DIGRASSI TO PARTNER GLOCK AT VIRGIN RACING, AND ALVARO PARENTE AS TEST DRIVER

The signing of Di Grassi, Renault’s third driver for the past two seasons, was confirmed in London on Tuesday as Virgin officially unveiled their team identity, by their own admission ‘the worst kept secret in F1’.

Glock was confirmed several weeks ago by British squad Manor GP, who had their 2010 entry accepted by the FIA prior to finalising their deal with Virgin. Di Grassi, 25, has spent the past four seasons competing in GP2, finishing runner-up in 2007, and tested for Renault at the recent young driver session at Jerez.

Portugal’s Alvaro Parente will serve as test driver. Parente, 25, is another GP2 veteran, with two wins in the last two seasons, and a former British F3 champion. He tested for the Renault Formula One team after winning the 2007 Formula Renault 3.5 series. Razia, 20, also raced in GP2 in 2009, and is another test driver.

TOYOTA MOTORSPORTS FESTIVAL 2009

Toyota MotorSports Festival 2009

Sunday, November 22  Fuji  Speedway

For more information go to www.tmsf.jp

Raikkonen's management visit McLaren

Kimi Raikkonen’s management team visited McLaren’s Technology Centre on Wednesday as guests of Martin Whitmarsh, itv.com/f1 has learned.
Steve and David Robertson were seen in conversation with the McLaren team principal while walking around parts of the squad’s Woking base.

SENNA HAPPY WITH PROGRESS AT CAMPOS META

While there is still plenty of manoeuvring to play out in the driver market for 2010, one of the few new names to have a confirmed cockpit for next year is Bruno Senna, who will make his Formula One debut with new team Campos Meta.

Work on Senna’s charge for 2010 is already well underway and on Monday the 26 year-old visited Dallara’s factory in Italy where his car is being built.

“The car seems to be in a well developed state,” he commented. “I've sat in the monocoque, made a seat and tested the power steering system. I was happy to see the team really investing in the project. The provisional delivery date for the first car is the end of January.”

After being presented to the media in the Spanish region of Murcia on Tuesday, Senna is expected to undergo a series of mandatory FIA medical tests on Wednesday.

RICCIARDO TO TEST FOR RED BULL IN DECEMBER

British Formula Three champion Daniel Ricciardo will make his Formula One test debut with Red Bull next month

"This is something I’ve dreamed about since I can remember, so I’m really looking forward to it," the Australian told Red Bull’s official website. “No way did I think I’d be getting this at the end of the year. I'm feeling very, very excited to be here and to see the seat’s getting done."

“The F1 car is just a more wild piece of machinery,” he added. “The brakes are probably the biggest thing - the stopping power they have is quite huge. Mentally you have to be more switched on as well as, obviously, everything’s coming at you so much faster.”

SENNA TO MAKE F1 DEBUT WITH CAMPOS META IN 2010

"For Campos Meta it is an extraordinary honour to return the name of Senna to Formula One," Campos Meta CEO Enrique Rodriguez de Castro said in a statement on Saturday.

"I'd like to thank God, my family, friends and all of my supporters!” was Senna’s comment on his official Twitter page after the deal with the Spanish team was confirmed.

BARRICHELLO: WILLIAMS A GOOD OPTION

"Williams has always been a team that anyone would have a look at," said Barrichello in Abu Dhabi. "That is no different right now.

"Everyone would look at a position at Williams, because it is one of the best teams out there – and they are on the way up. So I am definitely looking at that."
From Racer

WILLIAMS TO USE COSWORTH ENGINES IN 2010

“Cosworth have impressed us with the quality of their technical team and convinced us that their programme will deliver a competitive Formula One engine,” said Frank Williams, whose team last used Cosworth power in 2006. “In addition, like Williams, Cosworth is an independent company whose owners share our passion for racing and engineering. We believe that, working together, we will develop not only a competitive racing car for 2010 but also a long-term partnership that can take on the best in Formula One.”

US F1 TEAM CHOOSE SPAIN FOR EUROPEAN BASE

“MotorLand Aragon is the ideal motorsports complex for our European operation,” said sporting director Peter Windsor. “From the excellent location and weather, to the rich racing heritage and diverse track configurations, MotorLand provides America’s first Formula One team in more than 40 years with the perfect facility to manage the 2010 season and train for 2011 and beyond. MotorLand is the only facility of its kind in Europe and we’re thrilled to call it our European home. Between the Formula One-inspired, Tilke-designed road course and accompanying circuits, as well as the elaborate amenities of the leisure and cultural area, MotorLand is truly the perfect complex for US F1, from both competitive and business perspectives.” said Ken Anderson, US F1 Team principal.

