2005/2006 F1 News and Testing.

JVC to sponsor MF1

MF1 Racing - the Formula One team owned and operated by Midland Group - is pleased to announce its partnership with JVC Benelux for the 2006 World Championship season. JVC Benelux, which already sponsors MF1 Racing driver Christijan Albers, will sponsor and supply the Silverstone-based team with a variety of leading-edge electronic equipment, including television monitors, DVD players and home theatre systems. The deal was facilitated by GR8industries.com, the leading brand and motorsports marketing agency in the Benelux region (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg).

Colin Kolles, Managing Director of MF1 Racing, stated: "I am very happy to welcome JVC as a sponsor to our team. JVC is a global brand renowned for its quality and technical innovation - a reputation which fits perfectly with the image of MF1 Racing and our fellow partners. I am sure that this relationship will not only produce great benefits for the team and for JVC, but also for the fortunate guests who will enjoy this fine equipment in our new hospitality centre."

Ruud Nagel, Marketing Director of JVC Benelux, added: "We have been a proud supporter of Christijan Albers for three years and strongly believe in his talent. When it was announced that Christijan would become a race driver for MF1 Racing, we acquainted ourselves with the team's management and were especially interested in learning about their ambitions for the coming seasons. Their new approach and team image have convinced us to become a team partner and supplier. For us, F1 has proven to be a successful platform upon which to promote our brand values and products. We wish the team and Christijan a very successful future and are extremely proud to be a part of MF1 Racing's inaugural season."
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The car looks....

Revolting....
 
As I suspected would happen...

WilliamsF1 signs Concorde Agreement

WilliamsF1 today announced that it has agreed to enter into an extended Concorde Agreement with Formula One's commercial rights holder (FOM) and the sport's governing body (FIA), confirming the team's commitment to Formula One beyond 2008.

WilliamsF1 has agreed to become a signatory to the new Concorde Agreement after confirming that the commercial rights holder, FOM, had agreed to an improved distribution of commercial revenues among participating teams. In addition, significant progress had been made in securing important undertakings from the sport's governing body, the FIA, which will underpin the successful long term governance of Formula One.

The agreement commits one of the most successful names in the sport's history to Formula One after 2008, and is an important step towards protecting against a divisive split that could undermine motor racing's premier series.

Williams now intends to work with Formula One's established governing body and commercial rights holder to ensure that any further concerns regarding the future of the sport are addressed from within, in a cooperative and consensual manner and in the long term interests of all the sport's teams, sponsors and fans.

Williams acknowledges the important role the manufacturers and teams have played in recent months to precipitate a healthy debate about the future of Formula One.

Reflecting on reaching agreement with FOM and the FIA, Williams' Team Principal Frank Williams said, "The manufacturers and teams have been a catalyst for a number of far reaching changes to the economics and administration of Formula One. We believe that the time has now come for everybody to remove the damaging uncertainty hanging over our sport and to commit to Formula One after 2008. I hope our decision will encourage the remainder of the Formula One community to join us and resolve any final details by working together. We all have a duty to avoid a damaging split in our sport and I believe the undertakings we have from FOM and the FIA provide a fair basis for bringing everyone together in the interests of the sport."
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GPMA responds to WilliamsF1 Concorde announcement

The Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association has issued the following statement in response to the news that WilliamsF1 has signed the new Concorde Agreement with FOM.

"The Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA) acknowledges Williams' decision to sign a new commercial agreement with FOM. At their most recent board meeting, on 29 November 2005, the five manufacturers BMW, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Toyota reaffirmed their binding agreement to race together only in a series which satisfies the fundamental principles of a clear and equitable World Championship.

"While the GPMA members and their affiliated teams appreciate that progress has been made in recent negotiations, they remain committed to their objective to further develop the sport for the benefit of all stakeholders and in particular the fans."
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Flibster said:
The car looks....

Revolting....
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Oh my life that's PINK! Mind you paint it in a plain colour and I think it'll still be ugly.

Williams - totally unsurprising,without manufacturer backing signing up for GPMA would be a bit daft, there's probably more money of the table from Bernie. It might be a wise move long term to be without manufacturer support - think of what would happen to McLaren if the Mercedes board decided to sell up and pull out of F1. In that situation your left with no engine in a series run by manufacturers, unless someone new arrives or someone agrees to a second supply you're stuck.
 
