NEWS ARCHIVE
HOW WILLIAMS COULD GET WEBBER?
Ralf Schumacher is out of action for around three months and that means that Williams now needs to look again at its driver line-up for the rest of the 2004 season.
THE SPECTRE OF 19 RACES
The FIA World Council has blocked 19 dates for Formula 1 races in 2005 and that is likely to send alarm bells ringing in the Formula 1 community where there has been much griping in recent times about the need to cut costs.
WORLD COUNCIL BACKS MOSLEY
The FIA World Motor Sport Council met in Paris but there were few decisions of note except that the body backed Max Mosley's campaign to reduce speeds in Formula 1, illustrating the need by using lap times from Imola, Melbourne and Monaco, which argue that speeds are now too high.
BRUNDLE JOINS JAGUAR RACING
Jaguar Racing has done a deal to run former F1 driver Martin Brundle in the Grand Prix of Regent Street next Tuesday in London. Brundle returns to Jaguar 14 years after winning Le Mans for the company in 1990.
GENE CONFIRMED "AT THIS WEEKEND'S FRENCH GP"
Marc Gene, the Williams test and reserve driver, will drive for the team at the French Grand Prix this weekend but the team has yet to make any definitive decision about the longer term.
GENE FOR MAGNY-COURS, WEBBER FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?
Ralf Schumacher got a shock yesterday when he visited the clinic at Bad Nauheim and discovered that he had two fractures in his spine. He will be out of action for at least eight weeks and probably 12 and that means that the Williams team is looking at not seeing him again until the end of September.
SAUBER WILL FIGHT MCLAREN
The Sauber team suffered a heavy blow in Canada when the disqualification of the Williams and Toyota cars handed McLaren a handful of points and with McLaren picking up another five at Indianapolis the Woking team was able to move ahead of Sauber in the Constructors' Championship.
ANTI-TOBACCO TREATY CLOSES WITH 169 SIGNATURES
The World Health Organization's anti-tobacco treaty, known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, closed for signature on Tuesday with 14 countries signing up on the final day, to bring the total of signatures to 169.
TAYLOR GETS THE BULLET
F1 aspirant Mark Taylor has been dropped by the Panther Racing IRL team after just a handful of races.
ASTROMEGA CONFIRMS VAN HOOYDONCK
The Team Astromega Formula 3000 team has snapped up Belgian youngster Jeffrey van Hooydonk after he was dropped by Coloni Motorsport to make way for Super Nova Racing's Patrick Friesacher.
F1 STARS REMEMBER AN OLD FRIEND
A number of Formula 1 driver have confirmed that they will be attending an event at Monza this September to remember the Uruguayan racer Gonzalo Rodriguez.
AL UNSER JR TO RETIRE
Al Unser Jr, one of the biggest stars of the Indycar scene in the last 20 years, is set to announce his retirement later today.
RALF GOES TO THE DOCTORS
Ralf Schumacher yesterday visited a clinic in Bad-Nauheim near Frankfurt, where he saw doctors to see if they would give him the all-clear to race at the French Grand Prix.
MCLAREN AND THE MP4-19B
The McLaren team spent four days at Jerez last week, putting miles on the new MP4-19B and by the end of the test the team had completed a total of 689 laps, 1893 miles, of testing with the four different drivers.
WHO GETS TO 155
Another seven countries have signed up to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, living the total number of signatories to 155 with one day remaining before the deadline for signatures.
FORD LOOKS FOR MOST COST-SAVINGS
The Ford Motor Company is currently engaged in a cost-cutting programme which the company intends to implement to help it towards its stated goal of ensuring annual pretax profits of $7bn within three years.
KLIEN WILL RACE IN FRANCE
Jaguar Racing drive Christian Klien will be fit to race in France, despite injuring his right forefinger recently in an accident with a cooling fan.
RALF TO MISS FRANCE AND BRITAIN?
The BBC is reporting that according to its sources Ralf Schumacher will miss the French Grand Prix. Our sources agree but add that because there will be no testing possibilities between the French and British events, the German will be stood down for both events. This has yet to be confirmed by the Williams team.
