Phew....

Crumbs, there is so much going on, it is difficult to know where to start(and the day-job is getting a bit lively).

In bullet points this is what has happened in chronological order at Silverstone so far

* Lewis accepts a challenge from Jenson to do a triathlon for charity and is then promptly withdrawn from it by his father and manager Anthony(very poor PR - underlines again the very obvious reality that "team Hamilton" needs its own full-time media consultant).
* DC announces his retirement at the end of this season when he is widely believed to be joining the new BBC television team as paddock-based expert in place of Mark Blundell(who has joked recently that he has brought a new sofa, all the better to watch the racing next year from home).
* Mosley writes to the teams setting out a radical overhaul of how Formula One is going to be run and gives them three months to write a new set of technical regulations.
* Bernie and Max reveal that they have called a truce as we exclusively report in today's paper. Is this a real end to hostilities or a temporary ceasefire? Why did it happen? I understand the two men met after three months of cold war. Whose idea was the meeting? One thorn in Bernie's side that remains is the Formula 2 championship. Will this be quietly forgotten?
* Practice session one. A warm dry morning sees Felipe head the time-sheets only to have a dangerous high-speed crash at Stowe when his left-front wheel skidded on oil left by Fernando's exploding engine. The Brazilian hit the tyre wall quite close to where Michael Schmacher had his big shunt in '99. There was big damage to the rear of Felipe's car but apparently none to him fortunately - a big setback for him which will leave him on the back foot for the rest of the weekend.
* The FIA announces that the British Grand Prix is safe but that it will move to Donington Park from 2010, a possibility first mooted during the French Grand Prix. This has left the press room stunned. Clearly Bernie has totally lost it with what he calls "shitty" Silverstone. My guess is that this will be a hybrid deal where Bernie will take over Donington during Formula One weekends and will plough a good deal of his own money into the place in return. There is a huge amount to do and there are some in the media centre here who do not believe the move will ever happen.

Err..that's it for now. Whatever next? Lewis signs for Ferrari???    

Comments

[Felipe]

Wow, it all seems to be kicking off... I want people to reflect on the comments saying Alonso has made bad decisions in his career. Personally, the only mistake was joining a team with Hamilton as #1 driver... don't want to start the whole argument again but I think that Hamilton needs to think where he's heading in a personal and professional direction at the moment... it seems like celebdom, but not F1 championshipdom...

[Tony]

From the Donnington website..
"The investment will be led by a private investor who is also a large shareholder."
Sounds like Bernie to me.

As for MM... he is such an odious little man... I'm totally disgusted with him & FIA(FEAR!!)

[McCheets]

Wonder if the Donnington decision is related to Damon's calls for Mosley to go.

[McCheets]

Whatever next?

Matt Bishop issues a press release that doesn't contain a single fallacy.

[McCheets]

What else could happen?

Jackie Stewart keeps his mouth shut for more than a nanosecond.

[Jon T]

About time the Silverstone/Donington thing breached the blog, I saw your article the other week and wondered why it wasn't made a talking point. I thought at the time that Bernie must be mad to even moot doing it, but to confirm it as well shows that we have a pair of premium clowns on our hands running this farce...

I live 10 minutes from Donington, love the circuit for its design, and have had the pleasure (and frustration) of visiting and travelling on both circuits. To suggest that Donington can surpass Silverstone in 2 years is laughable on so many levels.

- Planning permission - I work in planning now and the fact is, it would take 8 weeks minimum for a basic application; something this big could take months and when there are only 24 months for them to get it sorted, that's pretty significant already.

- Facilities - As much as I love Donington, Silverstone has it licked. The spectator areas are just bigger in numbers, the paddock is one of the biggest I know of and it's generally easy to get in and out of the infield. No doubt this can be fixed more easily than most but it's still an epic job to handle if there are any complications.

- The track - There's talk of an extension for the F1 circuit to make it longer. I guess that might work, but why mess with an already great track? What sort of layout would it then form, and what land would it be at the expense of? Silverstone already has one of the best-known layouts around and, while not as exciting in some ways as Donington, it's still a flagship circuit with an equally illustrious history that the drivers love, not to mention the fact that it's already built.

and the real kickers

- Parking and access - How quickly we forget the horror stories of mudbaths and cars beached in the mud at Silverstone...The majority of Donington's parking is on grass and it won't take much to churn it to pieces if the famously miserable British weather bites. Cue anarchy and overblown tabloid reporting of the end of the world...

