Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Set To Dazzle

His Excellency Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak has promised that Abu Dhabi GP will be “an event that will herald a new era in world motor racing”

The founding chairman of Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management is currently overseeing the building of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix infrastructure. The Yas Marina Circuit is said not just any circuit, but at the racing location of Yas Island, it will be a state of the art facility and promise to set new standards in the F1 circle

The track will be a 21 turns anticlockwise and 3.4 mile circuit with the largest 50,000 grandstands seats in the world. The circuit will be solar powered and the accommodation boasts of 500 room hotels, theme parks and a nearby marina.

Steeles Law takes F1 chief’s privacy battle to Europe

Norfolk-based Steeles Law has been retained by Formula 1 chief Max Mosley to take his privacy case to the European Court of Human Rights.


The president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the governing body of Formula 1, is looking to force a change in English law that will require editors to contact subjects of news stories about any revelations before publishing allegations about their private lives.

The move follows Mosley being awarded £60,000 in damages against the News of the World after the Sunday newspaper alleged that Mosley’s sadomasochistic sex session with five dominatrices had “Nazi connotations”. Mr Justice Eady ruled that the sex orgy involved a portrayal of sadomasochism but not in relation to Nazism.

Steeles litigation chief Dominic Crossley, who is representing Mosley, has instructed David Pannick QC of Blackstone Chambers, assisted by David Sherborne of 5 Raymond Buildings.

[TheLawyer]

Kimi drops out of 2008 championship hunt

Oct.13 (GMM) Sunday's Japanese grand prix hammered the final nail into the coffin of reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen's title defence.

The Finn's third place finish was his first podium appearance since June's Magny Cours round, but he nonetheless slipped an insurmountable 21 points behind the championship leader with just two races to go.

Also officially out of the running are BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and leader Lewis Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen.

Singapore and Fuji winner Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, could go on to win the last two races of the season while Hamilton fails to finish, but would still fall 16 points short of a third drivers' title.

Joining Hamilton and Felipe Massa in with a mathematical chance of the title, however, is BMW's Robert Kubica, who collected 8 points at Fuji while his championship rivals faltered.

"We are still in the fight, so let's try," said the Pole, who openly acknowledges that his car is not a match for the two top teams despite his mere 12 point deficit to Hamilton.

"I think Kimi showed last year that everything is possible and I hope we can find a few tenths which will help me in the battle," the 23-year-old added.

Renault, Honda, Toyota allowed to improve F1 engines

Renault and Honda have confirmed they will be among the teams authorised to make performance improvements to their engines ahead of the 2009 season.

The FIA declared recently that some teams will be allowed to "equalise engine performance", following the emergence of a situation whereby some frozen-specification V8s have pulled ahead this year.

"We will have to present a project to the FIA with all the changes that we want to do, and they will have to approve them," Renault boss Flavio Briatore confirmed to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Honda's team CEO Nick Fry, meanwhile, explained that only some teams will get the green light to carry out work.

"For some, like McLaren, Ferrari and BMW, it is probably not necessary. But yes, I can confirm that we (Honda) will be able to do it."

It is believed that Toyota is the other carmaker likely to be approved for engine performance improvements.

Briatore, who argues that Renault has fallen as much as 30 horse power behind in the engine freeze, explained: "It is obvious that we will not be able to change the concept of the engine, but we will be able to modify some internal components.

"This year we are the team that has improved its car the most. With the improvement of our engine, in 2009 we will have a great single seater," the Italian vowed.

Alonso vows to help Massa win title

Oct.13 (GMM) Back to back grand prix winner Fernando Alonso has admitted he would assist the title challenge of Ferrari's Felipe Massa in the last two races of 2008.

After his disastrous tenure at McLaren last year, the Spaniard makes clear he is not barracking for the British team's Lewis Hamilton, who leads the points standings against Massa by 5 points.

In the official post-race press conference at Fuji Speedway, Alonso admitted he agreed with the stewards' decision to penalise Hamilton for his first corner incident.

