Latest F1 news in brief
- Around the 'net: F1 on Tuesday Dec. 8th
- Buemi not disappointed to lose Toyota option
- Now Schu's manager hints at Christmas delay
- Stefan invites Toyota staff to join team
- Silverstone plans new layout for British GP
- Bridgestone reveals more tweaks for 2010 tires
Alonso plays down effect of F1 refuelling ban - Donington still hoping to sell circuit lease
Around the 'net: F1 on Tuesday Dec. 8th
(GMM) Jenson Button receives an award from the British PM Gordon Brown:
http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page21641
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Silverstone's new 'Arena' layout that could be used for the 2010 British grand prix:
http://www.silverstone.co.uk/track/circuit-maps/upcoming-developments/
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Jean Alesi to Le Mans (French):
http://www.ouest-france.fr/sport/une_automoto_detail_-Jean-Alesi-au-depart-des-24-Heures-du-Mans-2010_39706-1183023_actu.Htm
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F1's new Australian TV deal includes online rights:
http://mumbrella.com.au/ten-extends-f1-broadcast-rights-to-include-online-mobile-and-iptv-13697
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| Sebastien Buemi |
Buemi not disappointed to lose Toyota option
(GMM) Sebastien Buemi insists he is not disappointed about staying at Toro Rosso in 2010 following Toyota's decision to withdraw from formula one.
The Swiss 21-year-old, who impressed on debut with Red Bull's junior team this year, recently revealed he had talks with Toyota prior to the Japanese giant's decision to quit the sport.
Asked by the Swiss daily Le Matin if he is disappointed to instead be facing a second season with the Faenza based team, Buemi answered: "No, absolutely not.
"There was some discussion (with Toyota), that's all. It was an opportunity like any other. I don't have any problem with Toro Rosso," he added, confirming that his new contract takes him to the end of the 2010 season.
Pressed for what he will do in 2011 and beyond, Buemi continued: "There are options and we'll see what happens."
He played down expectations about 2010 with Toro Rosso, who for the first time will field a car designed in-house rather than by Red Bull Technology's Adrian Newey.
"Obviously it would be nice to win a GP, but you have to be realistic. I am with one of the smallest teams in F1. I have to score points, show what I can do and attract a big team to get the chance to drive a car to win races.
"You also have to have a bit of luck, being in the right place at the right time," said Buemi, who was this week named sportsman of the year for his native Swiss region of Vaud.
He said the world will see Toro Rosso's 2010 car for the first time when it is displayed at Valencia on January 30, prior to the first major pre-season test.
Now Schu's manager hints at Christmas delay
(GMM) The Michael Schumacher camp is still giving nothing away while refusing to quell rumors linking the 40-year-old with a 2010 return to formula one.
The seven time world champion's long time manager Willi Weber was scheduled to meet on Monday with Schumacher in Stuttgart, although he insisted the location has nothing to do with the proximity of the Mercedes/Daimler headquarters.
But afterwards, Weber said "I don't know yet" when asked by the Cologne publication Express for more information about Schumacher's plans for next year.
Intriguingly, however, Weber mentioned the looming festive season, on the same day that Mercedes' Norbert Haug also warned that the identity of Nico Rosberg's teammate might not be known until after Christmas.
"That is speculation and I don't want to participate in it," said Weber when pressed again about the Mercedes rumors.
"Let's wait, even though soon it is Christmas."
Stefan invites Toyota staff to join team
(GMM) Stefan GP is ushering members of Toyota's defunct formula one team to the front of the queue for jobs with the hopeful Serbian entrant.
Headed by Belgrade based businessman Zoran Stefanovich, Stefan GP has not received the green light to race in 2010 but said on Monday it hopes to eventually make its grand prix debut.
Revealing that Toyota's John Howett visited the Belgrade headquarters on Monday, the team also began to advertise for staff for "all areas" of an F1 operation.
"Some posts will be located in Germany (and the) rest of (the) team will be located in Belgrade, Serbia," said Stefan GP (SGP).
SGP added that Toyota F1 personnel, 500 of whom have lost their jobs at the marque's Cologne headquarters, will have a "slight advantage" for the vacant positions.
Silverstone plans new layout for British GP
(GMM) A revised layout of the Silverstone circuit could be used for next July's British grand prix.
With the Northamptonshire venue scheduled to also host MotoGP for the first time in 2010, plans for a new layout in the middle of the current lap are already in motion.
The new complex features a bowl-style arena in the infield, located to the right of the current Maggots/Becketts/Chapel complex.
The Arena/MotoGP layout will see the layout sweep to the right after the straight following the Club corner, rather than left for the Abbey chicane and the run to Bridge.
Like Bridge, also missing will be the Priory left-hander, the new circuit instead reconnecting with the existing layout for the tight Luffield curve before the run to the start-finish.
Silverstone chiefs intend to use the new layout for the 2010 F1 race, but as FIA homologation is pending, the existing track will also be ready for action next July.
"There is an awful lot going on," said Silverstone managing director Richard Phillips, adding that work on a new pit and paddock complex will commence after Christmas and be ready for 2011.
"I would love to run the Arena circuit (for F1 in 2010) because I think it will be incredible. It is keeping the best of the original circuit, but it is much safer because of the changes we are making for the bikes," he is quoted as saying by the Times.
It is feared, however, that the changes could result in higher ticket prices.
"It's not out of reach to expect that, as we get better facilities, people will pay higher prices for that," Damon Hill, president of the track-owning British Racing Drivers' Club, told the Independent.
Bridgestone reveals more tweaks for 2010 tires
(GMM) Bridgestone has confirmed that additional tweaks will be made to its tires before the marque bows out of formula one at the end of the 2010 season.
It emerged earlier this year that next year's Bridgestone slicks will be thinner at the front in order to produce better handling and less rear wear in the cars' current aerodynamic configuration.
The Japanese supplier has now revealed that additional changes will be made in light of the ban on refuelling for 2010 and the different race strategies that may therefore arise.
"The construction is more durable, and the compounds have also been modified," said chief engineer Jun Matsuzaki.
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| Fernando Alonso |
Alonso plays down effect of F1 refuelling ban
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has played down suggestions the ban on refuelling for 2010 will force drivers to dramatically alter their driving styles.
Because the cars will have to carry enough fuel for the entire race distance next year, the weight of the cars at the start and the end of grands prix will be dramatically different.
It has been suggested that drivers will therefore need to drive more strategically, by putting more attention into managing the use of fuel and tires.
But 2005 and 2006 world champion Alonso, who will be Felipe Massa's Ferrari teammate next year, said: "I do not believe it (the refuelling ban) is going to be decisive or change the races very much."
In quotes published by Spain's Marca from a Santander event in Madrid, the 28-year-old Spaniard acknowledged that the tires will be more stressed when the fuel weights are high.
"The important thing will be to look after them in the first 10 or 15 laps, the first stint," said Alonso.
"But just because of that I don't believe the driving styles are going to change too much," he added.
Donington still hoping to sell circuit lease
(GMM) Donington's administrators admit the circuit can forget its formula one ambitions for now, but are still hoping to imminently sell the long term lease of the Leicestershire venue.
While revealing talks with three potential buyers, administrator Nigel Price said he was disappointed to hear about rival circuit Silverstone's new deal to stage the British grand prix until 2026.
"There is a break clause on either side of 10 years, so that closes the door on formula one at Donington in that time scale," he told the local Derby Telegraph.
"However, we are still in negotiations with three parties with a view to Donington continuing to operate as a national and club circuit.
"We are hopeful a deal can be done by the end of this week," Price added.