CVC eye up total F1 buyout.

'CVC' is in talks to buy the rest of formula one from an American bank.

After snapping Bernie Ecclestone, Bayerische Landesbank and JP Morgan's combined 86 per cent share of the sport, the British private equity group is now shaping up to buy the final 14 per cent from Lehman Brothers.

A 'CVC' spokesman said on Tuesday: "We continue to seek an agreement with (Lehman).

No figures have been confirmed, but estimates put the total value of the formula one shares at about $1bn.

The value will not have been hurt by a recent study of 'Initiative Worldwide', in which the pinnacle of motor sport was labelled the top global annual television event.
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Appeal lodged for Monza

The managers of the Monza circuit, which hosts the Italian Grand Prix, launched an appeal on Wednesday against the decision that has been made to ban all competitions from the track unless an appropriate system to reduce the noise is put into place. The decision arose after a number of residents in Monza filed a formal complaint in 2001.

The document that the SIAS, the company which manages the circuit, has handed over outlines five main points to defend the circuit. The points that are listed range from errors in accurately detecting the noise levels, to the fact that the decision would disregard noise pollution laws regarding airports and autodromes.

A new decision is expected around mid January.
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V8 vs V10

Concern is growing with the manufacturers involved in the Formula One championship in regard to teams using the restricted version of the V10 engine, something that was put to them initially and they refused opting for V8 power instead, because it appears as if the restricted power could have an advantage of V8 power in the long run.

Once the new V8 rules were passed, the top teams then lost their option to run with a restricted V10 while Minardi was given a special exemption, however the situation they now fins themselves in was not anticipated and even the FIA are not sure just what the difference will be…

“Until we see cars in full race trim over the winter, we won’t be able to get a true idea of their speed, so we won’t know exactly what the restrictor dimensions should be,” a spokesperson for the FIA was quoted as saying in to Autosport.

At the present time the 2005 V10 2005 has an air intake restrictor with a section of 77mm. The engines can reach maximum revs of 16.800 rpm – in comparison to more than 20.000 for the V8 - but develop nevertheless 80cv more than the 8 cylinders engines.

The fears of certain manufacturers – such as Toyota, who equips MidlandF1 with engines, is that they will have to make extreme counter measures to fight the likes of the new Red Bull team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, who have opted to take the initiative and to the FIA to the test by using restricted V10 engines.

However, the FIA have tried to calm the issue, reassuring the manufacturers that they will fix the situation if they have to….

“We’ve made it very clear that we’ll change the restrictor plates as late as Friday practice in Bahrain if we have to.”

Let us hope that F1 will avoid the ridiculous situation where Toro Rosso, the only team to be using the V10 in 2006 - would be subjected to a rule change on the Friday night of the season opener because they were found to be too competitive!
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The FIA's World Motor Sport Council has confirmed plans to limit the aerodynamic development of Formula One teams during a season in order to control the costs and the performance of the cars.

The decision was announced following a meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Monaco today, in which the WMSC ratified the FIA objectives to drastically reduce "the cost of competing and to change the aerodynamic characteristics of the cars so as to make it easier to overtake without increasing cornering speeds" from 2008.

The FIA said the detailed regulations will be finalised in the week commencing 19 December and will include the following:

A standard Electronic Control Unit
Long life engines
Long life gearboxes
A single tyre supplier
Restrictions on the ability of the teams to change their aerodynamics during the season
Rev-limited engines
and other measures

The WMSC also agreed that the opening date for entries to the 2008 championship will no longer be March 1, 2006 as provided in the current regulations but rather on a date to be finalised in its next meeting on March 22.
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No real surprise that Max's lap dogs have rolled over and done as they were told - here have a scooby snack...
 
Not surprising tbh...

I can see F1 going the way of F2 over the next few years - just with a bit more power.

Shame - they're killing innovation in the sport - which was what interested me about it in the first place.

Oh - there may not be a A1GP thread this week - depends if I can be bothered to do it anymore and the monumental success of the last one and the general crap I get form certain members here.

Simon/~Flibster
 
If the breakaway doesn't happen, F1 is dead. It's already losing it's status as the pinnacle of motorsport, further "cost cutting" will kill it off all together.
 
