Formula One News — September 2003

United States GP - Friday Qualifying Report

United States GP - Friday Photos

United States GP - Friday Qualifying Results

United States GP - Friday Practice Results

United States GP - Friday Testing Results

The number of signatories of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control continues to rise and has now hit 70 with the signing of Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Slovenia, Samoa, Tonga and Trinida & Tobago.

The factory which Arrows F1 team boss Tom Walkinshaw built in Uddevalla, Sweden to manufacture high performance Volvos some years ago has been taken over by a new joint venture organization between Volvo and the Italian automotive styling company Pininfarina.

The FIA President Max Mosley has gently nudged the Formula 1 teams to remember that team orders are not to be tolerated in the final two races of the World Championship.

Ralph Firman goes out today for testing at Indianapolis and will see whether or not the problems he has been suffering with an imbalance in his inner ear has gone away when he drives a Formula 1 car.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers says that China's domestic car makers have sold more cars in the first eight months of this year than in the whole of 2002 with sales leaping 73% on the previous year between January and August.

Jacques Villeneuve's future with BAR-Honda remains clouded at the moment with many different rumours doing the rounds.

Back in Montreal in June Eddie Jordan complained during the FIA Press Conference that the questions to the team owners were "moving out of sport and into drama TV" and complained that "it's not helpful" but it seems that EJ has changed his mind on that is now talking about involving his team in a reality TV show.

Sir Jackie Stewart will drive a series of laps on Sunday at Indianapolis at the wheel of the high-performance Ford GT concept car. The event is being billed as a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Stewart's retirement.

It seems that if the current testing arrangements remain unchanged next year - which they may well do - that the current teams involved (Minardi, Jordan, Jaguar and Renault) will probably be joined by Sauber and possibly others as well.

Back in the 1970s Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet were team mates at Brabham. Now both have become racing fathers and it seems that the two names will be linked together again when the Arden Formula 3000 team tests Matthias Lauda and Nelson Piquet Jr in the course of the next few weeks.

Olivier Panis's United States Grand Prix weekend did not get off to a good start when news came from France that his father Philippe has been arrested, along with 13 others, on charges of being involved in a ring selling stolen cars.

The list of signatories of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control continues to grow with 10 countries signing in the last week. These include Malaysia.

Michael Schumacher may leave Indianapolis on Sunday night with a record sixth World Championship title.

One of the most popular events of the United States Grand Prix weekend is the Mopar Twin 25s midget race on Friday night at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

At this time of year the Formula 1 teams are already turning their attention to next year and the major negotiation now going on is what form the race weekends will take in 2004.

Bridgestone says that the recent fire at its factory in Tochigi, is going to cost the company around $22m of profits. The company will however end the year with a profit in the region of $700m.

Renault has bowed to pressure in France to aid the cause of a young French driver and so has announced that Franck Montagny will be taking over as its test driver next year, leaving McNish with no job.

Ricardo is a big player in the world of automotive engineering consultancy but the company is bracing itself for another bad year as the current trends in the automobile industry continue and increasing competition adds to the problems.

Malaysia will today sign the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control at the United Nations in New York meaning it will commit itself to establish stringent controls on tobacco products, including a ban on tobacco advertising.

Renault is aiming to blow away the opposition in the developing markets of the world with a car which will cost only $5,500. The X90 project is aimed at countries where automobiles are too expensive for the majority of the population.