Formula One News — November 2003

There have been rumors in recent days suggesting that Renault F1 in on the verge of announcing a new sponsorship deal with mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo, the wireless company that was spun off from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.

With plans for the new Formula 2 being formulated by the FIA and the current Formula 3000 teams, it looks likely that there will be a major change in the suppliers with chassis-builder Lola bidding to build the chassis once more but France's Mecachrome expected to get the engine deal.

Eddie Jordan continues his search for drivers for 2003 with Nick Heidfeld now seen as the man most likely to lead the team but Czech racer Jaroslav Janis is in the picture to take over as the second driver from Ralph Firman.

Alexander Wurz is to remain test driver for McLaren-Mercedes in 2004. The Austrian, who was negotiating to take the second seat at Jaguar, says that McLaren is his best hope for the future.

With the Canadian Grand Prix having, apparently, been saved by support from the government, there are now calls from the Toronto and Vancouver Champ Car races to get public money to support their activities.

The spotlight will be on DaimlerChrysler boss Jurgen Schrempp this week as the legal action between the German car company and billionaire investor Kerk Kerkorian comes to a head in a court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Although Bernie Ecclestone is saying that the contract with the promoters of the French GP has been cancelled, this does not mean that the race is off. The promoters can be replaced, leaving the former promotion company with debts to pay but a new organization to run the race.

The instant nature of the world of information means that nowadays every fast lap in a test is treated as "the next big thing" and impressions are created which may not truly reflect the reality of the situation.

Nick Heidfeld is to test for Jordan shortly, adding to speculation that the German driver will join the team next year.

Jacques Regis, the president of the Federation Francaise de Sport Automobile (FFSA) says that France's national sporting authority will do everything in his power to save the Grand Prix but needs to find $7m to guarantee the race.

Jacques Villeneuve has admitted that he is unlikely to return to Formula 1 and does not want to race in anything other than what he calls "a top car".

Aston Martin is planning to be back at Le Mans in 2005 with a racer based on the new Aston Martin's DB9. The word in sports car circles is that the deal to build the cars has gone to Prodrive - the sister company of BAR

There are rumors doing that rounds that Formula 1 could be going back to Paul Ricard because of the problems of the French GP at Magny Cours. These are predictable given that one of Bernie Ecclestone's companies owns the circuit.

The word on the street in Formula 1 circles is that Williams has made an offer to have Nelson Piquet Jr on one of its long-term contracts.

British driver Sam Hancock is hoping to raise $2.5m by floating himself on the stock exchange. The 23-year-old Englishman says that he will use the money to pay for a drive with Super Nova Racing and then hopes to land a Formula 1 test.

Jaguar Racing is at Valencia looking not only at technical issues but also at who will drive for the team alongside Mark Webber in 2004. The candidates are Justin Wilson, Christian Klien, Jos Verstappen and Townsend Bell.

BAR Honda ran its development car at Barcelona. This will be used this winter testing parts for the BAR-Honda 006. The interesting thing was that it was running in a completely new black and silver livery.

As we reported six weeks ago McLaren is to take on Ferrari's head of aerodynamics Nick Tombazis to strengthen its aerodynamic team at Woking.

Australian rising star James Courtney has signed to drive for the Le Mans Company in Formula Nippon next year.

The six-week testing ban is over and teams will be in action for the rest of this week in France and Spain.

In a bizarre press release Bridgestone Motorsport has confirmed that it will not be supplying the Lucky Strike BAR Honda team next year.

McLaren has announced that it is to change its name, dropping the TAG name from the title. The company will henceforth be known as the McLaren Group. As part of the revamp McLaren International will change its name to become McLaren Racing.

Bahrain's Minister for Sports and Youth has taken over the role as the managing director of the Bahrain International Circuit Co.

Eddie Cheever's nephew Richard Antinucci gave Hitech racing a double win in the Fifth International Formula 3 Korea Super Prix at Changwon Raceway. Antinucci won after pole position man Lewis Hamilton collided with Nelson Piquet Jr at the first corner.

Lewis Hamilton announced his arrival in Formula 3 in style in Korea as he took pole position for the International Formula 3 Korea Super Prix at Changwon Raceway.