Formula One News — February 2008

The Australian Grand Prix has traditionally started at two o'clock in the afternoon but with Melbourne being 10 hours ahead of London this means that the TV coverage of the event begins at a less than agreeable 0400 in Britain and a slightly less painfull 0500 in Europe.

In recent years the Monaco Motor Sport Business Forum has earned a reputation for being an important event within the motor sport industry, with stakeholders, sponsors and decision-makers coming together to talk business. The Forum has now expanded and this year will feature a new event in the week before the Grand Prix in Bahrain.

Jacques Villeneuve is reported to be close to signing up a major sponsor to support his entry into the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2008. The plan is to run the Bill Davis Racing Toyota Camry unsponsored at the upcoming Daytona 500 on February 17.

It is being reported in the United States of America that Champ Car owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe have reached an agreement with Tony George of the Indy Racing League to merge the two championships, bringing to an end the self-destructure schism that has torn open-wheeler racing in the United States apart in the course of the last 13 years.

There are reports that the unknown bidder for the Super Aguri F1 team is from Russia. We do not believe that this is the case but we hear that some of the money behind the bid may come from Russian sources, probably in the form of sponsorship.

The Force India team had a spectacular launch in India yesterday to unveil the team's new livery. This includes considerable sponsorship from Kingfisher, in addition to support from Medion (which came with Adrian Sutil) plus money from Kanyan Capital, an investment company which specialises in Africa having invested in mining, telecommunications, tourism, property, aviation and agriculture.

The Formula 1 has done its best to close the book on the 2007 espionage affair but it seems that the Italians are not going to give up that easily. There were reports yesterday in the Italian press that Modena magistrate Giuseppe Tibis has asked for a number of McLaren staff to visit him to answer questions about the espionage question, to see whether it is worth pushing ahead with the civil legal action in Italy.

The FIA Institute will host its second annual Summit at the Bahrain International Circuit on April 3, which will be chaired by the Deputy President of the FIA Institute Professor Gerard Saillant, who will lead the discussions on the subject of Medicine in Motor Sport.

The future of the A1 RIng in Austria remains clouded following the news that an attempt to revive the track for F1 has failed. The track was purchased by Red Bull and the pits and grandstands were then demolished in preparation for a major overhaul aimed at winning back an Austrian GP.

There are reports that Williams is to establish a permanent base for its test team in Spain, not far from the Valencia circuit. Spanish newspapers are reporting that the team is in negotiation with the regional government for a suitable facility and will give young Spanish drivers the opportunity to test its cars as part of the agreement.

Ralf Schumacher was left behind by Formula 1 this year and so has decided to continue his competition career with Mercedes-Benz in the DTM. The 32-year-old has had two tests with Mercedes in recent weeks and says that he is enjoying the experience. The drive has yet to be officially confirmed but reports that a deal is done are widespread in Germany.

Tony Rolt has died at the age of 89. The former Grand Prix driver had a spectacular career both as a soldier and later in racing and in business. At 21 he was a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade which was part of the British Expeditionary Force in France when the German invasion occurred. Rolt was trapped in Calais where the small British force helped to hold back the advance of a Panzer Division that was bound for Dunkirk.

The 23rd annual Festival Automobile International took place last night in Paris. A dozen prizes are awarded by a jury made up of eminient representatives from the sports car industry, architecture, fashion, design, art and the press, all of them having in common a passion for cars.

Racism is an ugly thing and the fact that a number of Spanish fans felt the need to be offensive to Lewis Hamilton during the recent test is not something that can be considered acceptable in the sport.

The British Grand Prix may have removed one hurdle in its path with the news that its development plans have moved one step closer to becoming a reality - but this is no guarantee that the race will be able to survive in the longer term.

The British Racing Drivers' Club has announced that the South Northamptonshire Council's Cabinet Committee has adopted the plans laid out in the Joint Silverstone Circuit Development Brief. The plans have already been endorsed by Aylesbury Vale District Council. This means that the club's vision for the future will now go ahead to gaining planning permission. An application is expected shortly and if all goes to plan work will begin in order to have the new pits and paddock development finished in 2009.

The Formula 1 teams were testing again over the weekend in Barcelona and although times are still an unreliable guide - the two Toro Rossos were fastest on Saturday - the Formula 1 teams are now beginning to get a clearer idea of who is where in terms of overall speed, as the engineers in the different team have had a chance to digest the data that was created at the tests to date.

The ING Renault F1 Team has signed a deal with Sakon Yamamoto to give him the role of test development driver for the 2008 season. This is most odd as the team already has a third driver and a test and reserve driver and the impression one gets is that Yamamoto's presence in the team may be related to the desires of a sponsor or because he is bringing backing to the team.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team has announced that it will be employing test drivers Christian Klien and Marko Asmer in 2008. "We wanted a third driver with Formula 1 racing experience," said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, "as well as an up-and-coming young driver for us to train up to Formula 1 level.