Latest F1 news in brief
- FIA to inspect Lewis Hamilton's V8 engine for cheating
- Indian GP still on track for 2010 – Mallya
- Ferrari to test 'shark fin' engine cover
- Another video keeps Kimi amid controversy
- Valencia F1 track set to host first races
- Spyker F1 chief fined for insider trading
FIA to inspect Lewis Hamilton's V8 engine for cheating
(GMM) F1's governing body is to inspect the Mercedes-Benz engine that powered Lewis Hamilton to victory at last Sunday's German grand prix.
The inspection, although the first of its kind this season, is apparently both random and routine, in accordance with the current two-race per engine regulation, and the so-called 'freeze' on free engine development.
The inspection will take place during scrutineering prior to the Hungarian grand prix next week, the Spanish newspaper Diario AS revealed.
The FIA informed Hamilton's team, McLaren-Mercedes, of the pending inspection in the form of an official communiqué on Tuesday, the newspaper added.
Indian GP still on track for 2010 – Mallya
(GMM) Preparations for an inaugural grand prix in India are still on track for 2010, Force India team boss Vijay Mallya says.
The Indian billionaire, who is also head of the Indian national motor sporting federation, said recently that organizers have obtained land, set aside race fees, and will build a circuit outside the capital city Delhi.
It is understood Mallya is not directly involved, but he explained to F1 reporters at Hockenheim last week that the CEO of one of India's biggest banks is backing the project.
Construction of the track will begin in early October, Mallya said.
"For the first time, now I think I feel very confident to be able to say to you that there will be a brand new track and that we will have our first grand prix in 2010," he said last Friday.
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was in the Indian city Mumbai this week and he also backed the plans for a grand prix in the country.
"India is certainly going to have an impact on formula one in the next couple of years," the McLaren driver said.
"I believe the Indian market is enormous and if F1 can tap it, then it will benefit F1 as well as India in the long run," the Briton added.
Ferrari to test 'shark fin' engine cover
(GMM) On the last day of the Jerez test on Friday, Ferrari is set to try for the first time a so-called 'shark-fin'-style engine cover.
The concept, already used at grands prix by the Red Bull teams, Renault and Force India, has also been tested recently by McLaren and Toyota.
Honda briefly tried a similar innovation on the engine cover of Rubens Barrichello's car at Jerez on Thursday.
World champion Kimi Raikkonen is confident the Jerez test has been useful for Ferrari, given his and the Italian team's lackluster showing last weekend.
"We now have a clearer idea about what happened at Hockenheim," the Finn said.
Also at the Spanish test circuit on Thursday, Pedro de la Rosa's 2008 McLaren at one point featured the so-called 'elephant ears' nose horns, which have been raced in 2008 by Honda and BMW-Sauber.
De la Rosa, the Mercedes-powered team's veteran test driver, told Motorsport Aktuell he has been buoyed by McLaren's progress in recent weeks.
"Before Hockenheim we actually thought the track would suit Ferrari more than us. It shows that we have been working in the right direction," the Spaniard told the Swiss publication.
Force India, meanwhile, has this week been putting miles on its new seamless shift gearbox, that should make its debut next time out in Hungary.
Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella will not be able to sample the Budapest-spec car prior to Hungary, however, as he is recovering from a virus.
Another video keeps Kimi amid controversy
(GMM) Not long after creating a stir with the photographer incident at Silverstone, world champion Kimi Raikkonen has once again found himself in the media's glare for all the wrong reasons.
A new video clip, depicting the Ferrari driver in the Hockenheim paddock, shows him trying to avoid a woman's determined autograph folder, that had been thrust forcefully in his path — only to accidentally knock a toddler to the ground.
The Swiss newspaper Blick unkindly pointed out that the Finn, who is 28, "did not even apologize" as he hurriedly walked on.
But it must also be noted that the woman similarly ignored the screaming toddler, before Raikkonen turned to her — presumably to advise that her child needed a hug from her mother more than a formula one driver's autograph.
The video can be found here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VGvoGqB-j_U
Valencia F1 track set to host first races
(GMM) The first motor sport action is set to take place this weekend at Valencia's new formula one street circuit.
Ahead of the grand prix action there late next month, the Spanish port city is hosting local formula three and international GT races, in what the newspaper Diario AS describes as a "dress rehearsal" for F1.
The newspaper said that, with hours to go before the official program was set to kick off, the circuit – including some perimeter fencing, tire barriers and curb painting – was "far from completed".
An estimated 20,000 spectators, possibly including F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, will attend the weekend's events.
GP2 star Bruno Senna, meanwhile, is also tipped to take part, perhaps in a GT race, as are several of his rivals.
Spyker F1 chief fined for insider trading
(GMM) Former formula one team official Victor Muller, the founder and former Spyker chief executive, has been fined $150,000 for insider trading.
The Dutch financial watchdog AFM (Autoriteit Financiele Markten) ruled that Muller, now chief designer of the specialist car maker, passed knowledge about Spyker to a bank, the newspaper Financieele Dagblad reported this week.
Spyker, which last year sold the Silverstone based formula one outfit to the team's current incarnation Force India, refused to comment.
The Dutch newspaper, however, said the case dates back to when Spyker was involved in formula one.
Reportedly, Muller emailed the undisclosed bank in the middle of last year, advising it not to sell shares in the company because a "positive press release" was shortly due to be released.
The AFM, which imposed the heaviest penalty possible, said the breach was a "very serious violation" of the law.