November 2003

27 November 2003 The BAR team has announced that it has extended its partnership with Brunotti, the sportswear manufacturer based in the Netherlands.

26 November 2003 Triple F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet has said on Brazilian television network TV Globo that his son Nelsinho Piquet, 18, has received an offer from Williams for a 7- year contract. Nelsinho would start working for the team as a test driver in 2004 or 2005 and become a race driver from 2006.

25 November 2003 Bridgestone Motorsport has conformed that they will not be supplying BAR in 2004. The two companies decided to terminate the contract amicably and Hiroshi Yasukawa, the Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, wished the team best of luck in their future endeavours. David Richards thanked Bridgestone for the excellent technical partnership of the last five years. Michelin confirmed that BAR will be using their tyres in 2004.

24 November 2003 David Richards said that he has no intention of letting Jenson Button go, despite the rumours that see the yougn Briton linked to a Williams drive as replacement for Juan Pablo Montoya. The BAR team has very tight options on Button for 2005 and 2006, according to Richards.

22 November 2003 The French Grand prix organisers have confirmed that the 2004 race has been scrapped, but that it will be back in 2005. A contract has been signed with Bernie Ecclestone to run the French GP from 2005 to 2009, with the possibility of adding another five years to the deal.

22 November 2003 French sports minister Jean-Francois Lamour has stepped into the arena over the cancellation of the French GP. Lamour said that he would do all in his power to try and save the GP. Meanwhile the race organisers said that they have signed a new five-year contract with Bernie Ecclestone to keep the event at Magny-Cours from 2005.

22 November 2003 The French GP has been cancelled because of financial problems, according to the Journal du Centre newspaper. It was scheduled to take place on July 11 at Magny-Cours, but the president of the Nievre regional authority, Marcel Charmant, said that the financial situation of the investment company means that it is not possible to give Bernie Ecclestone the guarantees he requires for the finance of the race in 2004.

21 November 2003 The new Renault R24 will be unveiled in Palermo, Italy, on 29 January 2004.

21 November 2003 Mark Webber is rumoured to be in talks with Williams as a possible replacement for Juan Pablo Montoya when the driver leaves the team for McLaren at the end of the 2004 season. Webber admitted to the the talks but said that he has a contract with Jaguar until the end of 2005 and that he intends to focus on Jaguar this season.

19 November 2003 The new Jaguar R5 will be unveiled on 18 January at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona.

19 November 2003 The new Sauber C23 will be unveiled on 12 January 2004 at Red Bull's Hangar-7, in Salzburg, Austria.

19 November 2003 Canadian race promoter Normand Legault has explained that the Canadian GP has been saved thanks to the Labatt brewer and other sponsors, who have pulled together with Legault himself to find 29 million Canadian dollars to pay off to Bernie Ecclestone in compensation for the lost cigarette sponsorship. The Canadian and Quebec governments have each chipped in six million Canadian dollars. Ecclestone had originaslly asked for 42 million Canadian dollars, but then agreed to lower his demand. Legault said that the agreement reached will ensure that Canada hosts a GP for at least the next three years. The Canadian GP has been given a date of June the 13th for 2004.

18 November 2003 The organisers of the Australian GP have been ordered by FIA to straighten the pit lane entry of the Melbourne circui. This move will substantially shorten the pit lane entry and will make its event a three-pitstop race for competitors. Coupled with the increase in the pit lane speed to 100 km/h agreed as a new rule for 2004, it will also cut three to five seconds off each pit stop.

18 November 2003 The Canadian GP has been officially saved and will be included in the 2004 season calendar, according to the Journal de Montreal. Bernie Ecclestone had apparently asked for 30 million dollars as compensation, but finally settled for 20 million. The official announcement is expected to be made later on during a press conference.

17 November 2003 McLaren have confirmed that Juan Pablo Montoya will drive for the outfit from 2005. It is expected that he will replace Scot David Coulthard and partner Finn Kimi Räikkönen.

9 November 2003 The Brazilian Grand Prix, scheduled fit the 24th of October 2004 at Interlagos, has been cancelled following the court decision of Judge Joao Andre de Vincenzo that the race is harmul to the city of Säo Paulo's budget. Judge Vincenzo has suspended the contract between the prefecture and the Grand Prix promoters and put a 50000 Brazilian Reals (around 15000 Euros) daily penalty should there be a failure by the promotersthe follow the court ruling. The penalty will be effective 30 days after the official publication of the ruling.

8 November 2003 Ferrari has announced that John Iley is the new Head of Aerodynamics. Iley previously worked at Jordan and at Renault under the supervision of Mike Gascoyone on the R23 project.

7 November 2003 Kimi Räikkönen has underwent light surgery to his wrist to correct a small problem that he has had for years and that was caused by a light car shunt. He has been advised by doctors to take a month's rest to ensure proper healing.

6 November 2003 The Toyota-Ferrari espionage investigation is now concentrating on a small firm called Aerolab, located in Nonantola, some 10 km from Modena. The firm is managed by former Ferrari engineer Mauro Iacconi, who left the Formula 1 team at the end of 1999. He and two of his employees, Angelo Santini and Antonio Tentorio, who also used to work for Ferrari, are being investigated by the Italian police. Mauro Iacconi and Angelo Santini are both presently working for Toyota, Iacconi as a consultant and Santini as an engineer. If found guilty of industrial espionage, the could face up to two years in jail. Toyota declare themselves extraneous to the whole issue.

4 November 2003 Brazil will commemorate the life and achievements of Ayrton Senna by declaring 2004 the Ayrton Senna year. A series of concerts, events and exhibitions will take place to celebrate the values that were dear to Ayrton, notably his pride of being a Brazilian, according to his sister Viviane, who presides the Ayrton Senna Foundation. Senna died on the 1st of May 1994 during the San Marino GP.

3 November 2003 Niki Lauda believes that Fernando Alonso will be a Ferrari within two years. The Austrian made the statement in an interview he gave Italian sport newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. He thinks that Flavio Briatore will choose to sell Alonso to Ferrari for a large sum of money.

1 November 2003 Italian sport newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport has confirmed that German police searched the residence of a male Italian engineer who is actually working for Toyota and who was a Ferrari employee less than two years ago. Many people have commented on the similarity of the Toyota TF103 to the Ferrari F2002, so much that it had been dubbed the "Ferrari with a Toyota engine". Following this initial search, the police also searched the aerodynamics department of Toyota Racing in Cologneseizing Computers, CD's, hard disks and a few projects. The inquiry is currently concentrating on the Italian engineer rather than the Toyota team. The legal procedure made by the German court was initiated following a request from an Italian prosecutor in Modena, who lodged a complaint for Industrial espionage.

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande