F1 & other open wheelers

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Briscoes crashes out of opener

March 7, 2005

AUSTRALIAN driver Ryan Briscoe has made an inauspicious start to the 2005 Indy Racing League when he crashed out of the season opener today.

Briscoe, who spent 2004 as a test driver for Toyota's Formula One team, was able to walk away after hitting the barrier at turn 4 on the Homestead-Miami Speedway Oval but his Target/Chip Ganassi racer needed rebuilding.

It was the second incident of the Toyota Indy 300 weekend for Briscoe, who also contacted the wall in practice on Saturday and said before the race that "there's more to driving these ovals than just turning left".

The rookie lasted 61 of the scheduled 200 laps but was far from alone in crashing out.

Only 10 of the 22 starters were running at the end of the race won by Briton Dan Wheldon, the runner-up last season to Andretti Green Racing team-mate Tony Kanaan in the IRL championship.

The race featured a frightening late eight-car pile up.

The big wreck began moments after a restart when Kosuke Matsuura, trying to pass pole winner Tomas Scheckter on the outside, slid sideways and hit Scheckter.

Before all the crashing and banging ended, the accident also took out Briscoe's Kiwi teammate Scott Dixon, Scott Sharp, Bryan Herta, Roger Yasukawa, Ed Carpenter and 22-year-old rookie Danica Patrick, making her first IRL start.

Patrick, the only woman in the field, was running 10th when the accident occured. She was sent a nearby hospital for observation after being diagnosed with a concussion and later released and is expected to be ready to race in the next IRL event in two weeks at Phoenix International Raceway.

AAP

Webber revs up young wannabes

By Guy Hand

March 7, 2005

MARK Webber has urged young Australian racers to test themselves overseas and take heart from the example of the their compatriots breaking through in numbers in world motorsports.

The latest is V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose, who will attempt to break into NASCAR racing in the US next year.

Webber remains the highest-profile Australian race driver abroad, finishing a creditable fifth in the season opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix yesterday.

But Australia also has Queenslander Chris Atkinson in the World Rally Championship, Sydneysider Ryan Briscoe driving in North America's premier open-wheel category, and several motorcycle riders in Moto GP and world superbikes.

Would-be top-line race drivers should test themselves on the world stage instead of immediately going into V8 Supercars, as some younger drivers have done in recent years, Webber said.

Most of V8 racing's premier drivers cut their teeth in Europe before returning to touring car racing, including Ambrose, Steven Richards and Russell Ingall.

"Sometimes I get a bit frustrated that the guys have the carrot of the V8s in front of them very early and they don't want to go to Europe," Webber said.

"They just see the comfort zone of racing touring cars here and they don't go any further.

"They should ignore the touring cars for longer and go to Europe."

Webber said he was proud to see other Australians perform well in overseas motor sports categories.

"No question about it we've got the talent down here – we've got the people to do the job," Webber said.

"You've got to earn your respect in Europe.

"Will Power's doing that (driving open-wheelers in Europe).

"He's trying over there and he's working hard.

"We've got Chris Atkinson doing well in the rally cars, Mick Doohan killed them on the bikes, we've got sprint car drivers doing well, Jason Crump on dirt bikes.

"Of course we can do it. Motor racing in Australia is a passion of ours and I love watching Australians doing well in other motor sport categories. "If we've got people in those categories, it's only going to help youngsters to have a dream and have the passion to come through."

AAP

Renault getting Fisi-cal

By Robert Smith

March 7, 2005

GIANCARLO Fisichella believes Renault has the goods to challenge Ferrari and McLaren for this season's Formula One world title, with the next round of the battle in Malaysia a fortnight away.

Team to beat ... Renault celebrates a great victory in Mellbourne.

Pic: Agence France-Presse

The Italian journeyman produced his greatest drive in Formula One yesterday to land the season-opening Australian Grand Prix for the French team and give it the early edge over world champion Ferrari in the 19-round contest.

Fisichella and teammate Fernando Alonso brought Renault 16 points from first and third placings compared to Rubens Barrichello's eight runner-up points for Ferrari.

Michael Schumacher, the seven-time drivers' world champion, failed to finish after a minor crash with the BMW-Williams of Nick Heidfeld.

Fisichella breathed life into the new season with his all-the-way victory and later spoke of Renault's great potential for the season.

"We showed our pace in winter testing and today we showed how quick we are," Fisichella said.

"We still have good potential and I think the team with Ferrari and McLaren will fight for the championship."

The Formula One circus packs up and heads to Kuala Lumpur for the second grand prix of the year at Sepang on March 20.

