Your Random F1 News update for July 29

Glock's crash caused by faulty part: Toyota’s F1 team determined what happened to Timo Glock’s car that caused it to crash during the German Grand Prix back on July 20th. The team had said a part on the right rear suspension that was damaged during the British Grand Prix two weeks before was used again at the German Grand Prix. The team has now changed their inspection policy to make sure that this never happens again.

"Following Timo Glock's incident during the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, Toyota Motorsport initiated a thorough investigation," the team said in a statement. "This initially established that a rear toelink (trackrod) gave way causing Timo to lose control of the car, but confirmed that there were no exceptional circumstances before or during the incident in the German Grand Prix. Further investigation has established that damage sustained in the British Grand Prix two weeks earlier was the cause. During that race Timo suffered several incidents.

"As is normal practice, some parts from the British Grand Prix were carried over to Hockenheim, including most of the rear right suspension. Although the parts were subjected to the normal test and screening process following the Silverstone race and passed fit for use at Hockenheim, it has become apparent that it did not identify an issue which subsequently led to the incident at Hockenheim. As a result of this investigation, Toyota Motorsport has revised its inspection processes to include such cases and is extremely confident there will be no repeat."
Well, lets hope so. God knows we don’t need any more injuries caused by silly mistakes.

Toyota determine cause of Glock's crash [Autosport.com]

Renault boss says F1 needs makeover: Flavio Briatore says F1 needs a major overhaul to get the fans back love in with the sport. Briatore believes that Max Mosley’s sex scandal problems has damaged the sports reputation and have also hurt the teams along with the fans.
"His absence is felt as there's no project for F1. The teams feel abandoned," Briatore told Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. "The Concorde agreement, the number of races, the costs, the spectacle, the imperative increase of revenues. Formula One needs to be re-designed. I feel that it should be down to the teams to decide, by electing in turns a director of operations. A guy who does things, not a PR person. On top of that, we need to decide with a 51% majority, not unanimously like now, otherwise we'll carry on being stuck."

"Nowadays [Bernie] Ecclestone takes 50% of all revenues,” he added. “But we are supposed to be able to reduce our costs by 50%. How? Starting from the engines. Making them more environment-friendly, accepting Mosley's challenge of reducing fuel consumption by 50% by 2015, while cutting the high costs of the engine themselves and also cutting the staff. The problem is that us, Renault, have stuck to the letter of the current regulations on frozen engines, and we've been buggered: others didn't do that and are far ahead, while we suffer. It's not fair."

Briatore says F1 needs an overhaul [Autosport.com]

British GP to Donington Park in 2010

The FIA announced that the British Grand Prix will move to circuit at Donington Park from 2010 onward. The move comes at no surprise as the circut at Silverstone has been having a hard time keeping thier date on the F1 calendar secured. This will also be the first British Grand Prix not held at Silverstone since 1986 when Brands Hatch hosted thier final F1 race to date.

"After many years of patient but fruitless negotiation with the BRDC, we are delighted that Bernie has nevertheless been able to ensure that the British Grand Prix will keep its place on the Formula One World Championship calendar," FIA President Max Mosley said. "We understand that the development programme planned for Donington will achieve the very high standards we and FOM expect from a modern F1 circuit. Finally, British Formula One fans will get the Grand Prix venue they deserve."

"Finally the uncertainty is over. A contract has been signed with Donington Park and the future of the British Grand Prix is now secure," F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone added. "We wanted a world class venue for Formula One in Britain, something that the teams and British F1 fans could be proud of. The major development plans for Donington will give us exactly that. A venue that will put British motor sport back on the map.

"I am sorry that we could not have helped Silverstone to raise the money to carry out the circuit improvements and run Formula One. I believe that the government should have supported them which would have cost probably less than .002% of the government's commitment for the Olympic Games."

Silverstone loses British GP to Donington [Autosport.com]

Ecclestone warned Mosley about plot against him

A report in The London Times today said that FIA head Max Mosley was warned by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone about the plot against him two months before the whole sex scandal started. Drew Attew, an consultant who had worked for both Ecclestone and Mosley in the past, was tipped off about the plot earlier in the year.

"I received a call from a friend in January this year," Attew told The London Times. "We had a meeting and I was told there was an open budget to effectively go out and source material that would bring Max to his knees, remove him from office, and discredit him publicly."