F1 TEAMS ARE MOVING TOWARDS A DEAL
The Formula 1 team bosses are working towards presenting Max Mosley with a workable set of proposals to bring down the lap times so that he will not have to force them to accept changes.
SWISS JOIN ANTI-TOBACCO FORCES
Tomorrow is the final day for countries to sign up to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the number of governments involved is jumping up each day, with five new signatories in the last couple of days, including Switzerland.
TEAMS AGREE TO REVISE STARTING SYSTEM
The Formula 1 Commission is to recommend a new system to start races, with no start-abort if a car stalls on the grid. This will avoid the lengthy process of the team members going out on to the grid and then a second parade lap.
MANSELL TRIES A JORDAN AT SILVERSTONE
Nigel Mansell was out in a Jordan Grand Prix car on Monday at Silverstone, getting ready for a demonstration run he is going to do for the team when the Formula 1 cars come to London on Tuesday week.
NO CHANGE TO QUALIFYING
The Formula 1 principals met in London today and although there do not appear to have any major ructions, it is clear that the qualifying system adopted this year is not going to be changed.
WHY ONE HAS TO WATCH WILLIAMS
This time last year Williams was on a high. The start of the year had been difficult but development of the car and the tyres had turned the team into the dominant force in Formula 1 and that wuld remain the case until the closing races of the year when Ferrari responded with new ideas and more horsepower.
A LIVELY DAY AHEAD
The Formula 1 Commission meets in London today to try to find a solution to the ongoing political and financial battles in Formula 1 with the teams and the FIA locked in a dispute over the rules and regulations, worries about escalating costs and long-term stability.
GORDON SHOWS ROAD RACERS HOW TO DO IT
F1 aspirant Jeff Gordon gave his rivals in the NASCAR Nextel Cup an indication of his skills as a road racer on Sunday when he blitzed the opposition on the twists and turns at Sears Point in California, scoring his 67th NASCAR victory.
ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK
While talk of a Grand Prix in the streets of New York still seems to be a distant dream, the city is showing signs of interest in motorsport and this week is playing host this week to American Le Mans Series cars.
HAMILTON SHOWS HIS PACES
McLaren protege Lewis Hamilton won his first victory in the Eurocup Formula 3 Championship at the Norisring on Saturday after his major rivals in the race ran into trouble.
GENE PRACTICES PIT STOPS
Marc Gene, the test driver of the Williams team, was busy doing pit stops in the course of testing on Thursday and Friday at Jerez de la Frontera.
MORE CHANGES IN FORMULA 3000
Perhaps as an illustration of the precarious financing in Formula 3000 at the moment, there have been a lot of midseason changes in the driver line-ups in the FIA International Championship.
ARAB WORLD JOINS ANTI-TOBACCO MOVEMENT
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the latest governments to sign up for the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
VILLENEUVE AND THE SECOND WILLIAMS AT MAGNY-COURS
There have been the (perhaps inevitable) rumours that Jacques Villeneuve will join the BMW Williams F1 team at the forthcoming French GP. These are preposterous. Villeneuve has not tested for the team and there are no plans for him to test for the team.
RACE FAN SLICES UP KLIEN!
Christian Klien will have to miss the Jaguar Racing test in Barcelona this week after cutting his finger badly on a fan which is used for cooling the brakes of the cars.
MEANWHILE IN MINARDI-LAND
All is not rosy in the Minardi garden, despite Zsolt Baumgartner's World Championship point at the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis. The team is reported to be less thn impressed with the efforts of its lead driver Gianmaria Bruni and we have heard a variety of stories about possible replacements.
STEFAN JOHANSSON AND F1
Stefan Johansson says he wants to run his own Formula 1 team. The 48-year-old Swede, who raced in F1 from 1980 to 1991 with a variety of teams including McLaren and Ferrari, has been based in America since leaving F1.
REGIS ATTACKS MOSLEY
Jacques Regis has launched an stinging attack on the way in which Max Mosley runs the international automobile federation.
