Formula One News — January 2008

Ferrari has unveiled its latest Formula 1 challenger, becoming the first team to reveal its 2008 car. The Ferrari is heavier than in 2007 because of the rule changes but Ferrari reckons that the new car will be just as competitive with all new aerodynamics, although the bodywork will probably be quite different by the time the teams head off to Australia in March.

The Dakar Rally has been cancelled because on an attack that place on five French tourists on December 24. The group were on holiday in Mauritania and had stopped for a picnic beside the main road between the capital Nouakchott and the town of Aleg,

Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson will continue to race for the Super Aguri F1 Team in 2008. The news was confirmed by the issuing of a press release from the FIA, giving the official entry list for 2008. The only drive left available is the second Force India although it is common knowledge in F1 circle sthat this has gone to Giancarlo Fisichella.

The world of motorsport rarely pays much heed to the real world but the announcement from Paris today that the Dakar Rally has been cancelled due to a direct security threat from terrorist organisations indicates that the sport must take such threats seriously.

Former Grand Prix driver Jimmy Stewart has died at the age of 76. He was Sir Jackie Stewart's older brother and was the man responsible for getting Jackie interested in racing. The two grew up in Dumbarton where their father Bob was a Jaguar dealer. Sharing his name with the celebrated Hollywood star, who became famous after Stewart was born, made life difficult but in later years that paled into insignificance as Jackie won three World Championships.

It has long been said that Formula 1 cars produce so much downforce that they can run upside-down on the ceiling. It is a nice idea but to date no-one had tried it. Getting an F1 car upside-down at the speed needed to achieve such a feat is not going to be something that could be achieved on a small scale and no-one has yet been mad enough to build the kind of structure needed.

The Singapore Grand Prix organisers have been giving details of how they intend the light the street circuit when Formula 1 holds its first night race on September 28 next year.

Yu Zhifei has been sentenced to four years in jail for embezzlement. The former Shanghai city official was the general manager of the Shanghai International Circuit. He was found guilty of embezzling $144,000 in public funds in order to buy himself a house.

Grandprix.com would like to wish all its readers a happy and successful 2008. We will be back on the path of news when the F1 community starts to produce some as we do not think that our readers are that intererested in recycled stories from weeks ago!