BMW to be next to quit F1

The latest strong rumour in the budget cap row is that BMW is set to become the next car manufacturer to threaten to quit Formula One.

The German squad's F1 chief Mario Theissen hinted at the move in Barcelona last weekend, but subsequently Ferrari, Toyota, Renault and Red Bull made clear declarations of their intentions to miss the May 29th deadline for 2010 team entries.

Giving weight to the BMW speculation on Thursday was Jean-Francois Gaubet, who as a Renault spokesman was quoted as commenting to Europe 1 radio that all the carmakers involved in Formula One are united.

"All of us - Mercedes, Toyota, BMW, Renault and Ferrari - are on the same page," he said.

"We have until May 29 to register ourselves for the championship of 2010, and as long as the regulations are as they stand, we will not be registering," Gaubet insisted.

Taking the threat seriously is F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, who arguably has the most to lose from a decimated world championship.

Referring to his meeting on Friday with FIA President Max Mosley and the teams, he told the French newspaper Le Figaro: "We are all going to sit around the same table and find a reasonable solution for everybody.

"It is not going to be easy, but no one wants to destroy Formula One," the Briton added.

However, the late Enzo Ferrari's son and board member Piero Ferrari on Thursday insisted that "there will be no compromise."

"We want no budget cap, (the) same rules for everyone, clear rules," he told the Telegraph. "We want to invest in cars, in engines, in aerodynamics, in the technology of the cars."

By the same token, FIA advisor Tony Purnell - who devised the details of the budget cap - said the cost-limiting mechanism will not be dropped.

It is rumoured that the FIA may be willing to drop the 'two-tier' element and allow the big teams a 'glide-path' from 80m pounds sterling to 40m over the next three years.

But to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, Purnell said the £40m sum is set. "If it rises significantly, it will no longer be attractive from the viewpoint of prospective new entrants."

Pantano for Bourdais seat?

New rumours in the Italian press have shed fresh doubts on the future in Formula One of the sport's only French driver.

The rumours suggest that Sebastien Bourdais, who has scored one point so far in 2009 compared with his rookie team-mate Sebastien Buemi's three, is on the brink of being ousted by Toro Rosso.

The name linked with the potentially vacant Red Bull-sponsored seat is Giorgio Pantano, who despite winning last year's GP2 championship was left without a ride in the premier series for 2009.

30-year-old Italian Pantano, who actually contested most of the 2004 season for Jordan, was said to have been preparing to race in the Renault Eurocup series this year, but may now have delayed that debut.

Ferrari factor crucial for Rome Grand Prix

Rome is pushing ahead with its plans to join the Formula One calendar, but a huge spanner in the works is the sport's current political spat.

"I do not want to consider the idea of a Grand Prix of Rome without Ferrari," the Italian city's Mayor Gianni Alemanno is quoted as saying by Corriere dello Sport on Thursday.

Nonetheless, despite the famous Italian team's threatened exit from the sport, the plans for a 4.7km street circuit in the 1930s Eur district - comprising more than $200m of private investment - were unveiled.

"We are going to set up a promotional committee and then officially launch our candidature," said Alemanno.

A formal bid to F1's authorities has not yet been made, but a target debut date of 2012 was set.

Lola confirm F1 return for 2010

Having signalled an interest in F1's budget-capped future last month, the British racing car company Lola has now committed to submitting a 2010 team entry by the May 29th deadline.

"The Lola Group is pleased to announce that it will be submitting an entry," part of a statement issued by the outfit, which last attempted a F1 foray in 1997, read.

Lola said the 2010 cap figure was set at £30m when it first began evaluating designing and racing a car next year.

The increase of the figure to £40m "led to a re-examination" of the project by Lola, "culminating in today's confirmation that it will proceed."

The FIA is expected to publish the first 2010 entry list in mid June.
Full Lola Statement
Following completion of its evaluation of the technical regulations for cost-capped Formula One teams announced by the FIA World Motorsport Council on 29th April 2009, the Lola Group is pleased to announce that it will be submitting an entry for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The original cap of £30 million, including engines formed the basis of Lola’s initial interest.
The decision by the WMSC to revise the figure to £40 million plus engines, marketing, hospitality and driver fees led to a re-examination of the opportunity by Lola culminating in today’s confirmation that it will proceed with its Formula One project.