Much of Silverstone's investment went onto the car parks and the access roads. It's connected by two-lane carriageway to both the M40 and the M1 which I think does a great job conveying traffic in and out and is probably one of our best-connected circuits. Donington...isn't.

The BBC says it's two miles from the M1 and adjacent to EMA. Great, except those two miles are on single-lane, twisty country roads that crawl through tiny villages and round sharp bends and blind junctions to reach the track. When you've got a hundred thousand people all homing in on the same motorway junction down the same roads...I predict bedlam, and not the kind that's easy to alleviate. I saw the BTCC there a few years ago and skipped out early to beat the jam. From my car going just 400m or so to the front gate took me close to an hour and a half. Imagine that chaos multiplied tenfold!

Surely Bernie's finally lost his mind with this one? It's a bit of a pyrrhic victory in that he gets one over on Silverstone, but when (not if) it all goes horribly wrong, what will the price be for Formula 1's reputation of excellence?

[michaelw]

Why Donnington? It's always about money.

I agree with Tony that it is most likely that Bernie now owns a significant stake in Donnington. If you poke around, Bernie owns or controls a large number of the tracks in F1. If you look back, most of the on again, off again noise about tracks relates to those he doesn't control.

Even if he doesn't have a stake, it's about money. If Bernie doesn't own a track then he'll squeeze it politically and financially until he is extracting the maximum amount. This often puts so much financial pressure on the organizers that they cave to an investment by Bernie or other powers-that-be support a change to another venue.

Bernie is using classic monopoly tactics. Establish a horizontal monopoly and then use that to own more and more vertically. Bernie controls the TV rights, the FOM that organizes the races and many of the tracks. When Bernie controls all the tracks he'll start moving into cars.

[Weasel]

Daddy Hamilton is way out of his league and has been since the first race in 2007. Precisely what professional sports management qualifications does he have? I forsee an ugly split when Lewis wakes up.

Donington - you are kidding me right? Never mind eh, it's not about the fans and the sport, it's all about lining Bernie's pockets and that MUST take priority.

Bernie/Max truce - sounds more like a move to jockey for position. What a pair of clowns.

Happy Fourth of July to all our American friends.

[Anon]

Heehee. Fun weekend.

On Number 1- I'm disappointed Lewis can't do it, it would have been very interesting and as I think Button would easily have won (he did a lot longer one already, I believe), it would have perhaps brought some nicer media on the ailing Honda pilot. It would have made a nice parting spectacle to DC. Hamilton Snr. is not doing a lot of good to his son, he makes it seem as if Lewis is a jewel behind bars.

2.) Well, then, it's goodbye DC. A man who certainly would have won WDCs is Ron Dennis had been kinder to him and if the Ferraris weren't just so strong.

3 and 4.) Mosley-Ecclestone, blahblahblah, I'll talk about it maybe, but during a race weekend.

5.) As long as it wasn't Fernando's fault, and Massa isn't hurt, we're just fine. Hopefully it didn't disrupt their programs to much (especially Fernando's. He likes Silverstone, he should fight for sixth or fifth.)

6.) Silverstone may be a nice track in the design, but its lack of hills and slopes mnakes it quite boring to watch. It seems like a race in, well, a road in the grass. Nothing compared to Monaco or beautiful Australia or what will be Singapore or Abu Dhabi.

[Anon]

Oh, and Australia stays until 2015. Good.

[Ben]

Announcing the Silverstone decision today, on the eve of the 60th anniversary race, is indicative of the vindictive and unilateral way in which F1 is run today.

[Marilyn]

What excitement, I thought after last year, this year would be a damp squid. But no, it's fantastic, what with Max.... ( oh no I think I will leave that one). The championship so close, the Bernie and Max show and now Silverstone. I don't know how much more we can take! And not forgetting Lewis.
Lewis is getting into all kinds of scraps on and off the track. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Lewis, but I do wonder what's going on with him. He has to get a grip and like now. Yesterday's press conference sounded like a right riot. Lewis fell into it, hook, line and sinker. His manager was right to pull him out. However I do agree that he needs a media person quickly. His father surely must be able to see what's happening. He can't do everything, it will only get worse. And of course the media is loving it.

[Felipe]

I think the race would have been really good fun, maybe it interferes a bit with racing, but so must also be the merchandising he's doing. At least this would be good fun and for charity... maybe they should arrange a less demanding challenge... or maybe the should do a super stars with all F1 drivers... that would be a great show!!!!

[J S]

You didn't want a quiet job with no surprises did you? It's coming at you from all directions, with all that needs covering in a reporting sort of way hope you have time to enjoy the Grand Prix on Sunday.

