F1Portal.co.uk relaunches

Last year, F1Portal didn't quite provide the information and simplicity that I'd intended for it. This year, armed with new RSS capabilities, plus some code infrastructure to model drivers, teams and calendar events, it should grow throughout the year into a decent site. Already, it's harvesting RSS news from lots of different sites (with their permission), making it a great 1-stop shop for Formula 1 news.

A 'tag cloud' shows keywords by their frequency in the RSS feeds, both showing at a glance what's popular in the press and linking to search results for that keyword. Calendar events are shown in order of appearance, with a count-down for each one, and results will appear by each event that's passed as it happens.

Maybe laterm I'll add some forum capabilities, but I'll see what traffic I get first.

Will Super Aguri get more sponsorship?

Super Aguri's car could be seen as 'pure' or 'minimal'. You could be forgiven for thinking they've just not got round to painting it except for the Bridgestone and Honda logos. All in all, there's certainly a lot of room for extra sponsor artwork on the car.

With all this extra space, it's interesting that the driver names are in tiny text near the cockpit. No massive 'Sato' and 'Ide' graphics a-la McLaren. I think that Super Aguri is banking on a few surprises at the start of the season to bring in extra sponsorship (no doubt Japanese sponsorship at that).

You can see why: Even if they come last, they could still impress with speed since they have up-to-date rubber and the same engine as other teams. Even though they're using an old Arrows car, much has been changed to comply with new regs and to accomodate the V8, so they may well have a few surprises in store. Then we might start to see all that white space taken up with a bit of colour.

BMW & Williams keep same webmaster after split?

Despite what appears to be an acrimonious split between BMW and Williams, they've both just unveiled new websites for 2006 which look remarkably similar in concept. Both feature an F1 car covered with a shroud. The Williams site shows a little bit of tyre (Bridgestone), while the BMW site shows a completely covered car.

Both also feature a count-down to when the new cars will be unveiled: BMW in 5 days, Williams in 15 days.

On the subject of websites, the Midland F1 website is properly live now, and the Scuderia Toro Rosso site also has some more material. Still waiting for Super Aguri to put their website live, though...

Why Narain Karthikeyan should accept Williams offer

Narain Karthikeyan is apparently considering accepting an offer of a second 'Firday drive' at Williams for 2006, alongside Alex Wurz. While this may seem to be a fairly poor offer on the face of it, it could be the only chance he has to prove his worth and spring back into a race seat in 2007 or 2008.

The ex-Midland driver's other option could be a seat at Super Aguri, although this seems unlikely since his sponsorship conflicts with Honda's sponsorship of Aguri, besides any other doubts about the availability of the seat. A seat at Super Aguri would not give Karthikeyan a good chance to prove his skill, while at Williams, he'll have an opportunity to prove he can out-pace other highly respected drivers, which could re-start his ailing career in F1.

Super Aguri may change drivers mid-season

There's been talk for a while that Super Aguri may run only Japanese drivers. Perhaps they're confusing Formula 1 with A1GP, which is nation-based...

This appears to put Anthony Davidson out of the running for a seat, which is a real shame, since he's from my home town of Hemel Hempstead and so of course gets my support.

However, Super Aguri have indicated that Anthony Davidson might still be in the running for a seat mid-season, when the team's new chassis is introduced at Imola. Anthony Davidson would no doubt go with the blessing of current team Honda since they're sponsoring Aguri, and have already indicated that they will not stand in the way of a race seat for Davidson.

This announcement was made by Aguri Managing Director Daniele Audetto. Source: F1Central.net

Perhaps it's not enough to have lots of sponsorship

Poor Narain Karthikeyan . The prospects of a 2006 drive seem to be slipping away from him, despite quite a lot of sponsorship. Of course, drivers come and go, but Narain is immensely popular in India, often called 'the fastest Indian in the world'. If Narain doesn't obtain a 'Friday' drive with a team for 2006, it'll dash the hopes of a nation.

However, Karthikeyan only actually announced his 2005 drive in February, so maybe he'll be lucky and obtain a late offer.

Is Alonso mad to announce his move to McLaren so early?

Contrary to popular opinion about Alonso, I don\'t think he\'s crazy to announce his move to McLaren so early. Actually, I think it would be worse for Renault and harder for him if he announced it mid-season. Announcing it before the season has even started gives people time to digest the information and decide that actually, it doesn\'t change the fact that they have a title-winning driver, and a common aim to prove themselves to the people in charge of the purse strings in Renault.

However, I think it\'ll be interesting to see how Alonso\'s relationship with Flav deteriorates through the season. Are we going to see Alonso going down the same route as Ralf Schumacher and going it alone, without a manager?

Renault may be pulling out of F1. Alonso jumps ship!

Renault may withdraw from F1 after 2007. This is not fact, but it is expected that new CEO Carlos Ghosn will pull the plug on F1 funding unless Renault stay in the top three teams. Renault\'s sales are slumping too it seems, which may be more to do with dodgy cars than the marketing impact of F1.

Meanwhile, Alonso has announced that he\'s moving to McLaren in 2007, so he\'s not waiting to find out. This news, along with the strong possibility of Raikonnen winning the championship next year and and Vodafone switching from Ferrari to McLaren, means that the team could well find themselves with two world championship drivers along with the money to pay them well. It\'d make for some pretty amazing in-team rivalry on track.