"I think this race demonstrates the good potential of the team this season: the team is pushing hard on the development of the car," Fisichella said.

"That should mean we can build on this start later in the season. We are very optimistic for the next race in Malaysia."

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore said there was more room for his team to improve in the months ahead.

"It's a fantastic result for the entire team and the Renault group," Briatore said.

"We have made a good car this year and Fisi and Fernando knew exactly how to make use of it in Melbourne, they both drove fantastic races.

"We must take the season race by race, and I think there is still room for us to improve further."

It was Renault's first Formula One victory since Jarno Trulli won the Monaco Grand Prix last May.

Ferrari put a brave face on their failure to land the Australian Grand Prix for the sixth time in the past seven years.

Its new and improved car will not be used until the European section of the season in late April early May.

"We are reasonably happy, considering we came here with the old (2004) car," said head engineer Ross Brawn.

"To finish second after such a dreadful qualifying is not bad. Both guys drove a great race. Rubens was exceptional as he had a braking problem from the early stages, but he was able to manage it very well."

Barrichello's super effort for second place was Ferrari's major positive after Schumacher's failure to finish.

The Brazilian's eight points helped save Ferrari from conceding too much early ground to the French team.

Schumacher, who had won four of the past five Australian Grands Prix, was seventh when he came in contact with Heidfeld and his race was over 15 laps from the chequered flag.

The McLarens of Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen were in the points at sixth and eighth respectively after showing pace in practice and qualifying.

Australia's Mark Webber also believes his Williams team can improve as the season moves on and challenge for podium positions.

"It could have been better," Webber said.

"We got done in the pits and it should have been a better result. Fifth would have been good until we started the race, then I wanted more.

"Reliability was strong today so that was a good thing, but once you get going you always want more, so that was the frustrating thing." With AAP

Agence France-Presse

[GTRSRULE!!!]

'Rambo' Schumacher under fire

From correspondents in Berlin

March 8, 2005

GERMANY'S seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is usually the darling of the domestic media but he was in the firing line after clashing with compatriot and BMW Williams driver Nick Heidfeld in the Melbourne Grand Prix on Sunday.

With 15 laps until the chequered flag Ferrari ace Schumacher, 36, refused to allow countryman Heidfeld to pass and the pair collided before spinning off onto the grass.

"Rambo Schumi," headlined Bild daily. "Heidfeld was quicker but Schumi just edged him onto the grass. Then he offered no apology."

Schumacher insisted neither driver was to blame claiming it was just part and parcel of motor racing.

"I saw him behind me just as I came out the pits and made it clear I was going to defend my position," said Schumacher. "It is optimistic of Nick to think I am going to just let him pass inside me."

But the win-at-all-costs attitude of the Ferrari driver prompted Bild to ask: "Is Schumacher really that bad of a loser?"

Bild, Germany's most popular tabloid, was not alone in asking questions about the behaviour of the former Benetton driver.

"Schumacher on the stocks," read sport 1. "His actions crown a miserable weekend."

"Relaxed Schumi has no conscience," added the Frankfurter Allgemeine. Formula One chiefs have confirmed that no action will be taken against Schumacher or Heidfeld after watching television replays of the incident.

Agence France-Presse

[relicr31act]

Just another "Schuweave". The guy is a master at it, ask Damon Hill!!

[Duncan]

And another great reason why touring cars are better than formula cars.

If you know the drive you are dicing with is a "schuweaver", just turn into them....a bit of panel damage all around but at least you will both continue, and generally the stewarsd wont take any action unless it is pretty bad incident....and even then as long as you gave them a car's width to the edge of the track you will be fine

[GTRSRULE!!!]

F1 rule change imminent

March 9, 2005

CONTROVERSIAL Formula One qualifying rules used for the first time at last weekend's Australian Grand Prix could already be in line for changes.

The rules, involving grid positions based on the aggregate of two separate sessions, have drawn a barrage of criticim from teams and drivers.

Ferrari says the sport seems to be stumbling from "poor solution to poor solution" while Red Bull racer David Coulthard called them "farcical".

And McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya has complained that Formula One fans are being short-changed.

Ferrari qualified poorly because of a downpour shortly before the cars ran but technical director Ross Brawn says the rules will need modifying if they continue to prove dull.

Brawn said another two races should be enough to decide whether the regulations needed to be tweaked.

"Clearly Australia wasn't a good example," Brawn told F1Racing .net.

"But I'd say that Malaysia, or maybe Bahrain, when we can see it running normally, if we don't see a reasonable spectacle, then things might be considered again.

