The FIA has published the entry list for the 2010 world championship, with 12 teams instead of the expected 13. This is because of the departure of Toyota, and an announcement regarding their entry will be provided in due course.

Also, Manor are officialy entered as Virgin, even though an announcement has not yet been made regarding their main sponsor. Reb Bull have kept their Renault engines also.

The full entry list of constructors and drivers as published by the FIA is as follows:

McLaren Mercedes
1 Jenson Button (GB)
2 Lewis Hamilton (GB)

Brawn Mercedes Benz*
3 Nico Rosberg (D)
4 TBA

Red Bull Racing Renault
5 Sebastian Vettel (D)
6 Mark Webber (AUS)

Ferrari
7 Felipe Massa (BR)
8 Fernando Alonso (E)

Williams Cosworth
9 Rubens Barrichello (BR)
10 Nico Hulkenberg (D)

Renault
11 Robert Kubica (PL)
12 TBA

Force India Mercedes
14 Adrian Sutil (D)
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (I)

STR Ferrari
16 Sebastien Buemi (CH)
17 TBA

Lotus Cosworth
18 TBA
19 TBA

Campos Dallara
20 TBA
21 Bruno Senna (BR)

US F1 Cosworth
22 TBA
23 TBA

Virgin Cosworth
24 Timo Glock (D)
25 TBA

NB: Statement by FIA- Toyota Motorsport GmbH remains formally bound by the Concorde Agreement to put forward a team for participation, though it has indicated that it will not be in a position to do so. An announcement will be made regarding this entry in due course.

McLaren secured the number 1

The FIA’s entry list issued today brought a major disappointment for the new Sauber team, as the federation opted not to confirm its entry so far. Instead, the FIA opted to raise the pressure on Toyota, who is still contractually commited to the 2010 championship by the Concorde Agreement. If the japanese manufacturer fail to secure a buyer for the team, they will have to pay a heavy fine to the FIA.

Until then, Peter Sauber and his team are left out in the cold, waiting while (precious) time goes by. Shame on you, FIA.

Other significant points: Manor GP is now officially Virgin Racing, RBR will run Renault engines for one more season, as STR will continue with Ferrari. Sébastien Buemi was also confirmed for the 2010 season, although no official confirmation was issued by Toro Rosso at this point.

So that’s it – we still have to wait on the green lights for the Sauber team, as the FIA opted to roll the matter for a bit longer. Let’s hope it won’t be too late when they finally take a final position.

A lovely week for everybody. Cheers!

Button carregará o número 1

Como já era aguardado, a Manor GP foi oficialmente rebatizada de Virgin Racing, segundo revelou a FIA nesta segunda-feira ao divulgar sua lista de inscritos para o Mundial de 2010. A grande surpresa foi a não-inclusão da Sauber neste momento, embora o time de Peter Sauber não possa ainda ser considerado carta fora do baralho. O que a FIA está fazendo é pressionar a Toyota a vender sua escuderia (há negociações em andamento com pelo menos dois grupos) ou pagar uma salgadíssima multa pela desistência após ter assinado o Pacto da Concórdia.

A Sauber, porém, seguirá em meio a incertezas até sabe-se lá quando, o que é ruim para qualquer time, ainda mais um que precisa atrair patrocinadores. Lamentável, infelizmente.

A lista também nos confirmou alguns outros detalhes que tomávamos como certos: a Red Bull seguirá usando motores Renault e a Toro Rosso, os Ferrari. Sébastien Buemi também foi confirmado pela FIA como dono de uma das vagas da Toro, embora nenhum anúncio oficial do time tenha sido feito até aqui. A tendência é a STR manter também o espanhol Jaime Alguersuari.

Bruno Senna, confirmado na Campos Meta, terá o número 21 (segundo carro da equipe, ninguém sabe porque), Felipe Massa ostentará o sete e Rubens Barrichello defenderá o nove. Algum numerologista de plantão quer discursar sobre os algarismos dos brasileiros do grid?

Uma ótima semana para todos nós! Beijundas.

PS: Notaram que a Ross Racing continua oficialmente sendo chamada de Brawn GP pela FIA? Não é engano, a Federação ainda não atualizou o nome para Mercedes GP, mas deixou uma nota informando que o pedido da montadora alemã deverá ser atendido.

The FIA has published its list of 2010 F1 teams, but has failed to resolve the continuing cnfusion around the 13th team.

Following Toyota’s announced withdrawal from the sport, many had expected the former BMW team, which announced it had sold its F1 operation back to Peter Sauber last week, to be granted the 13th grid position as it had been promised in the event of a team pulling out of the sport.

