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According to The Times newspaper this morning, the FIA are apparently not entirely convinced by Bernie Ecclestone’s latest idea of scrapping points and awarding drivers with medals for their performances in races next season. For 59 seasons the Drivers World Championship has been decided by the amount of points earned, but under Ecclestone’s new scheme, the world champion would be the driver with the most gold medals, or to put it another way, the most wins. Ecclestone has stated that he expects the FIA to pass the ruling next month, but it seems it isn’t going as straight forward as he may have hoped. Continue Reading…

It couldn’t have escaped your attention that Bernie Ecclestone has a new idea that he thinks will encourage overtaking in Formula One. The idea centres around the way the winner and subsequent finishers are awarded their ultimate prize, currently points that go towards a grand total which eventually decides the finishing order of the championship. It isn’t rocket science and it has worked ever since the championship was formed in 1950. Bernie though, thinks this should all change… Continue Reading…

It seems that with each passing Formula One season comes with it yet another qualifying format to get used to. The FIA like fiddling with the system in order to perfect it, and the news on Friday was that FOTA will hold talks with the FIA next month about a planned adjustment to the way the grid is decided. But do we need a new qualifying format? Is the current system really broken? And why did we ever move away from the old-fashioned way of deciding? You know, fastest driver wins… Continue Reading…

Now that all three Scuderia Toro Rosso hopefuls have shown their worth in one of the Red Bull-descended cars, the little team with big results already in their pocket have to make a decision; Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastien Buemi and Takuma Sato are all looking for race seats, and STR have two vacancies. Also in the wings and not completely out of the picture are Rubens Barrichello, Bruno Senna and Lucas Di Grassi. Who deserves the race seats at the Red Bull junior squad? Continue Reading…

Already the comments are coming in on the look and feel of BMW’s potential 2009 racer, and mostly, it’s considered pretty ugly. The flatness of the front combined with the skinny and tall rear makes the car look less sleak and more early-’90s than some of us would care to remember. A couple of people have expressed some likeness to the car, and others have questioned what exactly it is that is so bad about it. Of course, BMW are governed by the new rules of the sport, so I imagine most cars are going to look similar to this in the coming months. Continue Reading…

The Earl of March has announced the dates for the 2009 Goodwood Festival Of Speed, held on the Goodwood estate in Chichester, West Sussex. The annual festival comprises of a celebration of motor sport, it’s heritage and future as well as being a superb venue for fans of anything automotive to get very close to their heroes and their cars. The Festival Of Speed also features a hillclimb, where all day cars from many eras run up and down. 2009’s festival will take place on the weekend of 3rd to 5th July, 2009. Continue Reading…

Force India have announced some major changes to the structure of their team today, both on the management front and with regards to the technical alliance with McLaren that has been on the tables for some time now. Vijay Mallya’s team have now parted ways with 2008 engine supplier Ferrari, and the squad are free to join forces with McLaren and Mercedes. Also, Colin Kolles and Mike Gascoyne have left as part of a major reshuffle in the management of the team. Continue Reading…

Former Jordan, Honda and Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato has been recalled by Scuderia Toro Rosso for further testing, it was announced today. Sato had tested for the Italian team earlier in the year after Sebastian Vettel had been confirmed at Red Bull Racing. Desperate to get back into Formula One, Sato sees STR as his best hope following the demise of the Super Aguri team just prior to the Turkish Grand Prix. Continue Reading…

He’s raced in 267 grands prix, enjoyed 9 wins, 13 pole positions and accrued 530 points in 16 years of competing in Formula One. With two second-places in world championships and one third, Rubens Barrichello will pass the grand age of 37 next season. But should the former Jordan, Stewart and Ferrari driver retire gracefully from Honda and racing, allowing a young hotshot the chance to prove himself? Or should the Brazilian driver continue competing for another year? Continue Reading…

Honda have invited Renault test driver Lucas Di Grassi to their evaluating test session at Circuit de Catalunya later this month. It was announced earlier in the week that Bruno Senna would also be present as the team try to decide who should race alongside Jenson Button in 2009. However, with a commanding points haul over his team mate, Rubens Barrichello must surely still be the favourite for the next season. Continue Reading…