"We seem to be going from poor solution to poor solution."

Montoya said now that tyres needed to last through qualifying as well as the race, drivers were loath to press too hard for fear of damaging them.

"Yeah, well, you're trying to save the tyre, so it's not the most exciting thing," he said.

"You're just keeping it on the track.

"I think it's disappointing for the fans who pay their money. I think the big problems is that people don't understand what's going on."

Fourth-placed Coulthard, a winner from the qualifying format, was nevertheless scathing about the new system.

"It totally benefited us, but it's not really what we're here to see. It was kind of farcical," Coulthard said.

"There's no point watching the first (Saturday) qualifying hour anymore, as it's all decided in the pre-race qualifying session.

"It should be one hour, four laps and you've got to do a lap in every 15 minutes with all the cars out there."

Meanwhile, Coulthard emphasised that the Red Bull team's effort in Melbourne – which belied its origins in the dismal Jaguar outfit last year – was not a one-off.

"I knew the car felt an improvement on Jaguar. I think (engine supplier) Cosworth have done a good job," Coulthard said. "We just have to come up with ideas to make it go quicker."

AAP

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Jordan dreamt of Fisichella

From correspondents in London

March 10, 2005

GIANCARLO Fisichella's Australian Grand Prix victory was literally a dream come true for Eddie Jordan.

The former team boss, who did not attend the Formula One season opener after selling up in January, revealed overnight that he had a premonition last week that the Renault driver would win from pole position.

Back home after a weekend in the Middle East, Jordan said he sent a text message to the Italian via his manager Enrico Zanarini just as he was leaving Dubai last Thursday.

"I said 'Good luck for the season. I had a dream that you got pole position and won the race,'" he said. "And look what happened. It was quite bizarre.

"My only regret is that I wasn't able to get a bet on because I was out in this place in Oman and there was no signal for a phone."

Jordan said it was not the first time he had such a premonition about one of his former drivers.

Last year he had a similar dream about Italian Jarno Trulli, who left Jordan for Renault at the end of 2001, before the Monaco Grand Prix.

"The one with Trulli was a similar sort of feeling," he explained. "Street circuit, he got pole position and won. I had a very good bet on Trulli at Monaco last year."

Fisichella is a driver close to Jordan's heart, securing that team's last win in an crash-strewn Brazilian Grand Prix in 2003 and driving for them in 1997 as well as in 2002 and 2003.

Sunday's success also owed much to the weather, with rain in qualifying shattering the hopes of Ferrari's world champion Michael Schumacher and both McLaren drivers, but Jordan saw Fisichella going from strength to strength.

"I don't want to be critical, but he is a Roman and Romans by nature need to be cared for and loved," he said.

"I think he's back with a team that can do that and of course he has the added carrot in that he has a top driver in (Spaniard Fernando) Alonso to push him. I think he'll have a fabulous year."

Jordan has sold his team to Russian-born Canadian businessman Alex Shnaider, who will rename it Midland next year, and although still in close contact with Formula One people had not yet seen the race.

He was optimistic that the season would be far closer than last year's Ferrari 'redwash', however.

"I think there were too many other things at play in Australia and it's too early to be complimentary or critical to the rules," he said.

"As a season opener, let's be honest, a lot of people were interested because Michael Schumacher didn't win it.

"If Michael had won it, irrespective of how close the race was, the doubters would have said 'Ah, its the same old thing again.' And it's not going to be."

Jordan came into Formula One in 1991 after running teams in junior series and last weekend was the first time in decades that the Irishman had not followed the race live.

"It actually wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be," he said. "I just wanted to go through the motions that I didn't have to watch every grand prix. Of course I'm passionate about the sport and my concern was whether I was able to live without it. Now I know I can, but I don't want to."

Reuters

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Ecclestone holds key

By Ray Kershler

March 16, 2005

PAUL Stoddart says there is a great danger of a split in the world of Formula One racing because "five of the greatest car manufacturers in the world are very, very unhappy".

But Stoddart says Bernie Ecclestone "the master broker of deals" is probably the only person in the world who can sort out the mess which at one stage threatened the staging of the Melbourne GP.

"This issue is not whether Melbourne has a grand prix but a far bigger issue is whether the grand prix has the teams to compete," Stoddart said in Sydney before heading to Kuala Lumpur for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

"We are heading towards two Formula One series if we are not careful," Stoddart said.

"A breakaway series has been threatened for some time and in fairness no one gave them a lot of credibility because they weren't unified in their vision.

"But that has changed.

"Anyone who doubts the resolve of the five car manufacturers - BMW, Renault, Mercedes, Honda and Toyota - does so at their peril.

