Montreal seeking new ten-year race deal

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In the round-up: Canadian Grand Prix organisers are negotiating to keep the race in Montreal until 2024.

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Montreal eyeing new ten-year deal (ESPN)

Canadian Grand Prix promoter Francois Dumontier: “We are presently discussing an extension from 2015 to 2024, so ten years. That is the longest agreement that has ever been proposed to us. We had five years with options before.”

Mercedes to reveal FIA email that gave them ‘permission to test’ (Guardian)

“Mercedes are ready to play their trump card, in the form of an FIA email – allegedly from their race director and safety delegate, Charlie Whiting – granting them permission to test.”

Valtteri Bottas says Williams felt like a “different team” after he qualified third (Sky)

“It was great and as a team I think it reminds us why we are all there – it is because of those results. Once you get those results, it feels so good and it is very motivating so it felt like a bit of a different team after qualifying.”

F1 team gearing up for 20m hit on supercar (Daily Express)

“The Williams Formula One team is expected to lose up to 20 million in revenue this year after Jaguar put the brakes on a hybrid supercar which the two were developing.”

Abu Dhabi plans mammoth charm offensive at British Grand Prix (Middle East Online)

“Abu Dhabi will unleash a mammoth promotional charm offensive at this month’s British Grand Prix, running June 27-30 at Silverstone Circuit, to drive ticket sales for November’s FORMULA 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.”

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Comment of the day

After Christian Horner was awarded an OBE for services to motorsport, @yellowsapphire points out that Horner’s achievements cover more than just F1…

Previous to F1, he created and managed Arden, a team that he’s still principal of, and helped give many a driver a seat in the lower formulas. He then came into the paddock as the youngest team principal ever and took over RBR.

On the basis of that, I’d say he’s done quite a lot for motorsport. His work in the lower formulas shouldn’t be overlooked.
@yellowsapphire

From the forum

One of the F1Fanatic forum’s most popular threads, the track designing contest, is still going strong.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Beninlux, Jonathanproc and Vikenbauer!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

The first and last Swedish Grands Prix were held on this day 40 and 35 years ago respectively. Denny Hulme won the former for McLaren.

The last F1 race at Anderstorp saw victory for Niki Lauda in the controversial Brabham BT46B ‘fan car’.

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Will Wood
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55 comments on “Montreal seeking new ten-year race deal”

  1. Montreal 10 year extension?

    Awesome. Get it done now! :D

  2. I’m glad Conor Daly chose to be slightly naughty and have a bit of fun! If you’ve just won a race I think you should be able to show how it feels to achieve it.

    1. Fully agree, its a shame the FIA made rules to keep people from celebrating.

  3. With regards to Horner’s OBE, that picture of him posing naked is a must to accompany such headline :)

    1. Haha that’s one of the funniest pictures I’ve seen! At least the man has confidence I suppose ;)

  4. Sad to hear about the Jaguar supercar not going ahead, and the huge loss it will bring to Williams.

  5. Terrible to hear of more bad news for Williams. Not only are they having the worst season in their history but £20m isn’t exactly pocket change for their organisation either. I really hope Williams can find some success and soon. I can’t imagine F1 without Williams, and I equally can’t imagine that a team as big as Williams can survive long while losing both on the track and off it.

    1. I think that after last year, they really thought they have everything figure it about how to have a winning car again, and is really weird specially if you remember Maldonado interview after the tests at the begining of the year, saying that this year car was the faster that he have ever had. I

      Is certanly speak tons about the consistency of the big teams to be ahead every year, is not easy task.

      1. Please can someone tell me how Williams became so succesful that they were the best team from 91- 97. I’ve not done much research and wiki says Frank went from “a brief career as a driver and mechanic, funded by his work as a travelling grocery salesman, Williams founded Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1966. He ran drivers including Piers Courage and Tony Trimmer for several years in Formula Two and Formula Three. Williams purchased a Brabham Formula One chassis, which Courage drove throughout the 1969 Formula One season, twice finishing in second place.”

        Was he independentlywealthy beforehand to get a foot on the ladder?

        I assume through excellent management it grew from there and Franks only incredible losses were killing Senna and, to a much smaller degree, losing Newey. Now I fear the team will die when he does unlike Ferrari and Mclaren. :(

        1. killing Senna

          that’s way out of line, never mind that losing newey was a far greater loss for the long-term success of the team.

