A £25m redevelopment of Silverstone, which could help secure the British Grand Prix’s future, has been approved. Members of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, who own the Northamptonshire circuit, backed the ambitious scheme at an extraordinary general meeting. It includes new grandstands, pit and paddock facilities, a science park, manufacturers’ test centre, hotel and conference centre, plus new homes. BRDC chief Damon Hill said: “It’s a great result for British motorsport.” Silverstone’s contract to stage the British GP expires in 2009, and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has insisted on major improvements at the track.
Former F1 champion Hill said: “The BRDC’s masterplan is not only important to Silverstone and its continued hosting of the British GP, but also the development of the sport in this country. “We can only continue to develop exciting young stars like Lewis Hamilton if we have the best facilities at which to nurture such talent. “Having won the British Grand Prix myself I know how special it is for a driver to win their home race. “So we would very much like for that opportunity to be there for future generations.” BRDC chairman Robert Brooks added: “This is a clear demonstration of the club’s absolute commitment to deliver a world-class venue of which British motor sport enthusiasts can be truly proud.”

The Automobile Club de Monaco celebrates the unique and rich heritage of the local Grand Prix with the “Grand Prix Historique” on the weekend of 10/11 May 2008. First organized in 1997, the event was given a bi-annual date from 2000, on the weekend before the scheduled Formula 1 race. Now the F1 crowd will come to Monte Carlo two weeks later on the 22 to 25 May 2008.
 This peaceful tax-paradise is transformed into a full blown racing track complete with miles of Armco barriers, tire walls and sponsor signs specifically for the races. Since the first Grand Prix de Monaco in 1929, little has changed to the street circuit on which only the sport’s most talented drivers excelled. For various reasons drivers like Alberto Ascari, Graham Hill and Ayrton Senna are forever associated with the race. It is for this reason that the Grand Prix Historique is the premier event for classic single seater racers. All of the current owners/drivers want to feel like Hill or Senna for a minute while piloting their precious cars up the hill to the Casino or roaring through the tunnel. 
 
F1Corporate is offering tailormade packages for the Historic Grand Prix in Monaco 2008.
Contact our booking office to on travel @ f1corporate.com

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The Races
Divided in seven groups, the historic racing cars were carefully selected by Michel Ferry and Jean Sage. The only cars eligible were those that originally raced or could have raced in a contemporary event in the Principality. Naturally all Grand Prix cars from 1929 onwards were welcome, but also a number of sports cars and Formula Juniors that took part in support races. The most modern cars raced were the Formula 1 cars campaigned in Group G for F1 cars from 1975 to 1978. Even newer machinery was driven around in the Ferrari F1 demonstration laps, which saw a 625 F1 take to the track together with the very latest ex-Schumacher cars. Among them was race-director Jacky Ickx with a 312 B2; a car he campaigned in the 1972 World Championship.
All groups were sent on the track twice on Saturday for two 20-minute qualifying sessions. With the limited overtaking opportunities, a good grid position is vital on this street circuit. If anything, the qualifying sessions and races clearly showed that a win at Monaco is something special; even for European standards the racing was extremely close. Combined with the track’s vicious nature, this led to several badly damaged cars.

Group A: Grand Prix cars built before 1947
A colourful mix of mainly Italian, French and British racing cars formed the oldest group out on track ranging from a 1925 Bugatti to a 1946 Maserati. Traditionally this class is dominated by the seasoned ERA voiturettes headed at Monaco by Jost Wildbolz in his A-Type. The ERA party was ‘spoiled’ by Stefan Schollweck, who took pole position in his Maserati 6CM. After topping the first session, Wildbolz was forced to stay in the paddock because of gearbox problems. A faultless race saw Schollweck take the flag first followed by the three remaining ERAs. Behind the lead group a number of non-regular competitors were out on track. Among them the Delage S8 1.5 Jean Claude Milou stood out; a technological masterpiece in its day and a piece of automotive art today. Of similar vintage was Corrado Cupellini’s Maserati 26B, complete with a hand painted body.