"These manufacturers are spending large amounts of money looking at an alternative series.

"We are marching towards two grand prix series by 1/1/08 and that is the worst possible combination.

"We need to remember that all our contracts expire on 31/12/07 - there is only Ferrari signed up after that."

Stoddart, the Australian boss of the Minardi F1 team, again sheeted home the blame for the division to Ferrari boss Jean Todt and FIA boss Max Mosley.

"We need to see Mosley and Todt come back to the table with us. If they don't - have no fear - there will be two series in 2008," he said.

"We are in the final year of negotiations.

"Guidelines in the Concorde agreement, this secretive document which governs F1, says all the issues have to be resolved before 31/12/05 to take effect from 1/1/08."

Stoddart said a meeting this Friday in Kuala Lumpur could hold the key to negotiations. "There has to be a peace plan before we go forward and I think Bernie is the only one who can unite us," he said. "But there is an issue with Mosley because Mosley is unacceptable to the manufacturers. It's a statement of fact."

The Daily Telegraph

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Toyota scorns Honda over rules

From correspondents in London

March 15, 2005

TOYOTA has criticised Honda-powered rivals BARfor their manipulation of Formula One's new engine rules.

"There has been a lot of controversy surrounding loopholes in the new engine rules, but exploitation of such grey areas is against our understanding of racing," said Toyota's engine expert Luca Marmorini.

"Even though our drivers did not score any points in the last race, we decided to pass the chequered flag out of respect for the new rules," he added in a team preview for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

"We fully accept the spirit and intention of the 2005 engine regulation and we believe that if we are to challenge for points regularly, we must finish the race and that means having an engine to last two races."

Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher finished ninth and 12th respectively in Australia.

BAR, overall runners-up last season, retired their cars towards the end of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix to enable drivers Takuma Sato and Jenson Button to have new engines for Malaysia without penalty.

Button was classified 11th and Sato 14th.

The new regulations say that engines must last for two successive races with any unscheduled changes incurring a 10-place penalty on the starting grid.

However the penalty does not apply to cars that fail to finish the race.

BAR can now look forward to racing in Malaysia with engines that will have done about 350km fewer than their rivals.

"Our reading of the rules is that if you fail to finish, it then gives you the opportunity to change your engine because you've effectively taken the penalty in the race you failed to finish," said BAR team boss Nick Fry in Australia. "So we've taken advantage of that and, if we choose to do so, fit a new engine for Malaysia."

Reuters

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Bernie rates Webber's style

By Byron Young and Paul Gover

March 22, 2005

MARK Webber's battling performance in the Malaysian Grand Prix has won a ringing endorsement from the most powerful man in Formula One.

Bernie Ecclestone praised the BMW-Williams star for the gutsy drive on Sunday that probably would have ensured a podium finish had the Australian not been shunted by the Renault of Australian Grand Prix winner Giancarlo Fisichella.

"He did a great job," Ecclestone said. "It was great to watch. That was a good performance and he showed what he can do.

"He is one of the rising young stars and he was unlucky to have been involved in an accident like that."

Webber believed the collision, at turn 15 on lap 36, denied him a certain third-place finish.

Fisichella's crippled car locked up on the slippery inside line of the turn and slid into the Williams before climbing over the top of the car and ripping apart the front suspension.

Webber was defending third place after passing the Italian on the previous corner.

The Australian's German teammate, Nick Heidfeld, eventually claimed third position behind race winner Fernando Alonso (Renault) and runner-up Jarno Trulli (Toyota).

"I am disappointed. There was clearly a good result here," Webber said.

"Oh yeah, third was on. It was straightforward. We could have been third and fourth. But you have to take the rough with the smooth in this game."

Fisichella was struggling to control his Renault after tearing one of the barge boards off his car and losing about 20 per cent of his aerodynamic grip.

"He had no rear tyres left. His tyres were finished," Webber said.

"When I passed him in turn 14, I left him plenty of room. But in the next corner Fisichella came on the inside and I knew it would be difficult for him to stop.

"He lost control of the rear end and took my car out. I thought we were going to get away with it, but when he climbed up over the wheels it was all over."

Heidfeld backed Webber's story, including his earlier pass.

"I think Mark did a really nice move on Fisi coming onto the back straight," Heidfeld said. "I think Fisi braked too late. It can happen."

However, Fisichella said he was ahead of Webber.

"I was ahead, and he was on the outside when he took his line into the corner. As I was braking, the rear of the car slid and Mark had left no margin for error, so we collided," he said. "It was a racing incident."

