Category Archives: Uncategorized

Paul di Resta was finally confirmed in Glasgow today as a Force India race driver for 2011.

The reigning DTM champion will be partnered by Adrian Sutil, who will be in his fifth full season with the team. Nico Hulkenberg has joined as third driver, and will keep both men on their toes.

There is no word yet on any contractual settlement with Tonio Liuzzi, who signed a deal for 2010-11 when the team was still run by Colin Kolles.

More later…

Hispania boss Colin Kolles says that his team will run last year’s car in the first three tests of the winter in Spain, but will have its new model for the final session in Bahrain, which takes place the week before the first GP.

Having hired a Hollywood designer to give the team a new sci-fi image Kolles has given the team’s new car a type number resonant of a famous fighter-bomber.

HRT’s F111 will share its nomenclature with the General Dynamics aircraft, which was also known as the ‘Aardvark.’ It was introduced in 1967 and has only just gone out of service, the Australian Air Force having been the last user.

Kolles insists that his F111 is an all-new car, contrary to early suggestions that HRT would have to update its 2010 chassis, which was built by Dallara. Kolles had hoped to use Toyota technology this year, but the deal fell through.

“The 2010 car will be utilized at the first tests, and as soon as the 2011 car is ready, we will implement it,” said Kolles in a team release. “The plan is to use the 2011 car at the Bahrain test. The 2011 car will be a completely new car, and will be called F111.

“The F111 is being made by Hispania Racing with several groups of engineers. At the moment, there are approximately 40 designers finalizing the first spec, under the leadership of Geoff Willis as Technical Director and Paul White as Chief Designer.”

Kolles says that there is no firm news on the second driver alongside Narain Karthikeyan.

“Let’s see. In the next few days there will be several announcements. The second driver has not been decided yet, because we have to make sure that we are making the best choice. We are making progress in all areas which is positive, working very hard, and the results will be shown and be announced very soon.”

Group Lotus has responded to last night’s positive statement from Team Lotus by claiming that it too was pleased with the outcome of yesterday’s brief hearing the London High Court, which resulted in the judge setting a trial date for March 21.

The car maker also says that the team was wrong to claim that the application for a summary judgement had been ‘thrown out.’

The increasing level of tension between the parties will make for interesting times in testing and at the first race in Bahrain, where the Lotus-Renault of Team Lotus will compete against the Lotus-sponsored Renault of Lotus Renault GP. Or something like that…

The statement reads as follows: “Group Lotus and Proton are delighted with the outcome of yesterday’s hearing in which the Judge ordered a full trial of this matter to be heard as soon as possible given the proximity of the start of the new 2011 Formula 1 season in a few weeks. The trial has been fixed at the English High Court for 21 March 2011.

“Group Lotus and Proton have been made aware of the press release issued by 1Malaysia Racing Team (1MRT), it is completely incorrect and a misrepresentation of the Judge’s decision suggesting that Group Lotus’ application was “thrown out”. No decision was made on Group Lotus’ application. The Judge proposed that the better procedural route was to order a speedy trial of all the issues in dispute in the case. 1MRT initially resisted the Judge’s approach to resolve all matters quickly and before the start of the 2011 Formula 1 season but the order was subsequently made and the first available date was 21 March.

“Group Lotus and Proton have always held the view that this matter should be resolved as soon as possible in the interests of Formula 1 and the fans. We therefore welcome this decision and look forward to the full trial. We are confident that at the trial Group Lotus will succeed in preventing 1MRT, Mr Fernandes and his companies, from using the Lotus name in Formula 1 once and for all.”

This is turning into a right old soap opera…

A statement from Team Lotus tonight said that the organisation was happy with the outcome of today’s very short court proceedings in London.

The judge denied an application by Group Lotus for a summary judgement – a quick solution to the dispute over the termination of last year’s licensing agreement – and also brought forward the date for the main trial regarding the Lotus name from the end of the year to March 21. The one certainty now is that Team Lotus will start the season under its intended name, with no chance of any legal interference before then.

The latest statement reads as follows:

“Team Lotus is delighted that we were successful at the Summary Judgment Application hearing today and that the Judge threw out Group Lotus’ application even before hearing the arguments of the barristers on either side.

“Although this decision was never in doubt, it means that we start the 2011 season under the Team Lotus name. Whilst we expected that the Judge would refuse this application, it is good to have the decision in black and white.

“The Judge also felt that it was in everyone’s best interests to bring the hearing date for the full trial forward and that is now fixed for 21st March rather than us having to wait until Autumn 2011 or even later. We remain confident that we will succeed at the full trial and we can now focus on the challenges ahead in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.”