Badoer Is Unhurt But The Car Was Destroyed

Luca Badoer crashed heavily during testing at the Jerez circuit for Ferrari yesterday but escaped with only minor injuries. The F2005 which Badoer was driving however was completely destroyed after its high speed suspension failure.

The Italian team had suffered an identical equipment failure on Luca Badoer's car on the day prior to his major crash at the same corner. Badoer was not travelling at a very high speed on that day and simply tapped the barriers, yesterday he was not so lucky. The Italian test driver ran off the circuit at 220km/h and collided with the barriers with extreme force. The team had this to say about Luca's incident:

"Luca is okay and that is the most important thing. Now we have to examine why the same accident as yesterday happened today. The car is completely destroyed."

Ferrari will work to solve this issue with their suspension and meanwhile Badoer was sent home to rest.
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I know how that feels - he'll feel rough for a few days.
 
Scuderia Toro Rosso to Develop New Chassis for 2006

Scuderia Toro Rosso has announced they will design a new chassis for 2006 instead of using the existing Minardi PS05 or Red Bull Racing RB1.

The team began winter testing last week in Barcelona with Vitantonio Liuzzi at the wheel of an RB1 with a rev-limited V10 engine. However, the current technical regulations rule out the possibility of a team racing a car designed by another active team, even if the car is an older model. STR could potentially make enough modifications to the RB1 to render it an "original design" in the eyes of the FIA. This would be similar to last year's controversy over the Sauber C23, which many insiders had dubbed the "blue Ferrari" due to its striking resemblance to Ferrari's F2003.

Alternately, STR could take the Minardi PS05 and continue to develop it, although that seems like the less likely option. With just three months remaining until the season opener in Bahrain, it is also unlikely that STR will start a design completely from scratch.

The question over which car STR will evolve their design from is not the only unanswered one. It is still unclear if the team's new car will be powered by new V8 engine or a rev-limited V10. The V10 rule was passed to allow financially-strapped teams like Minardi to continue to compete in 2006. With Red Bull having a lot more financial resources, many critics have said it would only be fair of them to transition to the V8's along with the other teams.

No date has been announced for the launch of the new STR car, but it is clear that this will be one of the most anticipated launches of the season so that these questions can be answered.
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Fry backs Super Aguri's 2006 bid

Super Aguri to re-apply for 2006
Honda team principal Nick Fry says Japan's Super Aguri outfit have a "better than evens" chance of racing in Formula One next year.

Super Aguri, for whom Honda would supply engines, had their initial bid to enter the competition rejected by motorsport's governing body, the FIA.

But team boss Aguri Suzuki is set to re-apply and Fry said: "I think it will be good to have an extra team.

"I think there is a better than evens chance they will be on the grid."

If Suzuki does re-apply he will require unanimous approval from rival teams if his team are to be on the grid in Bahrain for the opening race of the season.

Honda are believed to be part-funding the project - and Fry added: "They'll have a good engine - the same engine as our Honda team.

"They've got a lot of work to do but they are progressing well from what we can see.

"There are three months to go (before Bahrain) and all 10 teams have got to sign up so there's an issue there.

"In terms of physically being able to get on the grid, I think they've got a good chance."
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Musical chairs on the technical front

The reshuffling of Formula 1 teams’ technical personnel continues apace with three months to go until the start of the 2006 season.

Honda Racing’s senior aerodynamicist William Toet (a leading hillclimb exponent in his spare time) has left the Brackley-based outfit with immediate effect.

According to Autosport magazine, the team will not replace Toet but will restructure its aerodynamics department under the auspices of technical director Geoff Willis.

Changes are also afoot at Red Bull Racing, where team manager Dave Stubbs has departed and been replaced by former Renault chief mechanic Jonathan Wheatley.

Another Renault refugee, designer Rob Marshall, will join Red Bull next April.

Meanwhile, autosport.com reports that Toyota’s logistics manager Gianfranco Fanduzzi has been hired as team manager of Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Andy Beven will take Fanduzzi’s place at the Japanese squad.
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Bernie close to Spa deal

Bernie Ecclestone says he is close to a deal that will secure the long-term future of the troubled Belgian Grand Prix.

The famous Spa-Francorchamps race has been under threat in recent weeks after the promoter ran into financial difficulties.