SPONSORSHIP BOOST FOR RENAULT

Renault has secured its first new sponsor since the race-fixing scandal erupted earlier this year, after reaching a deal with Dutch watchmaker TW Steel.

In the wake of the ‘Crashgate’ affair in September title sponsor ING and Spanish insurer Mutua Madrilena terminated their contracts with the Anglo-French squad, forcing it to remove all branding from its cars ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
The team announced on Wednesday that it had signed a three-year deal with TW Steel, which will become its official timing partner.

The logos of the watch brand will appear on the nose cone, front wing flaps and sidepods of the R29 from this weekend’s race in Abu Dhabi, and on the team's timing monitors and uniform from next year.

Renault’s managing director Jean-François Caubet said: “The partnership brings great value for both the Renault F1 Team and TW Steel and confirms the team’s positive outlook for the years ahead.”
Itv f1

ROSEBERG CONFIRMS EXIT FROM WILLIAMS

“Williams is a great team, I think, and there's no reason why they can't be just as good as this year, but I'm not sure they can win races at the moment, especially with budgets still being rather free, and there's an engine change coming up which won't help – although I'm convinced they can still do very well.

But I'd like to win races, and that's what convinced me to try to push for the next step. You never know, but I'd like to try and get into a car where I think there is going to be a very good chance of winning,” said the 24-year-old.
Rosberg’s departure has been rumoured for much of the summer, and while he has been tipped to join Jenson Button at world champion squad Brawn, he has also been linked with the second McLaren seat alongside Lewis Hamilton.

RAIKKONEN AIMS TO EXIT FERRARI ON A HIGH

“The race in Abu Dhabi will be my last Grand Prix with Ferrari and as usual I will give it everything to gain the best possible result," the Finn said on Ferrari's website. "We'll try to conclude this difficult year with a good result, hoping that it will be enough to gain the third place in the Constructors' Championship, As I wrote before, it's time for me to say goodbye to the guys at Ferrari after three years together. I'm proud of the things we achieved, especially the drivers' title in 2007 and the constructors' title in the same year and in 2008.”

KOBAYASHI TO RACE FOR TOYOTA IN ABU DHABI

Toyota have confirmed on Tuesday that their third driver Kamui Kobayashi will race again for the team at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"I am really looking forward to my second Grand Prix and I want to make the most of this unexpected chance. I didn't know the track in Brazil and that was a little bit of a disadvantage because almost all the other drivers had some experience of it. But that's not the case in Abu Dhabi; this is a new track for everyone so that should help me.

I am also more familiar with the car now, as well as other procedures during a race weekend like pit stops and the two tyre compounds, so I expect to be more competitive in Abu Dhabi. I am sure the car will be strong and I will do everything I can to try to score my first points in Formula One. Of course it will be extremely difficult because the field is very strong and this is just my second Grand Prix but I will give my all." Kobayashi said
F1

HONDA: NO REGRETS DESPITE BRAWN SUCCESS

Honda says it has no regrets about its decision to pull out of Formula 1 at the end of last year, despite seeing the Brawn GP team go on to capture both World Championships.
The Japanese car maker felt that the worldwide financial crisis meant it could no longer continue funding an F1 program, and it withdrew from the sport in early December. That left the Brawn team facing a fight for survival, and it only made it onto the grid thanks to a financial injection from Honda.
Despite the fact that the withdrawal decision saved little money in the short term and failed to see it capitalise on Brawn's 2009 success, Honda's president and CEO Takanobu Ito insisted his company had still done the right thing.
Speaking to Autoweek, Ito said: "I have no regrets. After our withdrawal, we've seen our team doing extremely well. The reason why I say this is because of all the efforts we put into the team prior to our withdrawal that led to this result."
Ito believes the fact that Brawn has made a success of this season has actually made Honda's decision to quit easier to justify.
"Usually when we decide to withdraw our team from Formula 1 racing, there are fights and anguishes ... fortunately the team has succeeded. It has produced very good results, so people seem to be very happy which is quite unusual.
"Honda is very proud of the fact that we were able to make such a smooth withdrawal based on a very well-thought out plan.... I think we did very well with the withdrawal and after the withdrawal; we managed very quickly to inject all our resources into environmental technology development. We are very proud the management was so speedy in making this change."
Ito said the decision to withdraw from F1, made by his predecessor Takeo Fukui, was justified by the financial crisis and the environmental considerations that Honda needed to make.
"Just a year ago, Mr. Fakui made the decision to withdraw from Formula 1 racing and I think it was the correct decision," Ito said. "We do love Formula 1 racing, but even more than that, we had to think about our company; following the worldwide recession our management environment had truly deteriorated, also due to the need to comply with environmental needs, which meant we had to develop new technologies. So this came first.
I can surely say the few hundreds of people that were working on Formula 1 and the tens of billions of yen used for Formula 1, this has been converted to the development of environmental technologies." He said

