Formula One News — December 2005

This is the time of year when the race teams are trying to improve themselves and there have been several significant moves between the teams in recent times with Renault in particular suffering the loss of several top people.

An interview with the World Champion.

The FIA has unveiled a number or reforms for the International Court of Appeal which it is hoped will change the perception that exists in some quarters of the sport that it is not an independent body.

The rumours suggesting that Nicky Pastorelli's job as the third driver may be under threat because of sponsorship problems seems to explain Tarso Marques's recent remarks about getting a Formula 1 drive.

NASCAR has just signed a new TV deal in the United States worth $4.48bn for the period 2007-2014. The long-term nature of the deal highlights the need for Formula 1 racing to stop fighting internally and get its house in order so as to do deals while there is still room for the sport on the US market.

The new Honda Racing F1 windtunnel at Brackley is alsready completed and will begin to go through the commissioning phase before Christmas. Work on the windtunnel began just a year ago and its completion is several months ahead of schedule.

The Motor Sports Association, governing body of motor sport in the UK, is proposing two new judges for the FIA's International Court of Appeal, following Graham Stoker's election to the FIA World Motor Sport Council. The new UK judges will be Anthony Scrivener QC and Edwin Glasgow QC.

There are a variety of different stories doing the rounds today about what is happening with Super Aguri F1's bid to enter the World Championship in 2006. The word is that Aguri Suzuki now has the money he needs to pay the FIA bond.

The word in Brazil is that Nelson Piquet Jr could be seen in 2006 as the second test driver of Honda Racing F1. The team has confirmed drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello and it is clear that Anthony Davidson will be the third driver once again.

Ryan Briscoe has not been seen in action since his big accident in the Indy Racing League in the autumn but on Wednesday Briscoe popped up at the wheel of a Toyota F1 car in Spain.

It is worth noting that the legal firms Linklaters and Baker & McKenzie are facing negligence claims that could run into millions of dollars for advice they gave to Williams and McLaren back in 1997 when negotiations were in full swing for the current Concorde Agreement.

Williams F1 has agreed to sign up for an extension of the Concorde Agreement from 2008-2012. The news will be announced later today.

Williams has announced a new sponsors deal with the Dutch consumer electronics firm Philips, to promote Philips shavers. The deal offers Philips marketing opportunities specifically designed to drive sales and position Philips shavers as the premier male shaver brand to the Formula 1 audience.

Tonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed will race for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006. Switzerland's Neel Jani will be the test driver. The news means that America will have its first fulltime F1 driver since Michael Andretti raced for McLaren back in 1993.

Red Bull Racing has confirmed that it is giving the second Ferrari-powered Red Bull RB2 to 22-year-old Austrian Christian Klien. The news means that Tonio Liuzzi is being consigned to Scuderia Toro Rosso where he will drive a Cosworth V10-powered car.

Narain Karthikeyan is to test for Williams in Spain this week. The 28 year old from Chennai, India, will join Williams on Wednesday behind the wheel of the Williams FW27C interim chassis and will work alongside Nico Rosberg.

JP Morgan has sold its 14.175% shareholding in the Formula One group to Alpha Prema UK Ltd, the company controlled by CVC Capital Partners. This means that Alpha Prema, which previously owned 71.65% of the shares, now has 86% of the company and 100% of the voting shares.

While there are some who say that the Formula 1 circus will inevitably lose some of the manufacturers in the not-too-distant future, it is worth noting that there are other companies showing signs of interest or at a point in their development where F1 makes a lot of sense.

In the course of the recent round of F1 politicking one thing has stood out as being rather odd. Renault is rumoured to be pushing for the new F1 financial deal to come in before 2008.

McLaren's Vehicle Project Director Nick Tombazis is reported to have left the team after only 18 months. Tombazis joined McLaren from Ferrari in April 2004 to work on car design but McLaren already head chief designer Mike Coughlan in place in addition to executive engineering director Neil Oatley.

World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb won the Race of Champions in Paris's Stade de France. Loeb beat sports car star Tom Kristensen in the final.

There is a minor kerfuffle going on between the former shareholders of SLEC over the deal to sell the majority of the Formula One holding company to CVC Capital Partners. BayernLB set the ball rolling by selling its 46.65% share in SLEC to a CVC company called Alpha Prema.

Winter has come to Europe in no uncertain fashion with snow falling in many parts of the Continent.

Honda Racing F1 has confirmed that the new car for 2006 will be designated the RA106.

Renault has confirmed that it is to have Heikki Kovalainen as its third driver in 2006.