The local authorities in the Wallonia region where Spa is situated were concerned that they would have to pay Ecclestone a multi-million euro sum to keep the race going.

But Reuters reports that Ecclestone told Belgian television he was willing to take over the promotion of the race and ease the financial burden on the regional government.

“We are at a very serious stage in the negotiations,” Ecclestone is quoted as saying.

“We want to be sure to guarantee the existence of this grand prix.

“And we don’t want to do it for one year – we want long-term stability.”

The Spa circuit is one of the most popular on the calendar, adored by both drivers and fans.
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New-look F1 receives the green light

The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has rubber-stamped the governing body’s plans to “drastically reduce the cost of competing” in Formula 1 and to “make it easier to overtake without increasing cornering speeds”.

At a meeting in Monaco today, the council agreed the basis of the 2008 technical regulations, which will be finalised later this month.

The new rules package will include the following:

* A standard electronic control unit (ECU)
* Long-life engines
* Long-life gearboxes
* A single tyre supplier
* Restrictions on the ability of the teams to change their aerodynamics during the season
* Rev-limited engines

Most of these changes have been on the table for some time, but confirmation of the fine details is eagerly awaited by teams and fans alike.

It is hoped that the standard ECU, a device that engine manufacturers have previously been wary of, will allow the eradication of driver aids such as traction control, by removing fears that electronic trickery cannot be effectively policed.

The restrictions on aero development will also be a substantial change to the F1 ethos.

At present, top teams introduce new parts at virtually every race, and many make substantial aero upgrades during the season.

Other proposals will come as less of a culture shock.

The staged introduction of long -life engine rules has already begun, with teams having to make each engine last two races from 2005.

The impending switch to a single tyre supplier has long been taken for granted, with Michelin likely to withdraw before 2008 due to its objection to this principle.

More radical changes - such as the CDG wing proposal - were not mentioned in today's announcement, but are likely to be discussed before the 2008 package is finalised.
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ITV Season Review Show

Re-live the drama and tension of the 2005 season with ITV’s 2005 Formula 1 Season Review show on New Year’s Eve.

Martin Brundle travels to Monaco to recap the year when young guns Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen toppled F1 king Michael Schumacher in spectacular style.

Highlights of the review show include:

* An in-depth chat with British F1 heroes Jenson Button and David Coulthard about their own seasons and the main action from 2005.

* A look back at Fernando Alonso’s title winning year, including an interview with the man himself.

* Ted Kravitz reports on Ferrari’s fall from the top, with Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher's views on what went wrong.

* Louise Goodman reports on the closely fought constructors’ battle, with valuable insight from Renault’s Pat Symonds and McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh.

* Christian Horner looks back on Red Bull’s debut season, and reflects on Coulthard’s performance, while Nick Fry tells us about Button’s important role in the BAR-Honda team.
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Cosworth sets new rev record

Cosworth claims to have reached a new milestone for Formula 1 engines by clearing the 20,000rpm mark in recent testing with its new V8 unit.

The Northampton-based builder has extensive experience with eight-cylinder power plants in both F1 (notably with the once-ubiquitous DFV) and other branches of the sport.

With the 2006 rules mandating a switch from 3-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s, engine manufacturers have sought to compensate for the smaller displacement with higher revs.

But Alex Hitzinger, Cosworth’s head of F1 development, said 20,000rpm was within the company’s sights for 2006 even without the reduction in engine capacity.

“We had to be prepared to move the benchmark again in 2006 and 20,000rpm was our target,” Hitzinger told Autosport magazine.

“We don’t plan to run the engine to 20,000 as a matter of course, but it will be available to us.”

Cosworth began bench-testing V8 components since last spring., and Hitzinger said: “We have been very confident about this engine from the beginning.

“It’s a credit to the engineers that we’ve achieved such high figures.”

Cosworth is excited about its one-year supply deal with Williams and believes the two stalwart British companies can win together.

Head of race engineering Simon Corbyn said: “Williams can win with us and we would like them to.

“We haven’t been in such a strong position with a team since we were with Benetton [which won the world championship with Michael Schumacher] in 1994.”
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And apparently thats in the car not just on the bench.. :eek:

Scary amount of G's those pistons are going through.
 
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