Selected News Headlines
McLaren says that that it is going to contact the Home Office, the British ministry responsible for law and order, regarding concerns about how the Italian police are conducting their inquiries into the espionage affairs of last season.
The Economic and Environmental review and development committee of the South Northants Council has agreed to refer the Silverstone Master Plan back to the council, rather than giving the plan an instant go-ahead. The next Council meeting will be in March.
Paul Frere, a celebrated racing driver and journalist, has died at the age of 91. The Belgian never fully recovered from an accident at the end of 2006 while driving a VW Golf near the old Nurburgring in Germany. Frere, 89 at the time, suffered a shattered pelvis, several broken ribs and punctures to both lungs.
Tony Rolt has died at the age of 89. The former Grand Prix driver had a spectacular career both as a soldier and later in racing and in business. At 21 he was a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade which was part of the British Expeditionary Force in France when the German invasion occurred. Rolt was trapped in Calais where the small British force helped to hold back the advance of a Panzer Division that was bound for Dunkirk. Australia's triple Formula 1 World Champion,
Sir Jack Brabham, has been named an officer of the Order of Australia in the annual Australia Day honours list. The 81-year-old recognises his achievements as an ambassador for the sport, for his promotion of young drivers and for his support of various charity organisations.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has presented its MP4-23 for 2008
The Dakar rally has been cancelled due to a terrorist threat
Jimmy Stewart, Jackie's older brother, has died
Chinese GP executive Yu Zhifei has been jailed for embezzlement of public funds
Ferrari has unveiled its F2008 car for the coming season
Lewis Hamilton has had his driving licence suspended for a month after he was caught doing almost 200 km/h on a French motorway on Sunday. Hamilton had his Mercedes taken and was given a 600 Euro fine
FIA cancels hearing due on 14th February in view of McLaren’s public apology.
Michael Schumacher took over the driving seat in the taxi taking him and his family to the airport when he thought he would be late. The taxi driver said it was astoundingly fast but he received a good tip.
The French are still considering the possibility of a new F1 circuit near Paris in the commune of Versailles at the Camp de Satory.
Fernando Alonso signs with the ING Renault F1 Team and Nico Rosberg stays with Williams.
The FIA have been given permission to Max Mosley to sue the Sunday Times for suggesting there was a witch-hunt against McLaren. The article was written by Martin Brundle who is refusing to back down.
The Rotterdam Racing BV organisation is to take F1 to the streets of Moscow in 2008 with plans for an event on July 13, the weekend between the British and German Grands Prix. The plan is to create a street circuit around the Kremlin.
The FIA World Council has ruled that Renault was guilty of the charge that the team was in breach of Article of 151c of the International Sporting Code - but decided to impose no penalty.
It seems likely that there will be an international racing circuit at Portimao on Portugal's southern coast.
Work will begin next week on a new pit wall at Silverstone.
Formula One Administration Ltd has signed a multi-year deal for Kitbag Ltd to operate the Formula One merchandising operation at Formula1.com.
Eurosport is to produce live coverage of the 2007 Motor Sport Business Forum in Monaco on December 5-6.
Max Mosley has been in Serbia to discuss the construction of an international racing circuit in the country.
Brawn moves from Ferrari to Honda after his year off
Stefano Domenicali will take on the role of Director of Ferrari's Gestione Sportiva, a position currently held - on an interim basis - by Jean Todt
Wembley stadium to hold Race Of Champions in December
Croft circuit to have new commentary room and media office
Drivers under 16 will get their 1st racing licence free from the MSA
It is expected that Lewis Hamilton may be floated on the stock exchange
Details of the plans for the Silverstone circuit have now become available
In addition to the night-time F1 street race, Singapore is to build a permanent circuit
The Australian Grand Prix continues to lose money - estimated at $31m this year
As expected, Hamilton is moving to Switzerland
2007
Singapore will have a night race next September
From 2008 there is to be a freeze on F1 engine development
Fuji Speedway are hving to refund £1.5m to spectators who bougfht grandstand seats with no track view
The European Court of Justice has ended a 47-year-old law which protected VW from takeover and thereby cleared the way for Porsche which already owns 31%
The F1 Spyker team is to be renamed Force India for 2008
The FIA, have cancelled the upcoming International Court of Appeal and instead recalling the FIA World Council to re-examine the question of whether McLaren breached Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.
Business F1 magazine was subject to a winding-up order in the High Court this morning.
Formula Money is a new annual report based on the finances of Formula 1. The report contains the breakdowns on every current sponsorship deal, all the race sanction fees, the total resources of all the teams and comparisons of the team turnovers for the last 20 years.
