Formula One News — February 2006

The British Racing Drivers' Club has finally explained what happened in the Extraordinary General Meeting last week at Silverstone.

FIA President Max Mosley has in recent days been talking about the inevitability of a major oil crisis and its effect on the sport.

David Richards has any number of reasons to want to run a Formula 1 teams, both from a personal perspective and as an ambition for his company Prodrive. It also helps his pals Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone to talk of a new Formula 1 team being out there in the mists, at a time when they need more teams.

David Lapworth has left the Subaru World Rally Team, which is run by Prodrive in Banbury, and is now working on "unspecified projects". This has led to speculation that David Richards is finally considering entering Formula 1 with his own team, rather than as a manager for others.

There are plans under discussion for a major exhibition in Paris and a parade on the Champs Elysees to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Grand Prix motor race.

Rock legend Roger Waters was at the Automobile Club de France this morning in Paris talking about his plans to perform Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" at the French Grand Prix, the first live performance of the album since 1974.

The 2005 French Grand Prix was launched today in Paris with news that the event, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Grand Prix racing - will feature a unique musical event with Roger Waters, the creative talent behind Pink Floyd, performing The Dark Side of the Moon.

The University of Manchester in the UK has launched a new $3.6m centre for research into new composite design and manufacture to find new low-cost ways to make aerospace parts.

France continued its domination of the A1 Grand Prix series with two more wins in Monterrey, Mexico, over the weekend. The results mean that France has won 13 of the 18 races so far.

The Formula 1 Sponsorship Forum is to return in 2006 with the event in Monaco being moved to December 6-7 to coincide with the FIA World Motor Sport Council meetings and the FIA Prizegiving gala.

The competition for Formula 1 viewers in Germany is hotting up with rivals RTL and Premiere continue their curious parallel arrangement in 2006. In an effort to bring in more viewers RTL has hired swimming star Franziska van Almsick to join its team of reporters.

Ferrari boss Jean Todt will be 60 tomorrow but while some at his age are thinking of retirement, there are no signs that the Frenchman will be giving up his role at Maranello - even if he has yet to renew his contract, which runs out at the end of the year. Todt has been involved in top level motorsport since 1969.

Pre-season testing is never very reliable to discern exactly how competitive Formula 1 teams really are, although it usually gives some indication as to who we should expect to see at the front. Much depends on whether or not teams run their cars in fully legal spec and the fuel loads that are put into the cars.

A two-day GP2 test at Paul Ricard saw series novice Lewis Hamilton setting the pace with a best lap of 1m12.838s in his ART Grand Prix entry. This was a tenth faster than the more experienced Argentina's Jose Maria Lopez (Super Nova Racing) and Nelson Piquet Jr (Piquet Sports).

The World Health Organization is to establish a permanent new tobacco control body, headquartered in Geneva, to ensure that as many countries as possible sign and ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Timo Glock has given up a promising career in American racing because he wants to be a Formula 1 star. The 23-year-old German, who raced for Jordan in 2004, spent 2005 in Champ Car racing and impressed many but he decided to head back to Europe this year to race in GP2 with BCN Competicion.

The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari at Imola is to undergo a major rebuild later this year in order to bring it up to modern Formula 1 standards. The work will begin in the autumn and will be completed in time for the San Marino Grand Prix in 2007.

The DPR GP2 team has strengthened its links with Direxiv and will now be known as DPR Direxiv. Team boss David Price says that the two parties are "looking at a long term partnership with Direxiv in international motorsport".

Red Bull GmbH is a privately-held company in Austria and does not announce its profits but the company has recently revealed that its turnover in 2005 was $2.6bn, a leap of 28.9% over the 2004 figure.

The British Racing Drivers' Club has postponed a vote on whether the circuit should be leased and redeveloped. The board of directors had hoped to push ahead with the development but opposition in the Extraordinary General Meeting on Wednesday led to a decision to delay the vote.

Motorsport Asia, the Malaysian-based motor racing sanctioning body, which runs the Asian Touring Car Championship, Formula BMW Asia and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is to launch Formula V6 Asia by Renault.

There are reports in the United States that Indy Racing League founder Tony George and Champ Car owner Kevin Kalkhoven have reached an agreement to merge their two competing championships with the pair becoming co-chairmen of a new series.

The Australian Grand Prix has come up with a new promotional device: a hot air balloon in the shape of a Formula 1 car and while Grand Prix supremo Ron Walker may be risking suggestions about how the balloon is filled, the race management are enthusiastic that the balloon will bring in spectators.

There are reports from Malaysia that the government of Kazakhstan is planning to build an international standard racing circuit near the Astana International Airport.

The FIA says its is seeking "expressions of interest from potential suppliers of electronic systems and component suppliers with a view to supplying all Formula 1 teams with a standard electronic control system and technical support for racing and testing" in 2008.