Formula One News — December 2006

The answers for our Christmas Quiz were as follows. Click on the links to learn more in the Grandprix.com encyclopedia.

There are reports in Holland that Ho-pin Tung, a Dutch-born Chinese racer, is trying to land the test drive with the Spyker F1 team.

Super Aguri F1 has confirmed that it will continue its relationship with Japanese driver Sakon Yamamoto, who will take on the position of second test driver in 2007.

There are only 10 questions. No prizes. Just for fun.

It has been a busy year at grandprix.com but we would like to say thanks to all our loyal readers and we hope that you enjoy a very merry Christmas and a suitably festive New Year.

The FIA has made no announcement about its plans for the Formula 1 technical regulations for 2009 but if you take a look on the FIA website you will find that a copy of the regulations has now popped up and it features some interesting changes.

The FIA is considering further changes to the structure of decision-making in Formula 1 and we hear that the latest idea is to create a Formula 1 Major Manufacturers' Advisory Commission with members from the senior managements of BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari, Honda, Renault and Toyota.

Timo Glock has been signed as BMW Sauber's second test driver for 2007. He will work with race drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica and the team's test driver Sebastian Vettel.

The Spyker F1 team has signed Adrian Sutil to partner Christijan Albers in the 2007 FIA F1 World Championship. The 23-year-old Munish driver did the Friday test driving for the team at three races this year while winning the Japanese F3 Championship for the Tom's Toyota team.

Back in October we reported that in an effort to raise sponsorship for 2007 Scuderia Toro Rosso would most likely replace Scott Speed with Robert Doornbos. The team is a joint venture between Red Bull and Gerhard Berger and as part of the agreement Berger has to find half the budget each year.

The Spyker Formula 1 programme has been a triumph of networking with connections between the many companies now involved and the latest announcement is a further step in that direction as the team's three-year deal with the McGregor Fashion Group.

As we suggested recently Honda looks like going green in colour in Formula 1 in 2007 with reports that the company has decided to push hard to market its environmental policies using F1.

There has been some vague talk of a team or two going to arbitration over the question of whether or not Scuderia Toro Rosso and Super Aguri F1 will be bending the rules next year with their chassis.

Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo has been a man who has often been mentioned as a possible national politician in Italy.

Tony Purnell is 48 and never has to worry about working again. He made a considerable fortune in 1999 when he sold his PI Group to the Ford Motor Company and from there went on to become involved in Ford's F1 activities, as the boss of Jaguar Racing.

Clay Regazzoni's funeral will take place on Thursday at the Sacro Cuore church in Lugano, Switzerland and there will be a memorial service in Monaco in January. Reports from Italy say that the autopsy for the former Ferrari driver, who died following a car accident near Parma, did not reveal fatal injuries.

It is logical to suggest, given their history together, that Paul Stoddart and Jos Verstappen will come to some agreement for Verstappen to race in Champ Car with the new Minardi Team USA but in Holland there is also talk of Jos moving in at Forsythe Racing, alongside Paul Tracy.

The British Racing Drivers' Club has voted through plans for Porsche Cars GB to develop a Porsche Driver Training Facility at Silverstone. Porsche and Silverstone are now in the process of formalising the relationship and will then move ahead and apply for planning permission.

Paul Stoddart has acquired a majority shareholding in the HVM Champ Car team and will rename the operation Team Minardi USA. The plan is for the team to continue to be run by Keith Wiggins and for it to run "multiple" entries in the series in 2007.

Tony Purnell, the former team principal of the Jaguar Racing and Red Bull Racing Formula 1 teams, has been appointed as a Technical Consultant to the FIA. Purnell's main role will be to assist the FIA in developing Formula 1 technologies that will be road-relevant and which will help to improve the racing on the track.

Former Grand Prix driver Gianclaudio "Clay" Regazzoni has been killed in a road accident in Italy. Details of the accident are confused but it seems that Regazzoni arrived at high speed at a sudden and unexpected traffic jam.

The BMW Sauber team is expanding all the time at the moment with the staff climbing rapidly and the factory being expanded significantly as the team brings in new people and new departments.

The Super Aguri team has announced that Dutchman Giedo van der Garde will be the team's reserve and test driver for the 2007 season. A member of the McLaren Young Driver Support Programme, the 21-year-old has been competing this year with the ASM team in the Formula 3 Euroseries.

Fernando Alonso popped up this morning for the final day of Formula 1 testing in 2006 - at the wheel of a completely-unsponsored McLaren. The test came despite remarks in recent days by Renault that Fernando would not be released from his contract until the end of the year.

The inaugural Centre of Excellence Summit hosted by the FIA, the FIA Institute and the French Ministry of Sport will be held at the Paul Ricard circuit in mid-January with Management of Risk in Sport being the theme.