Formula One News — November 2003

The new (and last) CART Champion Paul Tracy is to appear on David Letterman's Late Show on Friday this week.

The Canadian media are reporting that Jacques Villeneuve's manager Craig Pollock has hired a sports marketing firm called Slam Management to find money to help Villeneuve get the second seat at Jaguar Racing.

A court in Sao Paulo has ruled that the Brazilian Grand Prix, scheduled for October 24 next year, cannot be held because it wastes public money.

Despite the fact that Felipe Massa is departing Ferrari to rejoin Sauber it seems that the Italian team is not planning to appoint a replacement test driver.

There is not going to be a deal between the Jordan team and Brazilian oil company Lubrax.

The fact that John Iley has moved from Renault to Ferrari is not in itself a starting piece of news but it is a worrying sign that the team that made Renault competitive this year is being ripped apart by frustrations with the way Renault is going forward and better offers from rival teams.

Newly crowned European Formula 3000 Champion Augusto Farfus was hoping to get to Formula 1 next year but has given up on the idea after being asked to shell out $20m for a drive at Jordan Grand Prix.

Willi Weber and journalist Burkhardt Nuppeney have been at odds for the last 13 years over whether or not Nuppeney should be paid half of Weber's 20% of Michael Schumacher's earnings.

There were fears at Renault F1 that the departure of Mike Gascoyne, coupled with the team's decision to make a hurried switch to a 72-degree V10 engine because there was not time to produce a completely new 90-degree V10, would lead to a number of important engineers leaving the team.

The identity of the new investors in the Jordan team have not been fully revealed although it seems that Dermot Desmond, JP McManus and John Magnier are part of the consortium involved. We also believe that there are others and there is considerable evidence to suggest that Michael Tunney is one of them.

Nick Heidfeld was a visitor to the Jordan Grand Prix factory at Silverstone last week, in the hope that he can find an arrangement which will enable him to race in F1 next year. Heidfeld's only hope is with Jordan, Jaguar or Minardi.

The Canadian Grand Prix may still happen in 2004. The organizers of the race are trying to find an extra $20m to pay the Formula 1 teams to attend the event.

The Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria has ruled that two doctors involved in the 2001 Australian Grand Prix incident engaged in unprofessional conduct.

Bernie Ecclestone's visit to India which was due to take place this month was cancelled but the authorities in Hyderabad have not given up on the idea of an Indian Grand Prix and will be in London on Monday to meet the F1 boss.

Paul Stoddart has been in the process of selling his European Aviation business in recent months but if that deal fails to be closed it looks like the Minardi boss is going to start a low-cost airline in Australia.

The Australian Grand Prix made a loss in 2003 of $7.5m but the state authorities are happy that the event is a big success for Victoria.

Michelin is intending to use some of the technology from its Formula 1 program in a new range of tires due to be launched next year.

Aspiring F1 driver Michael Keohane will be testing a Champ Car at Sebring on November 13.

Niki Lauda is back in the airline business again, having bought the Austrian subsidiary of the bankrupt German charter airline Aero Lloyd.

Darren Manning has been hired by Target Chip Ganassi Racing to replace the late Tony Renna as Scott Dixon's team mate next season in the Indy Racing League. Renna was killed during his first test with the team at Indianapolis on October 22.

Renault chairman Louis Schweitzer has told French radio that the company is planning to become a manufacturer of vehicles in China in the next few years.

Toyota has reported a 23% increase in its first-half profits which have risen to $4.81bn in the six month period leading up to September 30. The company's sales are also up more than seven percent.

Reports in Italy have named Angelo Santini as the Toyota engineer who was questioned by German police last week in the investigation into alleged industrial espionage. Santini worked at Ferrari from 1995 until the end of February 2002 and then moved to Toyota.

Jos Verstappen hopes to continue his Formula 1 career in 2004 but the Dutchman may find himself out of a job unless he can talk his way into a drive at Jordan or Jaguar.

The investigation into industrial espionage between Toyota and Ferrari has widened with the police in Modena questioning further people in Italy after the recent raid on Toyota's racing headquarters in Cologne, Germany.