Formula One News — August 2006

The National Sporting Authority of Turkey (TOSFED) and the MSA, the organiser of the Turkish Grand Prix have been called to appear before a specially convened meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on September 19.

The New Zealand Herald is reporting that the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is considering a proposal from the Victorian Historic Racing Register in conjunction with the New Zealand Formula 5000 Association to field a 30 Formula 5000 cars as a Grand Prix support event in 2007.

Jean Alesi is leaving the DTM Mercedes-Benz team at the end of the season. The former F1 driver has been racing in the series since 2002 but is frustrated that he cannot be more competitive.

There is good news from the Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisconsin with Champ Car doctor Chris Pinderski telling US reporter Robin Miller that Cristiano da Matta has "turned the corner" and is now making impressive progress in his recovery.

For some time there have been a number of differing views about the future of Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore with conflicting rumours about the future of the controversial Italian.

The podium controversy in Turkey has led to comment about Formula 1 in places where normally such things would not be much seen, and it is interesting to see how the sport is viewed by outsiders.

In Formula 1 things should rarely be taken at face value and the flurry of reports that the San Marino Grand Prix is finished do not tell the true story.

The Champ Car race in Montreal on Sunday was postponed because of bad weather after just six laps and as a result was run on Monday morning. France's Sebastien Bourdais raced to an easy victory - his sixth of the year - and knocked a big hole in the ambitions of his rival challengers.

There is no doubt that Kimi Raikkonen has a full contract with Ferrari for 2007 and that Felipe Massa has a contract of some form or another as well. There have now been suggestions that Ferrari might announce next week that there will be three racing drivers in 2007.

The Turkish Grand Prix must be considered to be under threat after two of the organisers of the race admitted that using Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to present the trophy to the winner was a deliberate action.

The FIA says it is launching an investigation into how and why Mehmet Ali Talat was invited to present the winner's trophy at the Turkish Grand Prix. Race winner Felipe Massa received his trophy from Talat, who was introduced and captions on television "President of the Northern Turkish Republic of Cyprus".

The process by which the FIA Formula 1 World Championship is created is a complicated one, involving (officially at least) the FIA but largely down to the wheelings and dealings of Formula One Management.

Formula 1 has a strange way of suddenly coming alive when you least expect it. This year looked like a straight shoot between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher but in recent weeks we have seen two new Grand Prix winners in the last two races. Variety, so they say, is the spice of life and F1 is looking more and more spicy.

Further information is emerging about Spyker which helps to explain the interest in Formula 1. Spyker is a very small car company but it is growing fast. In 2005 it made a total of just 48 cars.

Felipe Massa's victory in Turkey was just what Ferrari needed in the Constructors' Championship but not at all what the company needed when it comes to making decisions about the future driver line-up of the team. It is very clear that Kimi Raikkonen has a solid contract with Ferrari for next year.

Spyker Cars NV and the M-Consortium headed by Michiel Mol have issued a press statement, confirming our report that they are in the process of trying to buy the Midland F1 team.

It will not be a coincidence that on Sunday night a series of bombs. aimed at the tourist trade, went off in various locations in Turkey. The Formula 1 Grand Prix in Turkey was hailed by the government as a way to boost Turkey's image abroad and attract more tourists.

At 19 years, five months and 14 days Marco Andretti, the scion of the Andretti racing dynasty, has become the youngest driver ever to win a major open-wheel race in the United States of America.

Any Formula 1 reporter will tell you that one has to be a bit careful about rumours that come from Holland. There is huge enthusiasm for the sport in the country and sometimes that relates to wild reports.

Turkish GP - Race Notes

Turkish GP - Sunday Photos

Turkish GP - Sunday Press Conference

Turkish GP - Sunday Team Quotes

Turkish GP - Race Incidents

Turkish GP - Race Results