2005/2006 F1 News and Testing.

mctiny · 1 Dec 2005 at 19:40

Super Aguri 'still planning' 2006 entry.

The Super Aguri Formula One team is 'still planning' an entry into the 2006 Formula One World Championship, despite not being named on the official entry list published by the FIA.

Although a spokesman for F1's governing body told the BBC that the team had been notified 'that their application has been refused' – with rumours suggesting that it could be down to a failure to put together the $48 million deposit required - it appears likely that work will continue in putting together a team with the aim being to take a place on the grid for the first race of the new season in Bahrain on 12 March.

The team has already moved into the former Arrows base at Leafield while Mark Preston, who learnt the F1 ropes with both Arrows and McLaren and was planning to try and put together his own F1 team under the Preston Racing banner, had been taken on as chief technical officer and was in the process of putting the team together.

A supply of Honda V8 engines were already lined up, while the team had presented a request to Bridgestone to supply tyres, which a spokesman told Crash.net last month was 'being studied in a forward-looking manner'.

A number of sponsors were also believed to be on board although the main question mark – and possibly one which has proved to be a contributing factor in the team missing out on an entry – was where the team's chassis was coming from, with a variety of possibilities suggested.

The first option for the team appeared to be to run its own development of BAR's 2005 chassis, although reports have also suggested that the team was investigating the possibility of buying four-year old Arrows cars from former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart.

However, while the chassis plans remain unclear, a spokesman for the Super Aguri team told Crash.net that the team was still hoping to have its 'Aguri' car in F1 next season.

"We still intend to make our entry in 2006," he said. "We are in process of applying for the late entry."

Whether or not that application proves to be successful remains to be seen, and could be dependent on the other F1 teams allowing them to take a place on the grid – with regulations stating that, if the FIA were happy with a late entry, there would still need to be unanimous support from the other competing teams before Super Aguri team was able to enter F1.

rpstewart · 2 Dec 2005 at 08:42

Flibster, where did you get your copy of the 2006 entry list from? Reason I'm asking is the one on autosport.com only confirms Webber at Williams and Coulthard at Red Bull, the other two seats plus both at Torro Rosso are noted as TBA.

Flibster · 2 Dec 2005 at 09:05

Hmmmm...

FIA have changed the version on their page...

Sneaky buggers...

Flibster · 2 Dec 2005 at 16:35

Collector snaps up Williams items

The Williams Formula One team have cancelled a major sale of memorabilia after an anonymous private collector bought everything on offer.

Included are 20 F1 cars, including ones driven by Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill in their championship-winning seasons.

The cars plus 150 lots of parts and other items were due to be sold at the team's Oxfordshire HQ on 14 December.

But auctioneers Bonhams said the collector had paid a substantial sum to secure them ahead of the event.

My mate had nothing to do with this...

Shame - he wanted the fully active Williams and the one with the CV Gearbox...

Still - that would have cost someone a hell of a lot. Say 3-400'000 per championship winning car

1-200'000 per other car

Plus all the other stuff...

Hell - the 20 cars on their own - £4'400'000 :eek:

Emlyn_Dewar · 2 Dec 2005 at 16:58

If only I had the money! Would love to be able to do something like that, some awesome looking Williams! And imagine owning ones that worked! :eek:

Flibster · 2 Dec 2005 at 17:09

My first thought was...

"So - Aguri Suzuki has found his cars for next year then..."

Does that make me a bad boy?

rpstewart · 2 Dec 2005 at 17:19

Flibster said:
Does that make me a bad boy?

Not at all but I think the CVT FW15 might just be ever so slightly illegal...

Regardless that's a serious amount of cash to be able to chuck about, might need to pay close attention to the entry list for next years Festival of Speed, you never know what might crop up.

Flibster · 5 Dec 2005 at 23:16

Technical directors reject controversial new wing

The technical directors that form Formula One's Technical Working Group, have rejected the FIA's controversial new wing - the Centreline Downwash Generating (CDG) Wing.

The wing, first revealed by the FIA in October, is meant to make racing more exciting, by making overtaking easier.

"By introducing the CDG wing we can give motor sport fans exactly what they have asked for, wheel-to-wheel racing with much more overtaking," said Max Mosley at the time.

Mosley had hoped that the wing, due to be introduced in 2008, might be brought in a year earlier, in 2007, but the technical directors have ruled this out, claiming that much more work is needed.

The wing was presented to the technical directors for the first time on Friday.

"The discussion was positive and constructive and has helped to move things forward significantly," said an FIA spokesman, according to Reuters. "The teams felt that more work has to be done on optimisation and, given the time constraints, implementation for 2007 was not therefore an option.

"However, we were very encouraged by the response from the meeting and consider it is only a matter of 'when' and not 'if' for the new wing," he added.

HOORAY!!!!

Technical Directors have sense!!!

That wing deserves to die a death and for the FIA to watch A1GP and GP Masters - proper wings - proper racing...

Flibster · 5 Dec 2005 at 23:17

CVC’s F1 buyout facing problems?

It would appear that the buy-out of Formula One by CVC Capital Partners is not as cut and dried as some would have us beleive, indeed the saga looks set to take another twist.