However, with Toyota’s legal position still unclear, the FIA as only announced 12 teams for 2010. It commented in a statement that, “Toyota Motorsport GmbH remains formally bound by the Concorde Agreement to put forward a team for participation, though it has indicated that it will not be in a position to do so. An announcement will be made regarding this entry in due course.”

The new Mercedes GP outfit remains named BrawnGP under the FIA’s document, although the statement makes note of the team’s intention to change its name to Mercedes Grand Prix prior to the start of the 2010 F1 season.

In the worst kept secret of the last six months, OK equal worst kept secret along wth Ferrari signing Fernando Alonso, Manor will be known as Virgin Racing.

1 Jenson BUTTON (GB) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES
2 Lewis HAMILTON (GB) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES 

3 Nico ROSBERG (D) BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM* 
4 TBA BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM* 

5 Sebastian VETTEL (D) RED BULL RACING
6 Mark WEBBER (AUS) RED BULL RACING

7 Felipe MASSA (BR) SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO
8 Fernando ALONSO (E) SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO

9 Rubens BARRICHELLO (BR) AT&T WILLIAMS
10 Nico HÜLKENBERG (D) AT&T WILLIAMS

11 Robert KUBICA (PL)  RENAULT F1 TEAM
12 TBA RENAULT F1 TEAM

14 Adrian SUTIL (D)  FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM
15 Vitantonio LIUZZI (I) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM

16 Sébastien BUEMI (CH) SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO
17 TBA SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO

18 TBA LOTUS F1 RACING
19 TBA LOTUS F1 RACING

20 TBA CAMPOS META 1
21 Bruno SENNA (BR) CAMPOS META 1

22 TBA US F1 TEAM
23 TBA US F1 TEAM

24 Timo GLOCK (D) VIRGIN RACING
25 TBA VIRGIN RACING

There is a scene in the 1973 war film “Kelly’s Heroes” where American and German forces have reached an impasse while fighting over a French town.  Both sides are pursuing $16 million in gold bars sitting in a bank in the center of the town.  Neither side can win a decisive victory.  Finally, Don Rickles exhorts Clint Eastwood to approach the Germans:

“You make a deal ” he says.  What kind of deal?  “. . . A deal deal.”

Obviously.  We cannot fathom how this simple logic eludes both the British Racing Drivers Club and Bernie Ecclestone.

The original deal to move the British GP from Silverstone to Donington was a pipe dream from the start.  Simon Gillett had no experience putting on an F1 race, whereas Silverstone has been putting on grand prix races since the Queen was a princess.  Silverstone deserves more respect from F1.

As a disinterested observer, we root for a British GP at Silverstone.  We think of Moss, Fangio and Hawthorne flying down Hangar Straight.  To have an F1 championship that does not visit Britain is unthinkable.

What Bernie Ecclestone fails to grasp is that F1 needs Silverstone.  One reason that Arab emirates and Asian nation-states pay top dollar to host an F1 race is that it brings with it echoes of past glory.   Motorsport needs its history.  Britain shouldn’t be made to bend over like a small country willing to tender its entire food relief budget to F1.  Take away Silverstone from F1 and the meaning of “grand prix” is lost.  All you have left is motorsport by Disney: a plastic recreation of a by-gone world.

We think the FIA ought to have the responsibility to act as the sport’s guardian, as it already claims ownership of F1’s commercial rights.  The FIA decides which drivers receive superlicenses (i.e., who can drive), which tracks receive approval, and (as we now have learned from crash-gate) who can do business in the paddock.  The FIA also must be able to tell Bernie Ecclestone that there will be an F1 race in Britain.  In fact, any contract with Ecclestone should be made to retain four core races: Spa, Silverstone, Monaco, and Monza.

We have no idea why this is so difficult.  Don Rickles knew it, and Clint Eastwood followed him.  In the end, the Americans and the Germans split the gold and took off for Switerzland.

Same result here.  Make a deal; laugh all the way to Switzerland.  You’ll be heroes.

After failing to find a suitable buyer for the F1 team it acquired just four years ago, BMW has sold the team back to its founder, Peter Sauber.  As much as we love to drive a 3-series, BMW’s departure from F1 has left a sour taste in our mouth.  Very un-Munich, to say the least.

Earlier in this decade, BMW partnered with Williams and came up with one of the strongest engines in F1.  Suffice to say, the chassis from Grove just wasn’t quick enough.  Despite having a top-flight lump, BMW did not win a championship and had to settle for race victories and a pair of second-place finishes in the constructor’s standings.

