Ecclestone Survives Mugging

The 80-year old Bernie Ecclestone was robbed outside of his Formula One Holdings headquarters in Knightsbridge, central London. He was punched in the face and kicked by four men. Ecclestone was heading to his HQ with girlfriend Fabiana Flosi.

Bernie Ecclestone was taken to a London hospital and treated for a minor head injury. Since there were no other reports filed, we assume Miss Flosi was unharmed.

The bandits escaped with his jewelry worth £200,000. There are currently no arrests and officers from Westminster robbery squad have been assigned the case.

Formula 1 in Austin, Texas in 2012

There were talks of New York and New Jersey as sites of an F1 race, but according to an announcement on Formula One’s official website, F1 is scheduled to return to the U.S. in Austin, Texas in 2012. The choice of Austin comes as a major surprise. The agreement of the Austin Grand Prix was announced for 2012 to 2021, but no race date was set. And, Bernie Eccelstone adds that this will be the first time a facility has been constructed specifically for F1 in the United States.

For more information check out Racin’ Today.com

Rumored: NY to host F1 Race in 2012

New York—the city where dreams are made— is where Formula 1 Boss, Bernie Eccelstone desires to host a F1 race. This is not the first time he has tried to put this into action. Back in the 80s, Ecclestone tried, but failed, to get the race approved.

He hopes to have the race in New Jersey, opposite Manhattan, with the skyscrapers in the background. Ecclestone believes the presence of a F1 race in NY will boost United State popularity since there has not been a US hosted race since 1997.

Source: ManhattanStyle.com

FOTA and FIA Resolve Dispute, Mosley Out as FIA President

A deal has finally been reached between the FIA and FOTA (Formula One Teams Association), which will ensure there will be one unified Formula 1 Championship in 2010. FOTA, comprised of eight Formula 1 teams, banded together in response to the FIA’s proposal to place a budget cap of $65 million per team. After much bitter debate, FOTA announced that they would break free of Formula 1 and the FIA to form their own racing championship. After being served this ultimatum, Formula 1 Supreme Leader Bernie Ecclestone was forced to negotiate in order to save his empire.

On Wednesday it was announced that current FIA President Max Mosley has agreed not to run for re-election. This may have been mandated by either Ecclestone or FOTA as the tone of recent statements from Mosley suggested negotiation was not an option.

Source: Jalopnik

FOTA vs. FIA Battle Time Line Revealed

FOTA - Formula One Teams Association

The recent announcement by the FOTA has rocked the Formula 1 world. The FOTA teams are showing their solidarity and making their intentions known to the world. A resolution is still possible and if Ecclestone wants save his empire he will have to cave and give these top tier teams what they want. How do did we even get to this point? F1-live.com provides a great time line showing the key points in this politically charged year in Formula 1.

Click the link below:

FOTA vs. FIA Time Line

Formula 1 to Make Return to North America?

The only Formula 1 Grand Prix in North America last year was the Canadian Grand Prix, and in case you haven’t checked this year’s schedule yet, North America has been excluded completely.

Canadian officials have confirmed that they have been talking to Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to bring Formula 1 back to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. The Canadians are hoping to come to a more reasonable agreement with Bernie in order to secure another Formula 1 stint in Canada. While bringing back the Canadian Grand Prix would be the easiest solution for North America, other projects are in the works.

A track near Niagara Falls, Ontario is rumored to be built which would include a 1 mile oval track for NASCAR (yawn) and a 2.5 miles road track. Seating for the venue to reported to be at 100,000. Other projects which are supposedly in the works include a track in upstate New York and near Detriot.

Source: Autoblog.com