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2007 was arguably one of the most controversial seasons in McLaren F1 history capped with no drivers championship, being thrown out of the constructors championship and a $100 million fine. Far from acceptable for engine partner Mercedes-Benz who are reported to be negotiating to take a majority stake in the British team, a deal that would likely signal the end of Ron Dennis as team boss.According the German magazine Auto Motor Und Sport, Mercedes want to have more control over the British team to eradicate errors made during the drivers title run in and are not happy with the crisis management at the height of the spying scandal. Negotiations are reported to have been ongoing since October last year.Does this mean we will hear the German national anthem when/if we see Lewis Hamilton or Heikki Kovalainen takes the chequered flag this year?
Australians are in close danger of losing the right to host a Formula One Grand Prix after 2010. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said to The Sunday Telegraph:“Maybe we don’t want to be in Australia. Our costs are very high in Australia and we get a lot less money. It's bloody bad for us. We've got quite a few places on the list which would like to have Formula One and, as it seems your guy (Victorian Premier John Brumby) down there doesn't want Formula One, we can make him happy and make the other people happy.”The Australian GP is said to have lost around €20.6 million during the last race there. Attendance numbers also drizzled to a low 301,000, reportedly the lowest since 1998. Ecclestone is also weary of Brumby who was not party to the agreement signed to extend Ausi’s participation in the F1 circus of motorsport to 2010. Most other countries are extended beyond this. Residents close to Albert Park where the track is assembled, have been known to voice disapproval of the races there. Australia’s loss would most certainly be the gain of someone else since a number of other countries are lining up to host Formula One.Also preferred by Ecclestone is an Australian night race, similar to the one announced for Singapore. It would seem that far-from-GMT-countries will be paying the price for being naturally out of sync with European daytime zones. Will the US, Japanese, Indian and Canadian GPs also fall prey to the nighttime blues?
Finnish F1 sources have been speaking about Alonso lately. Alonso has said that he would like to drive for Ferrari in 2009. He is not committed to Renault longer than 1 year at the moment.I have to wonder what team wants such guy who is jumping from team to team?
See what happens even within a year; perhaps its the Hamilton´s year that he could go to ferrari, Massa gets such a great year that he will continue in the team, also Nick Heidfeld or Robert Kubica could be contracted by ferrari, perhaps Heikki Kovalainen goes to ferrari; for not mentioning Nelsinho Piquet, Adrian Sutil or Sebastien Vettel, and so on
Last year’s Formula One spy scandal doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon, as McLaren boss, Ron Dennis, has been summoned to appear in front of an Italian magistrate on February 18th. On Thursday McLaren confirmed they "had received some papers from the Modena authorities which are currently being reviewed".The scandal occurred when McLaren was caught with technical information which apparently contained Ferrari’s car specifications and racing tactics. The suggestion is that Nigel Stepney, from Ferrari, passed along data and other pieces of information to McLaren's chief designer, Mike Coughlan. In July of last year, Formula One’s governing body said that McLaren was in procession of confidential information and was charged with breaking the rules, however they also stated that there was not enough evidence to determine if McLaren used this information to their advantage. As a result McLaren was fined $100 million dollars and stripped it of its constructors' championship points for the season.McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh, chief designer Mike Coughlan and engineering director Paddy Lowe have also been summoned.
Race fans in Melbourne are in mourning as Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone announced no more races will be held in the city after the contract expires in 2010. The news comes after the government refused to allow a night race, something which Mr. Ecclestone considered non-negotiable.A government spokesman went on record to say "I'm sure Melbourne will survive without a Grand Prix," and that the city "…would be better without it." Last year the race lost an estimated 35 million dollars, and is expected to loose another 40 million this year. Recent reports have suggested that Ecclestone intends to meet with government officials in St. Petersburg about holding a race in Russia, essentially replacing the Melbourne event.