"The person contacted me because they knew of my relationship with Bernie, but they didn't know of my relationship with Max. The reason they contacted me was to find out whether I had any loyalty to Max, and whether I knew anything of value. I asked 'are you after Max, the FIA, or Bernie?' They came back a little while later and said they weren't going to pursue it for the time being."

Attew then warned Ecclestone about the plot, who then told Mosley about it.

"I sat down with Bernie and told him what I'd heard," said Attew. "Bernie then told Max, I know this because Max later confirmed it to me. I assumed the warning would be taken seriously. It was clear that Max disregarded the advice and failed to realise his vulnerability. The issue for me was his total disregard for genuine advice from individuals that he knew had his best interests at heart. I asked Bernie if there was anything anyone was going to find out about Max and he said 'you're not going to find anything because there's nothing there, he's Mr Boring in that sense'. Mosley had kept this a good secret."

Attew also believes that Mosley should had come forward about this incdient and shake off any indication that Ecclestone was involved in the plot.

"I hear people suggesting Bernie was behind this, but that's ridiculous," he added. "From the very first indication, Bernie and I, with Max's knowledge, have tried to find out who was the source. When we saw what was in the News of the World, Bernie was as flabbergasted as I was."

Ecclestone had warned Mosley about plot [Autosport.com]

BMW and Honda ask FIA to act on split fears

Two teams in Formula 1, BMW-Sauber and Honda, have asked the FIA to calm fears of a possible split within the governing body over Max Mosley's win in the confidence vote faced earlier this week. Some of the teams feel upset over the decision and are threatning to leave the FIA if Mosley continues to serve as FIA President.

BMW Motorsport boss, Dr. Mario Theissen was the first to chime in on the subject: "We respect the decision of the FIA, but it is now a very critical situation for the FIA - between it and its membership clubs. And apparently this does not only affect the FIA, but also external partners like the car industry or motorsport. But none the less, only the FIA can solve this situation. So we respect the decision and now we have to see how it develops."

"I think it depends on what goes on in the coming weeks, within the FIA. It is quite critical. But what we will see now, is that this controversial situation between the FIA and the membership clubs will certainly make people aware of the fact that the FIA is not in the first instance motorsport. It is in the first instance a worldwide body for the motoring clubs."

"We expect that the FIA as a body sticks to its role and handles it professionally, which means governing motorsport - governing F1 and the other series," Theissen added. "We also expect the current initiatives of cost reduction and introduction of future technology to be carried on and to be really put in place."

Honda boss Nick Fry agreed with Theissen's views on the matter and hope that these shenanigans would end quickly.

"We recognise that the FIA reached its decision following due process," Fry said. "However, the reaction of motoring clubs around the world demonstrates a genuine concern about the extent to which the President of the FIA is able to carry out his role following these events. Despite the strong contributions Max has made to the sport, we share this concern and we would wish to see a speedy end to the current instability."

I hope so too.

BMW, Honda urge FIA to act on split fear (Autosport.com)

Sour Grapes

Max Mosley may have survived a confidence vote on Tuesday to keep his job as FIA president, but that still hasn't stopped many people from calling for his resignation. Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is one of them.

"Max should stand down in November," Ecclestone told The Independent newspaper. "For me it's a difficult situation because I run the Formula One Group of companies, and the teams - the manufacturers - are violently opposed to him."

"I knew he would win (the vote), there was no way he could lose. But I still don't think it's good for him, or for the FIA, to be honest. He said he wanted to finish at the end of 2007, and then the end of this year, before all this happened. What highlights the problem he may still face is what happened in Monaco. Prince Albert made it very clear that he did not want him on the grid, and that he would have security around him so that if Max did appear they could not be seen together."

"I've always said that Max will be the president until he dies," he added. "What many people don't understand is that he enjoys confrontation. He likes argument, these things stimulate him."

Ecclestone isn't the only one calling for Mosley's head. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo also thinks that Mosley should quit. "I believe he himself should understand that at times it is necessary to say 'I must leave the place for reasons of credibility." di Montezemolo said to the Italian news agency ANSA.

This a bit of a change from when di Montezemolo was aksed the question back in April. "I think it's objectively unlikely, but I believe it depends on him and his sensibility." di Montezemolo told the Italian newspaper, Gazzzetta dello Sport. "However, I can say that the day Mosley, for whatever reason, decides to leave, the FIA will need a leader with the same level of experience, competence, personality and balance."

"If I look at what Max has done these years on the issue of safety, at the speed with which a verdict was produced in the spy story, and other stuff, my judgement on him can be nothing but positive. If he leaves, in his place we'd need someone like him."

