Archives for December 2009

Lewis Hamilton, it is safe to assume, will be having a very happy Christmas this year.

When he started his Formula 1 career in 2007, the man who became F1's youngest world champion said his one regret was that he never got to race against Michael Schumacher. Now, following the German legend's decision to come out of retirement and race for Mercedes in 2010, Hamilton can fulfil his ambition.

For those of us watching from the sidelines, Schumacher's return is an equally mouth-watering prospect.

At 41, Schumacher will not only renew his battles with Fernando Alonso - the man who beat him in a straight fight for the world title in his final season in F1 in 2006 - but start new ones with Hamilton, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and the new world champion Jenson Button, whose cars rarely afforded him the chance to take on Schumacher before.

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The racing may be on hold, but Christmas is always a time of plenty for Formula 1 fans, with a plethora of books released - and this year is no exception.

I've been sent a handful, and have been busy reading them to give you an idea of what's out there.

Top of most fans' Christmas lists for years has usually been Autocourse, which has been going for decades and remains the definitive F1 annual for aficionados.

This year's book follows a well-worn theme, with a driver top 10, comprehensive reviews of each team's season, full reports from each race, and a handful of other features.

As ever, it is a very strong package.

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Michael Schumacher's possible return to action with Mercedes in 2010 has been the hot topic in Formula 1 circles since BBC Sport pundit Eddie Jordan first put meat on the bones of the vague rumours last month - and it is now looking increasingly likely to happen.

Bosses at the Mercedes team have all scrupulously avoided dampening down the speculation in the last couple of weeks, with the latest remarks coming from chief executive Nick Fry, who said a comeback by the seven-time champion would be "very interesting".

And this morning, the German tabloid Bild reported that Mercedes had offered Schumacher a salary of seven million euros (£6.3m).

On top of that, my information is increasingly that Schumacher's return as Nico Rosberg's team-mate is looking like a done deal.

Jordan says he thinks it will now definitely happen - and he believes it is only subject to a medical examination by leading F1 physician Dr Johannes Piel on the neck injury that stopped him returning as a replacement for Felipe Massa last summer.

Other sources are pointing in the same direction.

One figure who until recently had a senior role at Ferrari, who would have to release Schumacher from his consultancy contract, is saying it is definitely going to happen.

And I received cast-iron information from a reliable source this morning about the plans of those potentially affected by Schumacher's decision that, shall we say, points very strongly to him driving for Mercedes in 2010. (If that sounds vague, I'm sorry, but I was told in confidence and cannot reveal any more).

Armed with this mounting evidence, I phoned Schumacher's media spokeswoman Sabine Kehm to ask her what was going on with her client.

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Monday's announcement that Silverstone has signed a 17-year contract to host the British Grand Prix brings to an end one of the longest-running and, frankly, most tedious stories in Formula 1.

In more than 15 years covering the sport, I cannot remember a time when there was not some doubt about the future of the race that started the first F1 world championship in 1950.

In all that time, it was always assumed that, somehow, there would always be a British Grand Prix, that eventually F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone would swallow his heavy criticism of the track and come to some kind of a deal.

But as Silverstone managing director Richard Phillips said in Monday's news conference at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, "with Bernie, you just never know".

Now, though, with a 17-year-deal in its pocket, Silverstone and its owner the British Racing Drivers' Club have the security they always said they needed to bring about the improvements to the track and its facilities that Ecclestone has been so publicly demanding for so long.

The reasons there was always so much doubt about the race are, fundamentally, to do with money. And the uncertainty was not good for anyone - not for Silverstone, not for Ecclestone and not for F1.

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The saga of the future of the British Grand Prix continues to drag on - but all the indications are that Silverstone is inching towards concluding a deal with Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

I heard whispers earlier this week that a deal had actually been done, if not yet signed. But Damon Hill - the president of the British Racing Drivers' Club which owns Silverstone - tells me that is not yet the case.

Hill says there is "no reason to think it won't be signed" but long experience of working with Ecclestone has taught him not to presume anything will happen before it actually does.

"It would be almost inconceivable for there not to be a British Grand Prix next year," Hill said on Thursday, "but until it is signed, there is always the possibility that will be the case."

There is no doubt that both the BRDC and Ecclestone's F1 Management (FOM) company are keen to sort it out and secure the race's future in the wake of the fiasco over Donington Park's failure to raise the funds needed to fulfil its contract to host the race.

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