[El Ponso]

All this Lewis stuff looks more amateurish by the day.
Wasn't Anthony Hamilton who did all the stirring up last year? Monaco, Hungary, 'I wish Fernando left for another team' (Lewis words true but probably instructed by his 'manager') and all that lot.
And dear old Ron? Has he got anything to say on the subject?
After all, this is his investment too.
It seems more obvious, as time goes by, that Fernando did the right thing by leaving a team that is beguining to look more and more like a financial madhouse than a formula one sporting enterprise.
Lets face it, all that Lewis has achieved so far in sporting terms in his formula one career is, as they say, 'out performed, out raced, out qualified, out spoken, his team mate, a double WC'
Well, not bad.
Surely he's become a millionaire in the process, but that is another story, is it not?

[Derek Smith]

All this is very odd.

So MM is going to allow the teams time to come to a consensus before imposing his wants on them. Is anyone running a book on whether Ferrari will take their normal stance as the odd one out? And talking of odds, what would you give that MM will again give them favourable status? Perhaps I can now see why Williams went along with the big F'ers. Perhaps they won’t be running with a Japanese engine next year? No prizes for guessing where theirs might be sourced. Red Bull will, of course, do just what Ferrari wants them to.

MM and Eccs are buddies again so all is right with the world and F2 is, probably, no more. I’d suggest not taking your stopwatch to Silverstone and instead timing the falling out. MM’s position, with the vote of confidence being based the wishes of the representatives of just 5% of the membership, whilst fulfilling the terms of the FIA, is little short of illegitimate and I would not bet against him having to concede much to Eccs to put this battle for power of F1 on hold. One wonders if, given the nature of MM, he will be happy with restricted authority for long.

And if anyone is taking bets, I’d like to know what odds are being placed on MM retaining a position of authority in the F1 side of the FIA after he ‘retires’ next year.

[Aaron James]

I don't know about Lewis signing for Ferrari, but the Spanish press are reporting Fernando to Ferrari as a dead deal.

And there was of course the army of lawyers at Paragon yesterday ...

[Jordi]

Whatever next?

DC taking Mark Bundell job, Damond Hill having a go at Bernie Eclestone, Bernie letting down Silverstone, Max blaming Bernie, Bernie blaming Max, Jackie Stewart having a go at Ron Dennis and dady Hamilton, Jenson challenging Lewis and... Lewis dad ...just been dad.

At least, last year, you had Alonso to blame for almost anything, much more difficult this year, isn't it?

[Kohque]

As Ron Dennis says, Hamilton is still in a learning period. Maybe he is paying hard testing cars and working in the set-ups, but I am seldom to see comments on that respect. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, but when it comes to set-up and testing I only hear De la Rosa talking. It may be just a perception.

I quite enjoy DC, but I think he is not competitive enough, regardless of the car. F1 cars are in short supply, so I welcome his decision to leave a vacant seat for other promising drivers like Grosjean or Senna Jr.

I am not surprised that Bernie and MM has made truce. I don't think there ever was a real split between both. Why isn't MM saying anything about the move to Donnington? Isn't he the President of the FIA? Doesn't he stand for the best interests of the sport?

[F1-Insider]

Ben

You could not be more right.

[Stelmara]

Ed and all genuine fans of F1
Just a thought, there seems to be a sense that the News of the World will loose their case and that Mosley will prove that there was no Nazi element to his perversions which we now all know about.
What happens to his position and to F1 if it is proved that there was a Nazi flavour to his goings on in that torture chamber? Will he still be able to stay in position?
To many of us I'm sure, we do not accept that the News of the World will not prove this as it is open to interpretation and from what I have read as to what went on it's very similar to the TV program ello ello which had a Nazi flavour.
As a female fan of F1 I'm finding it difficult seeing how the likes of Frank Williams are just carrying on as before as though everything is the same where to me it most certainly isn't.
Maybe the next president should be a woman, any suggestions? (before anyone says it, NO not JORDAN).

Stella

[CHIUNDA]

"Lets face it, all that Lewis has achieved so far in sporting terms in his formula one career is, as they say, 'out performed, out raced, out qualified, out spoken, his team mate, a double WC'" - sorry El Ponso - he has actually won more races in less than two seasons than what most drivers manage in their entire career. And please stop defining success by the failures of Lewis - that is such a looser mentality.

And yeah money counts - and he has got more in one year than what most respected millionaires make their whole lifetimes - just to remind you that most of us, and i am sure you included, spend a third of our day chasing significantly smaller amounts of cash, so please ....

