her intellectual brilliance and ambition.

Cambio, the Colombian equivalent of Time magazine, which is owned by the Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, is reporting that Juan Pablo Montoya has already signed a contract with McLaren Mercedes and will move to the Woking team in 2005.

Bernie Ecclestone has fallen victim to a Canadian prankster, who rang his office in London, claiming to be the Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. In fact it was a pair of disc jockeys who are wellknown for such activities.

Hyderabad is the fifth largest city in India with a population of seven million. It is the state capital of Andhra Pradesh. The state government is aggressively pursuing a policy of developing the state with the tourism and high technology industries having been picked out as the best way of providing growth.

Our spies in the United States tell us that there is about to be a shake-up in the management of Ford Europe, which could have an effect on the company's involvement in Formula 1.

For the last couple of year's Paul Stoddart has put on a showcase event for Formula 1 fans at Donington Park, to give fans the chance to get a little closer to Grand Prix racing.

Neil Horan, the man who ran on to the circuit during the British Grand Prix has been remanded in custody again and will remain in prison until another hearing on September 1.

The LA PRESSE DE MONTREAL newspaper has put paid to suggestions that the Canadian Grand Prix will not be cancelled by printing a photocopy of the letter which the organisers of the Canadian GP have received from the Legal Department of Formula One Management,

There were reports over the weekend that the British Government is to pump millions of dollars into Silverstone to safeguard the future of the British Grand Prix. The stories suggested that the Department of Trade and Industry will announce the investment within the next two weeks.

The annual Marlboro Masters Formula 3 event at Zandvoort has been won by 20-year-old Austrian driver Christian Klein in his Mucke Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes.

Eddie Jordan has never been very subtle in his approach to Formula 1 and so it is no surprise that he has suddenly started talking about a desire to run Nick Heidfeld next year. Heidfeld is a Mercedes-Benz driver but in recent years has been loaned out to Sauber.

Mark Webber's desperate lunge at the end of the German Grand Prix was largely overlooked in the euphoria of Juan Pablo Montoya's extraordinary victory, but it was nonetheless a deeply significant event.

Normand Legault, Bernie Ecclestone's right-hand-man in North America and the promoter of the Canadian Grand Prix called a hurried press conference yesterday in Canada and announced that the Canadian Grand Prix will not be on the calendar next year.

West LB, the German state bank which funded the Formula One Group's Eurobond issue, is selling off the unit responsible for that deal. This is headed by US businesswomen Robin Saunders, who is expected to make a bid to acquire the business she currently runs.

James Courtney, once seen as a great white hope in Formula 1, disappeared off to Japan this year to compete in the local Formula 3 Championship with the TOM'S Toyota Team.

With Canada now unlikely to appear on the Formula 1 calendar in 2004, the number of events looking for a race is down to 17, a number which the Formula 1 teams are willing to consider.

The Canadian Grand Prix has been cancelled because of the Canadian government's ban on tobacco advertising. Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who at Hockenheim last weekend, denied that the race was off, has sent a letter to race promoter Normand Legault.

Gary Savage has been appointed Deputy Technical Director of BAR. Savage's role is to take day-to-day responsibility for the design and testing programs and will work closely with Geoff Willis, the team's Technical Director, who will remain responsible for leading the design and operation of the car.