The 27-year-old later told Italy's Sky: "I didn't know why he (Hamilton) had been penalised. After last year, I want Ferrari to win. I will help Massa if I can."

Despite backing Massa over Hamilton, however, Alonso admits he has not been overly impressed with either driver's championship campaign.

"They have thrown away many points," Spain's Diario AS newspaper quotes him as saying.

"After 16 races the leader has 84 points, but I had that many after 9 races in 2006," Alonso recalls.

Also unimpressed is the winner of multiple Champ Car titles Sebastien Bourdais, who lost his championship points at Fuji after stewards investigated his collision with Massa.

"He's fighting for the title and taking unnecessary risks like that, as he did with (overtaking) Webber as well.

"You've got everything to lose and nothing to gain. It is a sign of arrogance," the Frenchman charged.

Hamilton says Massa crash 'deliberate'

Oct.13 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has accused his championship challenger Felipe Massa of deliberately colliding with him during Sunday's Japanese grand prix.

Ferrari's Massa, now lagging 5 points instead of 7 behind the McLaren driver, was penalised for tipping Briton Hamilton into a spin that dropped him to the rear of the field at Fuji Speedway.

"I did the corner normally and he came back very aggressively and hit me. I think that was pretty much as deliberate as can be," Hamilton, 23, told reporters in a briefing some time after the end of the race.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis' reproaches against Brazilian Massa were more subtle, but the Mercedes chief Norbert Haug left the press in little doubt as to his suspicions.

Comparing Massa's penalty with that of Hamilton's botched first corner, the German said: "Lewis harmed nobody, but Felipe spun his direct championship rival and I doubt that is what the spectators want to see."

27-year-old Massa strongly denied that his move could be compared to the controversial title tactics of his mentor Michael Schumacher.

But he said even Hamilton's finger pointing will not hurt their amiable relationship.

"I will not do something to destroy something on purpose," Massa said.

In fact, Massa predicted that a few days of calm will alter his rival's perception of the incident. It was obvious after the race that Hamilton was furious with the events.

Referring to the stewards' controversial decision to penalise his attack at the first corner, Hamilton admitted: "My personal disappointment will be with the start and the second will be with the way I'm treated.

"Everyone braked late and I just went a bit wider than everyone else and, for some reason, I got a penalty for that. I can't honestly understand that."

Dennis adds: "The thing that really got to him was the penalty -- it really did. He was bitterly complaining about it in the car."

BMW-Sauber keeps same drivers

Oct.6 (GMM) BMW-Sauber has ended speculation about Nick Heidfeld's future by announcing that the 31-year-old will continue to race for the team in 2009.

The German driver has struggled at times this season, but will again drive alongside his Polish teammate Robert Kubica next year, the Hinwil based team confirmed with a short media statement.

Christian Klien will remain test and reserve driver.

"We see Nick and Robert as a strong driver pairing and Christian as an experienced test driver," team boss Mario Theissen said.

2008 Japanese Grand Prix schedule

2008 Japanese Grand Prix
Formula 1 sessions schedule

Friday 10th October

10:00-11:30 Practice Session 1 (02:00)
14:00-15:30 Practice Session 2 (06:00)

Saturday 11th October

11:00-12:00 Practice Session 3 (03:00)
14:00-15:00 Qualifying (06:00)

Sunday 12th October

13:30 Race (05:30)

All times are local time (British time, GMT or BST as appropriate, in brackets).

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Sauber urges caution on F1 night races

Oct.5 (GMM) Peter Sauber has urged caution at the advent of the night racing era in formula one.

In the wake of the widely acclaimed Singapore grand prix, the first F1 race in history to be staged after sunset under floodlights, Bernie Ecclestone admitted he has set his sights on adding more night races to the future calendar.

"I would urge caution on this," Sauber, team founder and now a small shareholder and consultant of the BMW-Sauber squad, wrote in his column for the Swiss newspaper Blick.