[Anon]

I strongly suggest that anyone who likes the business side of F1 should read the Friday FIA press conference with Frank Williams, John Howett, Ross Brawn, and Martin Whitmarsh. THey give you a good idea about how nobody understands anything about the Concorde agreements. Williams also gives interesting, frank (no pun intended!), and intelligent descriptions of his drivers.

Happy to see Alonso take the head of P3 with ease.

Drivers who seem to be turned "on"

Alonso
Kovalainnen
Piquet
Heidfeld (sorta)
Webber

Drivers who seem to be turned "off"

Kubica
Hamilton
Massa
Raikkonen

Kova seems much faster than Lewis (faster in all three practice sessions) and would probably beat him at Silverstone. But, since this is Lewis's home GP we can imagine he'll have some sort of preferential treatment (taking pole position for starters). Of course, following the McLaren equality discipline, Heikki will have preferential treatment for this year's Finnish GP.

[colin grayson]

stella , it was Allo Allo ; amazingly enough this was dubbed for the french market , who, unbelievably for france ,allowed rene to be shown as ridiculous just like the others
and for those of you who speak german [ anybody ??] I hear that german TV has just bought the programme to dub ; better late than never I suppose ; I can't wait to hear from my german speaking friends what it comes out like !!!

but you are correct about Jordan ....problem with aerodynamics I fear

[Derek Smith]

In the case of News Corp v Mosley I feel both have performed badly and must say I want both to lose. Given the fees most lawyers charge, this is the probable outcome.

It was Mosley’s refusal to ‘do the right thing’, i.e. resign, that obliged him to go to court. I would assume that it is unlikely to be something he would want to do otherwise as there are all sorts of allegations likely to be raised during the procedure, all of which will be reported for the masses to trawl through and enjoy. If Mosley has any other skeletons in the cupboard then the odds are these will be revealed.

A case such as this seems to me to be nothing more than pandering to the ego. All we really have is a man who indulges in bottom spanking of and by prostitutes. And a fitting backdrop to this seems to be the might and independence of the courts. Rights and obligations men have fought for over the centuries are enshrined in the courts at the end of the Strand and MM is going to show him bum in them.

We don’t know what form of tactics MM’s team will opt for in court. The report is that he will claim unmerited invasion of privacy and seek damages.

It’s not a simple case of win or lose. There are all sorts of nuances. For instance: an out of court settlement. This is when both sides can claim a victory in the matter. In this case it would mean a defeat for MM.

Or the court could find for one part and award derisory damages, without costs. This would mean that both sides lose.

The court could award damages and costs to one side substantially below that requested. This means that one sides loses and the other side does not really win.

In this particular case, MM is after exemplary damages. This is a risky move as if he is not awarded them then he would have won, but not completely.

So it is not a case of a simple guilty or not guilty. It is more like a discipline case where the defendant is found guilty but not punished, which in fact means they did nothing wrong.

There are further subtleties that are confusing. It could be that: If News Corp makes an offer pre hearing which MM refuses and then the court make an award which is lower than the offer, or not substantially above it, then MM will not be able to claim costs which will mean he can claim victory and so can News Corp.

So whatever the outcome it is unlikely that MM will be forced to resign given the fact that he failed to resign when, to many people’s mind, he was harming the FIA and F1 by remaining in post.

The bit about the alleged nazi-themed orgy is an interesting point. Given my age and being brought up in the immediate post-war era, there is no doubt in my mind of the theme of the afternoon’s show. If MM’s history, parentage and Union Movement dalliances can be considered then I would feel that the court might agree with me. However, if we look to the tattooed Lidl shopper on top of the No. 14 omnibus en route home with the weekly bits, then I can see that they might well be confused by the references.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

STOP PRESS

Wile typing this and watching ITV coverage of the qually, who should pop up on the screen but our own Ed Gorman.

[McCheets]

Just watching Jackie on ITV have one each way on the future of the British GP. Perhaps if he had shown more regard for the followers of F1, and less for the members of the BRDC, Silverstone's predicament would not have eventuated.

[F1-Insider]

Ed

Could you please supply us with an, 'on the record' confirmation that nobody currently involved with the FIA (any ant level) is involved with the investment required to bring Donington up to F1 standards?

I suspect a certain FIA person (it is noted that it is reported that Ecclestone IS NOT the investor) as being the mystery backer as if my thoughts are proved correct and in view of the bitter words by leading members of the BDRC against the current FIA regime this would prove both vindictive (not in F1 surely) and a conflict of interest (trusting you can see where I am going here).

Please do not dismiss this request as the answer could have serious consequences for F1

F1-Insider