        2. In the early 90s Williams had Renault, Newey and a brilliant engineering team. By 98 Newey and Renault were gone. With out a top engine and good aero on the car, results dried up. When BMW joined them they got better for a few years but aero has always been their weakness. That’s one of the main reasons why BMW left and bought Sauber.

          1. I’m just curious, how did Newey go in the 2000’s with that enormous McLaren budget?

          2. It’s been said that Newey-McLaren never really worked out because of McLaren’s M.O.; he never found a comfortable way to work there. How much of that is true, I don’t know, but Newey has really come to life at RBR.

            Don’t forget; Rory Byrne wasn’t exactly a nobody either, Ferrari pushed testing to the next level, Mercedes had their bouts of unreliability, the Mp4/18 was a complete failure and took 2 years to get to a reliable design and it still didn’t have a reliable engine. Meanwhile, Williams had re-emerged, Renault was getting some serious investments and Alonso was on the rise, Schumacher was on his peak for several years and I will stress Mercedes has some mighty issues those years.

            I’m no fan of Newey, but it’s not like he forgot how to design a proper car in between 1998 and 2010.

          3. Yes, Newey has certainly come to life with Vettel piloting his cars.

            Kind of like how a Rory Byrne Ferrari (and let’s not forget a John Barnard Ferrari) came to life with Schumacher at the wheel.

        3. As you can see from the facts you have gathered getting into F1 and running a team in the 1960’s was not nearly as capital-intensive as it is today, with a less restricted Formula you could buy a chassis from here and an engine from there, instead of building a factory on a “greenfield” site complete with a windtunnel you rented a hangar at one of the ex-airfield race tracks, and if you were clever, innovative and thorough you had a good chance of being competitive . Also the actual cost of competing was much less as there were no scheduled pit-stops and spare cars were allowed so pit crews were only a small fraction of the size they are now, and the racing was just as good if not better.

        4. Patrik Head was pretty amazing back then.

        5. No team sets out to kill a driver. It was not a murder, it was an incredibly unfortunate accident which nobody ever wants to be repeated, especially not Williams after the after effects felt by the team. Show some respect.

  6. Montreal better get this deal done. F1 wouldn’t be the same without Montreal on the calender. I am Canadian, so I am quite partial to the Canadian GP.

  7. If that e-mail is true, i think that that’s really absurd and if so the f1 circle is all messed up…i will be very disappointed.

    1. If that e-mail is true, i think that that’s really absurd and if so the f1 circle is all messed up…

      @hipn0tic – by “the f1 circle” do you mean teams like Red Bull and Ferrari that have tried to destroy both Mercedes and Pirelli, despite the team and supplier contending from the outset that they had explicit permission to perform the test and no unfair benefit accrued to Mercedes?

      1. @joepa – No i mean actually all the teams, you cannot help a team an leave the other by herself.
        If you want tests, than EVERY team should be treatead with equal sense.
        RBR and Ferrari had not try to destroy Mercedes or Pirelli, in their mind, and in mine, this test is obviously a handicap for othe teams, and that’s not fair, with FIA mail (thats even worst or not). You cannot drive 1.000 k and don’t learn anything.
        To take the driving license you don’t drive as much…

    2. i bet it is a real email, but the facts on it wont match what mercedes are currently saying, they will get a spin doctor lawyer in to make it seem legal.

      1. Well, at least the snap judgements will be made by people with actual access to all of the evidence supporting every viewpoint.

        1. Well, at least the snap judgements will be made by people with actual access to all of the evidence supporting every viewpoint.

          @prisoner-monkeys – hehe

          (btw: I can’t believe no one else has responded yet to your awesome comment. maybe folks don’t like being reminded of the fact that, when someone (or some team or company) is in the dock that they don’t like or who rivals their preferred brand/team, they often respond with uncontained, unreserved, partisan, chicken-with-its-head-cut-off glee. just like how @celeste admits that even if Mercedes and Pirelli are exonerated by the evidence and the facts support the exact claims they’ve made consistently and correctly since the beginning, to @celeste they will still be guilty cheaters (even though the tribunal will have found them innocent) – sheesh!)

      2. “they will get a spin doctor lawyer in to make it seem legal.”

        Isnt that what all teams do when they find a way around a rule? : ] As i type this im thinkin of Horner ‘Yeah no, yeah… no, our car complies with the regulations’ as the Redbull screams past him on track with its front wing practically scraping along the ground with its exausht farting as it goes around the corner after dodgy engine maps where banned.

