Formula One News — April 2007

At the recent Formula Nippon race at Mount Fuji, the Japanese introduced a new idea to motor racing when a string quartet went to work outside the Mobilecast Team Impul garage.

The Zandvoort Masters of Formula 3, the traditional midseason gathering of the Formula 3 teams from around Europe, will take place this year at Zolder in Belgium.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing, PDM Racing and Playa Del Racing have all now put in entries for the Indy 500 bringing the number of cars to 32 although there is no word on who will drive the PDM and Playa Del Racing entries.

Both Flavio Briatore and Jean Todt made subconscious errors yesterday during the Malaysian Gp press conferences when they made reference to their drivers. Briatore mentioned "Fernando and Heikki" when saying how happy he was with the current driver line-up, a slip of the tongue that will not be very confidence-inspiring for Giancarlo Fisichella.

The fact that Spyker is a listed company provides an interesting insight into the world of F1 as the company has to go through the elaborate process of proper financial reporting and must reveal all the details which other teams often seek to hide.

Felipe Massa stayed ahead of the pack in Malaysia with a time of 1m35.780s, a tenth faster than the Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella. Confirming that the Renault is much more competitive in Malaysia was Heikki Kovalainen in third place, two-tenths behind his team mate.

Malaysian GP - Friday Press Conference

Malaysian GP - Friday Photos

Malaysian GP - Friday Team Quotes

Malaysian GP - Practice 2 Results

The team principals will meet this afternoon to try to find a solution the problems related to the ongoing dispute over customer cars, both in 2007 and in the future. The teams are split on whether customer teams should be allowed.

The FIA Stewards in Malaysia have said that they will not rule on Spyker's protest against Scuderia Toro Rosso because the matters raised by the protest relate to the Concorde Agreement and there is an outstanding arbitration process under way, involving both Toro Rosso and Super Aguri.

Felipe Massa led the way in the first testing session for the Malaysian Grand Prix, lapping the Sepang track two-tenths of a second faster than Fernando Alonso's McLaren.

Malaysian GP - Practice 1 Results

Kimi Raikkonen may have won the opening round of the World Championship in Australia but it seems that Ferrari may make the decision to switch his engine before the Malaysian Grand Prix and thus Kimi will have to take a 10-place penalty on the grid in Sepang.

The 2008 silly season has not really begun as yet but it is not far away as the teams begin to understand their level of performance in 2007 and look for ways to improve the situation.

The AT&T Williams team has confirmed a new partnership with AirAsia, the most successful low cost carrier in South East Asia. The airline is in competition to other airlines now involved in F1.

One name missing from the GP2 entry list was Venezuela's Ernesto Viso and we hear that he is conversation with Scuderia Toro Rosso about a deal to become the team's test driver.

Dutch investor Marcel Boekhoorn has bought a 5.7% interest in Spyker Cars for a reported $10m. This may not seem to be a very significant move unless one puts it into the F1 scenario. Boekhoorn's daughter happens to be the girlfriend of Giedo Van der Garde

Malaysian GP - Thursday Press Conference

Entries for the Indianapolis 500 close when the US Postal Service delivers the last applications mailed with an April 4 postmark (possibly some time next year) and at the moment there are 27 entries - although seven of them have no drivers yet assigned.

With 10 days to go before the first GP2 race of the season in Bahrain, the GP2 field for 2007 is complete with all 26 seats now filled. The field is a mixture of rising stars, pay-drivers and a number of F1 drivers who were not able to sustain their careers in Grand Prix racing and are trying to get back to F1 with success in GP2.

The Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris has thrown out Michelin's case against the FIA relating to the appointment of Pirelli as the sole tyre supplier for the World Rally Championship for three years.

More details are now emerging about a bid for a huge new motorsport facility in the Brisbane area. The circuit would be part of a $500m development to be called i-METT, which stands for Integrated Motorsport Education Tourism and Technology.