Frank Williams refused to cede control of the team to BMW, and the couple divorced in 2005.  BMW promptly acquired Sauber, at the time a very good second-tier F1 team run (uniquely) from Switzerland.  Peter Sauber is a sober, cigar-chomping Swiss with a racer’s heart.  This is the guy who put a very young Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes sports car for Le Mans.  But, being Swiss and therefore efficient, Sauber read the writing on the wall.  A sale to BMW gave Sauber a nice retirement, full of raclette and Cuban stogies.

Even though BMW started with small expectations, the team never experienced the kind of success it hoped for.  A three-year plan was developed, from newbie to world champion. In the event, things did not go as planned.  Driver selection was spotty–Nick Heidfeld is a capable driver but he will never be a world champion.  The choice of Robert Kubica was inspired.  Kubica is one of the grittiest drivers on the grid and is unafraid of anything (witness his huge shunt at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007).  The cars were immaculate, the presentation complete.  But, in light of its resources, the team underperformed.

Wins finally came, but the board grew impatient. In 2008, development was halted in order to begin work on the 2009 challenger.  This irritated Kubica who felt (rightly) that BMW was giving up on his shot at the championship.  Perhaps BMW grew frustrated with the endless political wars between the FIA (read: Max Mosley) and FOTA (read: manufacturers).  Mosley’s personal sex scandal did not help matters.  BMW also felt the FIA was “dumbing down” F1 in the interests of cost-saving.  This was inconsistent with BMW’s reason for entering the sport in the first place.

Suddenly, in July 2009, BMW announced its departure.  The stated rationale seemed paper thin: the company was to focus on its “green” credentials and F1 did not aid in that effort.  Many in the paddock thought this smacked of bullshit, and BMW was called out.

We viewed BMW’s departure as the actions of a company smarting over its lack of instant success. Perhaps team principal Dr. Mario Thiessen had misled the board into thinking that race wins would be more frequent by this point.  Perhaps the economy, politics, and various F1 scandals led BMS to conclude that F1 no longer delivered the necessary return on investment.

Whatever the reason, after great fanfare in 2005, BMW quit F1 in 2009.  Peter Sauber tried to buy back his team, but the terms were onerous and he backed away.  A reported sale to the Qadbak investment group was touted, yet it quickly evaporated.  When allegations of past chicanery emerged about Qadbak’s managment, many wondered how BMW had missed the mark so badly.  The sale of the team seemed bungled and chaotic, compared with Honda’s more orderly depature from the sport.

Peter Sauber taking control of his old team is a win-win for F1 and the team.  Sauber is a gentlemen and F1 could use more of those.  He is the anti-Flavio.  The factory and race team will continue on, albeit slightly smaller.  Racing will still continue in Switzerland, which (for some odd reason) we like.  BMW’s investment in infrastructure is certain to aid the team down the road.  Peter Sauber could not have done this on his own.

The irony is that BMW, like Honda, could find itself having withdrawn from F1 just as its investment begins to bear fruit.

A BMW anunciou que venderá as instalações de sua equipe novamente a Peter Sauber, que fundou a escuderia em 1993. Até então, a marca bávara estava negociação com a Qadbak Investiment, da Suíça. Em nota, o membro do conselho administratio da fabricante alemã informou que a boa relação com Sauber foi essencial para a decisão.

Agora, a Sauber depende apenas da aprovação da Federação Internacional de Automobilismo (FIA) para garantir sua baga na temporada 2010, no lugar da Toyota. A escuderia deverá reduzir seu quadro de colaboradores (de 388 para 250) para conter custos.

Ainda não se sabe se a BMW cooperará com a Sauber ou se ela terá de iniciar o processo de parcerias novamente.

A acção judicial interposta pela N.Technology contra a Federação Internacional do Automóvel (FIA) foi oficialmente rejeitada pelo Tribunal de Grande Instância parisiense.

A empresa N.Technology (pertença da MSC) acusava a FIA de parcialidade no processo de escolha das novas equipas para 2010, levando o caso para os tribunais.

“O Tribunal de Grande Instância de Paris validou o processo de selecção das novas equipas para o Mundial de Fórmula 1 de 2010 e rejeitou a acção judicial interposta pela companhia britânica MSC, uma das candidatas rejeitadas. O tribunal rejeitou todos os pontos levantados pela MSC e ordenou que pagasse as custas judiciais da FIA. A MSC foi uma das 15 novas organizações que se candidataram para competir no Mundial de 2010″, começa por ler-se num comunicado emitido hoje pela FIA.