Fisichella, the toast of Albert Park two weeks ago, was warned by FIA stewards about his racing tactics. He could face a fine or a ban if he races recklessly again.

Sunday's race again confirmed the superiority of the Renaults and the huge problems facing Ferrari.

World champion Michael Schumacher limped home in seventh place while teammate Rubens Barrichello had to park his Ferrari with bald rear tyres. Schumacher flew to Italy on Sunday night to begin testing Ferrari's new car, the F2005, expected to be rushed into action at the Bahrain Grand Prix in a fortnight.

Herald Sun

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Ralf Schumacher blasts Ferrari

From correspondents in Frankfurt

March 22, 2005

FERRARI'S poor start to the Formula One season is down to the Italian team's arrogance, according to German driver Ralf Schumacher.

"Ferrari have brought this on themselves," Schumacher, younger brother of Ferrari driver and seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, told Germany's Bild newspaper overnight.

"How can they be so arrogant as to start the season with the old car? On top of that, they're going it alone with their own tyre contract."

Michael Schumacher, driving the 2004 Ferrari that served him so well last season, finished a distant seventh in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, after failing to finish in the opening race in Melbourne.

After two races, the champion is in 11th place in the world championship standings with two points, 14 behind Spain's Fernando Alonso, the winner at Sepang.

Ferrari are also trailing in fourth place in the constructors championship with 10 points, 16 behind Renault.

Team bosses must now decide whether to introduce the new F2005 car at the third race of the season in Bahrain, after originally planning a debut for round five in Barcelona.

The decision will depend on testing in Mugello this week, with Michael Schumacher due to drive the new car for the first time on Wednesday.

"I've heard a lot about the car from our test driver Luca Badoer," Schumacher said at his personal website on Monday. "I'm looking forward to at last trying it out myself.

"The first drive is always exciting once again."

Schumacher was pictured as a snail in Monday's Bild newspaper, after finishing 1min 19sec behind Alonso in Malaysia, while Sueddeutsche Zeitung signalled the end of an era in the sport.

"There's a new colour-scheme in Formula One, with (Renault's) sky-blue the shade of the season," the newspaper wrote.

Schumacher accepted that things had not gone well in the opening two races but warned against writing off his chances.

"After two botched races you can say that the situation is tough," Schumacher said. "It's definitely not hopeless, though. "I've often known it to happen that in one race I haven't had a chance and then in the next I've challenged for victory."

Reuters

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Setback for new Ferrari

From correspondents in Scaperia, Italy

March 23, 2005

TESTS on Ferrari's new F2005 ended prematurely overnight when the car driven by Rubens Barrichello started behaving strangely.

Problems ... Barrichello takes the new Ferrari for a spin. Pic: AP

The Brazilian had completed 96 laps in the Italian team's latest machine on the Mugello circuit near Florence in Tuscany when things started to go wrong.

"I felt something wasn't right and immediately turned off the engine," said Barrichello.

But despite the mishap Ferrari's No.2 driver is impressed with the F2005.

"The first impression is often the right one and I was really happy with the handling of the car which is extremely quick."

Ferrari is in the unusual position of trailing the driver's championship after the first two races in Australia and Malaysia, with Barrichello in fourth on eight points, eight behind leader Fernando Alonso. World champion Michael Schumacher is in 11th place with just two points.

Agence France-Presse

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Grand new series is A1

By Ray Kershler

March 31, 2005

A NEW motor racing series which will "change the whole concept of motor sport" will come to Australia in November with a weekend of racing - probably at Sydney's Eastern Creek circuit.

The A1 grand prix series featuring one team from each of 25 countries engendering national pride is regarded as the World Cup of motor racing.

Australia's team headed by the former F1 champ Alan Jones was launched in Sydney yesterday in the presence of the series founder, His Highness Sheik Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, of Dubai.

The open wheeler series will offer more than $1.3million in prizemoney for each race with the first 10 teams accumulating championship points.

All teams are obliged to employ drivers from their own country - and Jones will trial at least five young Australians for the job between now and November. The teams will all race identical cars with the emphasis on driver skill not technological aids.

"What makes this series so unique is that everyone is on a level playing field with exactly the same vehicle," Jones said.

"What will make the difference is the ability of the driver and the team - and that's where Australia is going to shine."

Participants in the championship will represent 80 per cent of the world's population and Sheik Maktoum said each individual team was responsible for their own business franchise. The Sheik said Jones was responsible for running the Australian team and turning the A1 Team Australia into a profitable business.

The Sheik began to plan the series some four years ago and yesterday made no bones about the concept - to make money.

