F1 Indian GP tickets prices may start from Rs. 5000

Some information about the price of the tickets for the first Indian F1 GP to be organized at the Buddha International circuit has surfaced. The price of the tickets may start from Rs. 5000, and may go all the way up to Rs. 30,000. While that may not sound like a lot of money to the well heeled, it indeed is a hefty sum of money for those who belong to the great Indian middle class. More

Lotus Formula One Car Decals

We’re all excited about the return of the Lotus name onto the Formula One grid and though we already know who the financiers are, who the drivers are going to be and that the 1Malaysia Formula One Team is just a political card the government is playing to fool us again but we’re still not sure about how the car will look like. So out come the designers and their renderings and this is the latest one by Malaysian designer Hafidz Moro.

As is apparent in the picture above, the traditional Lotus green has been retained and the 14-pointed star of the Malaysian flag adorns the rear wing of the car but I’m guessing that the real car will have a lot more Malaysian features on it to be in-line with the “1Malaysia Formula One Team” propaganda. Well, let us know what you think of the rendering in the comments section after the jump.

Former Renault Boss Has His Ban Overturned By French Court

Flavio Briatore’s indefinite ban from motorsport has been overturned by the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris.

The court reversed the decision of the World Motor Sports Council (WMSC), which hit Briatore with the ban for his part in conspiring to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Briatore was also awarded €15,000 (US$21,600) compensation, although that figure was short of the €1 million (US$1.44m) he was seeking. The French court gave the FIA 15 days to pay or face a €10,000 per day fine.


The FIA’s lawyer Jean-Francois Prat told Associated Press that the governing body would likely launch an appeal, preventing Briatore from returning to the sport until the appeals process had run its course. However, if the judgement stands Briatore’s lawyer Philippe Ouakrat said: “We are in a situation in which Mr Briatore is reinstated in all his capacities to act in Formula One or motorsport.”

Ouakrat argued that the FIA had exceeded its authority by imposing the sanction and that Briatore was targeted because of his tense relationship with ex-FIA president Max Mosley.

“We have the feeling that some justice has been reinstated,” Ouakrat said. “I’m certain that the court was quite shocked by the way that the decision was made against Mr Briatore.”

The judge told the court that the FIA’s evidence was weak, and that lawyers were unable to question witnesses because their identity was withheld.

Ex-Renault director of engineering, Pat Symonds, also had his five-year ban overturned for his part in the scandal. He was awarded US$7,200 compensation, again well short of the US$722,000 he had sought.

Renault got off relatively lightly from the original WMSC hearing, with a two-year suspended ban, and decided not to appeal. Driver Nelson Piquet Jnr was given immunity in exchange for evidence.

Schumacher Testing At Jerez

Michael Schumacher was recently allowed by the FIA to do some testing in a GP2 car and this is the video of seven-time World Champion testing at Jerez. For the test Schumacher used his customary red helmet but word is that he will be dropping the colour that has come to be synonymous with the German and his days at Ferrari. It’s yet unknown which colours Schumacher has opted for but we do know is that Schuberth helmets is already working on a prototype model for Schumacher.

Schumacher signs Mercedes contract for 2010

Michael Schumacher has now signed a contract to return to formula one next year with Mercedes, according to multiple authoritative sources.

Germany's Bild newspaper and the BBC in Britain say the seven time world champion, who turns 41 in early January, has signed a one-year deal.

Bild, valuing the contract at 7 million euros, said the German's decision is the "biggest comeback in sports history". Schumacher reportedly signed the deal at Brackley, with an announcement to be made on Tuesday.

His spokeswoman Sabine Kehm would not comment, but Schumacher's friend Sebastian Vettel said he was happy to hear the news.

"This is his own decision for his own reasons but it makes me happy that he is going to be there. I hope he is still fit enough for his age to ride along with us," the Red Bull driver is quoted as saying by RTL Nachtmagazin.

Bild said Mercedes is seeking special permission so that Schumacher can test the Brawn car in January.

Ayrton Senna Voted The Greatest F1 Driver of All Time

Formula One legend, hero and god, Ayrton Senna has been awarded the title as the greatest Formula One driver of all time by Autosport. Now you may ask who actually voted and decided Senna as the best, well you could argue the results if it were just a regular man on the street who voted but that’s not so. The voters actually comprised of 217 Formula One drivers – going all the way back to 98-year old Paul Pietsch who raced in the 1930s. Among all their peers the drivers chose the Brazilian as the number one F1 driver of all time.

We think that Senna is the best of the best and he truly deserves his title but there are some controversial results, like Fernando Alonso being at the number nine spot and Lewis Hamilton at number 17 ahead of Jack Brabham and Graham Hill and Jenson Button at number 30 ahead of the likes of Phil Hill and others. Those results do raise a brow, click here to have a look at the list yourself and decide.

