FIA plans to review F1 organisation

The FIA has upped the ante in its stand-off with Bernie Ecclestone by announcing plans to review how Formula 1 is governed.

After a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, the FIA said it would be consulting teams on changes to the way F1 is run in future.

The move comes after a bout of megaphone diplomacy between Ecclestone and FIA president Max Mosley over how Formula 1’s multi-million pound revenues should be distributed.

Ecclestone wants the FIA’s signature on a new Concorde Agreement along the same lines as the recently lapsed one, whereas Mosley wants more revenue to go the teams and less to Ecclestone’s Formula One Management company.
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Kubica urges BMW to react to slump

Robert Kubica says BMW should not play down its French Grand Prix slump and must respond or risk being pushed down the order by other resurgent teams.

After its breakthrough one-two in Canada, BMW had a muted weekend at Magny-Cours.

Kubica could only manage fifth place, while his team-mate Nick Heidfeld struggled to a distant 13th.

"In Magny-Cours our gap to Ferrari was the highest so far and this was emphasised by the fact that some other teams have instead closed the gap to us," Kubica told the official Formula 1 website.
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McLaren aims to begin title fightback

McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh says the team is determined to end its disappointing run of results in its home British Grand Prix on the back of an “aggressive” development push in recent weeks.

The Woking squad has slipped off the pace in both drivers’ and constructors’ championship battles and heads into the second half of the season already facing an uphill battle to end its nine-year title drought.

After failing to score points in Canada, it managed just a fourth place finish at the last round in France after both of its drivers were relegated on the grid following separate penalties.
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Hill: Brit GP future still on knife edge

British Racing Drivers’ Club president Damon Hill believes the future of the British Grand Prix still hangs in the balance – putting the chances of a contract renewal at 50/50.

Silverstone’s current deal expires at the end of next season and the circuit’s owners the BRDC are hoping an ambitious redevelopment plan will secure the race’s future.

But Hill told reporters at Silverstone on Thursday that a new deal was still some way off.

“I would say 50/50 was probably about right,” he said.

“I am not going to assume anything when it comes to F1.

“My experience is you should never make any presumptions, so it would be prudent to consider it as a 50/50 figure.

“But, I am 100% confident that we have got what it will take and we can deliver what F1 will be proud of and the UK will be proud of.”
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Sutil expects progress after updates

Adrian Sutil is optimistic Force India’s upgraded VJM01 car has the potential to give the team a much-needed step forward in pace at next week's British Grand Prix.

The team unveiled a new package of aerodynamic and mechanical parts at the Silverstone test, with the increasingly popular ‘shark fin’ engine cover the most distinctive addition along with revised wheel covers, bargeboards, diffuser and inerter damper.
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Bernie said to have told Mosley of plot

The scandal that engulfed Max Mosley earlier this year has taken a fresh twist following the claim that the FIA president received prior warning from Bernie Ecclestone of a plot to remove him from office.

Formula 1’s commercial rights supremo Ecclestone discovered that people were looking to discredit his long-time friend through information from an intelligence consultant, according to The Times.

The newspaper quotes the consultant, Dean Attew – a former Ecclestone employee who also advised Mosley – as saying he had been approached with the information more than two months before the expose on the FIA president's private life was published.
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Webber: RBR in 'massive fight' for fourth

Mark Webber believes Red Bull cannot afford any let up in its push for fourth place in the constructors’ championship.

While the top three teams’ current superiority mean they are already all but mathematically assured of finishing at the head of the standings again, RBR is currently one of four squads locked in a battle for the coveted ‘rest of the rest’ position.



Webber’s team currently enjoys just a single point advantage over resurgent Toyota, and is also only nine and 12 points respectively ahead of Williams and Renault.

Speaking to itv.com/f1 at the Silverstone test, the in-form Australian reckons it can not afford to underestimate any of its main rivals and must keep capitalising on points scoring opportunities in the second half of the season.
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