    3. The Blade Runner (@)
      17th June 2013, 10:05

      Does anyone know what the rules specifically say on this? i.e. It seems clear that mid-season testing using a current car is a breach of the rules but do the rules allow for it to happen if the Race Director authorises it?

      I’m not sure that producing an e-mail from Charlie giving his authority for the test will necessarily let Mercedes off the hook unless the rules make such a provision. It would be a little like e-mailing your local judge and asking for his authority to break the law. If he says “yes” and you go ahead and do it then you’ve still broken the law and would be punished accordingly. The judge would probably also be punished and lose his job.

      If there is a provision in the rules for the Race Director to overrule certain elements at his discretion then that puts things into a completely different perspective and would justify Mercedes’ actions. It would however open a whole new can of worms post 20th June.

      1. @thebladerunner There’s certainly nothing in the sporting regulations which would allow for the race director (or anyone in the FIA) to overrule the sporting regs at their own discretion. They used to have a fairly comprehensive section in the Concorde agreement which defined things like this, but the long and short of it was that majority/unanimous authorisation had to be given by the teams as well as the FIA for sporting matters. Since that has expired it’s a bit fuzzy as to how these things are worked out, but I would have thought that since the sporting regulations effectively form part of the contract of participation for the teams and FIA, then they should be binding at all times and for all parties.

        Basically I don’t see how the FIA can authorise this kind of test. Any email giving permission shouldn’t be worth the paper it’s written on…

        1. The Blade Runner (@)
          17th June 2013, 12:52

          @mazdachris Thanks for that. I had presumed that this was be the case but wasn’t 100% sure.

          I stand by my other comments in that case. Unless Mercedes has some other pivotal evidence that nobody currently appears aware of then they are likely to be in for punishment.

          As far as Charlie is concerned, and obviously if there ever was an e-mail, I guess it depends on what question Mercedes asked him. If it included the specific points of the proposed test that made it a breach of the rules then he is implicated. If its content was more general then maybe not.

          Thursday will be an interesting day…

          1. @thebladerunner I think at this point it’s anyone’s guess how it’ll turn out on Thursday. We can all speculate about this and that, but when all is said and done, none of us know for sure what the exact circumstances are. I just hope that, whatever the outcome, the tribunal is as transparent as possible so that people can be satisfied with the outcome and understand the decision.

  8. It really wouldn’t surprise me if Mercedes really do have email proof they had permission. The risk vs reward ratio just never panned out for me regarding this “secret” test.

    1. A sport cannot have is arbitrary board to go over the rules to benefit someone, if they did so, other teams should let them drive alone…

    2. The Blade Runner (@)
      17th June 2013, 10:35

      A couple of the reports that I have seen over the last few days suggest that the German press thinks Mercedes will be penalised and potentially Charlie Whiting too.

      There are also comments suggesting that Daimler are very unhappy with the negative press that is being generated as a result and that this may lead to Mercedes’ withdrawal from F1. There is a quote from a spokesman for one of Daimlers’ investors saying: “The group’s three-digit million spending (on Formula 1) brings nothing to nobody… In our opinion, not a single car has been sold because Mercedes is represented by a team in Formula 1”

      1. That’s possible Mercedes trying to pressure, i’m not seeing them leaving F1

        1. The Blade Runner (@)
          17th June 2013, 11:19

          I would agree with you but the emphasis seems to be more one of disappointed investors. This is a good example of what is being reported:
          http://grandprix247.com/2013/06/17/heads-expected-to-roll-as-mercedes-faces-d-day-in-paris/

          1. I just read, and i agree heads will roll on one side or on both, but hardly Mercedes will leave F1…

  9. Is that email does exist I guess is really goodbye to Charlie Whiting, and hello Giorgio Ascanelli.

    1. Will you and all the other haters be apologizing to Mercedes staff, drivers and management, and Pirelli as well, for relentlessly attacking, slandering and sullying them, despite their consistent claims from the beginning that they had permission to perform the test?

      Just curious…

      1. The Blade Runner (@)
        17th June 2013, 10:16

        If you can get me all of their names and addresses then, no, I still won’t be doing that…

      2. No, not at all. They, in my eyes, will still be cheaters.I don´t need a judge to have my own opinión.

    2. My thought exactly. But at the very least Merc would have to show a ‘read receipt’ from Charlie to their email, at best would be an original email from Charlie.

