Mercedes is not thought to be preferring to run the talented Rosberg and Heidfeld in the hope of finding the next German world champion after Michael Schumacher.
if that's the case then they should be looking in seb vettel's direction!
The announcement today that BMW has decided to sell the team back to Peter Sauber is good news for anyone concerned about the direction the buying of new teams may be going in F1. Itfs also reassuring to see a car manufacturer behaving a little more responsibly than we have begun to expect. BMW has dropped the deal with the previous somewhat shady buyer, and has decided to accept a sale of the team back to Peter Sauber, the original owner.
Itfs the part about keeping away from the shady buyer that is good news for F1 fans, of course. Who wants a series made up of shady operations?
On the other hand, the way in which BMW has said it will accept to sell the team to Peter Sauber if the team is accepted on the grid is a little ironic, isnft it? Given that the team would have had a place on the grid next year if BMW had dealt with that in its apparent hasty pullout earlier in the season.
Unfortunately, this good news for F1 is bad news for a lot of people working at the Sauber team: The team will have to cut from 388 people down to 250 immediately, and more cuts could follow.
gI am very relieved that we have found this solution. It means we can keep the Hinwil location and the majority of workplaces,h said Peter Sauber. gI am convinced that the new team has a very good future in Formula One, whose current transformation with new framework conditions will benefit the private teams. Our staff here are highly competent and motivated, and I look forward to taking on this new challenge together with them. I would like to thank BMW for four shared years that have in the main been very successful.h
Automakers may be leaving Formula One, but Montreal wants to come back on board.
The city of Montreal, as well as the governments of Quebec and of Canada, confirmed Friday that they had reached a deal, long rumored, to stage a Grand Prix race next June 13 on the site of the Expo 67 worldfs fair.
Under the five-year agreement, the governments will pay 15 million Canadian dollars a year to host the race, and will keep 30 percent of the ticket sales. Reflecting the current state of F1, that fee is far less than the 35 million Canadian dollars a year that Bernie Ecclestone of Formula One had reportedly sought in 2008 \ a total of 175 million Canadian dollars over five years. The Canadian governments balked at his demand, and this year the Turkish Grand Prix was moved to fill Montrealfs traditional race date in early June.
While Montreal accounts for a disproportionate share of luxury and performance car sales in Canada, the move to bring the race back to the city was pushed more by the tourism industry than by motoring enthusiasts. The cityfs restaurant districts were overrun on race weekend and hotel vacancies were similarly scarce. Nicole Ménard, the provincefs tourism minister, estimated that the race generated about 89 million Canadian dollars in business each year.
While politicians talked up the race, the tourism angle and even the negotiations with Mr. Ecclestone at a news conference on Friday afternoon, Raymond Bachand, the finance minister for Quebec, acknowledged that the governments negotiated a clause protecting them if the health of Formula One took a significant turn for the worse and the event is not up to standards.
gWe have an option to pull out of the contract,h Mr. Bachand said. gThat being said, as far as I know, Ferrari, McLaren and Williams \ which are three of the key teams \ are still there.h
Official FIA Team Entry List for 2010 F1 Championship
By BRAD SPURGEON
The FIA has released the team and driver entry list, with nine driver positions still not filled. Nor does the 13th team show up. That is, Toyota was supposed to be on the list since it signed up to the Concorde Agreement, but the car manufacturer then decided not to honor the agreement and pulled out of the sport. The FIA and FOM are in the process of dealing with that, and obviously to publish a list of teams for next yearfs championship without reference to Toyota cannot be done at this time. There is no mention of Sauber, as BMW pulled out without signing up for next year, thus leaving the team in the lurch. The most likely thing to happen will be that Sauber will be accepted into the championship in Toyotafs place (earlier in the year teams had said they would not accept the idea of 14 teams, but 13 were accepted.)
Note also that Mercedes Grand Prix does not yet exist within the series, as the name change from Brawn will have be be approved. And the team we have all been calling Manor, will actually be called Virgin Racing.
