Formula One News — May 2008

One rumour that has been knocking around in Formula 1 circles for a long time is that Kimi Raikkonen will quit Formula 1 at the end of the current year, if he wins a second World Championship. The Finn has been at the forefront in F1 since he joined McLaren Mercedes in 2002.

Bernie Ecclestone has been skating along in recent weeks trying not to stir up trouble without alienating his old pal Max Mosley, but with just a few days to go before the vote of confidence in Mosley, Ecclestone has finally nailed his colours to the mast.

Former F1 driver Scott Speed has competed in just six races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year but at Dover, in Delaware, he scored his first victory, beating Kevin Harvick Motorsport drivers Jack Sprague and Ron Hornaday Jr (the current champion) is his Bill Davis Racing, Red Bull-sponsored Toyota.

While the motorsport world stares intently at its own navel, wondering whether Max Mosley will survive as FIA president or not, there are several signs this week that the sport needs to remove its blinkers and make sure that it does everything possible to ensure that it continues to compete in a world that is becoming ever more cluttered with sport.

Silverstone has landed planning permission from Aylesbury Vale Council to build its new pitlane and paddock facility, on the inside of the circuit between Club and Abbey Corners. This will require the two corners to be reconfigured and construction will be needed for the pits and race control buildings and a new paddock area.

The FIA clubs are busy doing sums about who is for and who is against FIA President Max Mosley, with the aim being to try to figure out whether or not he will survive the confidence vote next Tuesday.

We have just acquired a copy of a letter that has been sent to FIA President Max Mosley by Igor Yermilin, the president of the Russian Federation of Auto Sport and Tourism (R-FAST) which states that the Russians "strongly support the common opinion of the 24 member clubs" urging Mosley to resign.

Max Mosley has written to the 24 clubs that asked him to step down, responding to their leaked letter. We have acquired a copy of the new letter, which has been sent to all the member clubs "in the interests of transparency".

Twenty-four FIA clubs in 22 countries have signed a letter to FIA President Max Mosley in response to his recent letter to the FIA club presidents. The clubs involved represent around 85% of the total membership of the FIA, based on motorist members, but they control only around 25% of the votes at the General Assembly. The letter demands that Mosley give "an immediate agreement" to step down.

Alain Prost was been invisible in Formula 1 since Prost Grand Prix collapsed in 2002. This was largely because of the debts that the team left behind, which were reckoned to be in the region of $30m.

Franco Lucchesi, the FIA Deputy President, Automobile, Mobility & Tourism, has sent a letter to all members of the World Council for Automobile Mobility & Tourism (WCAM&T), explaining the situation alluded to by the recent letter from Japanese Automobile Federation President Setsuo Tanaka.

Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will drive a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 car at this year's Brooklands Motoring Festival at the weekend. The events will take place on the circuits at Mercedes-Benz World inside the old Brooklands race track at Weybridge, Surrey.

Honda Racing F1 has been granted ISO14001 certification, which means that it meets requirements for an environmental management system. This standard is applicable to any organization that wishes to implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system and demonstrates the team's commitment to running an environmentally-friendly business.

Max Mosley's French lawyer Philippe Ouakrat, who also happens to be the brother-in-law of GP2 organiser Bruno Michel, is to go to court today in Paris. Ouakrat is expected to argue that because the FIA is based in France, the court can rule on whether the News of the World has broken any of France's stringent privacy laws.

As the focus of the Formula 1 world moves from Monaco to Paris, where a week from now, the FIA General Assembly will gather to decide the fate of Max Mosley as the FIA President, Mosley and his allies are busy wheeling out their arguments and his opposition is doing much the same.

Lewis Hamilton became the first Englishman to win Monaco since 1969 on Sunday, when he drove a stunning race to beat all-comers and finish Ferrari's run of four consecutive victories.

Red Bull Racing's David Coulthard will be heading out early to North America prior to the Canadian Grand Prix to pay a visit to Red Bull's NASCAR team. The weekend before the F1 race in Montreal sees the NASCAR boys racing at Dover in Delaware.

Monaco GP - Race Notes

Monaco GP - Sunday Photos

Monaco GP - Sunday Team Quotes

Monaco GP - Sunday Press Conference

Monaco GP - Race Incidents

Monaco GP - Race Results

David Coulthard will drop five places on the grid at Monaco because the Red Bull team needed to change his gearbox after the accident on Saturday. DC had qualified 10th but will now start 15th. This will move Timo Glock to 10th, Jenson Button to 11th, Nick Heidfeld to 12th, Kazuki Najakima to 13th and Rubens Barrichello to 14th.

Felipe Massa took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, leading a Ferrari 1-2 during the all-important qualifying session on Saturday. The weather was uncertain on Saturday morning, but the rains held off when the F1 cars took to the track and we ended up with a remarkably incident-free session with Massa snatching pole in the final moments.