"I hope we make a lot of money. It's not cheap," he said.

"I took the initiative and risk to make it happen.

"It should be profitable for everyone."

Under A1 regulations teams can change cars and drivers during an event. The teams accumulates the championship points, not the driver.

"This is a national team championship, it is not a drivers' championship," Jones said.

The cars are secured after each race and returned to their teams at the next venue but the electronic control units of the cars will be handed out randomly before each race meeting.

The races will be contested on Sunday afternoons and televised internationally with Channel 7 in the pole position for Australian TV rights.

Sheik Maktoum said the northern hemisphere winter timing of the series was designed not to pit the A1 against F1.

"Bernie Eccleston is a friend and I'm not stupid enough to go up against F1," the Sheik said.

"This is another form of motor sport. We are talking about two totally different things."

But Jones believes the star drivers in A1 will almost certainly make their way to Formula One.

He said no decision had yet been made on a racetrack but he favoured having the race in Sydney.

"Victoria has the F1 grand prix and the Moto GP, Queensland has Indy and South Australia has the Clipsal 500," he said. "I think it would be good to have this race in Sydney which does not have a world recognised motor sport event."

The Daily Telegraph

No more bling for F1 pilots

From Alan Baldwin in Manama, Bahrain

March 31, 2005

FORMULA One drivers have been told they cannot wear earrings and chunky jewellery during races for safety reasons.

An International Automobile Federation (FIA) spokesman said the "ban on bling" was approved by the governing body's medical commission after a meeting of the FIA's world motor sport council in Paris today.

The final paragraph of an FIA statement detailing decisions taken noted that there would be an immediate ban "on the wearing of jewellery (body piercing and heavy chains) by race and rally competitors".

The new Red Bull Formula One team, preparing for the third grand prix of the season in Bahrain this weekend, has two drivers who wear earrings - Austrian Christian Klien and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Klien will be racing on Sunday while Liuzzi drives the third car in Friday practice only.

Ferrari's seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, hoping to rebound from a poor start to the season with a new car this weekend, wears a lucky amulet given to him by his wife Corinna.

The FIA did not say how the measures would be policed or what sanctions might apply.

Other measures adopted by the FIA at the meeting included agreement that Formula One's technical regulations will remain unchanged until the end of the 2007 season.

There will also be no limits on the number of tyre suppliers until at least 2008.

All teams will be invited to discuss the 2008 technical regulations at a meeting on April 15 with further meetings if necessary.

The new regulations for 2008 must be published by the end of this year under the existing 'Concorde Agreement' that governs the sport.

At present only champions Ferrari have agreed to extend the Concorde Agreement beyond its expiry at the end of 2007.

The other nine teams have reserved judgement and shunned a meeting attended only by the FIA and Ferrari in January to discuss regulation changes. Five of Formula One's major carmakers are planning their own series from the end of 2007, offering teams that sign up with them a far greater share of the revenues as well as a "level playing field".

Reuters

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Schumacher ready for fightback

March 31, 2005

FORMULA one world champion Michael Schumacher is set to launch his fightback in this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix after seeing his championship defence dented in the opening two races of the year.

Schumacher, who has won the last five world titles, is hoping that the introduction of his new Ferrari car, brought in by the Italian team two races early, will push him back to the sharp end of the grid.

He has won just two points so far after being hampered by bad weather in qualifying in Australia at the start of March and being simply out-paced by his rivals in Malaysia two weeks ago.

But after weeks of relentless testing, Ferrari believe their new F2005 is race ready and Schumacher is preparing to take the fight to current championship leaders Renault here in the Middle East.

"After having been in Formula One for so many years, I know that every season has it's ups and downs," said Schumacher, who won 12 of the first 13 races on his way to a dominant title victory last year.

Renault have started the season on a high with victory for Italian Giancarlo Fisichella in Australia and a win for Spanish driver Fernando Alonso in Malaysia taking them to the top of the championship table.

They are well prepared for the challenge that Bahrain provides, with its high temperatures and dusty track, and are confident that they will be the ones to beat once again.

Alonso took a comfortable victory in Sepang, where Renault displayed the kind of dominance that Ferrari enjoyed at the start of last year, and he is looking to extend his advantage at the top of the table here Sunday.

"The team has done a fantastic job over the winter on the car," said Alonso.

"We tested very intensively to make the whole package reliable and it has been that on both race weekends so far.

"The team is definitely on a high at the moment so we will go there feeling very optimistic, but it is hard to be certain. We have been the benchmark at the first two circuits, and I think this can continue in Bahrain.

