Formula One News — July 2005

Patrick Friesacher will probably not be in the second Minardi next week, unless his sponsors come up with money which is needed to keep the young Austrian in the car.

Williams F1 primary sponsor Hewlett-Packard will soon announce a restructuring plan that could lead to major job cuts as the computer company cuts costs. This could have an effect on the company's F1 sponsorship.

Following the FIA Survey of Formula 1 fans, the Grand Prix world has woken up to the idea that it is a good idea to ask the customer what they would like to see in F1.

There have been some rumours in recent days linking former Benetton and BAR boss David Richards with a deal to acquire the struggling Jordan F1 team as the current owners Midland seem to be going nowhere in no particular hurry.

A slightly worrying story has been reported by the Turkish Ikhlas news agency which quotes Turkish security sources as saying that 15 barrels of suspect materials were discovered in a field not far from the Istanbul Otodrom racing circuit.

Compromise has broken out across Formula 1 and that is not a bad thing given the level of tension that has existed in the last few weeks. Suddenly everyone is agreeing with one another and it is just down to ironing out the few remaining problems of the 2008 rules.

As we exclusively predicted yesterday, triggering leaks from those involved to other media organisations, the Michelin teams and the FIA have found "new evidence" that means that the recent FIA World Council guilty verdict is to be reconsidered and the FIA Senate is recommending that the verdicts be cancelled.

The rumour mill in Formula 1 circles started whirring recently after the announcement that David Coulthard was to re-sign for Red Bull Racing in 2006.

This weekend Alain Prost, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell, Jody Scheckter, Mick Doohan and Johnny Cecotto will take part in the Race of Legends.

The British Grand Prix weekend must have resulted in some serious heart-to-hearts in the Formula 1 world because ever since everyone has been talking about compromise. The latest release from the FIA is a typically clever document which is advocating some interesting new technologies.

The current to-ing and fro-ing in Formula 1 politics is a necessary evil before a new commercial structure is established for the future. The situation is not dissimilar to the challenge that faced British soccer in the early 1990s.

The meeting of FIA President Max Mosley and F1 team principals Ron Dennis and Christian Horner tomorrow in Monaco is obviously related to the decision of the FIA World Council to find the teams guilty of "acts prejudicial to the interests of a competition". If it were related to any other subject, Horner would not be there.

Formula 1 is a fickle world. Back in March 1998 the FIA formally banned regenerative electrical motors, thus closing a loophole after rumours that McLaren had used such devices to run auxiliary pumps of the engine at certain places on each lap, which in effect gave the drivers a boost button.

The new A1 Grand Prix series has announced its major international TV deals which mean that the races will be broadcast live into 290m households in 50 countries.

Flavio Briatore's vision of the future of Formula 1 is interesting. The Renault F1 manager says that the Grand Prix teams, Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA should combine to start a new championship, thus cutting out the three banks which own 75% of Ecclestone's company.

The debacle at Indianapolis and the subsequent FIA World Council meeting and penalty have done nothing to improve the already-strained relationship between the Formula 1 team bosses and FIA President Max Mosley.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso fought a cat-and-mouse battle for victory in the British Grand Prix, with the deciding factor being the traffic on the road. In a straight fight the McLaren was probably quicker.

There may be an engine deal done by the Williams team for 2006 but that does not mean that the final plan is yet decided. Our spies tell us that the team could have Cosworth V8 engines in 2006 and will then switch to Lexus-badged Toyota engines in 2007 and beyond.

British GP - Race Notes

Justin Wilson won his first victory in Champ Car in Toronto, beating Newman Haas Racing's Oriol Serviia in the closing stages of the race. The race ended under a Safety Car after Wilson's RuSport team mate AJ Allmendinger crashed as he tried to challenge Servia for second.

British GP - Sunday Photos

British GP - Sunday Press Conference

British GP - Race incidents

British GP - Sunday Team Quotes