Spyker Cars NV is being investigated about its activities by AFM, the Dutch stockmarket regulator
Queens Park Rangers Football Club has announced that Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have made an offer to buy the soccer team
Singapore has begun construction work for its Formula 1 race
The European Union's Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou has written to Ferrari, asking them to end its tobacco sponsorship in Formula 1
It is thought that a deal has been done for the Mol family and India's Vijay Mallya to take control of the Spyker F1 team and that the team will take on a new identity, probably linked to Mallya's Kingfisher brand
Vija Mallya claims he has a mandate from Ecclestone to act as regulator and co-ordinator of India's F1 bid
The FIA found McLaren guilty of possessing Ferrari papers but imposed no penalty. Ferrari appealed and Mosley has agreed that there can be anther hearing
The BRDC has voted in favour of the Master Plan for the future of Silverstone.
The Ferrari Board has given Todt permission to continue any necessary legal action in the name of the company, relating to the Stepney, Coughlan McLaren affair
The French Grand Prix has been confirmed for two years at Magny Cours
Ferrari have started court proceedings against Mike Couglan and his wife for espionage. McLaren deny any knowledge of 'stolen' paperwork. Nigel Stepney dismissed by Ferrari. The FIA World Motor Sport Coucil have requested representatives from McLaren Mercedes in Paris for an EGM on July 26.
Magny Cours has held its last Grand Prix. Another circuit will have to be found
Ford confirms Jaguar and Landrover are for sale
India will have a GP in New Delhi in 2009
The next VSCC President will be Roger Ballard
The Swiss parliament finally voted to allow racing, but there are more hurdles to cross
Flavio Briatore is in dispute with magistrates in Milan who want to talk about David Mills, the English lawyer who is accused of having accepted a bribe of $600,000 from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Bernie Ecclestone has said he wants the British government to pay for the British Grand Prix
Elly Beinhorn Rosemeyer, celebrated aviatrix, and wife of Auto Union Grand Prix driver, Bernd Rosemeyer, celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday in Germany
The Bahrain authorities are trying to find 700 people who are now living illegally inside the country, having entered the Gulf state on Formula 1 visas
Plans to floodlight an F1 race in Australia have been cancelled
The two Ferrari employees who passed on technical data to Toyota have received a suspended sentence
The Malaysian government has told Sepang to do whatever is necessary to reach a new deal with Ecclestone for hosting the grand prix until 2015
The Turkish Grand Prix is guaranteed until 2021
Ecclestone has decided that he prefers the idea of a race around the streets of the capital Delhi, rather than at a purpose-built location in the suburbs of the city
23 It is unlikely that Melbourne will have any night racing in 2008
The FIA and the F1 community have joined calls for a United Nations conference on road safety. Every year around 1.2m people die on the roads, 40% of the victims being under the age of 25
Police foiled 70 attempts by rioters to sabotage the Bahrain Grand Prix
The Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris has thrown out Michelin's case against the FIA relating to the appointment of Pirelli as the sole tyre supplier for the World Rally Championship for three years
Possibility of a new F1 race circuit in Queensland which could be floodlit
HWA, the company that runs all of Mercedes-Benz's non-Formula 1 motor sport activities, is to be floated on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange later this year
The BRDC has confirmed backing for the new Master Plan for Silverstone and that it is not for sale following another approach from developers Spectre
The FFSA have stated that there will be no F1 GP at Magny-Cours in 2008. There are rumours of building a new circuit at Eurodisney near Paris
Michelin has announced that it will sue the FIA over their granting of exclusive tyre supply to Pirelli for 3 years World Rally Championships, due to irregularities in the tender process
Porsche continue to stalk VW and have launched a low priced take-over bid
Honda's F1 car will run without any sponsor decals on it
Future of The Red Arrows in jeopardy. Petition http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveTheReds/
David Richards mooted as interested in purchasing Aston Martin company from Ford
Shell Ferrari car advertisement filming in London cancelled and replaced with Monaco. Also cancelled in Australia when local government asked for more money. Filming still due in New York, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Hong Kong and Rome
Auto Union withdrawn from Christie's Paris auction due to confusion over chassis number
The British Grand Prix is expected to be named the 'Santander British GP' following a reputed £6m deal with Spanish bankers
The BRDC are to reduce their sportscar championship to just 4 UK rounds
A German town has scrapped all its traffic signs as part of an EU backed project to encourage responsible driving
Donington Park circuit, land and Grand Prix car collection, has been bought by Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd., a newly formed company
Abu Dhabi will host a F1 Grand Prix from 2009
Baron 'Toulo' de Graffenried has died (92). He won the Silverstone Grand Prix in 1948
Ferrari has arranged to have some main London streets closed next month to film a Shell Ferrari advertisement
Gunnar Elmgren has died aged 65. He represented historic motoring with the FIA
15
The Formula One group of companies has secured $2.9 billion of funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lehman Brothers in order to pay off a loan taken out by new owners CVC in order to buy the Formula One group. Shareholders in a new company called Delta Topco, in Jersey, has the previous shareholders of SLEC (Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan), CVC, Ecclestone Family Trust and Ecclestone himself, who arranged the deal
Ferrari plan major event at Maranello in June for 60th anniversary
The Bahrain government has bought a 30% shareholding in the McLaren Group, using its new holding company Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding.