TOYOTA AND BRIATORE
There are rumours today suggesting that Flavio Briatore might be moving to take charge of Toyota's F1 team in 2006. These have been doing the rounds for some time but have come into the spotlight thanks to an article in the French magazine Autohebdo.
MOSLEY CORNERS THE F1 TEAMS
FIA President Max Mosley is planning to invoke Article 7.5 of the Concorde Agreement at the forthcoming FIA F1 Commission next Monday. This gives him the right to change the F1 regulations on the grounds of safety.
AN EARTHQUAKE AT PRINCES GATE
As we exclusively reported in October last year, Michael Payne is to join the Formula One group as number two to Bernie Ecclestone.
BERNIE TO GET A NUMBER TWO
Michael Payne, the International Olympic Committee's director of global broadcast and media, is leaving his position after the Olympic Games this summer in Athens and is joining Formula One Management as a special advisor.
ANTI-TOBACCO FORCES GROW
The last few days have seen a rush of 14 countries signing up with the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, bringing the total of signatories to 138 out of around 200 countries in the world.
IT'S ALL CHANGE IN FORMULA 3000
The current instability in Formula 3000 has been highlighted in recent days with a number of significant changes in the line-up for the next races.
MICHAEL IS THE TOP SPORT EARNER IN THE WORLD
Michael Schumacher is the world's highest paid sportsman, at least according to Forbes Magazine in the United States.
US GRAND PRIX DATE SET FOR 2005
The United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis is set for the weekend of June 19 next year, the same weekend as this year's successful event.
COULTHARD AND MCLAREN
David Coulthard will not be racing for McLaren next year but it is entirely possible that the Scotsman will stay with the team as its test and reserve driver.
RENAULT CELEBRATES ITS F1 HERITAGE
For the next two months Renault is celebrating its competition history at the Atelier Renault on the Champs Elysees in Paris, tracing the success of the company from the earliest days to the modern era.
FRENCH GP WILL BREAK EVEN
The French Grand Prix looks like breaking even this year, despite the problems over the event in the course of the winter.
THE FIA EXPLAINS INDIANAPOLIS TIMING GLITCH
The FIA has explained how the timing screens at Indianapolis recorded that Michael Schumacher crossed the line ahead of Rubens Barrichello at the end of the first Safety Car period, at the end of the fifth lap of the United States Grand Prix.
RENAULT TO ANNOUNCE DRIVERS AT FRENCH GP?
Traditionally Renault likes to announce its drivers at the French Grand Prix and it is expected that the two current incumbents will be kept on for another season, despite recent rumours that Jarno wanted more money than Renault was willing to pay.
THE SECOND WILLIAMS AT MAGNY-COURS
Ralf Schumacher is now back at his home in Austria, recovering from a heavy concussion and bruising to his back following what is believed to be the biggest accident yet recorded by the FIA data recorders. Our sources say that Ralf was subjected to something in the region of 70G.
RACE REPORT - MICHAEL DRINKS THE MILK
Michael Schumacher scored his eighth win in nine races at Indianapolis (Please don't stop reading at this point!) in a race which was one of great drama, excitement and more than a little intrigue as well.
MINARDI CELEBRATES A POINT
Although Zsolt Baumgartner finished three laps behind the winners, he managed to get home in eighth place.
MICROSOFT, SONY AND TOYOTA
The German press is reporting rumours that Microsoft is to become the title sponsor of the Toyota F1 team, paying as much as $40m a year. The stories have been linked to a deal involving Sony and, if true, are probably related to F1 computer games as much as the publicity involved.
RALF IN HOSPITAL FOR SEVERAL DAYS?
Ralf Schumacher was in Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on Sunday night following his high speed accident at the Speedway during the United States Grand Prix. Schumacher appears to have suffered from a puncture, probably caused by debris, and spun into the wall.