The 64-year-old said the floodlit Singapore grand prix, amid the backdrop of the city-state's striking skyline, made aesthetic sense as well as providing a better live broadcast time for European viewers.

"But there are also tracks that would (at night) seem like no-man's land and look like a computer game. That was the impression I got from the pictures I saw of the MotoGP in Qatar," he added.

Living up to the unique Singapore atmosphere is not Sauber's only concern for future F1 night race hosts.

"An important question remains even after Singapore: what effect will the artificial light have when it rains? Change in F1 is definitely good, but we should not get carried away.

"In my opinion, a maximum of two night races per season would be enough."

Mateschitz thinks again on STR sale

Oct.5 (GMM) Dietrich Mateschitz has hinted he might reconsider his earlier pledge to sell his 50 per cent share in the formula one team Toro Rosso.

With the customer car saga possibly back in a state of flux, and Sebastian Vettel's breakthrough Monza win, the Red Bull mogul told an Austrian newspaper "It is possible that we leave everything as it is".

Billionaire Mateschitz earlier baulked at the looming end of the customer car era, arguing that it makes no sense to bankroll two full F1 constructors.

But he now tells Salzburger Nachrichten that he is waiting for the actual rules for 2010 to be written before making a final decision.

"It will show us whether we have an interested buyer, and it could also be that we no longer want to sell," Mateschitz, 64, said.

At the same time, Gerhard Berger, the other half-owner of the Faenza based team, has been publicly and privately urging his Austrian countryman to stay on board.

And, referring to Mateschitz, the former ten-time grand prix winner told Austria's O3 radio: "He manages a fantastic balance of business sense, private life and the joy of living."

Santander may stick with McLaren

Oct.5 (GMM) McLaren is not yet resigned to losing its Spanish sponsor Santander, a major banking group, to championship rival Ferrari.

We reported recently that, even without Fernando Alonso in the Italian team's red car, Santander's likely switch from McLaren to Ferrari in 2010 is still on track.

The Spanish newspaper Sport said Banco Santander confirmed that, at the end of a three year contract with McLaren next year, the company does not intend to exercise an option to renew for a further two years.

But now the British newspaper Daily Mail claims that Santander would be reluctant to leave McLaren if Lewis Hamilton wins the 2008 title.

"McLaren are determined to prevent their backers ... defecting," the newspaper said.

A McLaren spokesman confirmed only that "Santander will be a McLaren partner next year".

The Daily Mail added: "It is understood that negotiations with Santander to broaden their involvement with the team are in progress."

Hamilton in Grenada deal probe

Oct.5 (GMM) A deal whereby Lewis Hamilton this year invested millions of dollars in Grenada, the home of his paternal grandfather, is under investigation by the Caribbean island's government.

We reported in July that the McLaren driver was set to invest in a luxury beachside hotel development.

The $35 million deal reportedly included secret talks with then prime minister Keith Mitchell about acquiring adjoining lands, and significant tax breaks.

But with Tillman Thomas becoming Grenada's new prime minister just a few days after the deal was brokered, it now emerges that the government has ordered an investigation.

The news agency Associated Press reports that the deed to Hamilton's property includes $15 million in lands "free from encumbrances", in exchange for Grenada being able to use the Briton's image to promote the island nation.

Bernie fires back at 'circus' jibe

Oct.5 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone, the chief mastermind of the night racing concept for F1, has hit back at Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo's claim that the Singapore grand prix was akin to a "circus".

Also lashing out at the lack of overtaking opportunities at new street circuits, and the farcical safety car rules, Montezemolo said last week that "all this is humiliating for F1".

But Ecclestone, F1's chief executive, hinted to Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper that the attack by Montezemolo was perhaps to divert attention from Ferrari's woeful showing under the city-state's floodlights.

"If the Ferrari president is right about the Singapore grand prix being a circus," he said, "then we have to be grateful to him for providing the clowns."

The 77-year-old is undoubtedly referring to title rival Felipe Massa's botched pitstop, when the Brazilian ripped the fuel hose from the rig and pulled it the entire length of the pitlane.

