The Max Mosely scandal just continues to get more and more lurid every day. It continues to threaten the integrity of F1 and to a lesser degree motor sports in general. Now it has been revealed that an MI5 officer has resigned because his wife was one of the prostitutes involved going by the name of ‘Mistress Abi’ in Max’s little sex game.

This week began with Radovan Novak withdrawing his earlier statement that McLaren and Ron Denis were behind a conspiracy against Mosely. now to top that, there are allegations that MI5 are involved and at the head of a conspiracy against Max Mosely.

Following an announcement that an MI5 officer’s wife was involved in the ’sex game’, the officer has resigned his position and MI5 has now been forced to deny these allegations. The statement from a spokesman for MI5 has denied his organization has any involvement with Max Mosely and went on to say that MI5 has high standards of behavior both in personal life and professional. He goes on to say that when an officer falls below these standards, action will be taken.

An internal MI5 investigation is trying to establish whether the officer knew his wife was involved in prostitution and whether he was involved in her business affairs. If it is discovered that he knew and was involved, we face another year of ugly politics taking away from what really matters; the racing. That alone disgusts me.

Add to all this, the statement in the letter Max Mosely wrote that says:

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Now that Super Aguri have withdrawn from F1, qualifying has been altered to reflect 2 less cars.

Today the FIA have confirmed that 5 cars will be eliminated in both Q1 and Q2 to even things out so that 10 cars remain and challenge for pole in Q3. The sporting regulations were initially written for a field of 24 cars with a plan B if the field dropped to 22. Now that the field is officially 20 cars, plan C had to be written.

The statement from the FIA was this:

“The Stewards, having received a report from the Technical Delegate note that 20 cars will participate in the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix.

“Therefore under article 33.1 of the 2008 Sporting Regulations, the Stewards have decided that only five cars will be excluded after Q1 and Q2 of the Qualifying Practice.”

That’s the news, and now the weather:

Tags: f1 qualifying, fia, grand prix weather, turkish grand prix

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I and a lot of bloggers have deliberately stayed away from the scandal surrounding Max Mosley and justifiably so, but curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to see just what evidence there is supporting the allegations against Mosley. Yes, I watched the video and no, there isn’t a link to it from here. Although the video has been heavily edited and shortened, Mosley is in the video and it’s *&^%#.

Political figures and celebrities alike have been damned for a lot of issues. If someone, even with no real evidence is able to start a rumor, your career is really tarnished forever even when the rumor isn’t true. There will always be a question surrounding them and trust is gone.

Almost every day one organization or another has turned their back on Mosley from the day this story broke and it’s stunning how far down the chain the fallout actually is. 6 or so months ago I dropped into one of the large local CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) offices for a particular map and noticed there was a framed poster of the FIA logo on the wall behind the main reception. On Monday I stopped in again to the same office and this time noticed that same picture was on the floor leaning on a wall in a corner and had been replaced by a picture of the AAA logo. They could have just decided to make a change, but I thought I’d ask a manager if this had anything to do with Max Mosley. He said yes, it’s the ‘Max Factor’ and went on his way.

I must say I was shocked that the fallout from this scandal had reached this far down the chain.

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Bloggers always have unique opinions on different topics so I’m now featuring popular F1 blogger posts in the right sidebar delivered daily. Spreading the links around can only be a good thing.

Testing is fast coming to a close and although a lot of progress has been made, Timo Glock is not Confident Toyota have achieved their goal of Closing Gaps. Since this post, he may have had to eat his words a little as Toyota have begun to show more improvement than originally thought.

Bernie Ecclestone is at it again, playing musical chairs with F1 circuits. The British Grand Prix, and Australian Grand Prix are targets while Russia and Portugal are looking for openings by 2010 or 2011.

Meanwhile in Australia, they aren’t crying yet about the future loss of their grand prix, instead they are opening the grid to Grid Boys. Yes, guys will be prancing around the grid side by side with the girls at this year’s Australian Grand Prix.

Day 2 Testing at Jerez showed McLaren fighting hard to close the gaps between them and Ferrari while BMW-Sauber have finally, but maybe too late come to grips with the F1.08.
Williams are also showing good form this pre-season while Honda, what can I say, are just not moving anywhere yet.