RACE NOTES - SCHUMACHER WINS US GRAND PRIX
United States GP - Race Notes
SUNDAY PHOTOS
United States GP - Sunday Photos
SUNDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
United States GP - Sunday Press Conference
RACE RESULTS
United States GP - Race Results
QUALIFYING REPORT - SLIGHTLY CLEARER THAN MUD
Qualifying for the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis was entertaining enough but when the dust settled the result left us wondering: what does it all mean? Things were slightly clearer than mud. Red mud. Ferrari red mud.
SATURDAY PHOTOS
United States GP - Saturday Photos
SATURDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
United States GP - Saturday Press Conference
QUALIFYING RESULTS
United States GP - Qualifying Results
ZONTA AND TOYOTA
A rumour kicking around in the paddock at Indianapolis was that Ricardo Zonta has been signed to be Ralf Schumacher's team mate at Panasonic Toyota Racing next year.
NO AGREEMENT ON F1 TECHNICAL REGULATIONS FOR 2006
The Formula 1 team bosses seem ever further from an agreement on changes to the technical regulations in 2005 or 2006. The team principals were due to have a meeting on Friday afternoon but it broke up after a few minutes because all those involved were unable get to the right place as the right time.
WEBBER GETS SOUPED-UP COSWORTH
Mark Webber will be using a slightly uprated Cosworth V10 this weekend compared to the the engines of his team mate Christian Klien and the two Jordan drivers. This appeared to be causing some stress on Friday when Eddie Jordan was spotted in animated discussions with Jaguar Racing boss Tony Purnell.
TEAMS SHOULD NOT MAKE RULES, SAYS RICHARDS
British American Racing boss David Richards says that the Formula 1 teams should not be deciding on the rules of the sport.
PRACTICE 4 REPORT - BUTTON SHINES IN PRACTICE
United States GP - Practice Session 4 Report
PRACTICE 4 RESULTS
United States GP - Practice Session 4 Results
THE FUTURE OF JARNO TRULLI
There were rumours in the paddock at Indianapolis that Jarno Trulli and Renault may be having difficulty agreeing to new terms for the Italian's contract for 2005 and beyond.
WILLIAMS AND THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND
The Royal Bank of Scotland is believed to be on the verge of signing a significant sponsorship deal with the Williams team but things have been rather complicated by the fact that the bank is being represented in F1 by Sir Jackie Stewart, who is on the board of directors of Williams's rival Jaguar Racing.
INDIANAPOLIS TO GET CONTRACT EXTENSION
The Indianapolis Star newspaper is reporting that Bernie Ecclestone and Indianapolis Motor Speedway boss Tony George have agreed to extend the original five year deal for the United States Grand Prix.
PRACTICE 3 RESULTS
United States GP - Practice Session 3 Results
FRIDAY PHOTOS
United States GP - Friday Photos
FRIDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
United States GP - Friday Press Conference
PRACTICE 2 RESULTS
United States GP - Practice Session 2 Results
PRACTICE 1 RESULTS
United States GP - Practice Session 1 Results
NASCAR BOYS COME TO F1 (AGAIN)
NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers and possibly the sport's biggest name Dale Earnhardt Jr will be jetting into Indianapolis on Saturday to watch Formula 1 qualifying.
A NEW HEAD AT JAGUAR CARS
Jaguar Cars, which provides some of the financing for Jaguar Racing, is to be headed by accountant Bibiana Boerio who replaces the current managing-director Mike Wright on July 5. Boerio will give up her current job as director of finance and strategy for Ford's international operations
RAY-BAN AND BAR
British American Racing has signed a sponsorship deal with the world's best-selling sunglasses brand Ray-Ban. The sponsorship is intended to be a key element in Ray-Ban's global communication programme which aims to reinforce Ray-Bans image of style, quality and cool.
UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
United States GP - Preview
LONDON STREET EVENT TO BE HELD AT RUSH HOUR!