Meanhile on his Twitter feed Tony Fernandes said: “The good do always eventually win…”

The battle for over the use of the Lotus name in F1 is now set to go to trial in London on March 21.

That is eight days after the Bahrain GP, which means that Team Lotus will definitely start the season with its intended name – but one presumes may subsequently lose the right to use it.

Today was supposed to be Round One in the contest, with a summary judgement concerning last year’s termination by Group Lotus of the agreement that had allowed Lotus Racing to use the name.

A more complex action over the right to use the Team Lotus name – sold to Tony Fernandes and co by David Hunt – was due to start later in the year.

However it appears that today Mr Justice Peter Smith decided to lump the actions together.

The March 21 date is also likely to cause logistical problems for some of the key players who are due to travel to the Australian GP that week.

Smith incidentally was himself born in Malaysia, when his father was posted there. He is best known in legal circles for his involvement in a copyright case involving the origins of the novel The Da Vinci Code. He caused some controversy by hiding a coded message of his own in his judgement.

The battle over the use of the Lotus name in F1 reaches the High Court of Justice in London today – although Tony Fernandes says it won’t have an immediate impact on his use of the Team Lotus name.

The dispute is between Group Lotus plc and 1Malaysia Racing Team, the company behind what was formerly known as Lotus Racing, and is now Team Lotus.

Today’s case is about the licensing deal they had last year, and it involves a Summary Judgment, a ‘fast track’ route to a decision without a lengthy trial – something that would not have started until well into the 2011 season.

Fernandes said on his Twitter feed today: “Many confused about case today. It’s not about Team Lotus name who owns it which is in November. We brought that case to prove once and for all.

“Today’s case is Group desperate attempt to use their one way unlawful termination of license agreement of Lotus Racing. Saying One Malaysia can’t use Lotus. Part of post termination clauses. So nothing changes on Team Lotus.”

The case will be heard by Mr Justice Peter Smith from 2pm.

Former World Sportscar Championship entrant and driver Charles Zwolsman Sr, whose son was a Champcar racer and a sometime F3 team mate of Lewis Hamilton, has been found dead in his prison cell in his native Holland. He was 55.

Zwolsman Sr had been in trouble with the Dutch authorities on drug dealing related charges for over two decades. He had been involved in a series of arrests and convictions starting in 1988, the most recent also involving possession of weapons. Somehow he always managed to bounce back after a spell inside, and even successfully wrestled with the courts as he tried to cut down the massive multi-million euro fines he was given for making profits from illegal activities.

Sometimes using the surname ‘Hausmann,’ he raced for his own Euro Racing team in the World Sportscar Championship in 1991 and ’92. He used Spice and Lola chassis and ambitiously competed in the same class as Jaguar, Mercedes and Peugeot.

He hired the likes of Stefan Johansson and Tim Harvey, and revived the career of Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The unemployed German was on the verge of retiring when Zwolsman gave him a drive at Le Mans in 1992, and his performances led directly to a drive in Japanese F3000, and in turn to his F1 chance with Sauber a year later.

More recently, Zwolsman looked after the career of his son. Charles Jr raced for both Colin Kolles and Manor Motorsport in F3, and was team mate to Hamilton at the latter in 2004. He won the 2005 Toyota Atlantic series and later drove for Team Australia and Conquest in Champcar, finishing 13^th in the 2006 standings. Charles Jr’s last significant outing was with Kolles at Le Mans in 2009.

Zwolsman Sr’s most recent arrest came in June that year, and he was apparently serving a three-year sentence. It’s reported that 36 of his associates are also involved in the ongoing legal cases related to his activities.

Colin Kolles has engaged vehicle concept artist and Hollywood designer Daniel Simon to create a new corporate identity for the Hispania team.

A former VW designer, Simon has worked for the likes Bugatti and Lamborghini. He has been involved with several major movies, including Disney’s Tron:Legacy, potential summer 2011 hit Captain America:The First Avenger, and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, which began life as the Alien prequel.

It remains to be seen what he comes up with for HRT’s chassis, but at least it shows that Kolles is prepared to try something new.

The German said: “Being offered a blank canvas by the Hispania Racing and with it the opportunity to bring to life elements of ‘Cosmic Motors’, was something I just couldn’t pass up. It’s going to be an exciting journey as Hispania Racing evolves and grows and I’m looking forward to the challenge of creating a strong visual statement for the team.”