Number - Driver - Entrant - Constructor
1 Jenson BUTTON (GB) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES McLAREN MERCEDES
2 Lewis HAMILTON (GB) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES McLAREN MERCEDES
3 Nico ROSBERG (D) BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM BRAWN MERCEDES
4 TBA BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM BRAWN MERCEDES
5 Sebastian VETTEL (D) RED BULL RACING RED BULL RENAULT
6 Mark WEBBER (AUS) RED BULL RACING RED BULL RENAULT
7 Felipe MASSA (BR) SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO FERRARI
8 Fernando ALONSO (E) SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO FERRARI
9 Rubens BARRICHELLO (BR) AT&T WILLIAMS WILLIAMS COSWORTH
10 Nico HULKENBERG (D) AT&T WILLIAMS WILLIAMS COSWORTH
11 Robert KUBICA (PL) RENAULT F1 TEAM RENAULT
12 TBA RENAULT F1 TEAM RENAULT
14 Adrian SUTIL (D) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM FORCE INDIA MERCEDES
15 Vitantonio LIUZZI (I) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM FORCE INDIA MERCEDES
16 Sebastien BUEMI (CH) SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO STR FERRARI
17 TBA SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO STR FERRARI
18 TBA LOTUS F1 RACING LOTUS COSWORTH
19 TBA LOTUS F1 RACING LOTUS COSWORTH
20 TBA CAMPOS META 1 CAMPOS DALLARA
21 Bruno SENNA (BR) CAMPOS META 1 CAMPOS DALLARA
22 TBA US F1 TEAM US F1 COSWORTH
23 TBA US F1 TEAM US F1 COSWORTH
24 Timo GLOCK (D) VIRGIN RACING VIRGIN COSWORTH
25 TBA VIRGIN RACING VIRGIN COSWORTH
* This team has indicated its intention to change its team name to Mercedes Grand Prix prior to the start of the 2010 season.
T Toyota Motorsport GmbH remains formally bound by the Concorde Agreement to put forward a team for participation, though it has indicated that it will not be in a position to do so. An announcement will be made regarding this entry in due course.
Re F1 entry list, 26 cars with 9 "TBA"s listed. That's a lot of empty seats (although I'll believe Lotus and USF1 when I actually see it). Maybe I should see if I can get a test. :say_gdluck:
gaijinmark wrote:Re F1 entry list, 26 cars with 9 "TBA"s listed. That's a lot of empty seats (although I'll believe Lotus and USF1 when I actually see it). Maybe I should see if I can get a test. :say_gdluck:
Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen at Lotus
By BRAD SPURGEON
Lotus F1 Racing today confirmed that Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will drive for the team this year. At a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, the team also presented the new logo, that tries to recall the Lotus of the past, while moving on into the future.
gWe are not pretending to be the Lotus of the past, but we are honored to be able to bring the name back into Formula One at the start of a new decade of racing,h said Tony Fernandes, the team principal.
Kamui Kobayashi will race on in Formula 1 next year after signing a deal with the Sauber team for 2010.
The Japanese made a strong impression during two outings for Toyota in the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix this year - earning respect for the way he battled with Jenson Button in both events.
His performances had appeared to have been enough to secure him a ride with the Toyota team for 2010, but those plans were scuppered when the Japanese manufacturer pulled out of F1.
However, following weeks of talks, Kobayashi has concluded a deal with Sauber to join the team that is taking over from BMW's operations.
Speaking about the move, Kobayashi said: "Ever since the start of my career I have dreamed of racing in Formula 1. Now this dream has come true.
"I am very happy that my two races in 2009 have earned me a cockpit place. I will do my very best for Peter Sauberfs team and I am proud to be able to carry on flying the Japanese flag in Formula 1."
Sauber boss Peter Sauber said his decision had been fuelled by the fact that Kobayashi made such a strong showing in the last two races of the year - despite not having sat in an F1 car for several months before that.
"Ifm very much looking forward to working together with Kamui," said Sauber.
"In the final two Grand Prix of last season he was granted an unexpected chance to show his skills, and he made impressive use of it.
"Particularly in the Abu Dhabi race he demonstrated not only that he can drive fast and aggressively, but also his ability to successfully implement a strategy. I am convinced he has a great deal of potential and will be able to make the most of it in our team."
Kobayashi revealed after Abu Dhabi that if he did not land a race seat in F1 for next year his lack of funding would probably mean he would have to return home to Japan to work in his fatherfs sushi restaurant.
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