Ecclestone continued to fire: "After the weekend Ferrari had, their president should have shut up and kept his head down. If Massa loses the world championship, he will know the team were responsible."

The British billionaire also slammed Ferrari's unique pitstop gantry lights system, used instead of a traditional lollipop, as "over the top".

"Why do you want to have some other piece of technology that can go wrong?" Bernie wondered.

A1 GP: Zandvoort Qualifying Results

Jeroen Bleekemolen will start from pole position on the A1 GP season opener at Zandvoort.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Jeroen Bleekemolen Netherlands 1:24.213
2. Earl Bamber New Zealand 1:24.529 +0.316
3. Adam Carroll Ireland 1:24.551 +0.338
4. Fairuz Fauzy Malaysia 1:24.720 +0.507
5. Clivio Piccione Monaco 1:25.118 +0.905
6. Neel Jani Switzerland 1:25.524 +1.311
7. Adrian Zaugg South Africa 1:25.928 +1.715
8. Fabio Onidi Italy 1:25.982 +1.769
9. Charlie Kimball USA 1:26.039 +1.826
10. Daniel Morad Lebanon 1:26.061 +1.848
11. Loic Duval France 1:26.433 +2.220
12. John Martin Australia 1:26.560 +2.347
13. Filipe Albuquerque Portugal 1:31.582 +7.369
14. Satrio Hermanto Indonesia 1:31.781 +7.568
15. Jin Woo Hwang Korea 1:33.020 +8.807
16. Felipe Guimaraes Brazil no time
17. Ho-Pin Tung China no time

Massa wants rethink of safety car rule

Felipe Massa is the latest driver to call for a change in the current safety car rules, believing Fernando Alonso’s win in Singapore was down to luck rather than judgment.

Current regulations close the pit lane to refuelling under a caution period, only reopening it when all the cars are backed up behind the safety car, and any cars that do refuel while the pits are closed receive a stop-go penalty.

“This specific race did highlight the fact that the safety car rules still need to be looked at very carefully, because the idea of Formula 1 is that the race should be won by the best driver and car combination on the day,” he told Ferrari’s website.

“I know we made mistakes, but the current system, as you can see from the final result of Sunday's race, means that the safety car can promote someone from the middle of the grid to the lead, not because of a clever strategy but simply by luck.

“I think the system needs to be changed and this problem was highlighted by the difficult nature of the Singapore track.”

Now Massa is 7 points adrift from championship leader Lewis, with 3 races to go.

“As for the championship it depends how you look at it: a seven point gap can be a lot or it can be a little,” he said.

“If you look at what happened to me in Singapore where my gap went from one point to seven so suddenly, then you have to consider it could easily go the other way as well.

“The most important element to consider is that we have a very good car.

"Without that, my chances would be much smaller.

“We have two good cars and we can try and get both of us to finish ahead of our rivals.

“It can be done and we need to think positive and we need to keep fighting to the last race."

Kimi form 'a mystery' to Ecclestone

Oct.4 (GMM) After Kimi Raikkonen admitted his 2008 title defence is now over, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has declared extreme "disappointment" with the current form of the reigning world champion.

"With Kimi I am extremely disappointed," the 77-year-old billionaire admitted in interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper, to be published on Sunday.

28-year-old Raikkonen, despite his sensational late dash to the drivers' crown a year ago, has struggled this season and is now a near-insurmountable 27 points behind the title lead with just three races to run.

Ecclestone said: "Kimi is such a fantastic driver. I thought he had lost his motivation, but then he signed for two more years with Ferrari. It is a mystery to me."

Last year, Bernie tipped Raikkonen's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa to take out the crown, praising the Brazilian as "stronger, faster and better than a lot of people think".

In 2008, with the 27-year-old now a true contender, the F1 supremo adds: "I have to admit that I have supported Felipe for a long time and helped him wherever I can.

"For so long he has been underestimated. Only recently was he in a position to show his true potential. He now has Kimi firmly within his grasp," Ecclestone said.