Formula One News — July 2004

Max Mosley said that on Tuesday FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting will formally tell the F1 teams that the FIA is going to invoke Article 7.5 of the Concorde Agreement, following the decision by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday to change the F1 rules on the grounds of safety.

Max Mosley went in front of the Formula 1 press corps in Magny-Cours to explain his sudden decision to retire as FIA President and left no doubt that there is not chance that he is going to reconsider his decision.

The man who is tipped as possible long-term replacement for Max Mosley is America's Robert Darbelnet, the president and chief executive officer of the American Automobile Association (AAA), a club which has 42m members in the United States.

French GP - Friday Photos

French GP - Friday Press Conference

French GP - Practice Session 2 Results

FIA President Max Mosley says he is leaving his job in October, a year before the end of his mandate, and the news has taken everyone by surprise. In the Formula 1 paddock there is no shortage of theories about what has caused the unexpected decision.

Former F1 team boss Guy Ligier has taken a significant shareholding in Automobiles Martini, the French single-seater racing car constructor which is based at Magny-Cours.

Toyota Motorsport has today announced that it has signed a sponsorship deal with US-based IT company BMC Software Inc, effective 1 July 2004, which sees BMC become a sponsor and technical partner for the Panasonic Toyota Racing Formula 1 team.

French GP - Practice Session 1 Results

French GP - Preview

FIA President Max Mosley has announced that he is to stand down from his role as FIA President in October, one year before the end of his mandate. Mosley has been in charge of international motorsport since he was elected FISA President in the autumn of 1991.

In a surprise move, Max Mosley has told the FIA General Assembly this morning in Paris that he intends to resign the FIA Presidency in October this year.

The Aintree racing circuit, just outside Liverpool was once the home of the British Grand Prix. First used in 1954 the track, which runs alongside the famous Aintree racecourse, home of the Grand National, shared its grandstands with the racecourse and in austere post-war Britain quickly rose to prominence.

Ralf Schumacher is not happy with doctors in the USA who sent him home afteer his 190mph accident at Indianapolis with two fractures in his spine left undetected. Schumacher went for tests at a German clinic earlier this week and the fractures were discovered.

Martin Whitaker, who until last year was the head of Ford's European motorsport programmes has been named as the new General Manager of the Bahrain International Circuit.

The French tyre company Michelin has announced what it thinks would be a good solution to reduce the operating costs of Formula 1 by more than 50%. The company says that it would be happy to supply one one set of tyres which will be used for qualifying and the race.