Toyota have been the surprise package so far this season, with Jarno Trulli qualifying twice on the front of the grid and claiming second place behind Alonso at the last race in Malaysia.

They are expecting more of the same in Bahrain.

"I think the car could be well suited to the circuit so it is natural that we have our sights set a bit higher," Trulli's team-mate Ralf Schumacher said.

Williams have enjoyed a strong start to the year, as have new team Red Bull Racing, but McLaren will be a danger after suffering a blow to their title hopes with the loss of Juan Pablo Montoya to injury.

The Colombian driver, who partners Finn Kimi Raikkonen, slipped over while playing tennis last Saturday and a fractured shoulder-blade has put him out of action for at least two weeks.

The team will replace him with Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa. But this weekend's event will be all about Schumacher and Ferrari and how the arrival of the new F2005 machine will affect the world champions' chances of retaining their crown.

Agence France-Presse

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Ferrari's black nose for Pope

From correspondents in Manama

April 4, 2005

FORMULA One champion Ferrari raced its cars at the Bahrain Grand Prix with black nose cones as a mark of mourning for Pope John Paul II.

The Polish-born Pope, who visited Ferrari's Maranello factory in 1988 and was presented with a scale model of a Formula One car by team members at the Vatican in January this year, died on Saturday.

Italy postponed the usual Sunday soccer programme and called off other sporting events in the Catholic country as well as cancelling the live broadcast of the third Formula One race of the season in Bahrain.

Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher said the Pontiff's death had affected the team.

"The atmosphere is sort of very strange to all of us," said the German, who had met the Pope at the Vatican. "Obviously Germans, Italians feel very connected to the Pope as many other countries do.

"You cannot really explain the words in terms of emotion and feelings that are going on around the team, particularly as we had the visit with the Pope early this year. It's very sad for us," said Schumacher.

Italy's Jarno Trulli raced for Toyota with the message "Thank You Pope" on his helmet. The race was won by Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso of Spain with Trulli in second and Kimi Raikkonen of Finland third.

Reuters

Karthikeyan's Bahrain blow up

From correspondents in Manama

April 4, 2005

INDIAN Narain Karthikeyan suffered the first major disappointment in his Formula One race career when he retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix after just two laps.

Karthikeyan, who finished his first two races for Jordan in 15th and 11th positions in Australia and Malaysia, had hoped to secure a hat-trick of finishes and maybe even break into the top ten here this weekend.

But in gruelling conditions of 42 degrees Celsius his car ground to a halt on his third lap with an electrical problem that the team said would be investigated after the race.

Karthikeyan said: "It is really a pity I had to retire in the race as I made a really good start and I managed to overtake a few cars. I was keeping up the pace but suddenly the car just stopped on the track."

Karthikeyan had qualified 18th after a disappointing session on Sunday morning dropped him behind his team-mate Tiago Montiero, who went on to claim the tenth-placed finish that the Indian had been searching for.

But team boss Trevor Carlin was encouraged by the performance of the team in such tough temperatures and is looking forward to the next race when the championship moves to Europe for the San Marino Grand Prix in three weeks.

"We are slightly disappointed that Narain had a problem on the third lap and could not finish the race as he had made up some good positions at the start and things were looking quite good," said Carlin. "But Tiago has done a fantastic job to bring the car home in very difficult conditions and we are very pleased with our first top ten finish. We are improving at every race a little bit at a time."

Agence France-Presse

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Alonso rules in Bahrain

By Will Gray

April 4, 2005

FERNANDO Alonso stamped Renault's authority on the Formula One world championship yesterday Sunday when he cruised to a dominant victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Spaniard Alonso outclassed the field in the baking dry heat of 42C to notch up his second victory of the season as the challenge of world champion Ferrari's new car came to nothing.

Italian Jarno Trulli finished second to make the top two the same as the last race in Malaysia and Finn Raikkonen claimed his and McLaren's first podium of the season with third.

German Ralf Schumacher finished fourth in the second Toyota and Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa matched his best ever finish with fifth for McLaren after filling in for the injured Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya.

Australian Mark Webber finished sixth for Williams, Felipe Massa seventh for Sauber while Scot David Coulthard bumped Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello out the points in the dying laps to claim eighth.

Michael Schumacher went off track at turn 10 as he locked his brakes going while hounding Alonso for the lead on lap 12 and he posted his second retirement of what has become a disastrous season.

With the German world champion out of the race Alonso turned his attention to keeping ahead of Trulli, who by the 15th lap of the race was three seconds behind.