In a strange move, Bernie Ecclestone has granted McLaren the 5th pit garage instead of their previously designated las pit garage. At this time it hasn’t been confirmed and I wait to see if indeed it is true and why.

After I posted this story, a reader commented that there is nowhere in the FIA Sporting Regulations that explain how pit garages are designated. After some research, I cannot come up with that answer.

Technorati Tags: F1 blogger, Timo Glock, Toyota, Bernie Ecclestone, F1 circuits, British Grand Prix, Australian Grand Prix, Grid Boys, Day 2 Testing at Jerez, McLaren, Ferrari, BMW-Sauber, F1.08, FIA Sporting Regulations

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Just recently a comment was posted about the pit box allocation rules (or lack of). On Feb 13, I posted the story that it had been reported that Bernie Ecclestone had secured the 5th pit garage for McLaren. Originally McLaren were reported to have been relegated to the last pit garage because of being stripped of their 2007 constructors points, effectively finishing last.

My post read that ‘the regulations’ state that by finishing last, you get the last pit box. This I have found in quite a few of the same reports. However, quite a few also say that ‘usually’ last place gets you the last pit garage and after searching for quite a while yesterday, I could not confirm either way.

DailyF1News says ‘usually’
Crash.net says ‘regulations’
f1fanatic.co.uk says: They have to line up in the order in which they finished in the previous season’s constructors’ championship

According to the FIA Sporting Regulations 23.1 b, The FIA will designate an area in the pit lane where each team may work and one place where pit stops may be carried out.

That certainly doesn’t clear things up.

To make things a little more confusing, the Concorde Agreement states this:

So how are pit garages allocated?

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Technorati Tags: pit box allocation, Bernie Ecclestone, McLaren, FIA Sporting Regulations, Concorde Agreement

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Not another racism in F1 post! If that’s what you’re thinking you really should read on.

The topic of racism in F1 has been dealt with from just about every angle and then some. Bloggers, columnists, talks show hosts, newspapers, radio, television, etc. This is a serious issue, and it’s tainting F1. Now, the FIA has taken a strict stand on racism in their sport and have begun to move in the right direction.

Racing Against Racism is what they call it. A campaign to educate and hopefully put an end to racism in F1 and I’m all for it. I posted what ended up as a controversial post earlier called Take a Different Angle on Spanish F1 Fans, with my thoughts on what happened in Spain, but if you read it in it’s entirety you will have noticed that when I was wrapping it up, I suggested that punishing the fans (as a whole when the issue is a small minority of fans) by taking away the grand prix was not a good idea, and I also wrote that the FIA needed to step up and offer support. Well, now they have and It’s a great idea.

The FIA wants to work together with all teams, drivers, and circuits in as many international motorsport series they can reach and that is a lot of coverage.

A spokesman said:

“International motor sport can reach a huge global audience to send out positive messages of racial and sporting equality.”

“We will be encouraging all those involved in motor sport to support our new campaign, from recent world champions to the next generation of potential champions at the grass roots of our sport.”

The obvious first step being considered is to create a website where all fans can pledge their support.

Technorati Tags: racism in F1, FIA, Racing Against Racism

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Bernie Ecclestone may be the most terrifying person alive for Grand Prix hosts. If i was in charge of hosting a grand prix, I would be looking over my shoulder right about now.

Ecclestone has been loading a gun and pointing it at a few circuits lately and one (Australia) he is actually firing at. Come 2011, the F1 grand prix calendar could look vastly different. Here’s a bit of what is going on.

British Grand Prix

Bernie has had his eye on this one for a few years now, giving organizers ultimatum after ultimatum. So far the British Grand prix has survived and remains on the calendar, but only barely. ecclestone has of course been very concerned over the facilities and the FEE. Sure, the Silverstone venue is updating, but with Bernie, you just never know.

“Assume the facilities are built and we like it,”

“The next problem is the commercial agreement for us to be there.

“This has not been discussed, other than the guy who came to see me some time ago saying there is no way we [the BRDC] could pay you even what we have paid you in the past.

“There are two things to overcome – first they need to build the facilities, then they need to pay the market rate. There is no sentiment in this from my point of view.

“I want only what we do in any other country, no more, no less. I sincerely hope they [the BRDC] are in a position to deliver what they know they have to carry out to get the grand prix in 2010.”

The British are very resilient and have a lot of traditions including their Grand Prix. If it is pulled from the calendar, they won’t go down without a fight.