The Lola Group believes that the WMSC decisions relating to cost-capping and the provision of revised technical regulations to facilitate the entry of new teams into Formula One should be embraced. This is not only prudent considering the backdrop of global economics but also taking into account the need for new teams to be able to compete credibly against long established entrants.

It is imperative that performance breaks be afforded to new cost-capped entrants who will have a limited period in which to form teams, design and manufacture their cars. With these breaks Lola looks forward to competing with the existing teams who enjoy decades of experience. The question of speed differentials, safety and the spectacle of Formula One must also be considered.

The Lola Group is forging ahead with its Formula One project with the objective of securing an entry into the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and in the expectation that the decisions of the WMSC will be respected in full.

Gascoyne's return desire

Mike Gascoyne's desire to return to Formula One was confirmed on Thursday, when a UK-based F3 team announced its intention to apply to enter a budget-capped outfit next year.

The Norfolk-based team Litespeed said it is collaborating with MGI Group, whose Managing Director is Gascoyne, the famous engineer for teams including Jordan, Renault, Toyota, and most recently Force India.

"We don't yet know whether the (budget) cap team rules will be changed, and obviously we don't know if our application will be accepted. The cap may be dropped altogether," said Litespeed boss Nino Judge.

"The point is that there is not much time for the project to get on to the 2010 grid and we have to take some risks in order to maximise time for preparation," he added.

A colossal fight over the budget caps issue is already being played out between the governing FIA and major F1 teams including Ferrari.

But Litespeed said there has never been a better time to consider F1.

"There is space and a need in the arena for independent teams and the technical leeway given to the budget-capped teams allows for a competitive performance within the financial parameters," Judge continued.

Judge, who worked in F1 with Lotus in 1989-1991, said Gascoyne's company will act as technical consultants.

BMW Sauber to use double diffuser in Istanbul

BMW Sauber is set to make more steps forward, after the boost provided by a major aerodynamic upgrade for the recent Spanish Grand Prix.

The Swiss-based squad is still not a player in 2009, but boss Mario Theissen insists Barcelona proved a ‘comeback’ after the dire situation of the opening four races.

A double diffuser was not part of the Spain package, but the formerly controversial concept will be fitted to the F1.09 for the forthcoming Turkish Grand Prix.

"To be honest, I am looking forward to Istanbul," said Nick Heidfeld, who on his 32nd birthday moved up from 13th on the grid to score two points in Spain.

"This is when we get another new package with the double-decker diffuser. Hopefully we'll take another large step forward then," added the German.

It is also in Istanbul that BMW plans to reintroduce KERS, after taking the technology off its cars for Barcelona and next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

It is understood that, compared with the previous 2009 system, the team's KERS will be running in a modified form from Turkey onwards.

BMW Sauber are seventh in the championship with six points.

Rome F1 circuit project

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno confirmed the famous Italian capital's project to hold a Formula One race in the near future, AFP reported on Thursday.

The planned layout of the 4.6-kilometre circuit will be situated in the EUR quarter, southwest of centuries-old Rome. The sector's wide avenues had been planned for the 1942 Universal Exposition which never took place due to the wartime situation, but may now serve for Rome's first F1 race.

It is expected that the average speed should be 177kph, for a 1:34 lap time.

"We will establish a promotional committee," said Alemanno.
"And then we will officially present our candidacy."

An eventual Roman Grand Prix should not interfere with the traditional Italian Grand Prix held at Monza.

2010 options for Rosberg

Negotiations about the future of Nico Rosberg have begun, as the German eyes moving up the Formula One pecking order next year.

The 23-year-old started his career with Williams in 2006, and Sir Frank Williams revealed in February that, after the 2007 season, McLaren had made an offer of "majestic proportions" to sign Rosberg to be Lewis Hamilton's teammate.

Rosberg, however, instead signed a two-year contract extension with the Grove team to take him to the end of this season.

But despite always singing his praises, Williams figures whispered a hint of puzzlement and perhaps miscontent with Rosberg after last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Mere dozens of hours after that, the driver has been quoted in the specialist media as admitting he is currently in the process of "looking at" his options for 2010.

