F1 – World Motorsport Council News and Ferrari

So the World Motorsport Council met earlier this morning and have confirmed a few points of business already. There will be no new team on the grid, and the schedule has been proposed with 20 races set for 2011. We still are waiting on the Ferrari stuff to fall out, but it looks as though Ferrari are prepared to lose out on the decision as they have announced a poor performance in Monza will lead the team to begin full development of next year’s car. We here at the paddock…

Read More

F1 – WMSC Puts Down Smack

The FIA has issued their full verdict on the Renault ‘Piquetgate’ scandal and the arbitrary hand of FIA justice has fallen. Leading up to this mornings WMSC hearing, Pat Symonds and Flavio Briatore left the team and Renault made it known that they would not dispute any of the FIA’s findings. On top of that they issued an unreserved apology to the FIA for the actions of members of their team. The FIA found that Nelson Piquet Jr., Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds conspired to have NPJ crash during last…

Read More

F1 – Symonds Offered Immunity

The showdown between the FIA and Renault over race fixing allegations is set to come to a head in just a few days, the FIA has reached out to Pat Symonds (director of engineering) at Renault F1 and offered him immunity from punishment if he releases further details regarding the events surrounding the 2008 Grand Prix of Singapore. Symonds has been somewhat suspect in dealing with these allegations all together. The director indicated that there were discussions about having Piquet crash, but those ideas were brought forward originally by Piquet…

Read More

F1 – Renault Called to the Woodshed

Piquetgate appears to be picking up steam. Here is an FIA statement released today: Representatives of ING Renault F1 have been requested to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday, 21 September 2009. The team representatives have been called to answer charges, including a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, that the team conspired with its driver, Nelson Piquet Jr, to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with the aim of causing the deployment…

Read More

Rally – WRC Regulations for 2011

As the World Motorsport Council met to discuss the future of the Formula 1 World Championship, a number of items were on the table regarding the WRC and its future regulations. In March of this year the teams had agreed to a 2 liter naturally aspirated engine. That has switched however to 1600cc turbo charged power plants that the teams claim will be more environmentally friendly. With the new engines, we will also see Super 2000 regulations put in place for the transmission and electronics. With these new regulations, the…

Read More

F1 – The Future of F1?

The WMSC took the opportunity of their McLaren meeting to put the final touches on their plans for 2010. The FIA also decided that there shall be cost capped teams and unlimited budget teams. Here is a summary of what they decided. Cost capped teams shall be limited to £40 million which is higher than the original amount of £30 million proposed by Max Mosley. They shall be allowed movable aero on the front and rear wings. No rev limit shall be imposed on their engines. No limits shall be…

Read More

McLaren Dodge Punishment

Judgement has been rendered on the McLaren “lie-gate” and the team has gotten off relatively light for a scandal that was blown into massive proportions. The team was handed a suspended three race ban. Stipulations in the verdict indicate that if any further details come to light or if the team steps out of bounds once more this year then they will be banned from competition for three races. The FIA WMSC stated that due to the “culture” change withing the organization and the fact the team admitted to lying,…

Read More

F1 – WMSC Rulings to Overshadow GP’s

Shanghai is the next stop on the world circus, and yet with only two flyaway races left before the European leg begins, the entire F1 world is overshadowed by imminent decisions from the World Motorsport Council. First up is the diffuser row to be settled by the WMSC tomorrow. Brawn, Toyota and Williams are running a double decker diffuser design which meets the letter of the regulations, but they somewhat defy the intent. While the other teams charge that these diffusers are illegal, Max Mosely rendered his opinion on the…

Read More