Formula One News — October 2004

Rising American star Ryan Hunter-Reay has been signed up by CSS Stellar Management plc, the company which has managed the careers of many drivers Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Dario Franchitti, Richard Burns, Max Biaggi, Dan Wheldon, Pedro de la Rosa, Oriol Servia and Allan McNish.

It seems that Formula 1 is willing to go just about anywhere so long as the money is right. With Turkey and Mexico coming on to the F1 calendar, all that is now left is a race in Bulgaria. And why not? It seems that "a consortium of businessmen from Germany, Switzerland and Benelux" are willing to put up the money.

David Richards and his family went on holiday after the Brazilian Grand Prix, as did a lot of sensible F1 people after a very long and tiring season. The fact that the end of the F1 season coincides with half term in British schools probably has something to do with it.

The Arab world is beginning to get excited about motor racing, following the first Grand Prix in the region in Bahrain and the recent announcement that there will be a Team Dubai F1 operation in 2006.

At the same time that Australian Grand Prix chief executive Ron Walker was saying that his race would have nothing to do with the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC), the Australian government was announcing that it is one of 34 countries which have now ratified the World Health Organization's anti-tobacco treaty.

The Champ Car World Series has announced a 14-race schedule for 2005, including two new events: one on the streets of Edmonton in Canada and the other a street race in San Jose, California.

Volkswagen AG and the Malaysian car maker Proton have agreed a long-term strategic partnership which will result in VW building cars in Proton's factories in Malaysia. There are no plans for any equity involvement between the two firms.

Eddie Jordan is close to a deal with Toyota for a supply of engine for his team but it looks like the deal will include a number of other changes, including the arrival in the team of a new owner in the form of a mysterious businessman from China, whom we have yet to identify.

Racing champions have never been great team owners, with the notable exception of Sir Jack Brabham, but this does not ever seem to stop them trying.

Hermann Tilke will build the new Mexican Grand Prix circuit at Cancun. The German architect, who builds all the F1 tracks today, will oversee the construction of the $70m facility which will be located close to Cancun's international airport.

German Andre Lotterer and Britain's Richard Lyons will go to head to head for the Formula Nippon title at Suzuka on November 7. The two were both beaten last weekend at Twin Ring Motegi by Yuji Ide (Mobilecast Impul).

Justin Wilson seems to have given up his Formula 1 ambitions for the time being and is hoping to continue his career in the United States next year.

The announcement by the GPWC that it has appointed International Sports and Entertainment (iSe) AG to prepare for the planned new Grand Prix Championship in 2008 has led to much noise about how it will never work but one needs to take a look at the organization chosen to see that the GPWC is actually very serious.

The news that the Australian GP is not going to go along with the GPWC is no big surprise because race promoter Ron Walker is Bernie Ecclestone's best pal and advisor.

The GPWC has announced that the company has appointed International Sports and Entertainment AG to "start building immediately the operational and commercial structure for a new open-wheel motor racing series"

Jean Todt of Ferrari was apparently outraged when he first found out that the Italian had been isolated from all the other teams over the Cost Saving Initiative in Brazil.

There has been much talk about Renault's involvement in F1 in recent days because of plans for a change of management which will almost certainly mean new philosophies and new structures.

On July 31, 2005 all Formula 1 teams with any link to the United Kingdom will have to stop running their cars with tobacco sponsorship, whether they want to do so or not.

There are rumours in F1 circles that BAR is bidding for a major sponsorship deal with the Spanish oil company Repsol. The apparent intention is for the team to run Fernando Alonso as one of the drivers after his current contract with Renault runs out.

Brazilian GP - Race Report

Tomorrow afternoon the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) organization is going to announce its full plans for a Grand Prix series in 2008, after the end of the current Concorde Agreement

Bridgestone/Firestone is planning to launch a bid to the right to supply NASCAR tyres when the current Goodyear contract runs out in 2007. The company is expected to start testing tyres in the course of 2005

Our thoughts are with the Hendricks Motorsport team in the United States today following the plane crash on Sunday which killed five team members, two family members and three pilots.

Tim Edwards, Jordan Grand Prix's team manager for the last four years, has decided that after 14 years in Europe it is time to go home to Australia where he plans to get a job in the local Supercar V8 series.

Brazilian GP - Race Notes