Funny how the mind can change.

Ferrari president: Mosley should quit (Autosport.com)

Ecclestone: Mosley should still resign (Autosport.com)

Max Mosley will still be FIA president

Well here is something I didn't see coming, FIA President and rough Nazi sex lover Max Mosley will be allowed to keep his job as FIA president. The general assembly, who met earlier this morning in Paris, voted 103 to 55 that Mosley should keep his job. 11 other votes were either absent or invalid.

So there you have it, kiddies. I'm still shocked, though. After all of the gloom and doom that Mosley was getting these last few weeks, I thought he would be voted out for sure. I wonder what changed those voter's minds? Hmmm. Money? Candy? Free tickets to Disney World? I don't know. Whatever the case may be congrats to Max and lets hope he learned a valuable lesson out of all of this. Probably not.

Mosley wins confidence vote in Paris (Autosport.com)

Ecclestone calls for Mosley's resignation

Formula 1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone has called for FIA President Max Mosley to step down from his position saying that he only humiliate himself even more by staying around for Tuesday's confidence vote which will most likely have Mosley forced out of his postion as FIA president.

"The last thing most people involved in the sport, including the clubs, would want to see is Max in a position where he could be forced to stand down," Ecclestone told the British newspaer, the Telegraph."I don't want to see that. I've been a friend of Max for 40 years. I would hate to see him go in this way after all he has done for the sport."

"Since the story broke I have been under enormous pressure from the people who invest in Formula One, sponsors and manufacturers, over this issue," Ecclestone continued."They point out that as a chief executive or chief operating officer of a major company they would have gone either immediately, or within 24 hours, in the same circumstances. They cannot understand why Max has not done the same."

"Max is a strong man." Ecclestone continued. "Once he makes a decision he sticks to it. He feels that there is still important work to do at the FIA. But in my view there is a way to accomplish this and retire at the end of the year at the FIA general assembly in November. I would be happy to sit at his side to help him to achieve that. He should stand down out of responsibility for the institution he represents, including F1. Everyone who I speak to in a position of authority across F1 rings me to say he should leave. It is regretful that he has not made that decision."

Ecclestone went on to say because of the scandal Mosley can no longer conduct buisness in a normal manner. Mosley has been uninvited to many events because of that, even birthday parties.

"The big problem is that he can no longer represent the FIA worldwide because of these incidents," Ecclestone said. "The general feeling is that people would no longer be comfortable speaking to him in the same way. My wife had invited Max to her birthday party, (but) she was told to ask Max not to appear because of the embarrassment it might cause to a number of corporate guests. She was extremely upset about that, but she accepted she had to speak to him. It was very difficult for her to do that."

"Max is being punished for the wrong reasons. He has done a first-class job as president. Like all of us he has made some mistakes but 90 per cent of the decisions he has taken have been to the benefit of all. He deserves to be remembered for all the positive work he has done, not for an expose in a tabloid newspaper. That is why he should announce his decision to resign now and not go through with a vote of confidence. That is not in his best interests, the FIA's or the sport's."

Ecclestone calls Mosley to stand down (Autosport.com)

Mosley refuses compromise deal

Max Mosley, head of the FIA, refused a compromise deal that would have him step down as FIA president at the end of November, instead of facing a confidence vote that could cost him his job next week.

The World Council, who meets on Tuesday to decide Mosley's fate, wants to keep the least amount of damage happening and it is in their belief that a resignation from Mosley instead of a vote will keep the damage at a minimum, Mosley disagrees.

Mosley beleives that there is enough strife within the World Council that will keep him in his job until October 2009, but with the lastest plea from the World Council, Mosley's job looks to be in serious jeopardy.

Clubs plead with Mosley to resign (Autosport.com)

Mosley declines compromise deal (Autosport.com)

Well here's a twist for you

A MI5 (which is like Britain's version of the CIA) officer has resigned after admitting that his wife was one of the prostitutes in the Max Mosley orgy affair. The officer resigned because he thought his wife activities would compromise national security and leave him open to being blackmailed.

The FIA general assembly will vote Mosley's fate on June 3.

My question is how pitifully paid are MI5 officers that their wives have to go into doing "high class" escort work.

MI5 officer resigns over Mosley affair(Autosport.com)

Surprise, surprise

Max Mosley not to attend functions in Monaco (Autosport.com)