Formula One News — October 2006

Sunday at Interlagos was a time to say goodbye to a lot. Michael Schumacher was departing but there was more beside as Marlboro, Mild Seven, Lucky Strike, Michelin and Cosworth - some of the strongest supporters that the sport has had - are also departing.

It was a busy weekend for motorsport around the world with the Champ Car title being settled in Australia, F1 coming to a head in Brazil and the NASCAR boys turning their championship standings upside-down at Martinsville, Virginia.

There are not many people around who know all the rules of Formula 1. Some of them are secret; some are very complicated; some are ridiculously vague; others are just plain dull. And, sadly, some of them are just silly.

Brazilian GP - Sunday Photos

Brazilian GP - Race Notes

Brazilian GP - Sunday Press Conference

Brazilian GP - Sunday Team Quotes

Brazilian GP - Race Incidents

Brazilian GP - Race Results

Fernando Alonso has won the World Championship.

After the attack on Toyota personnel on Friday evening security in Sao Paulo was beefed up by the locals, embarrassed by the attack and reports of it in newspapers around the world.

Sebastien Bourdais made history in Surfers Paradise when he won his third consecutive Champ Car title with an eighth placed finish in the Australian race. The only other man to win three consecutive National Championships in the United States was Ted Horn in 1946, 1947 and 1948.

Until the beginning of the Q3 qualifying session Michael Schumacher was reigning imperiously over his peers at Interlagos. He was not going to be beaten. But then as the top 10 accelerated down the hill for the final 15 minutes, suddenly the Ferrari slowed.

Brazilian GP - Saturday Photos

Brazilian GP - Saturday Press Conference

Brazilian GP - Saturday Team Quotes

Brazilian GP - Qualifying Results

Felipe Massa set the fastest time of the morning session on Saturday in Brazil, a tenth faster than his Ferrari team mate Michael Schumacher. The pair were seven-tenths clear of the best of the rest, Jenson Button in his Honda F1.

Brazilian GP - Practice 3 Results

Formula 1 pay-per-view television was not a great success back in the late 1990s but it seems that the Formula One group may be moving back in that direction as the convergence of television and the Internet threatens to disrupt the traditional income of the sport.

There has been an awful lot of silence from Prodrive in recent weeks with no visible signs of any progress being made in building up the F1 team that is planned for 2008.

Ron Dennis and his McLaren partner Mansour Ojjeh went to Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart last Wednesday for a meeting with DaimlerChrysler bosses.

There are four drivers in the picture for the Honda F1 test drive next year as it is now virtually certain that Anthony Davidson will be moving on to race for Super Aguri.

Local hero Will Power is on pole for the Champ Car at Surfers Paradise. The young Australian stayed ahead of all challengers, helped by a couple of timely red flags as others were doing their fastest laps.

Formula 1 goes to Interlagos each year because it needs a venue in South America, even though everyone knows that the facilities at the Sao Paulo track are way below the standards demanded elsewhere in the world.