The F1 summer break is almost over, time for the 20th quiz here at F1Wolf. This time the topic is the European GP.

You know the drill. Complete all 10 questions, afterwards all the answers will be revealed. As usual please no googling for answers .

And do not forget to share your result in comments ! If you missed the past quizzes you can try them too – click here.

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Luca de Montezemolo would like to see 3 Ferraris on the grid

These words from Luca de Montezemolo earlier this week stirred up quite some debate:

“We’re continuing to fight until every team has the right to start with three cars in the next season (and one I’d have handed over to Michael with pleasure). I prefer three McLaren and three Renault to three “whatevers”. With BMW gone, there’s not much to say but lots to do.”

What has been overlooked is the fact that this is not something that Ferrari came up with after Schumacher called off his planned comeback. This is an idea that FOTA has been floating for quite a while. The last occassion was when FOTA reacted to BMW’s withdrawal from the sport (July 29):

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Unlike last season this year we have already had some mid-season drivers changes. Jaime Alguersuari has replaced Sebastien Bourdais in Toro Rosso, Nelson Piquet was dropped by Renault and Luca Badoer is about to step in to Ferrari F60 for injured Felipe Massa. Unlike last year we can also expect some serious shuffle to come before the 2010 season begins. BMW is on their way out, 3 (or 4) new teams are on the way in, several contracts are up for renewal (or else). Let’s have a first look how the things are (or may be) shaping up:

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Michael Schumacher will not race in Valencia

Michael Schumacher has decided to call off his Formula One comeback. Luca Badoer will replace Felipe Massa for the European GP in Valencia. In the statement published on his website Schumacher explained that the persisting neck problems are the reason behind the cancellation of his F1 come back:

“Yesterday evening, I had to inform Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and team principal Stefano Domenicali that unfortunately I’m not able to step in for Felipe.

I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible, however, much to my regret it didn’t work out. Unfortunately we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1-day in Mugello, even if medically or therapeutically we tried everything possible.
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Will Peter Sauber keep his former team in F1 ?

Following the failure of BMW and Peter Sauber to reach a takeover deal on time to sign the new Concorde Agreement a vacancy on the 2010 has been created. Max Mosley wasted no time and wrote to the teams on his reserve list (unsuccessful candidates for 2010 F1 entry as well as BMW Sauber) informing them that about the newly available place on the F1 grid.

This may look harsh on Peter Sauber who still continues to look for a way to save the team he created in the early 90s. On the other hand the it is hard to blame FIA for this action. If anyone is to jump in and fill the empty space left behind by BMW they need to know sooner rather than later.

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As you may have already realized F1Wolf received a facelift. I have been thinking about change of the design for quite some time. The previous design was from summer of 2007. It was great at the time of its launch and several tweaks here and there managed to extend its life span to almost 2 years. Unfortunately it was becoming more and more difficult to ad new features to the site. I was also getting a bit tired of the look of the site. And so as the F1 holidays arrived I decided to go ahead with the redesign.

The new F1Wolf uses the ColorMatic Theme from Theme Wars. The reason why I chose this theme was simple – it is simple, clean and easy to navigate. I stayed with same colours as the previous theme – combination of red and grey. The dominant colour however is white.

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Will Canadian GP return in 2010 ?

North America made F1 headlines this week. First have at a look at the USF1 information published by TechCrunch. This is a quote from article written by Michael Arrington:

“I also ran into YouTube founder Chad Hurley at the Fuze offices, who was meeting with the Best Buy team along with the execs from the new U.S. Formula 1 Racing team USGPE (previously US F1).

Hurley is “the big investor” in USGPE said Best Buy Chief Marketing Officer Barry Judge, and it looks like Best Buy is also looking for ways to get involved in the project. There are also rumors that YouTube will sponsor the car.”

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No agreement on team's future yet

Mario Theissen and Peter Sauber issued separate statements today on the future of BMW Sauber F1 team following BMW’s decision to quit Formula 1:

“Since the announcement on 29 July of our strategic realignment, we have done everything in our power to reach a rapid agreement on the sale of the team based at Hinwil. Regrettably, despite every effort, this has proved unsuccessful. The tight timeframe we faced simply did not allow us and the interested parties and investors enough time to find a solution for such a complex transaction. This means the team cannot sign the Concorde Agreement at present. The aim now is, over the coming weeks, to find a solution together with potential interested parties and Peter Sauber. Beyond that, we will see the 2009 season through to its conclusion with our unstinting sporting commitment.” – Mario Theissen

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There has been a lot of talk about Nelson Piquet’s statement and especially what he had to say about Flavio Briatore. This however is the part that caught my attention:

“In 2008 I scored 19 points, finished once on the podium in second place, having the best debut year of a Brazilian driver in F1.”

Whether he is right or not it depends on what one considers as having the best debut year. A comment from Carlos (under previous post) made me to look up statistics on other Brazilian drivers. I selected the most successful ones.

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Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet issued statement confirming his Renault exit. He is officially out. Judging from the contents of the statement one may think that he is actually glad his Renault nightmare is over:

“I feel a sense of relief for the end of the worst period of my career, and the possibility that I can now move on and put my career back on the right track and try to recover my reputation of a fast, winning driver.”

Piquet also included a piece of rather interesting and perhaps surprising statistics:

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It is F1 holiday time. Kimi Raikkonen used his free time for doing some rally racing. Here is his WRC Rally Finland experience ended,

The ever ice cool Kimi still managed to take off his helmet and put on the oversized sponsor cap before getting out of the vehicle … “It was good fun and nobody got hurt so… does’t matter”

It looks like there may be peace in F1 for a while. The press release on the FIA website confirms that FIA President Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement. Full statement from FIA:

Following approval by the World Motor Sport Council, late last night FIA President Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, heralding a renewed period of stability for the FIA Formula One World Championship.

The Concorde Agreement – a contract between the FIA, F1’s Commercial Rights-Holder and the participating Teams – sets out the basis on which the Teams participate in the Championship and share in its commercial success.

The WMSC has also approved a slightly revised set of stable Sporting and Technical Regulations (to apply from the 2010 Championship onwards), which have been agreed by the FIA and the Teams and which will be published shortly on the FIA’s website.

The new Concorde Agreement, which runs until 31 December 2012, provides for a continuation of the procedures in the 1998 Concorde Agreement, with decisions taken by working groups and commissions, upon which all teams have voting rights, before going to the WMSC for ratification.

In addition, as agreed in Paris on 24 June 2009, the Teams have entered into a resource restriction agreement, which aims to return expenditure to the levels that prevailed in the early 1990s.

With the 2009 Concorde Agreement and the resource restriction agreement in place, the FIA looks forward to a period of stability and prosperity in the FIA Formula One World Championship.

There is no mention if all the teams signed the agreement. Autosport.com however reports that BMW Sauber has been given deadline (August 5) to sign up if they plan to work out some take over plan that would keep the team racing following BMW decision to exit F1 after 2009 season.