[27/10/04 - 10:52]
Away from the circuit in Brazil
News and rumour in brief
The final race for Jaguar and Donkey
Brazil was the last race for the Jaguar team and, as Christian Klien left the pit lane after his final pit-stop on Sunday afternoon, the entire team stood outside the garage and waved him goodbye!
The FIA issued a press statement in Interlagos, outlining proposed rule changes for the 2005 and 2006 Formula 1 World Championships, after the World Motor Sport Council imposed a package of changes aimed at reducing speeds and cutting costs in the sport. As from next season, on the aerodynamic front, the front wing will be raised, the rear wing moved forward, the diffuser height reduced as will bodywork in front of the rear wheels. One of the biggest changes concerns tyres, generally regarded as an easy way to control cornering speeds. The new rules therefore propose that a driver can only use one set of tyres to get through qualifying and the race. Currently, engines have to last a complete Grand Prix weekend, but mileages will now be stretched even further, with engines having to last for two entire race weekends, or around 1400 kilometres.
The FIA had a busy weekend and on Saturday, it put out another release, this time relating to a new qualifying format to come into effect as from the start of next season. There will still be two sessions, one on Saturday afternoon and another on race morning. The running order for the first session will be the reverse of the current situation, with the winner of the previous race going out last. After this session, the cars will go into Parc Ferme as usual and then, for the second session, cars must carry the fuel load with which they will start the race. The major difference is that grid positions will be decided by aggregating a driver’s times from both sessions.
Team owners and Bernie Ecclestone had several meetings in Brazil, with cost cutting measures the main item on the agenda. On Saturday evening, all the teams with the exception of Ferrari, signed a document that included a variety of proposals, including reducing testing to ten days only during the season, a two day Grand Prix weekend, with four hours of testing allowed at the Grand Prix venue on the Friday prior to the race. The cost cutting measures would be balanced against an agreement to run more races, thus safeguarding the French and British events that are currently under threat for 2005.
On the subject of new Grand Prix venues, Bernie Ecclestone recently visited Mexico, which last hosted an F1 race back in 1992 in Mexico City. Apparently, there are now plans to build a new circuit and stage a Grand Prix in the holiday resort of Cancun.
With the announcement that the Contracts Recognition Board has ruled in favour of the BAR team, meaning that Jenson Button stays at his present team for 2005, a drive with Williams alongside Mark Webber is now up for grabs again. The names of Antonio Pizzonia, Anthony Davidson and David Coulthard are all in the frame.
With F1 engines now having to last for two Grand Prix weekends, Toyota has said it will consider supplying an additional team with its engines for 2005. The Jordan team is thought to be the most likely recipient of the Japanese power plants. As part of the deal, Jordan would run Toyota’s test driver Ryan Briscoe as part of its driver line-up.
Press Release
West
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