As any racing fan Down Under will tell you, the Australian Grand Prix has a long and rich history. The event has been held annually since 1928, and has been a staple of the Formula One calendar since 1985, usually either kicking off or ending the season. History might not be worth as much as cold hard cash to Bernie Ecclestone, though, as the F1 manager is reportedly preparing to scrap the Melbourne event in favor of a new one in Russia.This weekend Ecclestone was slated to meet with government officials in St. Petersburg to discuss building a new circuit there to host a Russian Grand Prix. But with the calendar already stretched thin, something's got to give, and Ecclestone has reportedly grown impatient with the Aussie event, whose organizers have been resistant to the idea of turning their event into a night race like Singapore's, prompting reports that Bernie won't renew Australia's contract beyond 2010. With the Indian Grand Prix set to debut in the same year, F1 could be dominated by events in Asia by the end of the decade.
Bernie Ecclestone, the man so mistakenly referred to by a Hollywood TV show as “the founder of Formula One”, has reinforced his previous tough stance on the Australian Grand Prix, a week before the start of the 2008 season in Australia.Ecclestone said: “The only way the race could stay in Melbourne, or anywhere else in Australia, is if it is staged during the night so that the public in Europe can watch it. "At the moment, it is ridiculous that people are asked not to sleep in order to see it live. That can't carry on."The alternative is to pull the race completely from Australia. I've spoken to (new prime minister) Kevin Rudd and he's told me it would cost too much to re-stage the race, so I guess that's it. We won't be going to Australia for too much longer.”Singapore will host F1’s first ever night race on 28th September 2008. More Asian countries are expected to follow suit in order to better accommodate European daytime viewing times. It is well-known that Bernie is a one iron man who rarely ever backs down when it comes to negotiating for F1, however, no one can say for sure if these threats will be carried out or if they are just a public negotiating tactic on the part of Ecclestone.
Geez he's just about the biggest d*ckhead ever to be involved in motorsports... ALL he ever cares about is money... the Aussie GP is one of the best events IMO, I and many many fans don't mind waking up early to see it live, and if they don't, most stations air the race again in the afternoon I believe (or at least here in Holland)... the more bernie says about this situation the more PO'd i get... he doesn't care about the sports aspect of it, only the TV ratings because that's where he comes in...
What a tangled web we weave. Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel is one of the only drivers in Formula One who doesn't have a manager, and the rookie has no plans to change that despite an increasingly complicated entanglement of contracts between several teams now being reported in the motorsport media.Vettel was a test driver for BMW Sauber the past two seasons before moving in to replace Scott Speed at the Red Bull b-squad last year, coming in an impressive fourth place at the Chinese Grand Prix. Reports suggest that Vettel is still contracted to both BMW and Red Bull, but that's not the end of it. Rumors are now circulating that he could be called up to Ferrari –Toro Rosso's engines supplier – next season. Although most reports are indicating Vettel could replace Felipe Massa, the more likely scenario could see Vettel move to Maranello as a third driver, sharing testing duties with Ferrari's two race drivers and acting as a back-up. Such an arrangement would be similar to the one that brought Massa to the team from Sauber, which was powered by Ferrari before BMW came into the picture. Meanwhile, Ferrari is tipped to have a clause that could put Vettel in a Ferrari in case either Raikkonen or Massa has to sit out a race this season, which in turn would leave Toro Rosso scrambling for a driver to fill Vettel's seat. If you're not thoroughly confused by now, you weren't paying attention.[Sources: GrandPrix.com and F1-Live, Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty via Autoblog]
RUMOUROLOGY - Vettel to drive for Ferrari in 2009?!?!http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/21/scuderia-shuffle-sebastian-vettel-rumored-to-drive-for-ferrari/(Image removed from quote.)IMO Vettel is one of the most solid promises in years to come, and after Massa stupid retirement this weekend at Malaysia... I really think Vettel could be a perfect replacer for the 2009 season. Seems that at first he would have a test-driver role, but if he manages to get some good results with the STR, I'm pretty sure he could have a chance
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