Formula One News — September 2005

The word from Brazil is that Rio de Janeiro is getting serious about a bid for the Brazilian Grand Prix with F1 track designer Hermann Tilke having completed a design for a circuit to run around the sporting installations which are being built on the site of the old Jacarepagua circuit.

The Jordan team is running Sobranie branding on its cars at Monza, despite the European legislation which banned tobacco advertising in the European Union from August 1.

Red Bull Rcaing has now confirmed that Scott Speed will be its test and reserve driver next year with options to stay with the team next year.

The word on the street in F1 circles is that one of the driver negotiating for an F1 drive for next year is GP2 driver Nico Rosberg.

Sakon Yamamoto will drive the third Jordan-Toyota at the Japanese Grand Prix, standing in for Nicolas Kiesa.

Italian GP - Preview

Red Bull Racing is due to announce that Scott Speed is to join the team as test and reserve driver next year.

Ken Clarke, a Formula 1 fan and director of British American Tobacco, the part-owner of BAR, is bidding to become the leader of the Conservative Party in Britain and then hopes to lead the party to beat Labour at the next election, which must take place before May 2010.

If there is any hard talking going on in the background in Formula 1 circles at the moment, it is certainly not being done in the official meetings between the teams and the others involved in the running of the sport.

China's Honghe tobacco company has signed a deal to sponsor the Chinese Grand Prix, despite the Chinese government ratifying the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which prohibits tobacco advertising, promotion and event sponsorships in China.