Formula One News — May 2007

There were well-founded rumours in Monaco that Ralf Schumacher may be dumped by Toyota if there is not a sudden and dramatic improvement in his level of performance in the next couple of races.

The new Speedcar series, which is going to be running alongside GP2 Asia, looks like being on the timetable for the Australian and Malaysian GPs in 2008. The NASCAR-based series is being promoted by France's Benoit Lamonerie and Italian Luciano Secchi, but the money is coming from Dubai.

Toyota Racing chairman and team principal Tsutomu Tomita is to become the new chairman of Fuji Speedway. Tomita will stand down from his role at Toyota Motorsport at the end of June and will be replaced by current vice chairman Tadashi Yamashina.

Elly Beinhorn Rosemeyer, celebrated aviatrix, and wife of Auto Union legendary Grand Prix driver, Bernd Rosemeyer, celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday at her home in Germany.

The new Formula 1 race in Singapore is an interesting business model for the sport with the government admitting that it is going to pay about 60% of the annual cost of $99m.

The FIA has cleared McLaren of any problems with team orders following the Monaco Grand Prix. The federation concluded that what McLaren did was entirely reasonable as the team was keen to gain the maximum points and could justify why Lewis Hamilton pitted when he did at the second pit stops.

Michael Andretti has said that he has finally had enough of racing and will not be contesting the Indianapolis 500 again. Michael finished 13th in the race last weekend. Andretti said that trying to race and run the business was simply too much for him to handle.

The authorities in Bahrain are still tracking down 700 people who are now living illegally inside the country, having entered the Gulf state on Formula 1 visas. More than 9000 visas were issued during the race weekend but when they had all expired, the authorities calculated that around 700 people had not left the country.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis revived a curious incident in the course of this week's debates on the question of team orders, referring in passing to the Australian Grand Prix of 1998 when David Coulthard was ordered to let Mika Hakkinen win the race.

The McLaren team says that it has nothing to worry about with regard to an investigation into the possible use of team orders at Monaco.

The European Grand Prix in Valencia is no longer conditional on election results. The ruling Partido Popular dominated the polls in the Valencia region winning a landslide victory.

Gambling will only get you so far. It is nice to win but a lot of the time luck has nothing to do with it. You win by working at it, doing the homework and not because the cards fell in your favour. Monaco is a city built on a casino, on the foundation that luck can bring you everything you need.

The FIA has sent out a new briefing note to the Formula 1 Manufacturers™ Advisory Committee regarding the technical plans for Formula 1 in 2011 and beyond. The package was dreamed up by Tony Purnell and Peter Wright and reviewed by Professor Neville Jackson, the Technical Director of the Ricardo company.

The FIA has announced that it has launched an investigation into incidents involving the McLaren Mercedes team at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix, in light of a possible breach of the International Sporting Code.

Monaco GP - Race Notes

Monaco GP - Sunday Photos

Monaco GP - Sunday Press Conference

Monaco GP - Sunday Team Quotes

Monaco GP - Race Results

Fernando Alonso took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix but with the weather on Sunday uncertain in the Monaco area, it was no guarantee that this would aid the Spaniard as he tries to close the gap on Lewis Hamilton in the World Championship.

Monaco GP - Saturday Photos

Monaco GP - Saturday Press Conference

Monaco GP - Saturday Team Quotes

Monaco GP - Qualifying Results

Adrian Sutil is not a name that has made much of an impact thus far in Formula 1 history. The German has had a series of first lap incidents in most of the races this year but has made a favourable impression on the Spyker team. His biggest claim to fame is that he is a mate of Lewis Hamilton from Formula 3 days.