With 40 of the 57 laps completed Alonso had a 13.6second advantage over second-placed Trulli with Raikkonen a massive 40.4s down in third and Ralf Schumacher just off the podium in fourth.

Button and Barrichello stopped on lap 46 and Button was left in the pits for more than a minute after he stalled his car and his team struggled to get it going again.

They eventually push-started it back into the race but the Briton retired after just a matter of metres when his car ground to a halt at the end of the pitlane.

Barrichello's demise continued on lap 44 when he was passed by Button for fifth place.

Webber pushed Ralf Schumacher hard for seventh but failed to get past when the Toyota driver went wide on lap 45.

Results

1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1hr 29min 18.531sec, 2. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 13.409, 3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 32.063, 4. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 53.272, 5. Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 1:04.988, 6. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-BMW 1:14.701, 7. Felipe Massa (Bra) Sauber-Petronas 1 lap, 8. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull 1 lap, 9. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 1 lap, 10. Tiago Monteiro (Por) Jordan 2 laps, 11. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) Sauber-Petronas 3 laps, 12. Patrick Friesacher (Aut) Minardi 3 laps, 13. Christijan Albers (Ned) Minardi 4 laps.

Overall standings

Drivers 1. Alonso 26.0pts, 2. Trulli 16.0, 3. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) 10.0, 4. R Schumacher 9.0, 5. Coulthard 9.0, 6. Barrichello 8.0, 7. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) 8.0, 8. Raikkonen 7.0, 9. Webber 7.0, 10. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) 6.0, 11. de la Rosa 4.0, 12. Christian Klien (Aut) 3.0, 13. Felipe Massa (Bra) 2.0, 14. Michael Schumacher (Ger) 2.0 Constructors

1. Renault 36.0pts, 2. Toyota 25.0, 3. McLaren 19.0, 4. Williams 13.0, 5. Red Bull 12.0, 6. Ferrari 10.0, 7. Sauber 2.0.

The Daily Telegraph

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Aussie tangles with Indy champ

From correspondents in St Petersburg

April 4, 2005

AUSTRALIAN rookie Ryan Briscoe lost a golden chance for a maiden Indycar Series victory when he came off second best in a skirmish with series champion Tony Kanaan today.

Former Formula One test driver Briscoe, 23, was out front and seemingly on the way to a win in the Grand Prix of St Petersburg - the first street race in the 10-year history of the series - before a pair of late caution flags.

Kanaan took advantage of the first restart, on the 84th of 100 laps, to move from fourth to second, bumping past Briscoe's team-mate Darren Manning and then moving past his own team-mate Dan Wheldon.

Another collision on the 87th lap brought out the fifth and final caution flag and put Brazilian veteran Kanaan right behind Briscoe for the restart on lap 92.

As the green flag waved, Kanaan began harassing the young leader, feinting first to the outside, then the inside and finally trying to move past Briscoe on the inside as they went into turn 10.

The two cars came into contact and Briscoe careered into a tyre wall, crashing out for the third time in his three starts in the series.

The clash didn't damage Kanaan's car, but it did slow him enough to allow Wheldon to shoot past into the lead. The 26-year-old Englishman then held off Kanaan, pulling away to a 1.45-second victory.

He and Kanaan were followed across the line by Scotsman Dario Franchitti and pole winner Bryan Herta, giving the Andretti Green Racing a sweep of the top four places.

The Andretti team criticised Briscoe over the contact that put him out of the running.

"I think Briscoe was a little silly to turn into him like that," said Wheldon.

Kanaan, who has now completed every lap of every race since the start of the 2004 season, was angry with Briscoe.

"In fairness, when people are not fair, they get what they deserve," Kanaan said.

"He tried to put me in the wall. You want to play hard, we'll play hard.

"Dan (Wheldon) was one lucky guy. But, to win in racing, you've got to be lucky."

Briscoe led a race-high 43 laps but wound up 14th in the 21-car field.

The sweep of the top four spots for the team co-owned by former racing star Michael Andretti, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree made it a perfect day for AGR, which also got a victory from 18-year-old Marco Andretti - Michael's son - earlier in the day in his developmental Infiniti Pro Series debut.

"The key was that drive by Tony Kanaan," Michael Andretti said.

"He's the one who made it possible for us to get the sweep. It's just been an incredible day." Wheldon, who took over the series lead, earned his second victory in three starts this season and the fifth of his IRL career.

AAP

[Shell]

GTRSRULE

um, look, if you find an article that's particularly interesting - start a new thread with that topic and i'm sure people will reply...

it's pretty pointless posting all these articles up like this - we're a discussion forum not a news outlet