“O processo de selecção da FIA foi fruto de um demorado e exigente processo de análise de todas as candidaturas com a ajuda dos consultores Deloitte & Touche e outros especialistas”, concluiu.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

O circuito de Donington ainda poderá vir a receber o Grande Prémio de Fórmula 1 de 2010.

Apesar de ter falhado no objectivo de reunir os apoios necessários para proceder às obras necessárias para receber a F1, Simon Gillett, responsável do traçado britânico, garante que ainda tem hipóteses de ser a ‘casa’ do GP britânico na próxima época.

A fomentar as esperanças de Gillett está o facto de Silverstone ainda não ter chegado a acordo com Bernie Ecclestone para organizar a prova em 2010, embora os responsáveis do BRDC assumam que o acordo está cada vez mais perto.

“Em meu entender, existem duas pistas em competição, pelo que isso faz com que tenhamos 50-50 de hipóteses. Como disse o Bernie na semana passada, se alguém aparecer agora e investir em Donington ainda temos hipóteses de organizar a corrida”, referiu Gillett ao jornal The Guardian.

No entanto, a situação de Donington não é fácil, na medida em que a entrada em falência judicial pode tornar os seus objectivos mais difíceis. Isso, contudo, não esmorece as ambições de Gillett.

“Os administradores estão a trabalhar afincadamente e se conseguíssemos o dinheiro, poderíamos cumprir o acordo de 17 anos”, acrescentou. Ao Autosport.com, no entanto, o mesmo Gillett reafirma a sua convicção na possibilidade de organizar o GP em 2010, mesmo reconhecendo que o acordo por 17 anos já não está em efeito.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

O Tribunal de Grande Instância de Paris adiou para 5 de janeiro a sentença relativa ao caso Flavio Briatore, que foi banido da Fórmula 1 pela FIA, na sequência do seu papel no escândalo Renault em Singapura 2008.

Os juízes ouviram os advogados e anunciaram uma decisão para o início de 2010.

Recorde-se que Briatore pede uma indemnização de um milhão de euros e ainda a anulação da pena. Pat Symonds, O ex-director dos engenheiros, também punido pela FIA por cinco anos, quer uma indemnização de 500 mil euros por danos morais e o fim da suspensão.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Ex-chefe da Renault pede a anulação da pena e indenização milionária

O italiano Flavio Briatore, ex-chefe da Renault, e a Federação Internacional de Automobilismo (FIA) voltarão a se encontrar, nessa terça-feira, em um tribunal de Paris, onde o italiano pede um milhão de euros pela exclusão do esporte pelo organismo.

Briatore pedirá ainda a anulação da pena, originada pelo envolvimento no escândalo que deu ao espanhol Fernando Alonso a vitória no Grande Prêmio de Cingapura de 2008, denunciado pelo brasileiro Nelsinho Piquet, parte do esquema.

Para o italiano, a FIA atuou com base no “excessivo desejo de vingança de um só homem”, em referência ao inglês Max Mosley, então seu presidente.

Briatore acha que a decisão criou um “preconceito moral”, avaliado por ele em pelo menos um milhão de euros. Ele recebeu a pior pena no escândalo, enquanto o ex-diretor-executivo de engenharia Pat Symonds foi punido por cinco anos. Já a Renault foi simplesmente advertida.

A escuderia escapou de uma pena maior por ter decidido colaborar com a FIA e, antes da reunião do Conselho Mundial, ter dispensado Briatore e Symonds.

O acidente foi provocado por Nelsinho, a mando de Briatore. Como o carro do brasileiro ficou parado em um local onde não havia guindaste para que ele fosse retirado rapidamente, o safety car teve que entrar na pista.

Diversos carros aproveitaram a oportunidade para reabastecer, mas o piloto espanhol, que havia acabado de sair dos boxes, foi favorecido e ganhou posições que o ajudaram a vencer a corrida, como planejado pela equipe.

[Fonte: globoesporte.globo.com]

Flavio: levando todo mundo?

ATUALIZAÇÃO – O veredito só sairá no dia 5 de janeiro.

A FIFA tem ótimas razões para jamais permitir que um clube conteste uma decisão sua na Justiça comum. Todos que tentaram foram duramente punidos. Certa ou errada, a postura da Federação tem uma razão de ser: uma vez desautorizada por qualquer decisão que venha de fora dos seus domínios, seu poder político (e prático) estará para sempre arruinado.

Pois é exatamente isto que a FIA está enfrentando hoje em Paris. Pouco importa se Flavio Briatore é um canalha e está se fazendo de vítima do crashgate ou de uma vingança pessoal de Max Mosley. O que importa é que, se a justiça francesa devolver-lhe o direito freqüentar autódromos, paddocks e, principalmente, trabalhar profissionalmente com automobilismo, a imagem da federação estará arruinada. Irremediavelmente arruinada.

