Formula One News — November 2005

Tomorrow will see the publication of the official entry list for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and there is much interest in whether or not this list will feature Super Aguri F1 as the 11th team.

The last few days have seen some interesting developments in India with the news that Tata Motors, a sponsor of Narain Karthikeyan is planning to do a number of things to increase its international profile and sales - and its involved in automotive technology and in motorsport.

Michelin is none too happy with Red Bull at the moment, thanks to the recent vote to change the tyre regulations for 2006 in which Red Bull Racing voted in favour of the change, alongside all the Bridgestone teams.

The news that Gary Paffett is to play a more regular role in McLaren test driving this year can only lead to speculation that one of the current test drivers may be on the move and it is perhaps inevitable that this will lead to suggestions that Alexander Wurz could be on his way to BMW Sauber.

According to reports from Brazil Tarso Marques is on the verge of announcing a return to Formula 1. The 29-year-old has been quoted as saying that he will soon announce a Formula 1 testing deal for 2006 leading to a race deal in 2007.

It may seem to be relative quiet in Formula 1 circles but the important business with regard to the future of the sport is being conducted behind closed doors and there are hopes that a solution will soon be found to settle the commercial future of the sport, and allow everyone to move forward together to build up the sport.

As we suggested recently, Robert Doornbos has been taken on as the third driver for Red Bull Racing. The 24-year-old Dutchman will drive on Fridays and in tests between races.

Dan Wheldon is staying in America in 2006, having been unable to agree to a deal with the BMW Sauber F1 team. He will race for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, alongside Scott Dixon.

As the Formula 1 community tries to work out the structure of the new deal between Bernie Ecclestone, the Ecclestone Family trust company and CVC Capital Partners, and what it will mean for the sport, the action moves on.

CVC Capital Partners, Bayerische Landesbank and Bambino Holdings are pleased to announce that a new company, Alpha Prema has reached agreement to acquire Bayerische Landesbank's and the Bambino interests in the Formula One Group. The deal must get approval from the European Union.

There is considerable confusion about the deal that is currently going through involving the Formula One group and the venture capital company CVC Capital Partners.

The acquisition of the Formula One group by CVC Capital Partners begs an interesting question: will the firm hold on to the business and build it up or is it looking for a quick profit?

If the sale is confirmed, the Formula One Group will soon be owned by CVC Capital Partners. The anonymous bankers who have been flitting around the paddock in recent years, trying to learn the business, will disappear and make way for another set of newcomers, leaving Bernie Ecclestone to continue to run the business.

The Ecclestone Family and BayernLB, the major shareholders in SLEC, the Formula One group holding company, are selling their shares to a venture capital company called CVC Capital Partners.

F1 in Schools, the global motorsport design challenge for school children, has been granted the right to use the Formula 1 logo by Formula One Management. F1 in Schools aims to encourage youngsters to become interested in high-technology engineering and to promote teamwork.

It is no big surprise but Petronas, the Malaysian national oil company, has agreed to remain as the principal sponsor of the BMW Sauber team.

Some Formula 1 teams have been known to generate income by offering drivers tests and one gets the impression that MF1 may be doing the same as the list of drivers who are due to test for the team in the next few weeks continues to grow with the latest name to be added to the pile being that of Russia's Roman Rusinov.

The financial realities of the split between the Indy Racing League and Champ Car are now beginning to bit with the news that several IRL teams are having to pay off staff. Target Chip Ganassi Racing laid off nine mechanics a few weeks ago when the decision was taken to cut his entry next year from three cars to two.

Ilmor Engineering is not what it used to be. The company, which was established by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan back in 1983 to design engines for General Motors in CART racing, became Mercedes-Ilmor Ltd in June and three weeks later changed its name to become Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines Ltd.

There has been talk in recent days about the planned Super Aguri F1 team using old 2002 Arrows F1 cars because of the problems of timing. The team is in a rush to build cars because it is apparently not allowed to buy chassis from BAR.

Vodafone has decided not to continue with its sponsorship of the shirts of the high-profile Manchester United soccer team. The deal was worth around $15m a year. Vodafone has however announced that it will be the official partner and official mobile network of the UEFA Champions League for the next three years. I

It is no fun being a Belgian politician at the moment. The contract that exists between the government of Wallonia and Formula One Management leaves the new regional premier Elio di Rupo, who has been in office for just a few weeks, with a major problem.

The final teams are now being put in place for the forthcoming Race of Champions in Paris with the decision having been taken to put Champ Car winner Sebastien Bourdais and rally raid star Stephane Peterhansel together in a second French team, sponsored by Playstation.

As we suggested would happen, Heikki Kovalainen is going to remain in the Renault F1 camp in 2006, doing the test driving for the team in place of Franck Montagny. Montagny was last seen heading for the United States hoping a drive in Champ Car racing.

Red Bull has decided that it does not like the name Squadra Toro Rosso and has applied to enter the World Championship with the team Scuderia Toro Rosso. Both words mean "team" in Italian but scuderia is generally used for racing teams whereas squadra is used for soccer and other teams which feature a "squad".