Formula One News — February 2006

FIA President Max Mosley continues his press lunch campaign and told specialist journalists today that he would like to introduce promotion and relegation into the sport in 2008. This is just what they want to hear because it is a good idea and would be good for the sport and would create more interest in F1 and in GP2.

At a lunch for carefully selected members of the British media in F1, FIA President Max Mosley launched his latest campaign to try to convince the automobile manufacturers that they have to sign up for the new Concorde Agreement, which he wants to see as the guiding document for Formula 1 from 2008 to 2012.

Panasonic Toyota Racing was the first F1 team this year to have its new car running back in November but the intention was always for the new car to be substantially upgraded before the start of the new season.

Lawyers in motor racing are watching with interest to see the outcome of a lawsuit in the United States were the widow of a track marshal is suing the International Speedway Corporation, claiming that the Daytona International Speedway (which is owned by ISC) did not take "reasonable safeguards" in an ultrahazardous activity.

Valentino Rossi has been testing for Ferrari in recent weeks but said recently that now he is going back to bikes to try win the MotoGP Championship for Yamaha. But a few days after those remarks he was spotted in action at the wheel of a Maserati MC12 sports car at the Misano circuit in Italy.

There are reports in the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper in Germany that the local racing track, the Hockenheim-Ring, is in such financial trouble that unless new money can be found immediately the track will be forced to cancel the German Grand Prix.

Formula One teams will always spend money on new technology which will give them an advantage and the composite engineers in F1 circles will be very interested by the latest development in the nanotechnology world.

McLaren today unveiled the livery design for the 2006 season.

This morning these is much talk of Renault trying to jump ship from the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association and join up with the deal to extend the Concorde Agreement to the end of 2012.

The 2006 Belgian Grand Prix has been cancelled but, in an effort to improve the picture, the regional government of Wallonia has agreed a deal to secure the long-term future of the event. This will cost the government $7m a year in direct financial aid for the five-year term of the deal.

Even a few days ago Gerhard Berger was saying that he had no plans to return to Formula 1. That he wanted to spend more time with his family and friends and not live the F1 life.

The news that Renault chairman Carlos Ghosn is going to look at the Formula 1 programme each year is going to go down like a lead brick at Renault F1 in Enstone where the marketing department is just getting down to finding a replacement sponsor for Mild Seven for the 2007 season.

The new Toro Rosso STR01 ran for the first time this morning in Jerez, altough the car will not be officially launched until the days running up to the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Simon Fuller made his name as a record and television producer who is best known as the manager of the Spice Girls and as one of the creators of Pop Idol and its spin-offs including American Idol.

Scuderia Toro Rosso has a new 50% partner with half the shares of the Italian Formula 1 team having been taken over by Gerhard Berger's motorsport company.

According to a report in the Greek media, the Israeli-owned Ofer Brothers group of companies is conducting a feasibility study on whether to take on the operations of the Istanbul Park Formula 1 circuit.

The Belgian National Sporting Authority, the RACB, has written to notify the FIA of the withdrawal of the 2006 Belgian Grand Prix from the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The withdrawal has been made in order to allow the completion of extensive improvement work to facilities at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva attended the tobacco control conference of the World Health Organization yesterday and said that his country attaches great importance to tobacco control and has taken measures to stop tobacco advertising.

Christian Fittipaldi is to return to single-seaters as the driver with A1 Team Brazil, which is run by his uncle Emerson, the former double Formula 1 World Champion. Christian, who has raced in F1 and Champ Car, has been trying NASCAR for the last couple of years without success.

Bahrain has put together an impressive list of celebrities for the opening Grand Prix of the season with three-time Wimbledon tennis champion Boris Becker taking on cycling legend Lance Armstrong, rowing hero Sir Steve Redgrave and US sprinter Michael Johnson.

Late last night a meeting to discuss the future of the Hockenheim-Ring broke up with the Mayor of Hockenheim Dieter Gummer announcing that his managing-director Hans Juergen von Glasenapp is to stand down from his position.

British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) chairman Stuart Rolt has admitted in a letter to club members that running the track is too risky a business for the club.

Tristan Gommendy has signed to drive for iSport International in the GP2 Series in 2006. The 26-year-old Frenchman won the French Formula 3 title with ASM in 2002 and has been a race winner in recent years in the Renault World Series, finishing fourth in the standings last year with KTR.

The Indian A1 GP team is in the process of being disbanded as South African-based franchise holder Atul Gupta has run out of patience with the team's lack of performance.

The Super Aguri F1 team has given details of some more of its technical team and there seems to be a decent amount of F1 experience in the team.