Formula One News — July 2006

Juan Pablo Montoya has gone to NASCAR next year because he could not get a decent drive in Formula 1 but that will not stop stories about how NASCAR is becoming a threat to Formula 1.

Adrian Newey emerged unscathed from a sizeable crash at Le Mans over the weekend, while taking part in the Le Mans Classic event in a Ford GT40 which he owns. The Red Bull Racing chief technical officer reportedly went off at the second chicane but walked away unhurt from what was, by all accounts, a large accident.

Juan Pablo Montoya is out of Formula 1 - and he's going back to the United States to drive in the NASCAR Nextel Cup.

The announcement that Juan Pablo Montoya is leaving Formula 1 to go to race in NASCAR does not change much in the F1 driver market.

The FIA chose the rather bizarre time of a Friday afternoon to announce that it is planning to get rid of third cars next year.

The Belgian Ministry of Finance is offering incentives for Bernie Ecclestone to become the promoter of the Belgian Grand Prix.

The MF1 Racing team has been busy looking for sponsorship in recent months and with results improving a little the team is in a better position now to land a big sponsor.

With Audi having now become the first automobile manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with a diesel engine, the next big target for the car manufacturers is to win the French endurance classic with a hybrid car.

The European Tour Operators Association, the pan-European trade association for tourism companies in Europe, has just issued a report examining the effect of the likely effect of the Olympic Games on London's tourist trade in 2012, using data from previous Olympic competitions.

Formula 1 has been suffering in recent days from interest being centred on the World Cup soccer competition in Germany and on the Wimbledon tennis championships.

The F1 Commission did achieve one small thing today in Paris, agreeing to reduce the final qualifying session in F1 from 20 minutes to 15 minutes.

The Formula 1 Commission met in Paris today and we hear that little was decided. The question of running 2008 engines in 2007 seems to have been avoided with teams given another chance to sort out what they want.

Yuji Ide, who was forced out of Formula 1 when the FIA decided to take away his superlicence, is to return to racing this weekend in the Formula Nippon. He will be driving for the DoCoMo Dandelion team for the remaining six races of the year.

Tomorrow in Paris the FIA Formula 1 Commission will meet to discuss matters of the moment in Formula 1. Traditionally the F1 Commission meets in the days before a World Council so that its decisions can be then be ratified by the more senior body, but on this occasion the World Council has already met.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on Wednesday to make decisions about the sport but there was no indication from the federation about a deal concerning Formula 1 engines.

A1 Grand Prix has announced its calendar for the coming series that will start in October 2006 and will run through until April 2007. There are 13 events, only three of which will be in Europe.

Red Bull has now confirmed rumours that America's Colin Fleming has left the Red Bull Young Driver programme after a difficult start to the season in the World Series by Renault.

Germany's Sebastian Vettel is to have a second test in F1 in Jerez. The BMW protege had a run last year with Williams and will now be seen at the wheel of a BMW Sauber.

The mayor of Indianapolis Bart Peterson says that the city is "open to getting involved" if Indianapolis Motor Speedway asks for financial help to secure the United States Grand Prix at the venue.

The Americans love Ferrari. Perhaps it is because it is the car company for the self-made man. Perhaps because overt displays of wealth are normal. Ferrari is considered to be a special brand. One of the results of this is that Ferrari has huge numbers of fans in the United States.

FIA President Max Mosley is due to meet with GPMA chairman Burkhard Goschel in Munich later today to discuss the ongoing issues in the disputes between the federation and the car manufacturers.

The Hockenheim track, the home in recent years of the German Grand Prix, has a contract until the end of 2008.

Renault has issued a statement confirming that it is interested in discussing the possibilities of a deal with General Motors.

Jacques Villeneuve has done a decent job this year with BMW Sauber but at 35 years of age, Jacques knows that the chances are that his future in F1 is limited and that the team's test driver Robert Kubica has done well this year in Friday practice and is 14 years younger and his salary is cheaper.

United States GP - Race Notes