BlogF1

Ever since the Donington Park venue was granted the rights to host the British Grand Prix from 2010 onwards, the site has come under much criticism and faced some uphill battles. One of the more serious issues was a legal dispute between the company that runs events at Donington (DVLL), and the circuit owners, the Wheatcroft family. Unpaid rent lead the Wheatcroft’s to start legal proceedings to void DVLL’s contract. However, it has since been announced that these issues have been resolved. For now, at least. Continue Reading…

Dave Richards, majority stakeholder in Aston Martin and chairman of Prodrive, has officially lodged his application to join Formula One in 2010. Under his Prodrive company that has previously won three World Rally Titles with their self-prepared Subaru Imprezas, Richards hopes to make it all the way into the sport this time around. In 2006, Richards was awarded a chance to step up to Formula One but soon pulled the plug when the FIA said they would disallow customer cars. Continue Reading…

The current Formula One teams, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone met today in a Heathrow hotel to discuss the intended 2010 budget cap rule. In the past week, five teams including Ferrari and both Red Bull squads said they wouldn’t compete in next year’s championship if the current proposals for a two-tier formula remained. The discussions resulted in no compromise and now the teams are talking between themselves to decide what their next move will be. Continue Reading…

As the snowball grows in size and pace, Renault add themselves to the four other teams that have stated they will not enter the 2010 Formula One World Championship if the current proposed rules that will result in a two-tier formula are not revised. Joining Toyota, Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso, Renault say that the governance of the sport needs to be better balanced between all involved parties. Continue Reading…

Max Mosley is nearing the end of his fourth term in the role of president of the FIA, and as always at this time, there is much talk of what the Briton will do; run again or gracefully call it a day. In his time as president of Formula One’s governing body, Mosley has brought about a lot of change, some for the good and some less so. The man has his detractors and also his supporters. But what will his legacy be should Max not be re-elected this November? Continue Reading…

Scuderia Ferrari met this morning at their Maranello headquarters to discuss the team’s future involvement in Formula One. The meeting came about after the FIA introduced a voluntary £40m budget cap in order to reduce costs and bring the level of entry down in the sport. However, like Toyota and Red Bull, Ferrari are not happy with the two-tier formula this would create have have finally stated that if the proposal remains unchanged they will not enter the 2010 championship. Continue Reading…

Following Toyota Motorsport president John Howett’s comments from the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend about not wanting to participate in a two-tier Formula One, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has also added his concerns to the growing number of outfits. The tension between the teams and the governing body, the FIA, is becoming increasingly desperate as time ticks on towards the May 29th deadline for 2010 entry. Continue Reading…

Adrian Newey, the much celebrated areodynamicist currently employed by Red Bull Racing, has been feverishly busy with the rear of the RB5 ever since it was announced that the controversial ‘double diffuser’ was legal. Those who strictly followed the rules and their apparent spirit obviously chose not to design and install a ‘double diffuser’, and are now racing against time to get the part ready. Ferrari arrived in Barcelona this weekend with the first iteration of their diffuser, but Red Bull are struggling and may not even have the part in time for Monaco. Continue Reading…

The intended introduction of a voluntary £40m budget cap has caused a lot of teams to think long and hard about the future of Formula One and their involvement in it. Since the FIA announced the idea, the plan has undergone some tweaking, the original cap being set at £30m and including everything bar the kitchen sink (erm, motorhome). Now set at £40m, and not including many other costly items, it was thought that the teams would agree to the idea. Alas not, and FOTA are still asking for further discussion on the matter. Continue Reading…

Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of updates; I’ve come down with the only thing that is worse than Swine Flu – Man Flu. Oh okay, it’s just a cold, but I’m allowed to exaggerate! But in order to start feeling better, I need to convince myself I am feeling better, so on with the show. There hasn’t been much news over the weekend, a bank holiday in the UK, but today BMW announced that neither of their drivers would be using KERS in Barcelona this weekend. Continue Reading…