The Formula 1 demonstration run on the streets of London will be held at rush hour on Tuesday July 6. The event, which is being run by the Regent Street Association, the Crown Estates and Harvey Goldsmith Productions will take place between 6pm and 8pm
BERGER'S HEART STILL BEATING FOR F1
Former BMW Motorsport boss Gerhard Berger says that he will be back in Formula 1 one day in one form or another but he has no plans to become the boss of the Ferrari F1 programme. Rumours of such a move started recently when Berger went to China to drive a Ferrari F1 at the launch of the Shanghai circuit.
RENAULT AND PHANTOM WORKS
The Renault F1 Team has done a deal to collaborate on technology with Boeing's Phantom Works research and development organization. The two companies have just signed a memorandum of understanding to investigate technology collaboration projects of mutual interest.
BRITAIN SELLS OUT
The British Grand Prix has sold out for all three days of the meeting, which will take place between July 9-11. The race will take place in front of a capacity crowd of 100,000, which will be the highest attendance since 1999 and the first sell-out in the same period.
PANTANO EXPECTED BACK AT JORDAN
Giorgio Pantano is expected to be back in a Jordan this weekend in Indianapolis but it is not yet clear how the Italian driver has overcome his problems of management and will be back in the car. The only way that is possible is if one side or the other backs down and the money set aside to pay Jordan is released.
VILLENEUVE BACK IN AN F1 AT GOODWOOD AND AFTERWARDS?
Jacques Villeneuev will be back in an F1 car at Goodwood next week at the wheel of the 1978 Ferrari T312 T3 that his father used to win a famous victory in the Canadian GP in 1978. The event will take place on June 26 at the annual three-day Festival of Speed at Goodwood.
WHAT JEAN TODT ACTUALLY SAID
It has been widely reported that Ferrari boss has said that he does not want to replace Max Mosley as president of the FIA but this not at all what Todt said. Todt said that Mosley is doing "an outstanding job" but said that he was not sure if he really wants to do the same thing as Mosley.
SAFETY MEASURES WORK WELL IN MONTREAL
Reports that a tyre from Felipe Massa's Sauber flew into a grandstand have been exaggerated considerably and the fact that most of the reports wrongly identify the tyre in question underline the inaccuracy.
HONDA RUNS 2005 V10
Honda has already tested its 2005 V10 engine on the dynos in Tochigi, Japan.
JORDAN MYSTIFIED BY SALE RUMOURS
The paddock in Montreal was full of stories that Eddie Jordan has sold his Formula 1 team to someone from the Middle East.
RENAULT TO HIRE FERRARI AERO MAN
We hear that Renault F1 is in the process of strengthening its aerodynamic department at Enstone and is going to hire one of Ferrari's top aerodynamic engineers James Allison.
RACE REPORT - THE BIG RED ONE
Michael Schumacher drove to a record seventh victory in Canada, the first time in the history of the World Championship that a driver has won the same Grand Prix on seven separate occasions. It was his 77th Grand Prix victory and a great victory, which must rank with some of his finest over the years.
PAT LONG WINS LE MANS
Grandprix.com 2001 Young Driver of the Year award winner Patrick Long has won the GT category of the 24 hours of Le Mans in his first attempt for Porsche.
GLOCK GETS POINTS ON HIS F1 DEBUT
The disqualification of Williams and Toyota from the Canadian Grand Prix means that Timo Glock has joined the selecte band of Formula 1 drivers who have scored points on their F1 debuts.
SOME CONSOLATION FOR WILLIAMS
It is fair to say that the exclusion of the two BMW Williams from the results in Canada is a massive blow to Williams's World Championship ambitions in 2004.
WILLIAMS AND TOYOTA DISQUALIFIED IN CANADA!
The Williams and Toyota teams were both disqualified in Canada for having illegal brake ducts. This means that Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya lose second and fifth places respectively and that Cristiano da Matta loses his eighth place.
RACE NOTES - MICHAEL SCHUMACHER WINS IN CANADA
Canadian GP - Race Notes
SUNDAY PHOTOS
Canadian GP - Sunday Photos
SUNDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Canadian GP - Sunday Press Conference
RACE RESULTS
Canadian GP - Race Results
QUALIFYING REPORT - SURPRISE, SURPRISE
No-one expected Ralf Schumacher to take pole position for Williams in Montreal, least of all the German himself.