    3. It must exist. Ross doesn’t break or bend the rules. He reads them carefully.
      The only thing I wonder about is Ross’ relation with Todt.

    4. Wishful thinking, and about time for CW to get lost

  10. So now Charlie will be penalized and Mercedes to get away with it ?

  11. petebaldwin (@)
    17th June 2013, 10:56

    Very interesting to see how this Mercedes testing issue is dealt with now it involves Charlie Whiting. There must be an email because obviously, Mercedes will be asked to produce it and if they are unable to do so, it will ruin any argument they are trying to use.

    For the FIA to punish Mercedes now, they will surely have to dismiss Whiting which is a huge move.

    I suppose it all hinges on whether Mercedes explicitly stated that they were going to use this season’s car at the test and whether any specific conditions of the test were broken by Mercedes or Pirelli.

    1. @petebaldwin – the best are all the Red Bull supporters who claim that they’re “fans” of the sport yet actually believe that the prospect of Mercedes F1 team and sole tire supplier/sponsor being persecuted, having their reputations attacked relentlessly by competitors/colleagues/other stakeholders and ultimately fined, suspended or banned (or all 3 or any combo therein) is something “good” for “the sport.” When this “sport” (which is really a “show” – a sports business entertainment venture) doesn’t even have a Concorde agreement in-place, and now sees its IPO/floatation delayed inevitably.

      Yes, persecuting Mercedes and humiliating Pirelli – when they both apparently had sufficient official permission/support to feel comfortable from risk-management/legal/liability perspective going ahead w/ the private tyre test – is just what a “sport” that’s imploding under the weight of its own corruption and mismanagement should be doing.

      I’m sure the likes of @celeste are ecstatic over the thought of Mercedes’s institutional investors signaling a desire to leave F1 on the back of this manufactured-scandal!

  12. Antonio Felix da Costa drove the Red Bull, one step closer, hope he can get into F1(praying for that)

    1. He will need to turn his current season in FR 3.5 around, though. Losing out to Kevin Magnussen might not be the worst thing, but ending in 4th might be a little disappointing after coming in and beating nearly everyone in 2012 from mid-season on.

      1. How long before Helmut gets bored and replaces him with Sainz?

      2. You guys crushed my heart. I know that but please be a little suportive. I’m really hopping that he can and do the 2014 season, and i say he’s tallented, he’s know in 4th but it’s not finished and the team made some really bad decisions, i remember the fuel(or the lack of it), that in RBR teams is a quite often mistake to do…

  13. Michael Brown (@)
    17th June 2013, 18:01

    That deal will go ahead if the new pit buildings are built, as Bernie has insisted year after year

  14. I suspect that Whiting did not “give permission” for the test. He probably wrote that email to Mercedes which we’ve already seen, giving permission for a test under certain conditions – conditions which were not met.

    But even if there were an an email from hm to Mercedes saying “Go ahead and use your 2013 car, and use Hamilton and Rosberg as drivers – I give you permission” I don’t think Merc are in the clear. The regulations are the regulations – they are not whatever Charlie Whiting says. If Merc ask Charlie if they can use traction control, computer controlled suspension, and 1000 HP motors for the rest of the season and he says “Yes”, are they off the hook? Of course not. They have an obligation to abide by the rules of the sport. That obligation does not disappear even if (hypothetically) the “referee” is crooked or inept.

    1. Very good point, an email doesn´t have much weight againts regulations. But it will be something a lawyer would used to try to minimize the situation.

      Either way Charlie Whiting is in problems…

    2. I doubt very much that the entirety of Merc’s defense revolves solely around a single email.

      If you recall early on, the FIA implied early on that permission was actually given provided certain criteria were met. We actually don’t know what those criteria were and really weather it was Mercs responsibility to meet those criteria. One was implied that other team be given the same opportunity. We have since heard that Red Bull admitted to be asked to test and chose not to, Ferrari did test albeit with an older car and others also turned it down. Mclaren have been very quiet on this whole matter.

      Merc will probably argue that most of the criteria were Pirellis responsibility.

      Aside from all of that NONE of us know any of the details on how the test was conducted.

    3. The regulations are the regulations – they are not whatever

      @jonsan – What you don’t seem to understand is that there is no mechanism to resolve which takes precedence when they are in conflict: sporting regulations or valid commercial contract terms.

  15. Bahrain is set to start on March 2 with Australia two weeks later and the Korean and Indian GP is going bankrupt

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