Formula One News — September 2007

Formula Money is a new annual report based on the finances of Formula 1. The report contains the breakdowns on every current sponsorship deal, all the race sanction fees, the total resources of all the teams and comparisons of the team turnovers for the last 20 years.

Business F1 magazine was subject to a winding-up order which was heard in the High Court this morning. The order was requested by former Jaguar Racing boss Tony Purnell in respect of unpaid damages from his (Purnell's) successful libel suit. The magazine offered no defence in court.

Formula 1 folk would be forgiven for having a sense of foreboding about an announcement this afternoon from the FIA, cancelling the upcoming International Court of Appeal and instead recalling the FIA World Council to re-examine the question of whether McLaren breached Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.

Steve Clark, a engineer who has been working in Formula 1 since the late 1980s, is to join Honda Racing F1. He will be the head of race and test engineering. Since 2002 Clark has been at McLaren, running testing, but he has now decided to move on and is expected to join Honda in November.

Bernard Rey, the new chairman of Renault F1, is a Renault man through and through, having joined the company in 1969, at the age of 23. He has spent much of his career in purchasing and in 1998 was named as International Purchasing Director by the then chairman Louis Schweitzer.

Renault have announced that Alain Dassas, the President of the Renault F1 team, will leave the team on September 17th.

Being the son of a famous father in motor racing is something that the drivers look upon as a disadvantage, as it makes them feel that they must prove that they would be good enough to make it even if they did not have a celebrated father.

Three-time Formula 1 champion Sir Jack Brabham, the first driver to be knighted for services to the sport, has recently begun kidney dialysis treatment which means that the Australian will not be able to travel as much as he has in recent years.

Spyker Cars NV, the parent company of the Spyker F1 team, is going to have to answer questions about its activities from the Autoriteit Financiele Markten (AFM), the Dutch stockmarket regulator.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club has announced that Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have made an offer to buy the soccer team. The current chairman Gianni Paladini will remain as chairman while Briatore, Bruno Michel and Alejandro Agag will join the board.

Singapore began construction work for its Formula 1 race on Friday with a ground-breaking ceremony at the Marina Bayfront, where the pit buildings will be constructed.

The European Union's Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou has written directly to Ferrari, asking the company to end its tobacco sponsorship in Formula 1, arguing that it undermines the goal European goal of ending all cigarette advertising at sporting events.

Our spies in Holland tell us that a deal has been done for the Mol family and India's Vijay Mallya to take control of the Spyker F1 team. This will mean that the name Spyker will disappear from Grand Prix racing after just 12 months and that the team will take on a new identity, probably linked to Mallya's Kingfisher brand.