SATURDAY PHOTOS
Canadian GP - Saturday Photos
SATURDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Canadian GP - Saturday Press Conference
QUALIFYING RESULTS
Canadian GP - Qualifying Results
TIME FOR GLOCK
Giorgio Pantano has been unable to sort out the contractual problems which meant he was unable to run in Canada yesterday and so the team has drafted in reserve driver Timo Glock for what will be his first Grand Prix.
PRACTICE 4 REPORT - RENAULTS TO THE FORE
Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso emerged first and second fastest in a session where there were a number of minor incidents as drivers pushed the cars the full to establish their race pace for Sunday.
PRACTICE 4 RESULTS
Canadian GP - Practice Session 4 Results
PRACTICE 3 RESULTS
Canadian GP - Practice Session 3 Results
COULD TAKUMA SATO BECOME THE FIRST JAPANESE DRIVER TO WIN A GRAND PRIX?
There has been Japanese involvement in Formula 1 since Honda entered the sport in the mid 1960s but there is still to be a Japanese driver who wins a World Championship race. Back in the 1960s when Honda was running its own cars the team manager Yoshio Takamura did not even consider hiring a Japanese driver
FRIDAY PHOTOS
Canadian GP - Friday Photos
FRIDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Canadian GP - Friday Press Conference
PRACTICE 2 RESULTS
Canadian GP - Practice Session 2 Results
SAMSUNG THINKING AGAIN ABOUT F1
The Korean conglomerate Samsung has been looking closely at Formula 1 in the last few months but it seems that the company has decided that it does not want to embark on a high-profile sponsorship in the sport and will use other forms of publicity between its involvement in the Olympic Games of 2004 and 2008.
MIGHT BRITISH AIRWAYS BECOME AN F1 SPONSOR?
The boss of British American Tobacco, Martin Broughton, has been appointed the new chief executive of British Airways and inevitably this has led to speculation that the airline might become involved in an Formula 1 sponsorship, perhaps even with BAR.
PETROBRAS EXTENDS WITH WILLIAMS
The BMW Williams F1 team has announced that it is extending its commercial agreement with the Brazilian oil company Petrobras. It will be the seventh consecutive season that the two parties have worked together.
PRACTICE 1 RESULTS
Canadian GP - Practice Session 1 Results
PANTANO ON THE SIDELINES
Giorgio Pantano is having to sit out the first practice session in Montreal because of a dispute over money. Pantano is committed to paying Jordan to drive for the team this year and the money is in place but it seems that there is now a dispute over who is going to run his career in the future.
FORMULA 1'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE
Formula 1 racing is a great show, even if the TV coverage of the sport sometimes does not do a very good job getting that across to the all-important viewers around the world.
HERBERT TAKES LE MANS POLE POSITION
Former F1 ace Johnny Herbert has put his Audi on pole position for the Le Mans 24 Hours. As expected the battle was between the various Audi R8s and the Herbert, Jamie Davies, Guy Smith car came out ahead of the second Audi UK entry which is shared by Allan McNish, Frank Biela and Pierre Kaffer.
HONDA IS JUST LIKE THE OLD DAYS
There was a time back in the 1980s when Honda seemed to be completely invincible in Formula 1. The FIA Formula 1 Constructors' World Championship was won by a Honda-powered team for six consecutive seasons between 1986 and 1991 and five times Honda drivers won the Drivers' title.
CANADIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
Canadian GP - Preview
CHANGES AT GM EUROPE
The top management of GM Europe is being changed with Carl-Peter Forster moving from his role as head of Adam Opel AG to become chief operating officer of GM Europe, which combines the operations of GM's European brands.
MONTEZEMOLO TO REMAIN CHAIRMAN OF FERRARI-MASERATI
Luca di Montezemolo is going to be a busy man as he is to stay on as chairman of Ferrari in addition to running Italy's industrial federation Confindustria and being chairman of the entire Fiat group.
