Formula One News — June 2005

The story suggesting that BMW has bought Sauber is not to be taken too seriously. The rumours which emanate from a report on BBC Radio 5 say that the Swiss team has been purchased for $270m by BMW.

Pedro de la Rosa set the pace on Friday in Montreal, lapping the Gilles Villeneuve in 1m14.662s. He was ahead of Toyota test driver Ricardo Zonta and Renault's Fernando Alonso.

Canadian GP - Friday Photos

Canadian GP - Friday Press Conference

Michael Schumacher enjoys a nice little deal with the Swiss authorities to avoid paying too much income tax. If he lived in Germany Schumacher would have to had over 42% of his income but a deal with the Swiss authorities which began in 1996 means that Michael pays considerably less in taxes.

Canadian GP - Friday Team Quotes

Canadian GP - Practice Session 2 Results

Canadian GP - Practice Session 1 Results

Red Bull Racing has confirmed that Christian Klien will drive for the team for the next four races and may do the two after that as well. The intention of this is to try to give the Austrian and Tonio Liuzzi more consistency in their evaluation process.

The Jordan team press release announcing the departure of Trevor Carlin from the role of sporting director failed to mention one small but rather significant point: Why is he leaving the team?

Newman Haas Racing has named Spaniard Oriol Servia to drive the until Bruno Junqueira recovers. Servia made his debut with the team in Milwaukee and drove to an excellent third place. The team was delighted with the result and has decided to lengthen the deal.

Mark Webber says that drivers are not being consulted about rule changes and says that he is not happy with the tyre rules. Webber said that Kimi Raikkonen's accident at the Nurburgring was not the last accident that will happen because of tyre problems.

This week Williams has launched a counter-attack against BMW suggestions that the team has not been performing and one has to ask about the timing of the move, given that BMW's Mario Theissen has already presented his plans to the board and the board members are now considering a decision

According to reports in the British press Tom Walkinshaw is about to become the chairman of Premier League Rugby once again. Walkinshaw held the post three years ago before retiring and handing over to Harlequins chairman Charles Jillings. Jilling is to leave the post at the end of June.

The Bahraini authorities have arrested a tour operator in the city for helping more than 50 people, mainly young women, to get into the country on F1 visas. Visitors who arrived for the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in early April were granted two-week visit visas but hundreds stayed on and found employment in Bahrain.

The Jordan F1 team has been at sea this season with an eccentric new management and rumours that the team could be sold again. Up to now, however, the new group running the business have stuck together but it seems that that is now over with the resignation of Trevor Carlin from his role as sporting director.

While the major open wheel categories in the United States remain fractionalized, the path to the top classes seems to have become clearer as the Star Mazda series supports the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.

Canadian GP - Preview

DaimlerChrysler AG says it will spend $40bn over the next five years to revamp its North American operations and introduced new models. The announcement came at the start of a three-day exhibition in Washington DC.

The British Government has a well known paranoia about any dealings with Formula 1, resulting from a scandal over political donations back in 1997. However, there is likely to be some chuntering in motor racing circles with the news that the government is planning to use a new National Lottery game to fund the Olympics.

Michael Payne of Formula One Management will be one of the key speakers at the forthcoming Sports Xchange forum in Singapore on July 4, 2005. The subject of the forum will be "The Commercial Value of Sport in Asia".

General Motors is biting the bullet and slashing 25,000 jobs over the next three and a half years. The company is fighting to reduce its losses and to mount a stronger defence as Toyota challenges GM for the role of being the world's top car manufacturer.

New York City's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics suffered a setback on Monday when plans for a $2bn stadium on the West Side of Manhattan ran into trouble over funding, with a state financing board failing to approve a $300m grant for the stadium.

There is a lot of talk about an Indian Grand Prix but all of it overlooks one key factor: the Indian government does not recognise the FIA's nominated club, the Motorsport Association of India, and remains in support of the Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India (FMSCI).

Last weekend the famed Avenue Champs Elysees in Paris was turned into a sporting arena (complete with a swimming pool) on the eve of the publication of the International Olympic Committee's evaluation report on the five candidate cities. Tens of thousands of Parisians turned up to watch the fun.