Kolles added: “Recruiting Daniel Simon to be in charge of designing the new corporate image of the team is great news for everyone. Trying to find words to describe him would be simply to understate his achievements on Hollywood blockbusters. Hispania Racing is growing step by step, and this improvement is becoming a reality with the signing of exceptional professionals in different areas, as is the case with Daniel. Formula One has always been on the cutting-edge and leading technology and the latest trends, and Daniel´s futuristic ideas will provide the touch of nerve and innovation we all want to see in this sport.”

Intriguingly Simon’s blog gives a list of his favourite competition cars that includes John Barnard’s Ferrari 640/1, the Porsche 917K, Lotus 49, the 2003 Bentley Speed 8, Lancia Stratos, and the Thrust SSC.

Here’s Simon’s promo video. Is it just me, or is that a 1975 Brabham BT44B airbox about 60 seconds in?

Rome has now officially abandoned any plans for hosting a Grand Prix, and instead the city will chase the 2020 Olympic Games.

Bernie Ecclestone recently wrote to mayor Gianni Alemanno saying that henceforth he wanted countries to host only one race. Promoter Maurizio Flammini had some hopes that the race could alternate with Monza, but that never seemed likely, especially with Ferrari expressing its opposition to the idea.

“Today we definitively and formally abandon the F1 project for Rome,” Alemanno said in a press conference today.

Rome is now focussing on the 2020 Olympic Games, which will mark the 60th anniversary of the 1960 event in the Italian city.

There have long been links between F1 venues and the Olympic Games. The Barcelona track was developed in parallel with preparations for the 1992 Games, while Montreal hosted its first F1 race adjacent to the rowing lake two years after the 1976 Olympics.

Melbourne’s bid for an F1 race was encouraged by rival Sydney winning the 2000 Olympics, while the same process happened with Shanghai and Beijing. The 2014 Russian GP will be held in the wake of the winter event in Sochi, while any talk of a street race in London was soon abandoned after the capital won the 2012 Games.

Williams is considering floating on the stock exchange – a move that would allow F1 fans to become shareholders of the team.

Although plans have not been finalised, the team says that it is seeking outside investment, while insisting that it has a full budget for 2011, despite losing several major backers since last season.

In statement this morning, Frank Williams said: “For some years I have been considering how to secure the long-term ownership of Williams such that it will remain true to the aims with which Patrick and I established the team back in 1977.

“My goal then was to race in Formula One as an independent Constructor. This was and is my great passion and I will race for as long as I continue to be blessed with good health. It is also my desire that the team is in good shape to go on racing long after I am gone. To that end, it is prudent and necessary to plan for an ownership structure that will enable Williams to be an independent Constructor, owned and staffed by people committed to Formula One and to the sound business practices which have supported us over three decades.

“I have concluded that the option which will best achieve this is to broaden our shareholder base with public shareholders, while having a stable core of long-term investors closely involved in the running of the team. This will ensure stability, good governance and will, I believe, enable us to attract and retain the best people and partners.

“Patrick, Toto [Wolff] and I are therefore examining this option closely and, if the environment is propitious, we may act in the near future. Regardless of whatever steps we take, I shall remain the majority and controlling shareholder and the Team Principal of AT&T Williams.”

Meanwhile the team issued a Q&A with chairman Adam Parr which gave a little more detail.

Q. It sounds like Williams is considering a flotation on the stock exchange. Would that be correct?

“Yes, it would be correct to say that Williams F1 is considering a flotation on the stock exchange. At this stage, all we have concluded is that it is the best way to secure the future of the team and its 450 employees.”

Q. What is the timetable?

“As the plan develops we will provide further information.”

Q. Is retirement a current consideration for Frank?

“No. Retirement is categorically not on Frank’s agenda. Anyone who knows Frank knows this.

Q. Are there any concerns surrounding Frank’s health?

“No. Frank’s health is absolutely fine.”

Q. What other options have the Board investigated?

“We have had many approaches in the past, but none have offered the same benefits as this route.”

Q. Toto Wolff invested in the team in November 2009. What is his future role?

“Toto is a non-executive director and a significant shareholder in the company. He has already established himself as an important part of the team and he will play a central role in its future.”

Q. If Williams were to go public, what are the implications for the team’s partners and relations with the FIA and FOM?

“The team has always enjoyed honest and open relationships with its partners, the governing body of the sport and the commercial rights-holder. Whether we are a public or private company, this will not change.”

Q. Would any flotation involve raising funds for the company?

“No.”

Q. Does Williams F1 have the financial track record to support a flotation?

“Yes, we believe we do. The company has always been run on sound financial principles. In spite of the economic environment in recent years, we have turned a profit and generated positive cash-flow from operating activities in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and we have a fully contracted budget for 2011.”