Jean Todt não tem nada de bobo, e deve estar neste momento pensando em como irá descascar o abacaxi que Mosley deixou apodrecendo em sua estante. Um acordo com Flavio? O dano poderia ser levemente minimizado, mas a mensagem clara seria dada da mesma forma: a FIA não manda p… nenhuma, se você tiver influência o bastante. Os norte-americanos que o digam.

Portanto, meus amigos, fiquemos de olho no que a justiça francesa irá decidir. Dependendo do resultado, o destino poderá pregar uma peça irônica em Flavio Briatore. Por um lado, o homem que quase destruiu a imagem da F-1; por outro, ser o responsável por trazer uma profunda reforma que traria benefícios para o automobilismo.

De que lado vocês estão?

Uma ótima terça-feira para todos! Beijundas!

Briatore: taking the FIA down?

UPDATE – The verdict will only be revealed on the 5th of January 2010.

Today a french court is hearing Flavio Briatore’s appeal against the life ban penalty imposed to him by the FIA. It’s pretty obvious to anybody who knows a little about politics that Briatore, although no saint at all, was knocked out by Max Mosley as part of a personal vendetta – which claimed Ron Dennis as well.

The point is: what if the justice decides that the penalty was unfair and grants Briatore his rights back? What if he is able again to go to the circuits and get involved with motorsport, even F-1?

First of all, it doesn’t matter anymore if he knew or not, planned or were a mere victim of the crashgate. It’s not Flavio’s future that’s on the table today. For me, it’s the FIA’s. Imagine yourself as the all-powerfull federation that rules and controls motorsport all over the world (except for the US, of course – they pretend not to be from the same planet, but that’s another story). What would you do if, all of a sudden, you get overruled by someone else? What is the extension of such a huge damage? What would be the message sent to federations and clubs all over the five continents? Who would feel motivated to give a farewell to Jean Todt and all the old gentlemen on suits?

What would be left of the FIA at all?

Don’t fool yourselves, my friends – today’s hearing is very, very crucial for the future of the federation. If the FIA is to be disallowed, the damage can be irreparable not just to it’s image, but to it’s accepted role. Mr. Todt should be very, very anxious.

I remind you that the FIFA, the FIA’s conterpart on football, never allowed any club to contest a decision on courts outside it’s boundaries. Why is that so? Because they know that, once the prerogative is set, the game will the lost – forever.

So, let’s keep a close eye on what’s happening in Paris today. Mr. Flavio Briatore, in the end, shall be credited as both the man who ruined a sports image and the one who helped creating a new (and hopefully better) one.

Have a lovely day, mates. Cheers.

BBC Sport brings you a regular round-up of the gossip in newspapers and on specialist websites around the world.

Michael Schumacher is not interested in beginning a new career in F1 with Mercedes Grand Prix, Ross Brawn has said – as the Englishman revealed that he is looking for two experienced drivers.
Full story: crash.net

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug has re-ignited rumours of Michael Schumacher’s pending signing after refusing to deny that the German could race for Mercedes Grand Prix next season.
Full story: planet-f1.com

Mercedes DTM front-runner Paul di Resta and American JR Hildebrand will drive for Force India in Formula 1’s upcoming young driver test at Jerez on December 1-3.
Full story: autosport.com

Campos Meta 1’s car for its debut Formula 1 season has been homologated by the FIA following a series of tests last week.
Full story: autosport.com

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher were among more than 300 drivers competing at the SKUSA Supernationals karting event in Las Vegas, USA, at the weekend.

Full story: formula1.com

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference Source: BBC Sport

Tomorrow morning Flavio Briatore will begin his fight back against the lifetime ban imposed upon him by the FIA World Motor Sport Council for his part in the 2008 Singapore scandal.

His appeal against the decision will be heard at the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris, at the Palais de Justice. Justice has been handed out on this site since medieval times, and the Palais was once the seat of the French parliament.

But will Briatore get the justice he craves and that he believes he deserves?

Little is known about what Flav will argue but his options appear limited. We know, thanks to leaks to the press, that he will seek €1 million in compensation and to have his lifetime ban from FIA competition overturned. We know that he will argue that the case had been decided before it had even been heard and that he was made a scapegoat for the situation due to the personal vendetta of Max Mosley. But, as I said, how he hopes to argue this is, and may remain due to French judicial procedure, a mystery.

