FIA to change stewarding system?

The word in Singapore is that the FIA is planning to change the way in which the stewards operate, but this is not in recation to the recent controversies, but rather a work which has been in progress for some time. FIA President Max Mosley has been mulling over the idea of having four stewards at each race since the end of last year. There are some who argue that this is bad idea as it will mean that more FIA politicians will be involved in the processes of judging the racers, and will thus make the system easier to manipulate. This is arguable as it largely depends on who the people taking the roles are. At the moment the stewards are largely members of the World Council and the job is seen as one of the perks of the job. Some of those are highly-experienced sports administrators but some are not, indeed there have been stewards in recent years who have never seen an F1 race before officiating at one.

The primary controversy in F1 at the moment is not actually about the stewards but rather is concentrated on the people around them who influence the decision-making process, notably the stewards' advisor Alan Donnelly, a close associate of Mosley, and Race Director Charlie Whiting. The disappearance of Tony Scott Andrews at the end of last year removed a highly credibly figure and the fact that he appeared at the recent FIA International Court of Appeal as a witness for Mclaren suggests that he was none too impressed by what happened.

The FIA argues that it is hard to find people to do the jobs, arguing that if one chooses Britons, the Italians complain and if one chooses Italians the British complain. This is largely irrelevant as it is the credibility of the indiviuals involved which is most important. If they are trusted then the sport will be better off for it. The bad news is that not enough of the FIA World Council members are trusted, most being seen as willing to do whatever it takes to keep their roles rather than what is best for the sport. That may not fair but that is certainly the perception in F1 circles.

Sir Jackie Stewart has long argued for permanent stewards to ensure that there is consistency in decision-making. This is probably a good idea but the FIA likes little of what Stewart says, if only because he is a contrary voice in a world where people find it easier to follo along and not make a fuss.

Mosley empowered to negotiate

The FIA World Motor Sport Council has unanimously agreed to give Max Mosley full authority to negotiate with the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) with regard to the introduction of radical measures to achieve a substantial reduction of costs in the World Championship from 2010. Failing agreement with FOTA, the FIA will enforce the necessary measures to achieve this goal. It was also agreed that Formula 1 teams will be allowed to equalise engine performance across the field for 2009, pending the introduction of cost-saving measures from 2010. This in interesting as it would seem to be a move to help the manufacturers that are not doing a very good job in F1 this year. Given that Ferrari is one of the engine manufacturers that is doing well, as witnessed by Sebastian Vettel's recent victory at Monza, this will reduce the Italian team's relative performance in relation to the likes of Renault, Honda and Toyota.

This is unlikely to go down well in Maranello - or in Woking come to that.

However it will give the FIA ammunition for when there are accusations that the federation tends to make decisions favouring Ferrari.

Source:
http://www.grandprix.com

The green grooves of Fuji

Formula 1 will support the FIA's Make Cars Green campaign by running on special green-grooved tyres at the Japanese Grand Prix. Bridgestone, a global partner for the FIA's campaign, launched the Make Cars Green tyre at a ceremony in Tokyo, with support from McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari and their star drivers Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.

The initiative aims to demonstrate that those involved in F1 support the FIA's goal of reducing the impact of motoring on the environment.

The link will be strengthened next year when F1 introduces the first energy regenerating hybrid devices, which are aimed at making the sport more relevant to the car industry and to help speed up the use of fuel-efficient technology on public roads.

Source:
http://www.grandprix.com

Todt to leave Ferrari in November

The word in the paddock in Fuji is that Jean Todt will leave Ferrari at the end of the month and it is expected that he will take a new role at the FIA at the next General Assembly in November. The question that is being asked in F1 circles is whether this will be as the replacement for Marco Piccinini, the FIA Deputy-President (Sport). The Italian will step down at the meeting. If Todt gets the sporting role it will be a clear sign that he is the candidate to replace Max Mosley at the FIA in the autumn of 2009. This will not be popular in Formula 1 circles as Todt's all-too-obvious links with Ferrari will simply serve to underline the perceived links between the FIA and Ferrari.

We understand that while there are a number of FIA delegates who have serious reservations about Todt becoming a top FIA official, there are also fears that there is no-one within the federation who would be better-suited to the role. Todt has always been a very effective manager in his jobs at Peugeot and Ferrari and his dedication to winning has been spectacular. He has some serious weaknesses, not least the fact that his methods have not always been seen as sporting and his understanding of how to deal with the media has been seriously flawed.

The very fact that he may end up as the FIA President would also compound many of the perception problems that the federation has, particularly in F1 circles.

The 62-year-old Frenchman has been involved in the sport since the late 1960s when he was a rally co-driver. He has been involved with the federation since 1975 when he first represented the rally drivers. When he retired from active competition in 1982, he set up Peugeot Talbot Sport and in 1984 the Peugeot 205 won two World Championships. After a major fall out with the federation, Peugeot switched to raid rallying before moving on to sports car racing in 1990. The team won Le Mans twice and took the World Championship in 1993. When the Peugeot board turned down his plans to enter a factory team in F1, Todt departed and went to work at Ferrari where the team finally began to win titles after five years of trying.