TODT: NOW IS TIME FOR FIA UNITY

Speaking at a news conference after the election result, Todt was quoted by Reuters as saying:
"I like action, I like to make things go forward and I am really happy to see that so many countries chose me but everything is yet to be done. The day the election is over, everybody must share the same goals, including those who did not support me I am not closing the door to anybody. I want to nominate commissioners, because I am not intending to run Formula 1 as a first person," he said. "I don't want to underestimate the problems, but success in my career has always been to have the right people in my teams." Speaking about Schumacher, he said: "He is like a son. There has always been a place for him next to me and there will still be."

TODT ELECTED NEW FIA PRESIDENT

Jean Todt has succeeded Max Mosley as President of Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, after comfortably winning a vote of the FIA General Assembly in Paris on Friday. He received 135 votes to former world rally champion Vatanen’s 49, with 12 abstentions or invalid votes, and will now serve a four-year term.

GROUP LOTUS TO CONSIDER INDY, SPORTS CAR RACING

Lotus is investigating a return to Indycar, GT racing and Le Mans, as well as a deeper involvement in Formula 1 under new CEO Dany Bahar, according to Autocar.
“Lotus will return to motorsport,” Bahar told Lotus employees. “We will investigate participation in IndyCar Series, GT and Le Mans racing among other series around the globe to demonstrate the shared technology. I believe that this [motorsport] is the perfect platform to showcase our capabilities; racing is part of our heritage and even today the technology in our road cars is derived from racing,” he said.
Bahar also confirmed there was no direct link between his firm, Group Lotus, and the new team entering F1 next year, Team Lotus. Parent firm Proton owns the Team Lotus name and has given permission for a Malaysian-backed consortium to use it on its F1 cars next year. Team Lotus will initially be based in Norfolk, England, before moving to Malaysia in the future. Although there is no direct financial involvement between Team and Group Lotus, the two firms would be liaising and Bahar refused to rule out a full return to the sport in the future.
Bahar, who has previously worked for the Ferrari and Red Bull F1 teams, confirmed the legendary Lotus name would make a prominent comeback to motorsport to return to the days last seen under Colin Chapman.

BUTTON READY FOR CONTRACT WITH BRAWN

World Champion Jenson Button says he is now ready to discuss his future with Brawn, the Briton making it clear he wants to stay with the team.
"I'm most interested in being in a competitive car in which I can achieve," Button told reporters during a media event in London on Monday. "This is the first year that's been possible and I've enjoyed it. I'm not going to look for another team just because they say they'll pay me a load of money. I want to be with Brawn, we've not discussed a contract yet and it was right not to do so because we had to focus on winning a World Championship. Now we can discuss it in a few days. I'm certainly going to put some pressure on them, but I'm not that expensive."

SENNA COULD TEST FOR RENAULT THIS YEAR

Bruno Senna could test for the Renault team later this year as the French car manufacturer continues its evaluation of a second driver for next season.
A senior source at Renault has confirmed that the team is in talks with Senna about him trying out their car for one of the post-season tests.

RAIKKONEN HAS AN OFFER FROM TOYOTA!

Kimi Raikkonen has an offer from Toyota for the 2010 season, and team president John Howett believes the Finn could fit well in the Japanese squad. "We don't play too many games. We put on the table what we can afford and what we think is a serious offer in the current market. I think genuinely we could work well with him, give him a car that's quick." Howett told Reuters. "We have had very good relationships with Scandinavian drivers in the rallying times that enjoy life and it works very well, so we could cope with it as a team." He said.