Several times in assessment of Rosberg's Barcelona form, Williams referred to "inconsistency" that blighted his run to an expected fifth place.

Ultimately, he finished eighth, and in a team-distributed review of the Spanish race this week, an interviewer noticed that Rosberg's lap times had been "a bit erratic."

"Nico's lap times were somewhat inconsistent, yes, and we are now looking carefully through all of the data and bodywork parts to determine what caused that," said Technical Director Sam Michael.

Engineering boss and team co-owner Patrick Head, meanwhile, had said immediately after the race: "Nico's pace was initially good but we then struggled to maintain consistency so we'll have to investigate that."

"I had a very good first few laps but, after 10 laps or so, I started to experience a problem at the rear of the car," Rosberg explained last Sunday. "Something inexplicable would just happen and affect the balance which caused a lot of oversteer. Oddly enough, it would then be OK again."

Interestingly, the three extra points for finishing fifth instead of eighth would have leapfrogged Williams ahead of both Ferrari and BMW Sauber in the constructors' standings.

Instead, the team is ahead of only Toro Rosso and the non-scoring Force India.

Michael added: "Even if we think we have a faster car than how we currently stand in that table, the constructors' order is what the overall performance of our team is measured by."

Ferrari drivers agreed to pull out from F1

If Ferrari were to leave Formula One at the end of the season, team drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen will have to look elsewhere to further their racing careers, but both fully support the decision.

For Felipe Massa, who accomplished a lifelong dream when he joined the famous Italian marque, it is obviously far from a perfect scenario. However the Brazilian fully backs Ferrari's plan to leave F1 if the 2010 regulations imposed by the FIA are not corrected to remove the 'two-tier' format.

"I understand the motivation, why the company got to this point," Massa indicated in a statement. "The idea of having a Championship with two velocities, with cars, which for example are allowed to have flexible wings or an engine without a rev limiter, is absurd."

"For a driver racing a Ferrari in Formula 1 is a dream and I made mine come true," he continued. "Since I was a child Ferrari has been the synonym for racing for me; that's why I'm convinced that even if the Scuderia is forced to leave Formula 1, there will be other competitions, where it will be possible to admire the Reds on the track."

Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, although it is rumoured that his intentions are to retire from the sport at the end of his contract, agrees nonetheless that things would not be the same in F1 without Ferrari - the only team to have participated in every championship campaign.

"It's difficult to think of a Formula 1 without Ferrari," he said. "When I drove for McLaren the Scuderia from Maranello was the benchmark, the competitor you had to be compared with. Since I arrived here I understood that it is much more than just a team, it's a legend, perpetuated via its road and racing cars."

"I always thought of Formula 1 as the pinnacle of motor sports, in terms of competition and technology," the Finn added. "I can't imagine drivers racing each other on the track with cars built according to different rules; that wouldn't be good for the sport itself or for the fans."

"If that should happen, it would be too bad and I understand that a company like Ferrari is thinking about racing somewhere else," Raikkonen concluded.

Ferrari thanks for fans support and ready to quit F1

Since announcing their intention to quit Formula One if the controversial 2010 rules adopted by the FIA are maintained, Ferrari has been receiving generous public support for its position.

The Italian car manufacturer's Board of Directors confirmed their intentions on Tuesday, following which positive messages began to make their way to Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo. The Italian wrote a note of thanks on the company's website.

"I want to thank you personally for the numerous messages of support we received from all over the world over the last hours on our website and via email," he began. "It is important to know that we can count on the support of our fans all over the world and that our fans completely share the motivations, which brought us to take such a decision."

"If we were forced to leave the Championship we were part of over the last 60 years of our history and where we set all the records in terms of victories, it is because they want to change the nature of its founding values," he continued, in a reference to the 'two-tier' system ands other items put in place for the 2010 season by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council.

Di Montezemolo assured that Ferrari will be seen elsewhere: "I have to say that our cars will race in other competitions, where - and I am absolutely convinced about that - they will find the enthusiasm and the passion of millions of fans, following us in every corner of the world."

"Racing is part of Ferrari's DNA and this is something that will never change," he concluded.