Mosley (68) obviously has a plan for some kind of succession at the FIA and Todt appears to be part of that. However there are few who think that Mosley will stop dabbling in the future. He has said that he will step down as FIA President in 2009 but there is a feeling that he will find a new role as President of the FIA Senate and will still continue to exercise power from behind the scenes. Todt is too old to sit around and wait for Mosley to retire so there is also the potential for friction between the two men. However, given the characters of both men one must assume that they have thought this through and have come up with an arrangement that suits them both. There are some who believe that Todt might end up in the role of Deputy-President (Touring) in order to put him into a strong place to replace Mosley in the longer term, but not being involved directly in the sport, in order to avoid any obvious discontent in F1 circles. Given that the FIA clubs have shown little gumption in recent years it is safe to say that Mosley will get what he wants unless someone makes an effort to challenge the status quo. The car manufacturers might not want Todt, but coming up with a rival that would be acceptable to the FIA member clubs is not going to be easy as there is a natural suspicion of any industry-backed candidate. However as the clubs seem incapable of producing a sensible opponent it may end up with Mosley getting his way.

Ecclestone and Mosley pushing for standard engines in F1

FOM Chief Bernie Ecclestone and FIA President Max Mosley, seem to have found a solution in order to cut drastically Formula One costs: a standard engine for all F1 teams starting from 2010 season. “The thing I am most excited about is pushing and pushing and pushing the homologated engine idea. The new engine will be equalised and there will only be two engine changes a year, so costs are going to dramatically come down, and I mean dramatically,” Ecclestone told The Times.

According to Ecclestone’s and Mosley’s new proposal, engine manufacturers such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, will be able to assemble those - identical to those of their rivals - standard engines and will have the right to label them with their own brand. Teams without manufacturer support instead, will have access to the same engine through an independent contractor.

Source:
http://www.formula1news.net

Ducati confident Nicky Hayden can master GP9

By Matthew Birt
Ducati believe new recruit Nicky Hayden is the man to prove that its factory V4 is not a bike only Casey Stoner can consistently fight for MotoGP wins on.

Only Stoner has managed to win consistently for the Bologna factory in the 800cc era while Loris Capirossi, Alex Barros and Marco Melandri have all floundered on the GP7 and GP8.

But factory team boss Livio Suppo reckons the Kentucky rider can buck the trend and he said: “I am sure he can adapt. I have always admired his never give up attitude. He has always pushed very hard and he is a rider that has proven to be able to adapt to different situations and to manage the stress. He won a world championship with consistency and I believe he is the perfect team-mate for Casey.”

Suppo said he recognised that Hayden was taking a risk, given the Ducati’s reputation for being a bike only Aussie Stoner has so far tamed.

“When you leave HRC, in theory it is a risk because that used to be the place everybody wanted to go. Now I think things are different with us winning the title. The days of everybody thinking to win you need a Honda are long gone", said Suppo.

Suppo said he had not needed to give Hayden the hard sell on his move away from Honda after the Japanese factory axed him earlier in late June.

“I have known Nicky for a long time and he knows we have a lot of respect for him and I felt like he was happy to join us from the beginning", said Suppo, who had consulted with Stoner before making a formal approach for Hayden.

“Casey thinks like me and he believes Nicky is the best team-mate possible", the Italian told MCN.

Source:
http://www.motorcyclenews.com

Pedrosa's manager slams Hayden

By matto3227
Dani Pedrosa's manager Alberto Puig has launched a scathing attack on the Spaniard's Repsol Honda teammate Nicky Hayden.

The relationship between the pair has been strained since Pedrosa collided with Hayden at Estoril in 2006 in an incident that looked set to destroy the American's title hopes until Valentino Rossi's crash in the Valencia finale allowed Hayden to claim the crown after all.

When a wall was erected down the centre of the Honda garage at Indianapolis following Pedrosa's controversial mid-season switch to Bridgestone tyres, Hayden hinted that it would make little difference because there had been no exchange between the two riders' crews anyway.

But in an outspoken interview with the official MotoGP website, Puig has accused Hayden of relying on Pedrosa's set-ups and of harbouring jealousy towards the Spaniard. "All I can say is that Hayden may be bothered because now he can't access information and telemetry data from Dani's bike," Puig told motogp.com.

"With this information he was able to improve his riding, as he had all of Dani's references and now he can't use that any longer. He was simply copying as he never knew how to set-up a bike." A professional rider can't be complaining because he can't get access to the other rider's data, because finding what works best is his job, not the other rider's.

"Everybody knows that a racing team doesn't work like a football team. It involves two riders, but each is working for himself and the factory will support the rider who has the best chance. Because when it comes to winning, only one rider wins. It has always been like this and it always will be like this - anybody who says the opposite is just lying to look good."

Puig claimed that Hayden had never been an equal rival to Pedrosa. "Honestly, and without trying to offend anyone, there was never a rivalry in the garage," he said. "Nicky won the title when Dani was in his first MotoGP season, and since then there was no rivalry because he (Hayden) didn't get the results. On his own, Dani gained experience in this class and Nicky was always behind him, so Nicky has never been a serious rival."

Hayden will leave the Honda team for Ducati at the end of the season, with Andrea Dovizioso taking the place. The Italian has already intimated that he expects a difficult relationship with Pedrosa and Puig, who said Pedrosa will regard Dovizioso as just another rival.

"He has shown loyalty to the factory, and now he gets a perfect move for him," said Puig of Dovizioso. "As for how it will affect us? It really won't change much and won't affect our way of working. He will be another rival on the track."

Source:
http://www.motorcyclenews.com

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