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Politics

FIA?óÔé¼Ôäós plans for Formula 2 shows Max Mosley wants war with Bernie Ecclestone

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A surprise announcement from today?óÔé¼Ôäós FIA World Motor Sports Council today revealed the FIA wishes to set up a new feeder series to Formula 1. It will be called Formula 2, reviving the name used for a similar series until 1984, before it was replaced by Formula 3000 and, later, GP2. But why is the … Continue reading FIA?óÔé¼Ôäós plans for Formula 2 shows Max Mosley wants war with Bernie Ecclestone

First drivers, now teams to pay more?

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During the French Grand Prix weekend more rumours emerged about the behind-the-scenes discussions over the future of Formula 1 between the teams, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone. According to Autosport the FIA is urging Ecclestone to increase the amount of money the teams receive from promotion and television rights. But with the FIA’s World Motor … Continue reading First drivers, now teams to pay more?

Has the FIA superlicence price hike caused a split within the GPDA?

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Something odd is going on with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association at the moment. There have been stories going around since last year about some of its members being unhappy that certain drivers haven’t joined what is effectively the drivers’ union. The driver mentioned most often has been Lewis Hamilton, who over the weekend denied … Continue reading Has the FIA superlicence price hike caused a split within the GPDA?

How serious is the EU threat to the European Grand Prix at Valencia?

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This weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix is supposed to be the first of two races in Spain this year – the second being the European Grand Prix at the new Circuit Urbano Valencia. But yesterday the European Union revealed objections to the Grand Prix on several grounds. There are growing doubts over whether the race, which … Continue reading How serious is the EU threat to the European Grand Prix at Valencia?

How new tracks are squeezing traditional circuits out of Formula 1

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Christian Sylt keeps a close eye on all things money related in Formula 1 (that’s pretty much everything, then) for his excellent publication Formula Money. He shared some very interesting data with me on how the new Formula 1 circuits are raising the cost of hosting a Grand Prix beyond the reach of F1’s traditional … Continue reading How new tracks are squeezing traditional circuits out of Formula 1

Problems with KERS and its impact on F1

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Max Mosley has tried to shrug off growing demands for him to quit in the face of lurid revelations about his personal life and pushed ahead with his plans to introduce environmentally-friendly kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) in F1 from 2009. He has written to teams outlining a vision of how a more powerful KERS … Continue reading Problems with KERS and its impact on F1

The FIA must solve the customer car problem

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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 … Continue reading The FIA must solve the customer car problem

Chequered Conflict (Maurice Hamilton, 2008)

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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 … Continue reading Chequered Conflict (Maurice Hamilton, 2008)

Night racing and the environment

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Max Mosley is requiring teams to start using environmentally-friendly technologies on their cars from 2009 in the form of KERS. Meanwhile Bernie Ecclestone has signed a deal with Singapore to hold a race under floodlights, Malaysia looks set to follow and he’s pressuring Australia to do likewise. You have to ask yourself if the pair, … Continue reading Night racing and the environment

Is Bernie Ecclestone sticking up for McLaren again?

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Rumours abound that McLaren will not have to set up base at the poor end of the pit lane this year after all. Frecon spotted this in a Spanish newspaper and the report has also been run by the Finnish publication Turun Sanomat. Allegedly, Bernie Ecclestone has struck a deal with the teams to let … Continue reading Is Bernie Ecclestone sticking up for McLaren again?

‘Fuel burn’ qualifying laps get dropped

2008 F1 season

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Good news – there will be no boring hiatus at the start of part three of qualifying in 2008. The FIA has finally gotten around to banning the ‘fuel burn’ phase (as many people had expected). I was hoping they would do this by getting rid of ‘race fuel’ qualifying altogether. Race fuel qualifying was … Continue reading ‘Fuel burn’ qualifying laps get dropped

A close look at McLaren’s standard ECU

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At the Autosport International show last weekend I came across the stand for McLaren Electronic Systems – the company which won the bid to provide the standard engine control unit to Formula 1 teams for 2008. Although the deal attracted little attention when it was announced in 2006 it has become a bone of contention, … Continue reading A close look at McLaren’s standard ECU

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