One of Flavio’s strongest arguments may well be the simple fact that both Nelson Piquet Jr and Pat Symonds were offered immunity to testify against Briatore. This could quite easily be argued to signal that the FIa was only intent on prosecuting Briatore and could give credence to his claims of a witch hunt. That Symonds ultimately chose not to take that offer, however, led to his own downfall. He will also be arguing his five year ban tomorrow.

Briatore and Symonds will try to argue that the case was heard without them being present, despite both of their testimonies to FIA investigators being used in the hearing at the WMSC. Had they wished to have been present to represent themselves, they could easily have done so. Their choice in not attending may thus stand their claims of a decision in absentia void.

Personally however, I do not believe that Briatore expects to win his case tomorrow. Frankly I don’t even think he wants to.

Had he wanted the decision overturned, he could have appealed in the first instance to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal. A body separate and independent of the WMSC and one filled with legal minds, he could easily have argued his case here and stood a good chance of being reinstated.

He has gone a different route however, taking his appeal through the French court system. But why? And why do I think he will lose?

He will lose because if he wins, the regulation of sport… any sport… could fall into chaos. Sporting bodies have always been and must continue to be free to punish those who break their rules.

We are not, for the most part, talking about legal issues when it comes to sporting penalties. Take the Bloodgate controversy in English rugby. While it is not illegal to bite down on a blood capsule, the fact that a player in a match of rugby did so to initiate a “blood replacement” led to him being suspended and his manager and physio being banned from the game for a period of some years. The Renault Singapore scandal isn’t too dissimilar.

So what happens if Flavio wins tomorrow? It essentially tells anyone who has been handed a penalty by a sport’s governing body that if they want to get it overturned they should appeal the decision through the courts. Can you imagine what that would do to world sport? Every yellow card, every red card, every sending off, every touchline ban, relegations, promotions, points dockings… every sporting penalty in every championship on earth could be appealed through the courts. It could create an enormous mess, and one which effectively strips the world’s sports’ governing bodies of any real power to govern their own sports.

But, as I said, I don’t think Flavio even wants to win this one. For me, tomorrow’s case was always one he was going to lose, and I think he knows that.

Flavio has gone the route he has because he expects to lose the case so that he can appeal to a higher body. And ultimately, when all other appeal courts in France have been expended he will take the case to where he really wants it to be heard… and that is the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

He will take his case to the highest court in Europe and he will argue that the FIA has stripped him of his basic human rights. In doing so he will seek to further discredit the reign of Max Mosley at the FIA, and to smash any chances Mosley might have had at entering European Politics, if indeed that is where Max had wished to end up after his FIA Presidency, as has been rumoured for many years.

I will not be surprised in the slightest if Flavio loses his appeal tomorrow. Afterall, if my hunch is right, it’s exactly what Flavio wants.

Pour les juniors, le BELL KC3 était devenu obligatoire par la fédé.

On attendait la réponse d’Arai, la voila :

Le CK6, le casque léger destiné aux pilotes de moins de 15 ans, homologué Snell FIA CMR.

Ah j’oubliais, 449 € TTC. Merci la fédé …

Dessin réalisé au stylo bille, crayon de couleur et feutre en 1999 et remis à jour sur Photoshop ces dernières semaines…

La McLaren MP4/13 est la monplace qui permit de voir pour la première fois le duo McLaren-Mercedes enlever les championnats Pilotes (avec le Finlandais Mika Häkkinen) et Constructeurs de F1 en 1998, mettant un terme à plusieurs années de disette pour l’équipe de Ron Dennis.

Cette MP4/13 est pourtant apparue tardivement durant les essais d’intersaison et est considérée comme la première McLaren d’Adrian Newey, le concepteur de génie qui remporta le plus de succès en F1 dans les années 90. De ce fait, elle a rapidement fait partie des favorites pour la saison avec la Ferrari F300 et la Williams FW20.

source : wikipedia.org

PR is manipulative. We should own them. I don’t trust them.

So we’re in general agreement? We take PR with a grain of salt?

A PR plan is only worth one page.

The dreaded PR should go somewhere in the marketing mix.

What’s the cheapest in the marketing mix? PR. You can get free coverage just by sending a media release. You can do it yourself in an hour.

the dreaded PR: It’s manipulative and only good for media

If you follow my Twitter feed you might have seen my tweets on Friday about a presenter’s views on PR. If you don’t follow my Twitter account, why not? Follow me now.

The hour and a half presentation was delivered to a room of 20 or so lovely people attending the FIA’s Skills 2 fundraising course. This course is an intensive 3-day stream where fundraisers are up skilled in the ways to raise money and increase their success for their varying NFPs. Of course, as well as elements such as donor management and prospect research, there is a marketing and communications module.