Sauber Confirmed As 13th Entry on The F1 Grid

The FIA confirmed on Thursday that the BMW Sauber team has obtained the last available space on the 2010 F1 championship’s entry list. The departure of Totoya therefore played in the Swiss team’s favour.

“The FIA has written to inform BMW Sauber AG that their application for an entry in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship has been successful,” indicated a statement issued by the sport’s governing body. “Subject to their signing the Concorde Agreement, BMW Sauber will be awarded the 13th entry in the Championship, taking the place of the departing Toyota team.”

“The FIA has worked closely with the Commercial Rights Holder and the teams involved over recent weeks and is grateful for their support in achieving the best outcome for the sport,” the FIA said, adding that “an updated Formula One entry list will be published in due course.”

With BMW having announced its retirement from Formula One this summer, the German carmaker had not signed the amended Concorde Agreement which would have bound it to the sport until the end of the 2012 season. That left the outfit out of the picture when the FIA granted the 13 team positions available on next year’s roster.

However the FIA granted a ‘14th team status’ to BMW Sauber in case a confirmed team pulled out. Failing that, unanimous agreement was required from the other competitors to allow a 14th team on the entry list – a task easier said than done.

With the Qadbak takeover of the BMW Sauber team floundering, BMW confirmed earlier this month that original team founder Peter Sauber would in fact take over the outfit. However, with legal issues surrounding the Toyota exit, the FIA declined to grant the Sauber team entry for 2010 when they released the official entry list on Monday.

The FIA finally clarified the issue and confirmed today that Sauber has been granted a place in next year’s championship.

Peter Sauber is now looking for sponsors and investors in order to continue the adventure. It can be expected that drivers will be confirmed in the near future.

Mclaren To Buy Back 40% Stake Held by Mercedes

Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG will have stakes in two Formula 1 teams next season, with a majority shareholding in Brawn GP coming into effect while its 40% stake in McLaren Racing is set to be bought out by the McLaren Group over the coming year.

“In a transaction structured so as to be completed by 2011, the McLaren Group will undertake a phased purchase of the 40 per cent shareholding currently owned by Daimler AG. As a result, the McLaren Group will become a fully independent stand-alone corporate entity,” the company confirmed in a statement on Monday.

This year’s championship-winning Brawn GP team will be renamed Mercedes Grand Prix, and Daimler AG’s statement confirming the purchase used the term ‘Silver Arrows’ to describe its future single-seaters.

However the collaboration with McLaren will continue beyond the buyout of Mercedes’ stake, since the German manufacturer will maintain its supply of engines to McLaren until 2015, at which time a prolonging agreement may come into place.

“The team will continue to be known as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, its distinctive silver-with-red livery will remain unchanged, and Mercedes-Benz will continue as both an engine supplier and a partner,” read the McLaren Group statement.

By the time the new engine-supply agreement reaches its term in 2015, the working relationship between McLaren and Mercedes-Benz will have reached its 21st year. “By which time it will have become by some margin the longest such association in Formula 1 history,” McLaren pointed out.

“For the benefit of both Mercedes and McLaren, we will continue our partnership cooperation in the future,” said Dieter Zetsche, Daimler CEO and head of Mercedes-Benz, in a separate statement. “We will be rivals on-track but, off-track, we will cooperate with McLaren and the other teams in order to create the best possible product for spectators worldwide.”

Mercedes-Benz Motorsport boss Norbert Haug looked back at the 60 Grand Prix victories, four titles and ten runner-up positions gained with McLaren Racing since 1995 in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships: “We thank our partner and will continue to work with McLaren based on an excellent partnership.
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“The reaffirmation of the two companies’ commitment to each other is the result of many weeks of careful and cooperative discussion,” the McLaren Group statement explained, adding that the agreement “covers both parties’ continued involvement in the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 partnership as well as a shared intention to act in the overall best interests of the sport of Grand Prix racing.

“It also reflects the independent vision of both companies with regard to their automotive production strategies,” the press release indicated, referring to McLaren Automotive’s intention of building “its own range of high-performance production sports cars” starting in 2011.

“This is a win-win situation, for both McLaren and Daimler,” said Ron Dennis, the Executive Chairman of McLaren Automotive and founder of the McLaren Group.

“I’ve often stated that it’s my belief that, in order to survive and thrive in 21st-century Formula 1, a team must become much more than merely a team,” Dennis explained. “The next few years will be a very exciting time for McLaren, during which period we intend to become an ever-stronger technological and economic force.

“Over the past two years we’ve analysed in great detail the challenge of entering the high-performance production sports car market,” he continued, however underlining that “Formula 1 will always be a core activity, for sound business reasons as well as for historical sporting reasons.

“All of our partners will of course continue to play a crucial role in our Formula 1 programme,” Dennis said. “For that reason, and because the engines they produce are very competitive, we’re delighted that Mercedes-Benz has committed to continue not only as an engine supplier but also as a partner of ours until 2015 – and perhaps thereafter.”