December 2006
23
The FIA has put a copy of the regulations plans for the Formula 1 technical regulations for 2009 on its FIA website although it has made no official announcement
22
The British Racing Drivers' Club has voted through plans for Porsche Cars GB to develop a Porsche Driver Training Facility at Silverstone
16 Clay Regazzoni has died
12 8,400 visitors attended the London motor show at ExCel at the weekend
11 Ron Maydon's Masters empire has acquired Top Hat Racing
10 Work on widenning Donington Park's pit wall will begin next week-ish
9 NTL have withdrawn from the bidding for ITV (see below)
6 German luxury car maker Porsche says it has no takeover plans for Volkswagen, despite building up a 27% stake
2 Mario Andretti has been made a Commendatore, the equivalent title of a Knighthood and the highest civilian honour awarded by the Italian government
2 Historic Motor Racing News magazine has moved to the Motor Sport offices in Chelsea, London
November
29
Jaguar’s replacement for the S-Type saloon will be called the Jaguar XF. It is expected to be less traditional in its appearance
28 Stuart Pringle is to be the new Club Secretary of the BRDC
18 BSkyB has bought 17.9% of the ITV company, to compete with RTL, and there is another bid from NTL
17 Adam Parr is to replace Chris Chapple as CEO of Williams F1
17 German F1 rights holder RTL, Europe's biggest broadcasting company, is thought to be preparing to bid for ITV, the UK television firm which broadcasts F1 to English-speaking audiences across the globe
17 James Pillar former Ferrari GB marketing director is joining Bentley Motors as director of marketing communications
15 A new Concorde Agreement is to be drawn up which will last at least 5 years as a result of a recent meeting between the FIA and GPMA who had threatened a breakaway series
14
Work has started on the Spa circuit, in plenty of time for next year’s Belgium GP
12 The A1 in China took place eventually and was won by Italy's Enrico Toccacelo after a race full of incidents
11 Despite overnight work to widen the Beijing circuit, a red flag stopped the A1GP practice due to a loose manhole cover on the racing line. All manhole covers are to be bolted and screwed down and it is hoped the races will go ahead tomorrow
10 This weekend's A1 GP street race in Beijing has run into trouble because the A1 cars cannot get round the hairpin
10 Ecclestone's FOA has sold the rights to develop a string of F1 theme parks conncected to the Grand Prix circuits to Union Properties, a UAE property investment development company
10
Hornby buys bankrupt Airfix
10
Volkswagen's chief executive Bernd Pischetsrieder is to be replaced by Audi's chief executive Martin Winterkorn
10
French automaker Peugeot Citroen has named former Airbus chief executive Christian Streiff as its new boss
10
Ecclestone's latest provocative idea is that Britain will share its Grand Prix with France from 2010. The BRDC are not amused
10 Rolls-Royce is to increase its Goodwood factory workforce due to demand for its cars from China
1 Ross Brawn to take a year off from F1
1 Nigel Mansell's circuit karting plans at Dunkeswell, Devon, turned down
October
31 Michael Schumacher confirms he will become 'super assistant' to Jean Todt at Ferrari
31 Australian GP organisers say they will issue pink tickets for women to watch the GP from a special enclosure. Blue tickets for men will go on sale several months later (it is not April 1st!)
26 Major F1 GP changes for 2007 include the loss of Cosworth, Michelin and tobacco sponsors. Schumacher leaves Ferrari, Alonso leaves Renault and Raikkonen leaves McLaren
26 The consortium ATI which thought they had the rights to run the Mille Miglia next year have lost to the orginal organisers Marvi srl. They intend to appeal to the Council of State in Rome.
25 Jean Todt appointed CEO of Ferrari
September 2006
30 Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum is selling his controling share in A1GP. There is no A1GP round scheduled for Dubai in 2007
30 Alonso, Schumacher R and Webber have replaced Coultard, Schmacher M and Trulli on the board of the GPDA
27
Nurburgring will host the German GP next year leaving Hockenheim with a GP in 2007
25 Donington Park race circuit has been acquired by an American consortium
20 Ford has bought the rights to the Rover marque for c£6million
16 Ford now says Jaguar is not for sale
16 The former BBC motor racing commentator Raymond Baxter has died aged 84
15 FOA profit rose 11% to £166m last year and increased sales by 12% to £417m. New owners, CVC Capital, are hoping for a return of 20% in due course
15 Fiat is spending $800m to buy back 29% of Ferrari, giving them 83% ownership of the business
11 Midland F1 (Alex Schnaider) confirmed sale of F1 Racing to Spyker Cars, a Dutch-Arab consortium
11 Michael Schumacher confirmed he will retire at the end of 2006 and will be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen
11 Aintree expect to have the Tatts corner reinstated on the motor race track
5 The Ford Motor Company is to sell Aston Martin
3 Adrian Newey had another accident at the Goodwood Revival but has been released from hospital
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