According to reports, the deal - which saw Bernie Ecclestone sell his family trust's 25% stake in F1, and Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) - is not entirely legal, because the two other banks which 'owned' F1 - JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers - had the first option on BayernLB's shares, should it ever decide to sell.

It's claimed that the announcement of the sale of BayernLB's shares to CVC, which in turn set up a new company, Alpha Prema, was deliberately timed for the Thanksgiving weekend in order that the American banks could not react. Details issued to the two other banks contained no financial details and that they had to wait until after the holiday before they could sign a confidentiality agreement, and thereby be given details of the sale.

Although JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers had both been seeking to share their interest in F1 for some time - having first aquired the holding, like BayernLB, in the wake of the collapse of German media group Kirsch - both banks now - out of an obligation to shareholders, must now stand back and look at a number of options.

They could find the money to purchase BayernLB's 50 percent, or they could simply go ahead and sell their shareholding to CVC, most likely at a much lower price than previously anticipated. Or, they could hold an open auction in an attempt to see what they sharehlding would be worth on the open market.

Writing for The Business, an on-line business website, Rupert Steiner writes: "CVC thinks the transaction is a done deal, but the American banks privately believe the agreement is worthless. The first the American banks learned about the deal was in a letter. They were furious they had been kept in the dark and denied their legal rights.

"Sources say the American banks are "apoplectic"," he adds, "and will decide over the next five days what action to take. The sources say the banks will seek to ensure that their pre-emption right honoured. If they are successful, the collapse of the CVC deal will be a huge embarrassment for the private equity firm and Bayerische Landesbank."

Flibster · 5 Dec 2005 at 23:20

F1 bosses reaching for their chequebooks

Gary Anderson has hit out at formula one's latest raft of rules.
The Ulsterman, former long-time technical director at Jordan, told 'Setanta' that the carmakers could have avoided the switch to V8 power.

''They had an alternative ... in the form of a rev limiter in the V10 engines,'' he marvelled, ''but they all said no.''

Anderson reckons the V10 regs, together with the two-race per engine rule, was a 'decent money saver'. But he insisted that V8 development is now bringing the cheque books out again: ''All that money saved is now being spent,'' Gary said, ''and it's sad.''

Toyota driver Jarno Trulli, meanwhile, sees an even more serious side-effect of relentlessly changing rules -- the decline of spectator interest.

The Italian told La Gazzetta dello Sport: ''People are getting fed up over having to study the rule changes every season.

''This is not good for the sport.''

Gary Anderson I've always though was a sensible guy and seemed genuinly nice - he's making a hell of a lot of sence...

Same thing I've said on numerous occasions as well iirc...

Flibster · 5 Dec 2005 at 23:21

Fans uneasy with the Flying... German???

That '06 rookie Nico Rosberg wears a German flag on his overalls is no easy concept for many F1 fans.

After all, isn't he the 20-year-old son of 1982 championship winner Keke Rosberg -- the original 'Flying Finn'?

Yes.

But Nico, like his mother, was born in Germany (Wiesbaden). And, although he speaks four languages - German, English, French and Italian - he hardly knows a word of his dad's native tongue.

His passport is a German one.

''Nico grew up as a German,'' Keke Rosberg explained. ''We speak German at home, he did a lot of racing in Germany -- so it is an obvious choice to us.''

Flibster · 5 Dec 2005 at 23:23

Raikkonen crowned best driver of the year

Kimi Raikkonen was crowned International Racing Driver of the Year ahead of Fernando Alonso at last night's prestigious Autosport Awards, which is voted for by readers of the magazine.

The Finn attended the event in London to collect the trophy, which was presented by former World Champion Nigel Mansell.

On receiving his award, Kimi discussed his highlights of the year, "I guess all the wins for sure. The Japanese Grand Prix was one of the great moments, and Monaco was a good place to win. It could have been better this season but I am happy. It is always exciting to fight, and of course we wanted to win, but that is part of the game - and still it was one of the best years for me in Formula One."
McLaren Mercedes also won the Racing Car of the Year with the MP4-20.

Ron Dennis collected the award on behalf of the team, "I'm a bit mystified why I'm up here because there are so many people behind this Grand Prix car. It doesn't matter whether it is rallying or Grand Prix racing - it is hard to win.

"McLaren Racing has a team of 136 engineers and designers and they designed the car using a matrix system with cross functional responsibilities. All of this talent is what goes on behind us and I'm here to take the award for them. One person I have to acknowledge is Adrian Newey, who has got a challenge ahead of him and I wish him well."

"This season was a great battle and I have to complement Pat Symonds and Renault, who started the season very well by winning the first three races and the last."

Hmmm...Not sure on car of the year - but driver of the year is correct.

For me the car of the year was the Renault - purely due to it's reliability - McLaren was a close second.

Type_R · 6 Dec 2005 at 09:57

Flibster said:
Hmmm...Not sure on car of the year - but driver of the year is correct.

For me the car of the year was the Renault - purely due to it's reliability - McLaren was a close second.

