W
WideOpenPhoto
Guest
October 5, 2005
By Dan Knutson
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The standoff over the future of Formula One continues.
Five manufacturers and seven of the 10 teams met Sept. 27 in Munich, Germany, where they signed a binding agreement to stick together in negotiations with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.
According to a statement released by the group, they agreed to "race together only in a series which satisfies the fundamental principles of a clear and equitable World Championship."
If a settlement cannot be reached with Ecclestone, who controls F-1's commercial rights, and the FIA, the group plans to go ahead with its own F-1 series in 2008.
"While the group remains open and willing to discuss with the current commercial rights holder and the FIA on the future of Grand Prix motor racing beyond 2007," the statement said, "the current uncertainty leaves them with no option other than to progress preparatory work for the new series. Although the team principals and manufacturers agreed that some progress was made in the recent meetings, they considered it was not sufficient to delay the preparations for the new series."
The group consists of manufacturers BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Renault and Toyota, and teams BAR, McLaren, Minardi, Renault, Sauber, Toyota and Williams. On the other side are Ferrari, Jordan and Red Bull who have all signed on to race in the FIA series in 2008 and beyond. Now that Red Bull has bought Minardi, the latter will no doubt switch sides. There is also a question over Williams, which is now an independent team following the split with BMW.
The real question is whether the group is serious or if this is just the latest step in the hard bargaining over the split of F-1's commercial pie and control over the running of the series. FIA president Max Mosley does not believe that the breakaway series will happen.
"It would involve a huge financial input -- I can't see where that would come from," Mosley said in a press conference in China five days before the group released its statement. "We have a significant number of teams already committed or on the verge of committing. I think it's unlikely that there will be a sufficient number of competitors to make it work.
"When you look at an event like the Olympics for example, there are many athletic meetings around the world involving a similar kind of activity but there is only one true Olympic Games. The same applies for Formula One. So in a nutshell, I don't think it will happen."
• Nico Rosberg won the final two races of the GP2 series, held in Bahrain, and clinched the championship. He is the son of 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg. Heikki Kovalainen ended up second in the points while Californian Scott Speed placed third.
• Williams BMW has named Antonio Pizzonia as Mark Webber's teammate for the final two races of the season. Pizzonia has been substituting for Nick Heidfeld since the latter injured himself in a F-1 testing accident and then a bicycle accident. The facts that Heidfeld has signed for BMW-Sauber for 2006 and Williams is evaluating his replacement probably didn't help his chances of getting back into the car for the final races of 2005.
• Last year's IRL champion Tony Kanaan got his first chance to drive a F-1 car when he tested the BAR Honda at Spain's Jerez circuit last week. The test was a reward from Honda for Kanaan's accomplishments in North America.
"I knew a couple of months ago about the test so I've been preparing myself for a long time," said Kanaan who completed 51 laps despite some technical problems. "It was different to what I am used to. The G loads are higher than in Indy Car but the steering is a lot lighter which makes my life easier. On the neck I couldn't feel a lot, probably because I prepared myself pretty good to come here. I didn't do a long run so I imagine it does get tougher. It's as physical as Indy Cars but in a different way."
Like other drivers, such as Jeff Gordon who drove a F-1 car for the first time, Kanaan was awed by the braking ability.
"Obviously, I got told that I was going to be impressed," he said, "but I was very impressed with the brakes."
By Dan Knutson
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The standoff over the future of Formula One continues.
Five manufacturers and seven of the 10 teams met Sept. 27 in Munich, Germany, where they signed a binding agreement to stick together in negotiations with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.
According to a statement released by the group, they agreed to "race together only in a series which satisfies the fundamental principles of a clear and equitable World Championship."
If a settlement cannot be reached with Ecclestone, who controls F-1's commercial rights, and the FIA, the group plans to go ahead with its own F-1 series in 2008.
"While the group remains open and willing to discuss with the current commercial rights holder and the FIA on the future of Grand Prix motor racing beyond 2007," the statement said, "the current uncertainty leaves them with no option other than to progress preparatory work for the new series. Although the team principals and manufacturers agreed that some progress was made in the recent meetings, they considered it was not sufficient to delay the preparations for the new series."
The group consists of manufacturers BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Renault and Toyota, and teams BAR, McLaren, Minardi, Renault, Sauber, Toyota and Williams. On the other side are Ferrari, Jordan and Red Bull who have all signed on to race in the FIA series in 2008 and beyond. Now that Red Bull has bought Minardi, the latter will no doubt switch sides. There is also a question over Williams, which is now an independent team following the split with BMW.
The real question is whether the group is serious or if this is just the latest step in the hard bargaining over the split of F-1's commercial pie and control over the running of the series. FIA president Max Mosley does not believe that the breakaway series will happen.
"It would involve a huge financial input -- I can't see where that would come from," Mosley said in a press conference in China five days before the group released its statement. "We have a significant number of teams already committed or on the verge of committing. I think it's unlikely that there will be a sufficient number of competitors to make it work.
"When you look at an event like the Olympics for example, there are many athletic meetings around the world involving a similar kind of activity but there is only one true Olympic Games. The same applies for Formula One. So in a nutshell, I don't think it will happen."
• Nico Rosberg won the final two races of the GP2 series, held in Bahrain, and clinched the championship. He is the son of 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg. Heikki Kovalainen ended up second in the points while Californian Scott Speed placed third.
• Williams BMW has named Antonio Pizzonia as Mark Webber's teammate for the final two races of the season. Pizzonia has been substituting for Nick Heidfeld since the latter injured himself in a F-1 testing accident and then a bicycle accident. The facts that Heidfeld has signed for BMW-Sauber for 2006 and Williams is evaluating his replacement probably didn't help his chances of getting back into the car for the final races of 2005.
• Last year's IRL champion Tony Kanaan got his first chance to drive a F-1 car when he tested the BAR Honda at Spain's Jerez circuit last week. The test was a reward from Honda for Kanaan's accomplishments in North America.
"I knew a couple of months ago about the test so I've been preparing myself for a long time," said Kanaan who completed 51 laps despite some technical problems. "It was different to what I am used to. The G loads are higher than in Indy Car but the steering is a lot lighter which makes my life easier. On the neck I couldn't feel a lot, probably because I prepared myself pretty good to come here. I didn't do a long run so I imagine it does get tougher. It's as physical as Indy Cars but in a different way."
Like other drivers, such as Jeff Gordon who drove a F-1 car for the first time, Kanaan was awed by the braking ability.
"Obviously, I got told that I was going to be impressed," he said, "but I was very impressed with the brakes."