PANASONIC CONSOLIDATES ITS AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
Rumours that Panasonic might be replaced as the title sponsoship of the Toyota F1 team have been rife for some time but although companies such as Microsoft and Sony have been mentioned as possible replacements,
LEGAULT LAUDED FOR SAVING CANADIAN GP
Normand Legault, the promoter of the Canadian Grand Prix, was recognised at a ceremony in Montreal on Wednesday for having saved the Canadian Grand Prix.
GP2 CLAIMS 30 CARS
Bruno Michel, the man who represents the owners of the new GP2 series, which in 2005 will take the place of the FIA International Formula 3000 series as the main support series for Formula 1, says that the championship will launch next year with 30 cars.
HERBERT GOES QUICKEST AT LE MANS
Former Grand Pix star Johnny Herbert set the fastest time in the first practice sessions for this year's Le Mans 24 Hours in his Audi UK R8 prototype. The Audis have dominated the timesheets as expected but Herbert's best lap was an impressive two seconds faster than the second quickest car.
MCLAREN TO BUILD A CHEAPER SPORTS CAR?
DaimlerChrysler is reported to be considering developing and building a second vehicle in collaboration with McLaren and it is expected that this would be a more affordable alternative to the recently-launched Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR.
RENAULT TO HAVE MORE POWER IN CANADA
Renault's weakness in F1 this year has been a lack of horsepower in comparison with some of the other teams but the engineers at Viry-Chatillon have been working away to improve not just the maximum power of the engine but also the power curve to make the engine easier to handle.
BCN HOPES FOR F1 FUTURE
Enrique Scalabroni is not a man who gives up easily. The former Williams, Ferrari and Team Lotus engineer from Argentina spent two years trying to put together funding to enter F1 with a team led by Japanese racing entrepreneur Tetzu Ikuzawa.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CHINA
This week Beijing is hosting the Auto China 2004 show, drawing attention to the country's increasingly-important role in the automotive world. Vehicles sales in China boomed by 34% last year to 4.4m, which makes it the world's third biggest market behind the US and Japan.
LOTTERER WINS IN JAPAN
Former Jaguar Racing test driver Andre Lotterer won the third round of the Formula Nippon championship at Motegi last weekend in his PIAA Nakajima Racing entry and now leads the series, despite the fact that the weekend was dominated by Richard Lyons in his DoCoMo Dandelion car.
MINARDI TO HOST TWO-SEATER GRAND PRIX IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Wilux Minardi Cosworth team is to send its fleet of two-seaters to South Africa go take part in a charity event called "The Altech South African F1x2 Grand Prix". The event will take place at Kyalami on August 9 and proceeds will go to charity.
RAHAL - AN AMERICAN WHO WANTS TO BE IN FORMULA 1
Bobby Rahal drove in Formula 1 back in the 1970s and a few years ago tried his hand at team management with Jaguar Racing. Rahal's time in F1 was not a happy time and in the end he departed the team, the victim of the politcal infighting which plagued the team at the time.
HAKKINEN SAYS NO TO F1 RETURN
Mika Hakkinen has told Finnish journalists that he is happy in his retirement and does not wish to change.
HYDERABAD WILL NOT HOST AN INDIAN GRAND PRIX
The city of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh will not be hosting the Indian Grand Prix.
PIQUET COMES TO THE FORE
Nelson Piquet Jr has moved to the top of the British Formula 3 standings with two wins at Snetterton over the weekend. The Brazilian, son of 1981 and 1983 World Champion Nelson Piquet, was dominant in two of the three races that took place.
NO QUESTION ABOUT HUNTER-REAY
Ryan Hunter-Reay completely dominated the Champ Car race at Milwaukee on Saturday, leading from flag to flag and lapping everyone up to third place.
MCLAREN NOT READY FOR NEW CAR IN CANADA
McLaren will not be debuting the revised MP4-19B until the French GP in a month.
MOSLEY PLANS FIA REVAMP
The FIA President Max Mosley has written to all the member clubs of the federation, proposing a major restructuring. Mosley wants to divide up the work of the FIA President so that the World Motor Sport Council is chaired by the FIA Deputy President.