Technorati Tags: British Grand Prix

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McLaren today have confirmed that Italian magistrates are requesting the presence of Ron Dennis and Martin Whitmarsh to answer questions to see whether it is worth pushing ahead with the civil legal action in Italy. Fernando Alonso and Pedro de la Rosa have already been questioned by Tibis earlier last October. Giuseppe Tibis, the Modena magistrate has called for these two on Feb 18.

Stepney (if he can get time off from his new job) , Coughlin and McLaren’s engineering director Paddy Lowe have also been called to answer questions on the matter in two weeks’ time.

This should have died a long time ago, but here we are again, looking at every angle possible and then some. This one is different though. After I read the story this morning, I tossed it over in my mind and thought, what if (and it is a big if) Giuseppe Tibis goes ahead with civil action and finds McLaren innocent? What if Tibis files as ‘no charges to answer’? It is a possibility although a small one, and then what happens? Remember, McLaren brass are only being questioned to see if civil legal action is worth pursuing,
and dropping this case altogether could easily suggest ‘under the table’, or ‘back room’ dealings.

If McLaren are cleared by Giuseppe Tibis, the credibility of the FIA could be brought into question (so what else is new) and I really don’t think the decision by the FIA means a anything to Tibis. McLaren just want to get on with business and lick their wounds so I can’t see them launching any legal actions, but there would be plenty of legal implications for other interested parties to grab hold of asking why a civil court and the FIA can reach opposite conclusions.

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I have deliberately stayed away from the ‘racial’ issue surrounding Lewis Hamilton and with good reason; that’s not what F1 is about. However, the verbal bombs being thrown by press, FIA officials, track officials etc. amount to nothing more than political jousting and will solve nothing. How is it that this issue, an issue not new to Spain and other parts of the world, continues to be a political problem and not an ethical one.

I don’t wish to annoy anyone, but the racial obscenities thrown at Lewis Hamilton were to be expected as soon as he appeared in Spain for testing. The Spanish are very passionate about their sports including soccer, cycling and of course F1. If you have ever watched the Tour de France wind it’s way through Basque country or even near the northern Spanish border, you are all too familiar with the taunts and racial slurs thrown at the riders. Examples such as these can be substantiated and have been substantiated by other visiting athletes in other sports as well.

I’m not trying to take on the entire country of Spain, but I am taking on the fact that the ‘racial’ issue is the way some really ignorant fans express themselves. When the 2007 season came to a close and Fernando Alonso signed with Renault, the excuse to verbally abuse Lewis Hamilton was there. I expected this, and the FIA, Spanish officials, and track officials clearly did or they had their heads under a rock. This type of behavior following what some Spanish fans feel is disrespecting their sports icons they live for is ‘normal’ for them and has been allowed to continue. For racial comments to be allowed to be written in the Spanish sports daily Marca is an example and highlights my point.

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Are we going to lose the Australian Grand Prix? Good question, but probably. Berinie Ecclestone sounding a little ‘put off’ has threatened this race with some tough words.

Maybe we don’t want to be in Australia. Our costs are very high in Australia and we get a lot less money. It’s bloody bad for us. We’ve got quite a few places on the list that would like to have Formula One and, as it seems your guy down there John Brumby, Premier of Victoria doesn’t want Formula One, we can make him happy and make the other people happy.

He does tend to strong arm people, but here’s a little of why. This grand prix despite having deep pocketed sponsors like Fosters, and not ING, Victorian Govermnent Premier John Brumby says the race has never turned a profit and indeed lost 35 m dollars last year.
1998 saw the lowest crowd number until last year with only 301,000. Now having the race in the park, jumping on the protest wagon are environmental groups against the park venue and they are gathering steam and puting pressure on the government.

It isn’t any wonder that late last year Mr. Brumby said this race may just become too expensive if licencing fees continue to rise.

There is also no doubt that this is an expensive grand prix for any sponsor and team and the time zone isn’t a friendly one.

Now look at Ecclestone’s demand. “In Melbourne, if we were to continue to be there, we would have to have a night race. That would be the only option.”

More audience available with a new time slot means more sponsorship and more money, but nevertheless, financing a night race doesn’t come cheap. So, does this sound like someone who is even considering Australia beyond 2010? Things are not looking too good.

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