Ecclestone wants French Grand Prix in Paris from 2009
February 29th, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 11

Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed what many people were saying last year, that he wants to move the French Grand Prix from Magny-Cours to Paris in 2009. I wouldn’t be sorry to see the back of the Circuit Nevers - it’s too flat and featureless for my liking.
Presumably Ecclestone wants another new street circuit in addition […]

Spygate and racism: F1 back in the news (updated)
February 28th, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 22

Every major British newspaper has at least one Formula 1 story in it today - and they aren’t good news for the sport.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis’s home has been raided as the spygate investigations intensify. Two days ago a report in Spanish newspaper Marca alleged Mercedes were on the verge of taking over McLaren and […]

The FIA must solve the customer car problem
February 27th, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 19

Once again the Super Aguri transporters have departed a testing session with the teams’ F1 cars not even having turned a wheel. The teams presence in the 2008 championship looks less likely with every passing day.
They could be the second team to announce their non-participation in F1 this year, following Prodrive who were originally supposed […]

2008: The new rules
February 25th, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 10

Several major changes to the rules this year have attracted a lot of attention - the traction control ban, four-race gearboxes, and changes to qualifying.
Which change are going to have the biggest impact on F1 this year? Here’s a quick look at some of the rules changes for 2008.

Interview: F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck
February 25th, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 15

Nigel Roebuck hasn’t missed many races since he started covering Grands Prix in 1971, but when he skipped the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos for the first time, he wrote about relieved he was not to be going to Sao Paulo – and incurred the wrath of the most powerful man in Formula 1:
When […]

Chequered Conflict (Maurice Hamilton, 2008)
February 24th, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 2

Maurice Hamilton’s new book on the 2007 and the McLaren-Ferrari spy scandal has the full title, “Chequered Conflict: The Inside Story on Two Explosive F1 World Championships”.
What’s the other world championship? That would be the 1986 F1 series, which saw Alain Prost nick the championship at the last round from the battling Williams pair […]

F1 news review: Alonso looked at Renault move in March
February 22nd, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 8

In the F1 news this week Fernando Alonso first approached Flavio Briatore about returning to Renault in March of last year after just one round of the championship.
Plus Ralf Schumacher comes clean about his claims of having an F1 seat for 2008, Kimi Raikkonen hints at his eventual retirement, and Bahrain International Circuit takes a […]

Alonso unconcerned by racist abuse of Hamilton
February 21st, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 26

Fernando Alonso has broken his silence on the racist abuse of Lewis Hamilton by supporters of his at the Circuit de Catalunya two weeks ago:
This is not a racist country. This was an isolated thing — and the less it is talked about, the better. There were people enjoying Carnival and look what happened. They […]

Video: Why is there no Dubai Grand Prix?
February 21st, 2008 by Keith Collantine comments: 11

When Bernie Ecclestone sits down after his dinner with a globe and ticks off countries he’s added to the F1 calendar in the last five years (Bahrain, China, Abu Dhabi, India, Korea) I wonder why he keeps skipping past Dubai?
It’s already setting up its own F1 theme park (see video below) F1-X which will open […]

The Ben Evans column: Slowdown
February 19th, 2008 by Ben Evans comments: 7

Anyone with even a passing interest in the non-motorsport world cannot failed to have noticed a global recession is on the horizon. Those who like their economics with a whiff of F1 will have noted that the teams are finding it harder to pull in those all important sponsorship dollars. A disaster, surely?
In the […]