VILLENEUVE AND WILLIAMS
Jacques Villeneuve has told Montreal's La Presse newspaper that he has not received an offer to join BMW Williams. This is not news.
THE GP2 SERIES TO BE DELAYED?
The FIA International Formula 3000 Championship could continue next year because teams are not happy with the deals on offer from the new GP2 Series.
SHANGHAI TO OPEN THIS WEEKEND
The Shanghai International Circuit will be officially opened this weekend with a big event featuring a number of Ferraris past and present.
THE FUTURE OF THE INDIAN GRAND PRIX
The future of the plan to host an Indian Grand Prix on a site near Hyderabad remains in the balance as the new state government begins to find its feet.
JAGUAR AND RED BULL
It is not a new story but there remains a certain amount of logic in the idea that the Ford Motor Company might sell its Formula 1 team to Red Bull and continue in Formula 1 solely as an engine supplier.
WEBBER AND TOYOTA
This week there have been rumours that Mark Webber could be on his way to Toyota next year. This is not entirely unexpected given that Mark Webber's management, which is run by Flavio Briatore, needs to find somewhere to put Webber next year.
CHANGES IN BRIXWORTH
Within the next few days it is expected that a new structure will be announced at Mercedes-Ilmor in Brixworth. For some weeks the company has been overseen by former McLaren managing-director Martin Whitmarsh.
FISICHELLA TO DRIVE FOR MASERATI?
Sauber Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella could race the new Maserati MC12 sports car later this year as a team mate to Mika Salo.
SHELL AND FORMULA 1
The partnership between Shell and Ferrari comes to an end at the end of the 2005 and both parties are now in the process of negotiating for a new deal.
F1 TYRE COMPANIES COULD WORK TOGETHER
Michelin and Bridgestone both want to stay in Formula 1 and are opposed to the plan from the FIA to have a single tyre supplier in the future. The two companies are now trying to discuss a situation which would allow them both to remain in the sport.
A CHANGE OF MIND IN MELBOURNE
An appeals tribunal of Victoria's Medical Complaints Board has ruled that a doctor involved in the Formula 1 accident there in 2001 did not act unprofessionally.
TOYOTA LOOK TO TF104B FOR SUCCESS
Toyota is busy preparing the TF104B, an upgraded chassis which will be introduced in the summer.
INDY 500 RATINGS DROP FURTHER
Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been struggling against the gradual decline of interest in the Indianapolis 500 in recent years, but that process seems to be continuing with this year's race attracting 11% fewer visitors than last year.
MCLAREN'S PERFORMANCE
Drivers are by nature optimists and so always look on the bright side of life. Thus it was not surprise that Kimi Raikkonen should say positive things about the McLaren MP4-19B.
WHAT MONTEZEMOLO AT FIAT MEANS TO FERRARI
Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has become chairman of the entire Fiat group, replacing the late Umberto Agnelli. Montezemolo has spent most of his working career within the vast Fiat empire and his success at Ferrari over the last 12 years has made him the star of the new generation of Fiat managers.
NEW MCLAREN UNVEILED IN SILVERSTONE
The new McLaren MP4-19B made a public track debut today in Silverstone.
MEXICANS HOPE FOR FORMULA 1
Monterrey, Mexico's third largest city, is a powerhouse of business and industry but at the same time is in the process of trying to build up its tourist trade having been overshadowed by the recent development of the Mexican beach resorts.
THE REVAMP AT FIAT
Fiat will name Sergio Marchionne as its fifth chief executive officer in two years, replacing Giuseppe Morchio, who resigned after he was not made chairman of the group. The board of directors instead chose Luca di Montezemolo, the boss of Ferrari.
TOCCACELO WINS AT THE RING
Italian Enrico Toccacelo won his first Formula 3000 victory of the year at the Nurburgring and now leads the FIA International Championship, despite the fact that Tonio Liuzzi has won three of the four races this year.