Formula One News — November 2008

Sebastien Loeb is a talented driver. In the World Rally Championship he has won multiple consecutive titles, and he has finished well in his attempts at the Le Mans 24 Hours. It was therefore reasonable to expect that he would do a decent job in a Formula 1 car.

Martin Brundle told the audience at the Autocar Awards in London this evening that he will be commentating with the BBC next year.

Dominic Smith, a team leader in the aerodynamic design group at Honda Racing F1 is to perform with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at London™s Royal Festival Hall in February 2009.

The Czech Republic's garrulous FIA member Radovan Novak, who hit the headlines in the summer by suggesting that Max Mosley's sex scandal had been caused by McLaren (a statement he later had to retract), has been holding forth again.

Japan's Keisuke Kunimoto won the Macau Grand Prix Formula 3 race on Sunday in his TOM'S Dallara-Toyota. He made a better start than fellow front row man Edoardo Mortara (Signature Plus Dallara-Volkswagen) and held the position when the Safety Car was sent out after third-placed Roberto Streit Raikkonen Robertson Dallara-Mercedes collided with Sam Bird (Manor Dallara-Mercedes).

Kyle Busch's plans to test a Toyota Formula 1 car have been cancelled because the NASCAR star now needs to fly back from Japan to attend an awards banquet in Florida.

Rubens Barrichello will not be testing for the Honda team this week in Barcelona and that seems to suggest that the Brazilian veteran may have had his last race with the team.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest has confirmed that attempts to save the Canadian Grand Prix have now failed.

Newspapers in Britain are claiming that Bernie Ecclestone and his wife Slavica (28 years his junior) are to divorce now that their children have left home.

The government of Shanghai is thinking about ending its current deal with Formula 1. This is no surprise as the race has been a financial disaster for the city.

There are three drivers testing for Scuderia Toro Rosso next week in Spain and while there may be others in with a chance of one of the two drives, in all likelihood, the test will decide the matter. The team has suffered this year from having two drivers without much F1 experience.

The Indy Racing League has confirmed that Surfers Paradise will not be on its schedule in 2009 as the series was "unable to come to agreement on a long-term scheduling solution" with Australian officials.

Force India's new relationship with McLaren is going to be interesting to watch and the clear out of the old management - plus the addition of McLaren man Simon Roberts as Force India's new chief executive officer - suggests that this is not a normal engine supply deal. McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has, however, denied that Force India will become a McLaren B team.

Mika Hakkinen is to begin a new role in driver management. The Formula 1 World Champion of 1998 and 1999 has joined Aces Management Group, where he will work alongside his long-time friend and manager, Didier Coton

Force India has announced a new partnership with Mclaren and has made major changes in its management with the departures of Colin Kolles and Mike Gascoyne , and corporate and business director Patrck Missling. Dr Vijay Mallya will assume the responsibilities of team principal with Robert Fernley as a director. In a reorganisation of the team's technical department, Mark Smith, design director, and James Key, technical director, will share entire responsibility for the design of the VJM02 and future cars.

Nick Craw, President of the Automobile Competition Committee for the US, has been elected as the new FIA Deputy President for Sport. At its annual meeting in Paris today, the FIA General Assembly, the supreme executive body of the FIA, voted unanimously for Craw™s election.

Honda Racing F1 Team is to run Renault test driver Lucas di Grassi in Barcelona later this month. The Brazilian driver will join the Brackley team for the three-day test which begins on November 17.

America's Nick Craw (62) will be nominated as the new FIA Deputy President at the General Assembly this week. The head of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS), which governs US racing on behalf of the FIA, Craw has a stellar career behind him.

The ING Renault team has announed that it is not changing its driver line-up next year - and that Fernando Alonso will stay with the team for 2010 as well.

From 2009, engine life in Formula 1 will be extended from two to three races. This is no surprise as the teams all agreed that this was the easiest way to reduce costs significantly without disrupting the show.

The FIA has decided to try to get people to understand more about what happens with F1 stewarding. The current panel of stewards consists of two international stewards and one national steward, all of whom must be eligible for the FIA™s super licence.

The FIA World Council met in Paris this morning to discuss the matters of the moment and the federation has now issued a new Formula 1 calendar for 2009 with the Chinese Grand Prix moving from its normal October date to a date in April.

Force India team boss Vijay Mallya is expected to announce some changes in his F1 team in the days ahead with an announcement due that the team will be using an entire drivetrain from McLaren-Mercedes in 2009. We expect that to be announced on Monday.

On Sunday Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena claimed their fifth consecutive World Rally Championship, a feat which is unique in the history of the sport. This received little coverage as Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa stole all the headlines later the same day.

Renault F1 is expected to confirm Fernando Alonso as its lead driver in 2009 later today. The big question is not whether the Spaniard will stay but rather who will be with him in the team.