Rainy start to F1 season?

The 2003 Formula One season will most likely kick-off in wet conditions as the storm clouds look set to gather on Melbourne during the race weekend.

On Friday during the first qualifying session and testing practices, the weather will hold-up and most likely will remain sunny, but when the weekend starts, it will deteriorate.

On Saturday, rain and thunder are predicted with occasional sunny outbreaks but in general it will be a wet day. The temperature is expected to range between 17 ºC and 21 ºC, and if the weather changes drastically during the qualifying shoot-out session, we could end up with an unusual looking grid.

On Sunday, the temperatures are expected to be slightly higher but rain and thunder are still predicted which should provide for some interesting racing.

 

Loss of West sponsorship big blow to McLaren?

UPDATE According to a post on AtlasF1.com McLaren's press officer, Ellen Kolby, who is in Melbourne had this to say: There is absolutely no truth to this rumor - McLaren and West have not parted ways. The McLaren website has been relaunched without any West mention strictly because of legal advice given to the team and its partner West due to the new strict laws regarding tobacco branding on Internet websites.

Just like in Grands Prix where tobacco advertising is not allowed, McLaren replaces "West" in its "West McLaren Mercedes" team name with the word "Team" -- to form "Team McLaren Mercedes". This is the team's brand relating to all online activities hereon.

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We bet Ron Dennis won't object to Max and Bernie's cost cutting measures now. Team McLaren Mercedes, as they are now called by team sources, are rumored to have parted company with German tobacco giant 'West' - their title sponsor for the last five seasons.

West's contract with McLaren Mercedes expires at the end of this year, before the tobacco ban in the sport comes into full force in 2006. However, reports suggest that McLaren and West have terminated their contract a year early, for reasons which are yet to be announced.

In their most recent test McLaren was been running a full 2003 paint scheme - but without the West logos. Stay tuned as this one unfolds.




[Modified by Alexis, 5:21 PM 3/5/2003]

 

BMW could move to Sauber?

With an announcement from both BMW and WilliamsF1, regarding the continuation of their partnership, yet to be seen reports (rumours) are saying that BMW is planning to drop the WilliamsF1 team and supply the Swiss Sauber team.

Reports in the German motorsport magazine 'Auto Bild', claim that BMW management are frustrated by the poor performance of the new FW25. BMW Motorsport Director Gerhard Berger has commented to the German media by saying: "The new Williams car is simply too slow. I have to say we are very worried."

Berger added: "It is definitely not our engine. All tests at our plant have shown that the BMW P83 motor is in a league of its own. We have got the best engine in the sport." "In F1 racing good cars have always been fast on the spot. But we are miles away from that."

Ralf had said: "It makes me sick that everything always just runs smoothly for my brother Michael. I have done more miles with my rental car from the hotel to the circuit than with the racer in testing."

Peter Sauber has previously said that he would be happy to have a manufacturer like BMW join his team. Sauber said: "It is always useful to have the backing of a car giant. The continuously high costs in the sport basically demand such co-operation."

 

Another shrewd move from Bernie?

23-02-2003
http://www.pitpass.com/news2/news.cfm?newsid=4945

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is understood to be considering buying back the 75% of F1 that the banks currently control.
It's understood that if he is successful he would then float it on the stock market thereby allowing the teams the opportunity to but their own slice of the sport.

The proviso however is that Ecclestone will only go ahead with the deal if the F1 teams agree to commit to F1, and not switch to the GPWC or any other rival F1 series, until 2015.

"I believe the family trust would buy back F1 from the banks if all the F1 teams extended until 2015," he told The Sunday Times.

The ownership of F1 is a long and complex tale that has seen many hearts and companies broken along the way.

In 1999 SLEC, the Ecclestone family trust that effectively owns F1, sold 12.5% to Morgan Grenfell Private Equity. Then, investment bank Hellman & Friedman bought a further 37.5%. In late 2000 the two banks sold their stake - which now totalled 50% - to EM.TV, the German media company that already owned the rights to The Muppets.

In 2001, another German media company Kirch, bought a further 25% of SLEC, however both outfits were to collapse leaving the banks, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers and Bayerische Landesbank, holding 75% of F1. The remaining 25% of SLEC is owned by Ecclestone's Bambino Trust.

This week, and not for the first time, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo fired a broadside at Ecclestone accusing the man who has, almost single-handed built the sport into the empire that it is today, of being greedy: "He has made huge amounts of money becoming one of the richest men in Britain," said the Italian, "but he wanted too much for himself. It is his biggest mistake.

"Now the car manufacturers are not prepared to fund the banks, they prefer to have it in their own pockets. Without us in 2008 the banks will own 100% of nothing."

Ecclestone wasted no time in replying to the Ferrari President: "Nobody has been greedy at all," he says. "It was good commercial sense to get the maximum for the asset. Who could have foreseen what was going to happen with EM.TV?

"If Luca is so clever, then how come he hasn't solved the problems at Fiat?," he continues. "If the teams or manufacturers do anything to induce a breach of contract, we will sue the hell out of them."

"The Bambino Trust tried to buy what was then the 50% stake back from EM.TV because the trust realised Kirsch would bring instability and not be popular," Brian Powers, a director of the Bambino Trust and managing director of Hellman & Friedman told The Sunday Times. "We have made it clear that if, as part of a long-term solution, extra money was needed either in SLEC or to buy the banks out, the trust was willing to do that. But we need a long- term Concorde agreement in place."

Now perhaps we're missing the point here but it appears as though Bernie is asking the teams to agree to commit themselves to F1 for another 12 years - this will of course bring a certain amount of stability to the sport - while at the same time increasing the value of SLEC. Then, providing they agree, and without some of these teams F1 would be nothing, he will allow them to buy a slice of SLEC thus putting more money in his pocket.

The man's a genius!

 

SPEED Channel, Formula One Ink Three-Year Deal

Written by: Erik Arneson - SPEED Channel Public Relations
Charlotte, NC – 3/4/2003
http://www.speedtv.com/speed/press.php?p=5376

SPEED Channel President Jim Liberatore announced today that SPEED Channel has reached an unprecedented three-year agreement with the FIA Formula One World Championship, making SPEED the television home to the complete 16-race Grand Prix racing schedule in 2003, including September’s United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis.

“Formula One events, fans and history are the bricks and mortar that form the foundation that this network was built upon,” Liberatore said. “We have known for many years that F1 deserves to be presented to its fans in a comprehensive manner worthy of the title of the world’s most popular racing series. This coverage includes Formula One's past, present and future. With the addition of "F1 Decade", F3000 and continued coverage of every event including practice and qualifying, we are providing this passionate fan base the coverage it deserves. What's more, they will no longer need to wait until hours before the season's first green flag to know where to tune in!”

The deal, SPEED Channel’s fifth with a major racing sanctioning body in the last six months, begins with this weekend’s live qualifying and racing coverage from the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Since announcing the addition of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the end of September, SPEED Channel also has inked deals with USAC, ASA and the IHRA for programming in 2003 and beyond.

The F1 deal also includes broadcast rights for the Formula One season ten years removed from the current season, allowing SPEED’s F1 Decade to air races from the 1993 season this year.

SPEED Channel’s coverage from Australia begins with live Thursday evening qualifying at 10 p.m. ET. Race coverage begins Saturday evening at 9:30 p.m.

Former F1 mechanic Steve Matchett and play-by-play man Rick DeBruhl will join veteran analyst and former F1 driver David Hobbs in the broadcast booth. Peter Windsor will provide reporting from the paddock.