Formula One News — March 2005

Real Madrid soccer star and Brazilian World Cup hero Ronaldo is a big fan of motor racing and it seems that he is going to front up with cash to run his own team in the new A1 Grand Prix series, which will kick off in September.

The disappearance into the pits in Melbourne of the two BAR-Hondas at the end of the race was something which was not unexpected. The rules allowed for cars to head to the pits in order to get new engines for the second race under the new two-race engine regulations.

There is a lot of talk at the moment about the future engine supply of the Williams team. Most of this appears to be entirely speculation as BMW Motorsport would be stark raving mad to believe that switching from Williams to Sauber would produce better results.

The 2005 Red Bull Driver Search winner John Edwards scored his first podium in European karting competition at the weekend when he finished third in the Pomposa International Cup at the Circuito di Pomposa, near Venice.

In recent years the need to attract more people to race tracks has led to the inception of more promotional events. Formula 1 has been slow to adopt the idea but last year held a big street promotion in London and recently ran a second such event on the streets of Melbourne.

Later today the Mexicans will announce details of A1 Team Mexico at an event in Mexico City. The country's involvement in international racing is currently booming.

The news that Greece wants to host a Grand Prix is not really a surprise given that the country wants to build on the benefits which were created by the 2004 Olympic Games.

Mention Cancun in the United States of America and the response will be that it is the place where college kids go to get laid during the annual Spring Break. The tradition of the Spring Break began in the late 1950s in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Malaysian government will ratify the UN's anti-smoking programme by the end of the year. The Malaysian health minister Datuk Chua Soi Lek announced that there will be a new Tobacco Act tabled in parliament which will meet the terms of the UN's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The organizers of the proposed Mexican Grand Prix say that they can complete construction of the planned Mantarraya racing circuit, near Cancun, on schedule for a race in November 2006 despite the fact that the work is already two months behind schedule and yet to start.

Red Bull is expanding its youth mentoring activities in motor racing with the creation of the Chris Economaki Junior Journalism Award. The award is a tribute to distinguished motorsports broadcaster Chris Economaki, who has worked in the business for more than 50 years.

There are some in the current disputes in Formula 1 who say that Bernie Ecclestone will ultimately win because he has control of the race tracks, some of which boast long-term contracts into the future. This is an interesting argument.

Jacques Villeneuve has always been lucky in his career and his performance in Australia was hidden by all the hullaballoo and few paid much attention to the fact that Villeneuve's performance was rather less than startling.

The retirement of William Clay Ford Sr marks an end to an involvement in the family firm which dates back to 1948. Ford, one of Henry Ford's grandsons, has been wielded considerable power over the years.

Although Toyota and Honda are big players in Formula 1 but companies have a considerable interest in the Japanese Super GT Championships, where they find themselves head-to-head with each other and with Nissan. The series is growing in popularity all the time and is going international this year.

The Bahrain International Circuit wants to get more spectators in this year and so is planning a number of different promotional ideas in the hope of attracting more people to the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix on April 3 at the Sakhir track.

The Greeks and the Turks have long been highly competitive races, a rivalry which has resulted in several wars along the way. Thus it is not a big surprise that the Greeks are now talking about holding a Grand Prix.

The big rumour in Formula 1 circles this week is that Red Bull Racing is in discussion with Honda. This is not a surprise as the Austrian-owned team wants to get a closer relationship with a manufacturer and has the money to spend to pay for engines.

The criticism around the world of the latest F1 regulations has been growing quietly in recent days. Several of the Formula 1 drivers expressed their opinions in Australia with David Coulthard being particularly dismissive. He is not alone in his opinion.

There are reports in Holland of plans for a Formula 1 race on the streets of Rotterdam. It seems that Rotterdam city councillors have given their approval to a project to investigate the possibility of getting an F1 race in the city centre.

Ron Walker has come out attacking Paul Stoddart for his recent stand in Melbourne. This is ungrateful at best given that Stoddart had the good grace to withdraw his legal action and allow the event to go ahead.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker says that his preferred date for next year's event would be April 30, several weeks later than usual.

Bernie Ecclestone says that he has three teams "signed up" to the new Concorde Agreement. The remarks, made in the German newspaper "Welt Am Sonntag", are aimed at underlining the fact that there is a split in the sport and can only be Red Bull Racing and Jordan,

Formula 1 aspirant Ryan Hunter-Reay has signed to drive for Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports in Champ Cars this year, closing down one of the few remaining opportunities on offer for exiled European drivers.

Formula BMW Asia Champion Marchy Lee Yin-Kin is rumoured to be on the verge of a deal to become the third driver of the Minardi team. If confirmed the deal would be a massive boost for F1 in China.