No doubt, McLaren will be more inclined to want to hang on to Raikonnen than Montoya after last season, and while Ferrari would no doubt want to snare Raikonnen, will they be able to afford him with potentially tighter budgets?

Just a thought - could ex-Minardi use Ferrari in 2007?

It would make sense for Red Bull to consolidate their efforts and make a deal with Ferrari to supply both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2007. This move would give them economies of scale and allow them to benefit from technical input from two teams. It would also help Ferrari\'s coffers and allow them perhaps to concentrate on engine R&D with no fewer than three teams using the same engine.

What a change it would be for ex-Minardi employees, who are currently reeling from the influx of Red Bull budgets! If they had Ferrari engines in 2007, they\'d go up in the world again!

Schumacher working hard

It\'s nice to see that Schumacher has the motivation to break the habit of the past seven years and actually get some testing in the bag during December.

Of course, with key sponsor Vodafone going, Ferrari isn\'t necessarily going to be a competitive force in 2007, even if they are in 2006. Reportedly, Fiat only put 10 million dollars into the team - the rest is funded by sponsorship, so the $50 million loss of Vodafone sponsorship is going to hurt, although it looks like Marlboro has signed up for several years to come.

What are Schumacher\'s motives in getting back into testing early? I wonder if he\'s trying to protect his image to secure a decent drive in 2007? After all, Ross Brawn and Jean Todt are probably going from Ferrari at the end of 2006, so if Schumacher is ever going to go to another team, 2007 will be that time.

Will Super Aguri get on the grid in 2006

My feeling is that they won\'t make it. If they don\'t, what then? After the frantic effort they\'re making for the next season, they could be left with key staff twiddling their thumbs for a year, and some redundant Arrows cars that will be even more out-dated in 2007.

Of course, you can\'t blame Midland for blocking - they stand to lose the most. Williams look like they\'re just checking the motives of Super Aguri - perhaps they fear that Midland could drop off the grid leaving just 19 teams?

I wonder if we\'ll see Super Aguri buying Midland some time during 2006?

Teams play down V10 worry

Some teams at least have decided not to worry about the V10 to V8 power debate. Honda has stated that they're confident the power defecit of around 80 to 100 horse power will be sorted by the first race. Meanwhile, Renault say they're glad to be rid of V10s, which they say is 'old fashioned'. They say that the introduction of V8s could level the playing field, although they mention in the same breath that they think the V8 move will benefit Renault.

Time will tell. Meanwhile, the rest of us can wallow in depression, knowing that the fastest car in 2006 will be slower and less powerful than 2005's slowest car.

Are Lehman Brothers looking to sell their 14%?

Rumours were that CVC's recent buyout of Bambino Holdings (the Ecclestone family trust) and Bayerische Landesbank may be invalid because JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers (who own the rest of the commercial rights to F1) might have first refusal on the shares. However, today it transpires that JPMorgan have sold their shares to CVC as well, leaving CVC with an 86% share. Since Lehman Brothers apparently want to sell up too, this might clear the way for CVC to own the entire commercial rights to F1. The deal keeps Bernie Ecclestone as Chief Exec.

The sale might simplify board decisions, I guess, which could be good for the sport. However, I think the biggest problem with F1 at the moment has nothing to do with the commercial rights, and everything to do with the FIA. I suspect that the 2006 rule book could well turn out to be a farce. They're failing to cut costs, and annoying the fans, which means that they're failing in their two key objectives...

FIA not helping their popularity with the GPMA

These new rear wings that the FIA is pushing - apparently, not a single team principal voted in favour of them, so they are not likely to appear in 2007. Yet the FIA is certain that they will successfully introduce the monstrocities despite this lukewarm reception, claiming the introduction will be a case of 'when', not 'if'.

Certainly, this farting around will not help their relations with the GPMA , not to mention other teams, many of whom also oppose the re-introduction of tyre changes. (Check out some of the editorial in Autosport - the issue with the feature on Richard Burns)

Half the teams going for gold next season?

Assuming ten teams on the grid next season, who will be going for gold, and who will be content to race in the middle of the grid?

Well, with BMW buying Sauber, they won't be expecting to win this season - they'll expect this to happen in a couple of year's time. Williams too, could be crippled by losing title sponsor HP, and they'll be working with a new engine supplier (Cosworth), so they'll probably be hoping for points through consistency (no doubt hoping for the same reliability that Red Bull experienced in 2005 from Cosworth).

Midland are patently just in it for the money, while Red Bull have only been in F1 for a season, so they'll be fighting Williams and BMW. Of course, Squadra Toro Rosso could end up beating all the mid-field with their V10s, but it's more likely that the FIA will restrict the engines further before any racing commences, even if that happens as late as Friday practise before the first race, so they'll most likely be battling with Midland again.

So, this leaves Honda, Toyota, Ferrari, Renault, and McLaren leading the front of the field, and all of these teams by contrast, will be striving to satisfy their manufacturer board's expectations of a win.

Honda has invested in Barrichello and thinks it has a top team for 2006. Additionally, they feel they were robbed of the chance of a win in 2005, convinced as they were of their engine's superiority. Toyota is hoping to steal a march on rivals by developing the V8 package early, giving them a chance to refine it before the start of the season.

Renault and McLaren's desire is self-explanatory, while Ferrari definitely let down Schumacher who was increasingly frustrated towards the end of the season - will they be able to fight the other four main contenders in 2006?