Honda Saved

$100m buyout has saved Honda. Ross Brawn and Nick Fry will take control of the team.
Honda will compete in the Australian Grand Prix. But there will also be many job cuts at Honda.

Softer Tyres will have Green Band in 2009.

In 2009 we will be again seeing a come back of Slick Tyres. 11 seasons we saw grooved tyres.

This year the softer compound will have a Green Band. This acts as a distinguition between the 2 compounds. It also signifies Bridgestone's support for the FIA's Make Cars Green Campaign.

There is a change in tyre allocation rationale too. For 2009, non -consecutive allocations will occur at most races.

Opening Races Tyre Allocation:

Australia - super soft, medium
Malaysia - soft, hard
China - super soft, medium
Bahrain - super soft, medium
Spain - soft, hard

William's Still Strong

RBS plans to exit Formula 1. They were sponsors for Williams F1 Team. There will be a 25% reduction in sponsorship in 2009 and 50% by 2010. This is due to heavy losses announced by RBS banking group.

The RBS-Williams partnership began in 2005 and was renewed for a second three-year term in 2007.

Race Calendar

1
Mar 29
ING Australian Grand Prix (Albert Park, Melbourne)

2
Apr 05
Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang, Kuala Lumpur)

3
Apr 19
Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)

4
Apr 26
Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir)

5
May 10
Telefonica Spanish Grand Prix (Catalunya)

6
May 25
Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)

7
Jun 07
Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix (Istanbul)

8
Jun 21
Santander British Grand Prix (Silverstone)

9
Jul 12
Santander German Grand Prix (Nurburgring)

10
Jul 26
Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring, Budapest)

11
Aug 23
European Grand Prix (Valencia)

12
Aug 30
ING Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)

13
Sep 13
Santander Italian Grand Prix (Monza)

14
Sep 27
Singtel Singapore Grand Prix (Singapore)

15
Oct 04
Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)

16
Oct 18
Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos)

17
Nov 01
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina)

New Engine Rules

The FIA will clarify the new engine rules. According to the new rules the teams cannot change engines after Saturday's Practice.

Each driver will have eight engines for this year championship.

Charlie Whiting has now stipulated that no engine may be changed after Saturday morning's practice session has begun.

American Team Planning to enter Fomula 1

In 2010 American Team hope to enter Formula 1. The project, led by F1 veterans Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson, will be based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

They have not made any firm decisions on drivers or engine supply.

Offer Rejected

Honda rejected Ecclestones Offer. He had offered the team £100 million.
But I personally feel Honda did the right thing.

Force India

Force India will inaugurate their new car on Sunday in Jerez. The car is named as VJM02. Drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil will both be present at the launch of the Mercedes-engined car.

The majority of Force India’s rivals revealed their new cars last month and only Toro Rosso and the beleaguered Honda team have still to confirm launch dates.

Honda's Search For Buyer Still Going On

The Japanese car maker put the team up for sale in December. Although a bid from the Virgin Group and an internal management buyout have both been rumoured, Honda CEO, Takeo Fukui, disclosed at a press conference in Japan that the company’s search for a viable purchaser is still ongoing.
Fukui will step down as CEO and President of Honda in June. Takanobu Ito will replce him.

Hulkenberg targets F1 Debut

Nico Hulkenberg has set a target of making his Formula One race debut in 2010. He is currently F3 Euroseries champion and in 2009 will move up to F1 feeder series GP2.

No Night Race

Malaysian Grand Prix will start at 5 pm local time. Ecclestone has been pushing for some of F1's flyaway races to switch to night events in a bid to make them more European time-zone friendly. However, with Thursday's announcement that the Australian GP has adopted a later start time, the Sepang organisers have confirmed that they too will be starting later than usual.

BMW Testing

BMW Sauber are in a confident mood. Driver Nick Heidfeld and tester Christian Klien completed over 2,300 kilometres in the F1.09 during the four-day session at the Sakhir track. We also made good progress with KERS.


Heidfield's Lap Time : 1m 32.225s

BMW Sauber will return to the test track in a little over a week’s time, when the majority of teams come together for a four-day test at the Spanish circuit of Jerez.

February 19 Testing

Ferrari, BMW and Toyota bring eight days of testing at Bahrain to an end today.

Testing Line Up

Ferrari - Felipe Massa
Toyota - Timo Glock
BMW - Nick Heidfeld

Richard Branson bids for Honda

It has now come to light that perhaps the mysterious bidder is Richard Branson. Bottom line is that Richard has some cash and that’s what this team needs right now. If ING increased brand awareness by 16% with their involvement in F1 then perhaps that’s worth $100MM to Richard.

Formula 1 Testing

Some testing rules have been changed. In between the races the testing is not allowed. Sebastien Bourdais continued to dominate in Toro Rosso’s interim car as this week's test at Jerez concluded on Friday. And although a minor technical issue brought his day to a premature end, he managed to complete 117 laps. With Hamilton second in the MP4-24, Renault’s Fernando Alonso took up the third slot on the timesheets in the R29. Alonso focused his attentions on the car’s set-up and covered 109 laps.

Unofficial Friday times from Jerez:
1. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 1:17.472
2. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:19.632
3. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:19.846
4. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:21.217
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:21.313
6. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, no time

Honda Back in Action

The Guardian and GMM have announced that an intermediate solution has been found to secure the first four races for the Brackley-based F1 team formerly known as Honda F1. Bruno Senna’s sponsor money from Brazil, in cash to run the team and keep them on the grid temporarily. The report also said Senna and Jenson Button will be powered by Mercedes-Benz V8 engines.