The marketing and communications module is in my view, one of the most important for these participants. Many of who don’t have experience in basic public relations or marketing, and yet understand the relationship between branding and revenue generation.

So it was with great regret that the module turned out to be a fucking PR bashing, with personal and frankly, ill-informed views being lapped up by my course colleagues.

Before I go on, I will point out the facilitator, Kristofer Rogers, had some great insights to share to the group around marketing and what he called ‘communications’. The irony is that what he was talking about was actually what I and others understand to be strategic public relations.

But his perception was that PR was a separate, and inferior element in the marketing mix. He, as a marketer, asserted that PR was only good for media relations, and that the rest was manipulation and deception.

He even fucking brought out the recent Virgin Blue email error (you know, how they accidentally emailed their entire database with a Gold upgrade notification, only to correct it a couple of hours later. This database was 2 million people) and asked how many thought it was a PR stunt. A large proportion of the room put their hands up.

For Fucks Sake.

Now, hear this marketer. PR is not just about getting free coverage by sending a media release, which you can do yourself. I’ve posted about that here.

And, your views on PR as a manipulative, inauthentic way of communicating with people (whether they are donors, or any other stakeholders) is fucking ridiculous and to be frank, quite 1980’s.

If you want to throw stones, let’s look at marketing shall we?

Who invented impulse buying strategies, which encourages people (often who can least afford it) to buy items (often useless and completely not needed) on impulse?

Where did pester power come from? There are some very real questions around the ethics of advertising and marketing to children, and you just have to watch ‘Consuming Kids’ to be concerned. Another one I saw was ‘How the kids took over’. “The marketing assault is aimed not only at getting children to spend. Even companies who market adult products, such as cars, are enlisting children to help persuade their parents to buy the “right” brand. So how did the kids achieve such pull, and where is it leading?”

Marketing makes us fat. Would you really buy all that junk food, if you weren’t swamped in marketing of that perfect burger or how Coke Zero will improve your life?

See how easy it is to put out pretty wild claims, find a link or paper to support it and feel better about myself?

But, really, what this comes down to is two things:

1. Marketing and public relations are increasingly merging into one discipline
2. Public relations professionals need to stand up and correct shitheads that propagate our bad image.

Let’s look at marketing and public relations merging into a super power that will, I don’t doubt, take over the world one conversation at a time.

It’s only natural for disciplines to evolve such as public relations moving from the focus on media relations, to a new strategic management function focusing on two-way relationships with your publics.

As has marketing, which, as wikipedia explains, has undergone similar evolution including:

Robert Bartels in The History of Marketing Thought’ categorised the development of marketing theory decade by decade from the beginning of the 20th century thus:

• 1900s: discovery of basic concepts and their exploration
• 1910s: conceptualisation, classification and definition of terms
• 1920s: integration on the basis of principles
• 1930s: development of specialisation and variation in theory
• 1940s: reappraisal in the light of new demands and a more scientific approach
• 1950s: reconceptualisation in the light of managerialism, social development and quantitative approaches
• 1960s: differentiation on bases such as managerialism, holism, environmentalism, systems, and internationalism
• 1970s: socialisation; the adaptation of marketing to social change

With the growth in importance of marketing departments and their associated marketing managers, the field has become ripe for the propagation of management fads which do not always lend themselves to periodization.

The emerging field of marcomms is where the future of both marketing and public relations is.

Public Relations cannot operate without a marketing slant, and marketing increasingly understands that the theory of public relations is critical to an integrated and successful business. The argument needs to move away from my dick is bigger than yours, or who is the boss PR or marketing, and more into a symbiotic partnership.

To discount the benefits of either field is detrimental to achieving your objectives whether they are to sell more wine, or to raise funds or even to win your seat. Stop with the childish warring, and start asking yourself how you can leverage the ‘opposition’ to your advantage.

Marketers like Kristofer, need to let go of the power struggle and embrace change. Working with your strategic public relations professionals is not going to hurt your bottom dollar, but it might bruise your ego in the short-term.

Public relations needs to stand up and be heard

Yep I’m whining here about this particular marketer. But his views, sadly, are not unique. I’ve posted here about the need for PR to re-brand ourselves.

Other highly knowledgeable and experienced public relations professionals have also posted their views on the benefits and strategic outcomes PR can bring. Have a read of Trevor Young’s post here, and Craig Pearce’s insightful post here.

If that’s not enough for you, check out the PRIA’s wealth of knowledge here.

Now that you’re informed about what PR actually is, let’s explore how we can change perceptions.

