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Melbourne GP 'safe' to 2010
March 2, 2005
MELBOURNE will lose its prestigious slot as the opening event of the Formula One season next year.
But Australian Grand Prix supremo Ron Walker insists the race is secure until 2010.
Amid rumours that Adelaide could be preparing to poach back the event, Walker said Melbourne's contract to host the race is cast in stone until the end of the decade.
But he conceded a clash with the Commonwealth Games means the Melbourne race will be pushed back to the third event of the 2006 season to accommodate the Games at venues near the Albert Park circuit.
Walker is chairman of both the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and the Melbourne 2006 Games organising committee.
But the future of the Melbourne event could be out of his hands if reports of a crisis in the $2.5 billion Formula One industry are true.
Team bosses have warned they will quit the sport and set up a rival series unless they get a bigger slice of the revenue pie from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone.
Speculation is mounting that Adelaide will capitalise on the turmoil and make a rival bid to win back the event it lost to Melbourne in 1993.
Melbourne is this week celebrating its 10th anniversary of hosting the race.
Walker today expressed confidence the event will be held in Melbourne until at least 2010.
But he said the clash with the Commonwealth Games means it is not feasible to hold the Grand Prix in March, as usual.
The final date for next year's race has not been settled, but is likely to be the last weekend in April.
It means Kuala Lumpur will host the first race of the season.
Walker described the shift as a "small diversion".
"I can categorically tell you, without any hesitation, that the Grand Prix will not be in March," he said.
"We're only going to lose it for a moment in time.
"I can't rely on builders to clean up Albert Park in time and I'm not confident there's enough disposable money in the marketplace for two events at one time."
Walker said he does not believe the event in Melbourne will lose prestige by giving up the opening slot, and there is no chance Melbourne will permanently be relegated from the first race.
"I have a contract, a long-term contract for the first race," he said.
"We go to 2010 and there's a five-year option and the government will make a decision if they want to continue the race for another five years, and Mr Ecclestone has the right to say: 'Well-done chaps, goodbye'."
Walker said next year's Grand Prix budget has been downgraded to take account of lower revenue expectations because of the clash with the Commonwealth Games.
Melbourne has been the opening race of the Grand Prix season for the last decade – a highly valued slot that has made the Australian event among the most high-profile on the calendar. Formula One Grand Prix sponsors have used the Melbourne event to launch new campaigns, and the timing of the race ensures it attracts its quota of big name celebrities. The March date also has slotted well into Melbourne's sporting calendar, coming between the cricket and football seasons, and avoiding clashes with the Australian Open tennis and the Melbourne Cup.
AAP
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Adelaide had a great track.
Sydney should have it at homebush, just like Monaco street race.
Nice smooth roads and Le Mans was going to be there, but the tree frogs could get hurt.
What a joke!
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Bring it back to Adelaide, after it was STOLEN originally!!!!! hahaha (yeah, i'm originally from adelaide :D )
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Juan last word of advice
By Peter Krupka
March 3, 2005
McLAREN recruit Juan Pablo Montoya has a simple message for Mark Webber on the eve of his new career with Williams - don't expect any help from the team boss.
The Colombian opened fire on his former employer Frank Williams, saying constant jibes by the team chief about his weight and work ethic made him a jaded driver by the time he left at the end of last year to join McLaren.
"The biggest difference is they (McLaren) gave me a lot more scope to work with," Montoya said. "At BMW (Williams) they expected you to get the things done whereas at McLaren they give you the tools to do the things and that makes a difference to the driver.
"Here the driver is appreciated and it's great."
One of McLaren's first moves was to enlist a personal trainer for Montoya, who has arrived in Melbourne for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix in much slimmer condition.
"Frank always complained since I came into Formula One that I was overweight," said Montoya, the 1999 US-based CART series champion and winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2000.
"He complained that I was overweight, unfit and just whinged about it but he never said 'I'm going to give you this guy (fitness trainer) and this guy will go to your house every day and get your arse out of bed and train with you'.
"I don't know what they wanted. I was winning races for them ... driving the wheels out of the car and it's really de-motivating when you work pretty hard and someone goes and says that.
"At Mercedes (McLaren) they ... try and give you the best tools to win. They want you to be at 100 per cent to help you win.
"I went on holidays in Miami and the guy (fitness trainer) went with me. He was great."
Montoya said he also grew tired of either starting with a slow Williams car and waiting until mid-season for it to find the pace, or starting with a fast car, like he did last year, and then not having enough development through the year for it to keep pace.
Given pre-season testing indicates the Williams FW27 is sluggish coming to Melbourne, Montoya predicted trouble for the local hero this weekend.
"Mark Webber is going to have a hard time for the first few races," Montoya said.
"More new things are going to come in to the car but from my experience by race 12 it's going to be competitive and there's a chance it will win a race by the end of the year."
Montoya also warned Webber may not get everything his way at his new team, saying the Australian's team-mate Nick Heidfeld deserved respect.
"I think he's going to have a hard time with Nick," Montoya said.
"A lot of people underestimate Nick and I think he will surprise a lot of people."
Montoya and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, alongside Renault duo Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella, are rated as the likely threats to Ferrari this season.
Winter testing has demonstrated those two teams have coped best with the chassis design changes forced on the teams this year.
