Formula One News — January 2004

The announcement that Vitantonio Liuzzi and Robert Doornbos have signed for the Arden International Formula 3000 team means that American Townsend Bell will not be staying with the team, despite having had a two-year deal.

Juan Pablo Montoya topped the timesheets for the second day running at the Jerez test, lapping the track in 1m16.721s after completing 85 laps with new Williams FW26.

Ferrari has joined forces with the Beta Utensili SpA, a longtime Formula 1 sponsor, which will supply tools and sponsorship for the team for the next three seasons. Beta was previously involved with Ferrari between 1976 and 1982.

Speaking at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has said that Ferrari is suffering because it is not getting as much money as it used to on the cars it sells in the United States because of the weakness of the US dollar against the Euro.

The Chinese tobacco giant Hongta has just begun producing West-branded cigarettes in China, as part of a deal with the Imperial Tobacco Group, the world's fourth largest tobacco company.

Testing times do not mean much but when Williams starts to turn in quick times on the first day of testing a new car, the opposition sits up and takes notice. Williams famously avoids any publicity stunts over the winter, allowing other teams to grab moments of glory with underweight cars.

Nick Hayes, the technical director of Cosworth Racing, is to take on a bigger role at races following the departure of the head of engineering Rob White to Renault. Hayes has been at Cosworth for close to 20 years working on the design and engineering of the company's F1 engines.

There has been a lot of speculation in recent days about the settlement which was apparently agreed between the Formula One group and the car manufacturers shortly before Christmas. This is a subject that is bound to come up when the Formula 1 team bosses meet next week in London.

Sibneft spokesman John Mann says that there is no truth to the stories circulating that Russian businessman Roman Abramovich he is trying to buy out Eddie Jordan's Formula 1 team.

Hiring Rob White is a relatively radical move for the Renault F1 team. The 38-year-old Englishman is expected to go to Paris and lead a team of largely French engineers in the design of a new Formula 1 engine for 2005, despite the fact that he does not speak French.

Rob White, the chief engineer at Cosworth Racing, has been appointed Technical Director (Engine) at Renault F1 in Paris.

The French Grand Prix should have been called off by now but the first day of business after the Christmas and New Year holidays has passed without any word from either the FIA or Formula One Administration.

The Interpublic Group of Companies may have agreed to sell the four racing circuits which were previously owned by its Brands Hatch Circuits Ltd subsidiary but it remains the leaseholder for Silverstone.

Williams technical director Patrick Head has confirmed that Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia is still in the running for the role of second test driver at Williams although the team does intend to test Nelson Piquet Jr again before the start of the new season.

The new Williams-BMW FW26 is certainly rather different from some of the modern Formula 1 machinery and there is little doubt that the innovative design of the nose section of the car has come from the work of the team's aerodynamic department under former Ferrari engineer Dr Antonia Terzi.

Jonathan Palmer and two partners John Britten and Peter Ogden have bought Brands Hatch, Cadwell Park, Oulton Park and Snetterton, with their MotorSport Vision company.

The BMW Williams F1 team has launched its new FW26 in Valencia, Spain and the team is hoping that the new car will take it to World Championship success in 2004, having narrowly missed out on the two World titles in 2003.

Roman Abramovich is one of the world's wealthiest men but he is surrounded by mystery. He is only 37 years old but it is estimated that the man from Komi, in the eastern part of Russia near the Urals, has built up a fortune of more than $6bn in the last eight years.

There are reports this morning in The Sun newspaper in London suggesting that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is on the verge of buying the Jordan team.

Renault sources have told Autosport magazine that the company is looking at a World Rally championship programme - and that must create fears that the French car firm will cut back on its Formula 1 activities.

As the holiday season has come and gone teams will now put their attention on their objectives for the 2004 season.

Everyone at www.Grandprix.com would like to thank our ever-increasing army of readers and we wish you all the best in the New Year.