It’s up to us to challenge and question people who hold ill-informed and naïve views. I did on Friday, in a passive way as I understood the 20 people there wouldn’t appreciate a standing debate over what is and isn’t public relations vs marketing.

However, I spoke with the FIA representative at the course, and will follow it up formally with them around liaising with the PRIA so they can understand the value of public relations in the fundraising mix. This may make a difference and influence their choice of trainers in the future.

But it is also up to all of us to carry the flag. If you’re aware of misconceptions or down right bullshit, why don’t you challenge it? Why don’t you advocate for what you and your job can really achieve?

At the end of the day though, this won’t change every person’s views on our industry. We need to be smarter about it. We need to outsmart the marketers and take over the world, one dodgy conference presenter at a time.

Team GB

Despite Mercedes buying out Brawn GP to create Mercedes GP, and despite Mercedes’ promise to shareholders and fans alike that it would be back to back championships, the interweb has been abuzz with numerous rumours that the 2009 drivers champ, Jenson Button, was ditching his championship team and heading to (less?) greener pastures. Those wild rumours have been put to rest as McLaren and Button have announced their partnership for the 2010 season. This begs all sorts of unresolved questions. First off… Astonishing, no? What does all of this mean for Lewis Hamilton… is there another driver controversy brewing in the British Midlands… didnt McLaren learn from the Alonso-Hamilton misfire that two drivers of equal talent cant possibly co-exist at the same stall? Just thinking about it makes me wish Australia was just around the corner.

So lets, think about this for a moment… who is driving for Mercedes now?? Barrichello was the first to bolt and now Button has left the BAR replacement. So without any true championship caliber drivers, how exactly does the German stall plan to deliver on their lofty promise of a repeat championship. Why by installing two German drivers of course. Both Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg are tipped to be the 1-2 drives for next year’s squad, though nothing is 100% squared away just yet. There is still a lonely Finn out there who might be the right man for the job, should he decide he can afford a pay cut from 20 million pounds to 6 million pounds for the season.

The Sweet Nectar of Victory

However, considering the financial sticking point and Kimi’s notorious stubbornness, the Button move will likely push the once highly sought after Kimi Raikkonen into no-mans land. Its been a “hard” road for the Finn who could never quite get it done with McLaren, then won a driver’s title with Ferrari, got bumped from Ferrari in favour of driving enemy no 1, Fernando Alonso, returned to McLaren, only to be bumped by driving enemy no 2… Jenson Button?? Based on the personnel changes in F1 thus far it seems more and more certain that the 2010 season will find Kimi without a drive for the first time,  in a very long time. Oh well Kimi, I hear Le Mans is… wait… its too funny to even consider. I doubt you will be able to make anywhere close to 6 mill on the 24 hour circuit, let alone the rally series you are considering. So Kimi… see you in 2011. I hear that Red Bull might have a spot open.

Children in Need is tonight and I’ve been having a look at the TV schedule they have. It looks awful, I mean really awful. There isn’t one thing that has made me consider watching it. It seems to be a combination of Strictly Come Dancing, Soap opera stars and bad music. That said it’s for a good cause, but can’t they give us something good to watch as a reward for our donations?

The Vatican apparently has a problem with the Twilight series. They’ve come out saying that the film is a ‘deviant moral vacuum’. While Angels and Demons, the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, is considered ‘harmless entertainment’ even though it’s about a priest hiring an assassin to kill other priests. The Vatican also doesn’t have a problem with the new Harry Potter film, though I can’t say I’m surprised about that one. Apparently it’s the supernatural forces in Twilight that The Roman Catholic Church has issues with, but young boy wizards are no problem at all… Here’s the thing though, does anyone (who isn’t a nut job Christian) care what they say about films? I know I don’t.

I’ve got to say I’m surprised that the world hasn’t ended today, I was sure something along those lines was going to happen with the amount of press the Henry handball has been getting. Roy Keane has now given his opinion on what happened and I’ve got to say I completely agree with the nut job Irishman.

“I’d be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let the ball bounce in your six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goal-side of you? If the ball goes into the six-yard box, where the hell is my goalkeeper?”

He’s right, if Ireland hadn’t ballsed up their defending nothing would have happened and they would have probably got to the penalty shoot out. Keane also talks about the harsh penalty Georgia conceded against Ireland, a match that ended 2-1 in the favor of the Irish, that helped them qualify to play the French in the first place. And how the FIA didn’t mention giving them a replay like they’ve been demanding from FIFA for this match. The replay ’suggestion’ has been turned down by the way, so it looks like the French will be going to the World Cup. Meanwhile the media will shut up keep on talking about the situation, over and over and over again…