About.com Formula 1

Williams Sells a Stake in Team

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:19:42 +0000

The Williams Formula One team has held out against selling equity to a car manufacturer all throughout this period of manufacturer ownership or part ownership that began a decade ago. But today the team, owned since 1977 by Frank Williams and Patrick Head, announced that it sold a minority share in the team to an Austrian investor named Toto Wolff. It is no surprise to me that Wolff is, like Frank and Patrick, a racer himself. He has raced in German Formula Ford and in several touring car series.

Williams Sells a Stake in Team originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 08:19:42.

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Jenson Button Signs With McLaren

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:39:47 +0000

Do you get the feeling there's more news in the off-season than during the F1 season? These days, at least, that seems to be the case. McLaren has just announced that it has hired the reigning world champion Jenson Button away from Brawn to drive for the team in a multiple-year contract. This is especially cool news when you think about how he will be teammate to Lewis Hamilton, and now we will have both world champions from the last two seasons racing against each other next year!

Jenson Button Signs With McLaren originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 10:39:47.

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Glock to Manor

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:46:14 +0000

Timo Glock will race for the new Manor team in Formula 1 next season. The German driver, a former Champ Car champion, who drove for Toyota this year and sat out the final three races of the season after an injury at the Japanese Grand Prix during qualifying, has just been signed up to continue his F1 career next year.

"I had several options for 2010, some of them with more established teams," said Glock. "Every driver has the same overall objective - to win the world championship one day - but the way I want to succeed is to be part of the process of building a team and to play a key role in developing the car. This is why the opportunity with Manor Grand Prix is so exciting for me."

Glock to Manor originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 07:46:14.

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Daimler Buys Brawn

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:35:32 +0000

Interesting news in an F1 that recently saw the departure of three of the major car manufacturers in the sport: Daimler AG has bought the Brawn Formula One team in a deal announced today that will change the name of the team to Mercedes Grand Prix. The team will begin racing under that name next year. Daimler also announced that it is selling back to McLaren its 40 percent share of that team.

The Mercedes team will soon announce its drivers for next season, and one of them is expected to be Nico Rosberg. But we're not yet sure where Jenson Button is going - or staying....

Daimler Buys Brawn originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 11:35:32.

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Why Toyota Won't Do What Honda Did?

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:41:03 +0000

I'm on a little between the seasons break from F1 and came on a weekend visit to England. The newspapers here are always full of F1 news, of course, so I couldn't escape it. And as I sat over breakfast in my hotel in Bloomsbury this morning reading in The Daily Telegraph - delivered free to the hotel room door - and seeing an excerpt from a book by Jenson Button about his world title year, I had a thought.

The excerpt was all about how Jenson learned the news that Honda was quitting F1 last December and how he thought he was without a drive. And I thought, yeah, and now he's world champion. And THAT got me to thinking. Button's Honda team brokered a deal with its Honda owners in which there was a management buyout and the team became Brawn. And then the team won the championship and dominated the season - at least in the early races. So... I suddenly thought about how the Toyota team management said that Toyota had already said it would not broker a deal with the management of that kind. And I thought... yes, of course not. Toyota has learned a lesson from Honda. Toyota must be afraid of the bad publicity that it would have if it brokered a deal to save the team and then the team achieved alone what it could not achieve with Toyota behind it.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to watch the Toyota team developments over the winter. With it stay or will it go? Keep posted.

Why Toyota Won't Do What Honda Did? originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 06:41:03.

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Briatore and the FIA

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:22:38 +0000

The Renault cheating scandal will live another chapter later this month as Flavio Briatore attacks the FIA in a French court. The former leader of the Renault team was given an unlimited ban on motor racing activities after his part in the asking Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash his car on purpose during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The Guardian newspaper in England published some leaked information that says that Briatore is seeking a million euros in compensation and accusing the FIA's former president of giving him such a harsh punishment for personal reasons.

Briatore and the FIA originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 08:22:38.

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Campos Introduces Bruno Senna

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:43:45 +0000

One of the interesting parts of next season and even the off-season we are now in, will be to watch how the new small Formula 1 teams go about doing their business.

The new Spanish team, Campos, decided to present to the world one of its official drivers next year, Bruno Senna...who needs no introduction or presentation. The nephew of Ayrton Senna has been much talked about in the media during his short career in the lower formulas. Then again, I've got nothing against talking about this nice driver who almost made it to the Brawn team this year already. Imagine if that had happened? He have had a car capable of winning races. Will be interesting to see what happens next year with Bruno Senna.

Campos Introduces Bruno Senna originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 17:43:45.

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Toyota Pulls Out of F1

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:12:31 +0000

It has long been rumored, now it's happening: Toyota is pulling out of Formula 1. The parent company announced that it was pulling out of the top level of racing due to the continuing financial crisis. Toyota now joins Honda and Bridgestone, in F1, and Suzuki in rallying last year, to leave top level motor sport because of the crisis. John Howett, the president of the F1 team, has told Autosport that the team itself will still be on the grid next year, however. It will be interesting to see how that happens.

Toyota Pulls Out of F1 originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 08:12:31.

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Bridgestone to Leave F1 After 2010

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:33:53 +0000

The Bridgestone Tire Company, which has been supply cars with tires in Formula 1 since 1997 announced today that it would withdraw from the series at the end of 2010, when its contract runs out. It will be interesting to see which company steps in to take over the big job Bridgestone has been doing for the last few years as the only tire provider. Any ideas?

Bridgestone to Leave F1 After 2010 originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 12:33:53.

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Kobayashi in Abu Dhabi

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:44:55 +0000

Anyone want to believe that maybe the real story of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was not the winner Sebastian Vettel, not Lewis Hamilton who might have won after his pole but he had brake problems, and not even Jenson Button who gave a great battle effort with Mark Webber for third place, but was Kamui Kobayashi?

After passing two world champions, Kimi Raikkonen at the start and Button after the first third of the race, Kobayashi managed to drive his Toyota to sixth position, ahead of his teammate Jarno Trulli. It was a beautiful, gutsy drive, and we would like to see more just like it! So would he, apparently....

"It was a really good race for me," Kobayashi said. "At the start I overtook (Kimi) Raikkonen and that was important in the end because it would have been difficult to finish in the top six if I had been behind him during the first stint. When I got past I was confident I had the race pace to fight for the points and my target was to be consistently fast. The team did a great job with the strategy and the pit stop which played a big part in helping me finish in the points. I certainly wasn't expecting to be racing in Formula 1 this season and I want to say thank you to Toyota for this opportunity. My target was to finish in the points today but I am a bit surprised to be in the top six. This is a fantastic result and I am extremely happy."

Kobayashi in Abu Dhabi originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 12:44:55.

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