Montoya said he struggled at first to get used to the McLaren after 68 races, with four wins, in the Williams.
"It's amazing how two cars can be so different," he said.
"When I got to my first test I was shocked. It did not feel right. I had to do a lot of work over winter to really change the car to the way I like doing things and I think we have done a pretty good job."
In Montoya's opinion the finished McLaren MP4-20 is a much better car than he expected when he announced he would be switching from Williams before the start of the 2004 season.
But he is reluctant to say it has the ability to win at Melbourne, a feat a McLaren car has managed three times - the most recent in 2003.
"In testing, it looks really good and everyone is saying Renault and the McLaren are the best cars but in the past few years Ferrari and (tyre supplier) Bridgestone have been really strong," he said.
"I don't want to say we are going to win the race and then finish fifth. I would rather say we are going to be fifth and then win the race. "This car is a big improvement from the previous McLaren. I was expecting a nice car but that good? No."
The Australian
http://foxsports.news.com.au/common/...,422804,00.jpg
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poor webber... ppl r expecting waaay to much from him...
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GOD Webber is cool.
Webber revs up young wannabes
By Guy Hand
March 7, 2005
MARK Webber has urged young Australian racers to test themselves overseas and take heart from the example of the their compatriots breaking through in numbers in world motorsports.
The latest is V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose, who will attempt to break into NASCAR racing in the US next year.
Webber remains the highest-profile Australian race driver abroad, finishing a creditable fifth in the season opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix yesterday.
But Australia also has Queenslander Chris Atkinson in the World Rally Championship, Sydneysider Ryan Briscoe driving in North America's premier open-wheel category, and several motorcycle riders in Moto GP and world superbikes.
Would-be top-line race drivers should test themselves on the world stage instead of immediately going into V8 Supercars, as some younger drivers have done in recent years, Webber said.
Most of V8 racing's premier drivers cut their teeth in Europe before returning to touring car racing, including Ambrose, Steven Richards and Russell Ingall.
"Sometimes I get a bit frustrated that the guys have the carrot of the V8s in front of them very early and they don't want to go to Europe," Webber said.
"They just see the comfort zone of racing touring cars here and they don't go any further.
"They should ignore the touring cars for longer and go to Europe."
Webber said he was proud to see other Australians perform well in overseas motor sports categories.
"No question about it we've got the talent down here – we've got the people to do the job," Webber said.
"You've got to earn your respect in Europe.
"Will Power's doing that (driving open-wheelers in Europe).
"He's trying over there and he's working hard.
"We've got Chris Atkinson doing well in the rally cars, Mick Doohan killed them on the bikes, we've got sprint car drivers doing well, Jason Crump on dirt bikes.
"Of course we can do it. Motor racing in Australia is a passion of ours and I love watching Australians doing well in other motor sport categories. "If we've got people in those categories, it's only going to help youngsters to have a dream and have the passion to come through."
AAP
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F1 rule change imminent
March 9, 2005
CONTROVERSIAL Formula One qualifying rules used for the first time at last weekend's Australian Grand Prix could already be in line for changes.
The rules, involving grid positions based on the aggregate of two separate sessions, have drawn a barrage of criticim from teams and drivers.
Ferrari says the sport seems to be stumbling from "poor solution to poor solution" while Red Bull racer David Coulthard called them "farcical".
And McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya has complained that Formula One fans are being short-changed.
Ferrari qualified poorly because of a downpour shortly before the cars ran but technical director Ross Brawn says the rules will need modifying if they continue to prove dull.
Brawn said another two races should be enough to decide whether the regulations needed to be tweaked.
"Clearly Australia wasn't a good example," Brawn told F1Racing .net.
"But I'd say that Malaysia, or maybe Bahrain, when we can see it running normally, if we don't see a reasonable spectacle, then things might be considered again.
"We seem to be going from poor solution to poor solution."
Montoya said now that tyres needed to last through qualifying as well as the race, drivers were loath to press too hard for fear of damaging them.
"Yeah, well, you're trying to save the tyre, so it's not the most exciting thing," he said.
"You're just keeping it on the track.
"I think it's disappointing for the fans who pay their money. I think the big problems is that people don't understand what's going on."
Fourth-placed Coulthard, a winner from the qualifying format, was nevertheless scathing about the new system.
"It totally benefited us, but it's not really what we're here to see. It was kind of farcical," Coulthard said.
"There's no point watching the first (Saturday) qualifying hour anymore, as it's all decided in the pre-race qualifying session.
"It should be one hour, four laps and you've got to do a lap in every 15 minutes with all the cars out there."
Meanwhile, Coulthard emphasised that the Red Bull team's effort in Melbourne – which belied its origins in the dismal Jaguar outfit last year – was not a one-off.
"I knew the car felt an improvement on Jaguar. I think (engine supplier) Cosworth have done a good job," Coulthard said. "We just have to come up with ideas to make it go quicker."
AAP
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I liked the qualifying format, only reason it messed up was the weather, what they should have done was cancelled the session and ignore the times from it if the conditions aren't similar for all cars....give them a level playing field....
Coulthard's always been whinging about the qualifying formats ever since they took away the 12 lap format....
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yeh just 1 single hot lap works for me, this new one can make or break it for anyone:thumbdwn:
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Bring back 1 hour, and 12 laps.
Fastest car has pole!