For once we agree

Flibster · 6 Dec 2005 at 11:44

CVC Increases its share in F1

The equity company that recently bought Bernie Ecclestone’s share of Formula 1’s commercial rights has increased its control of the sport by acquiring American investment bank JPMorgan’s F1 interests as well.

CVC Capital Partners now owns 86% of F1, having bought the shares held by Bambino Holdings (the Ecclestone family trust) and German bank BayernLB last month.

There had been reports that JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers – the other two banks with a stake in F1 – could scupper the deal between CVC, Bernie and BayernLB and cause yet more political upheaval for the sport.

But today’s announcement that CVC has bought out JPMorgan suggests that this may be averted.

CVC has already announced that it will allow Ecclestone to continue his role at the helm of F1, and will try to resolve the political divisions between the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association and the Ecclestone/FIA faction.

The GPMA, which includes most of the major car manufacturers involved in F1, is still planning to launch a breakaway championship in 2008 if it cannot resolve its differences with Ecclestone.

rpstewart · 6 Dec 2005 at 13:23

Couple of bits of unsurprising news:

Klien has been confirmed at RBR according to Autosport

Narain K is to test for Williams at Jerez this week with an eye to taking the third driver seat there in 2006. Sounds like Williams are after a pay driver then.

Flibster · 6 Dec 2005 at 13:32

Confirmed...

Klien to stay with Red Bull team

Klien scored nine points for Red Bull last season
Christian Klien will stay at Red Bull Racing as David Coulthard's team-mate.

The Austrian, who made his debut for the Milton Keynes-based squad in 2004 during their Jaguar days, impressed in Red Bull's rookie season.

Red Bull started the year intending to alternate him and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi but Klien impressed and he drove in 15 of the races, taking nine points.

"Next year is really only the start for this team, it has a great future and to be part of that is exciting," he said.

"I'm definitely looking to improve next year and get more points.

"It's good to continue working with David as well, I'm still a young driver and can learn a lot from him," he added.

Good choice tbh. Was not sure about him being happy leading Toro Rosso - don't think he's ready for that yet.

Simon/~Flibster

Flibster · 6 Dec 2005 at 13:34

and...

Karthikeyan to test for Williams

Karthikeyan is the only Indian to have raced in Formula One
Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan will test for Williams this week in a bid to secure a race seat next season.

The 28-year-old lost his seat with the new Midland team after failing to impress in his debut season with the former Jordan outfit.

He will join Williams for a three-day test in Spain, starting on Wednesday.

Williams have Australian Mark Webber and Germany's Nico Rosberg as their 2006 line-up but have yet to name a reserve and a test driver.

"Karthikeyan will test for the team pending the announcement of the team's third driver," said technical director Sam Michael.

"Narain will be in Jerez to help us with normal testing duties.

"At this stage of development of the FW27C, we have a series of systems checks and initial set-up investigations to complete."

Flibster · 6 Dec 2005 at 14:13

Bernie could support Aguri

It is a remote possibility that the Formula One grid will still feature an eleventh team in 2006.

Although the FIA left Japan's 'Super Aguri' off the official entry list, the existing ten teams could - as they did when Williams missed the entry deadline in 1993 - agree to let their new rival race.

Indeed, an 'insider' - with links to Bernie Ecclestone - hinted that the 75-year-old F1 supremo could convince the ten bosses to signal a green light.

'If Bernie wants Suzuki to race,' the insider told Germany's 'Auto, Motor und Sport', 'he will get them to agree.'

Moreover, it is suggested elsewhere that Ecclestone will vigorously defend Aguri Suzuki's late 2006 application, especially if it only failed to lodge a bit of paperwork.

The reported absence of the mandatory $48 million FIA bond, however, might be a more serious transgression to overlook, speculation suggests.

Flibster · 6 Dec 2005 at 14:14

Liuzzi, Speed and Jani confirmed

Now that Red Bull Racing officially announced the name of the final driver to complete the team’s line-up, the second Red Bull squad – Toro Rosso – is free to do the same.

Tonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed and Neel Jani will drive for Scuderia Toro Rosso next year, when it contests its first season in Formula One.

Italian Formula One driver Tonio and American GP2 star Scott will race for the team, while 21-year-old Neel will be its test and reserve driver, performing Friday driving duties at each race of the season.

With an average driver age of just 23, it’s a scary thought that, as rookies, Speed and Jani will be looking up to Liuzzi as the ‘veteran’ of the team! All three drivers are products of the Red Bull Junior Team.

Type_R · 7 Dec 2005 at 10:48

The new MF1 Racing team has shown off its official colour scheme in testing at Jerez this morning.

The Midland corporation bought Eddie Jordan’s team at the start of 2005, but ran under the Jordan name and livery throughout the racing season.

It has now been officially rebranded as MF1, and the new look team made its debut at the Spanish track earlier today.

Christijan Albers, who will race for MF1 in 2006, and sportscar ace Thomas Biagi were the first drivers to take to the track in the black, red and white design.

MF1 will also run its 2006 reserve driver Nicky Pastorelli, and likely race driver Tiago Monteiro during this week’s test, as well as trying out Belgian single-seater racer Jeffrey van Hooydonk and young German talent Markus Winkelhock.