Group B: Front engined Grand Prix cars (1947 – 1960)
An Anglo-Italian affair, Group B was headlined by Sir Stirling Moss in the four wheel drive Ferguson. A three time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, Moss first suffered from brake problems and was later forced to retire from the event after only one session when the driveshaft to the front differential broke. Fifty years after his first victory the legendary racer deserved better luck. His 1956 winning Maserati 250F was more fortunate, unlike two similar cars that were damaged over the weekend. Up front, American Duncan Dayton dominated with his Lotus 16 after his ‘nemesis’ Joaquin Folch-Rusinol retired early on with a similar car. The two would meet again later with more modern material. Behind Dayton a fierce battle for third place unfolded between Jos Koster in a 250F Piccolo and Tony Smith with his 246 Dino, which especially for this race had a new V6 engine fitted instead of the familiar V12 Testa Rossa unit. Eventually only 0.5 seconds separated the two with Koster claiming the final podium position.

Group C: Sports cars constructed before 1953
Because there was a shortage of Grand Prix cars in 1952, a major support race was held over 100 laps for sports cars over 2 litres on Saturday and 65 laps for sports cars under 2 litres on Sunday. To commemorate this unique event there is one sports car group among the hordes of single seaters. The sports car group was highlighted by the actual 1952 winning Ferrari 225 S. A spectacular drive from John Ure in a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica gave him a well deserved victory.

Group D: Rear engined Formula Juniors
Since 1959, Formula Junior cars were welcomed to the Monaco track as support to the Grand Prix. As the name suggests, the Formula Junior class was set up to allow coming drivers to gain some experience on a pro-level track. Two years ago the front engined cars were invited and now the rear engined examples were back. Seasoned British driver Denis Welch repeated his 2000 victory in his Merlyn, but not without controversy. After the qualifying sessions he complained to the stewards about the pace of Joe Colasacco’s Stanguellini, insisting it had an oversized engine. Unable to examine the engine at the track, the stewards suggested to seal the engines and look at them after the race. Not satisfied, Welch then complained about the striking Italian car having aluminum shock absorbers, which were not available in 1963 and sadly Colasacco was disqualified. Interestingly, two of the three Caravelles built by Robert Hicks in 1960 were present, one driven by his son James.

Group E: Rear engined Grand Prix cars (1954 – 1965)
Mainly covering the exciting, but brief 1.5 litre Formula 1 era, Group E saw an unprecedented number of Climax V8 engined cars on the grid. Powering Lotus, Brabham, Lola and Cooper chassis this tiny V8 was the popular choice in the day, but only make rare appearances in today’s historic races. Even more rare were the two BRMs present and the BRM-engined BRP. In qualifying Michael Schryver in the 2.5 litre engined Lotus 18 dominated, but gearbox and steering rack problems saw him retire early. His place at the top of the leaderbord was taken by a simarly engined Cooper T51 driven by Nick Wigley. James King in his Brabham BT7 was the best of the V8s in third position. James Hanson fielded the unique Scirocco F1 racer, but a variety of problems forced him to retire prematurely from each of the three sessions.

Group F: Formula 1 Grand Prix cars (1966 – 1974)
Now in different cars, Dayton and Folch-Rusinol met once more on the track. The American led most of the race in his Brabham, until the Spaniard passed him during a questionably tight cut across the chicane and crossed the line first in his McLaren. Folch-Rusinol didn’t however complain when he was bumped down to second in the official result. The weekend’s two victories combined with those in the previous four editions make Dayton the most successful historic racer at Monaco. Well back in the pack finishing thirteenth, the unique Amon F101 was driven to its first-ever race finish in the hands of Ron Maydon. The problems causing Chris Amon to abandon the project in 1974 seem to have been solved by Maydon’s present-day team. There were also many non-finishers in this class, most of whom fell victim to the track’s unbendable Armco barriers. One of the weekend’s biggest accidents occurred in Group F’s second qualifying session when Jacques Nicolet in the BRM P201 and Andrea Burani in his McLaren M19 collided in the run up the hill towards the casino. The entire left hand side of the McLaren was ripped off as the car got pushed along the barrier. Both drivers fortunately managed to escape unharmed. Further adding to the complexity of the Monaco track was Judy Lyons in her Surtees; she had trouble keeping up with the safety car and served mainly as a rolling chicane.

Group G: Formula 1 Grand Prix cars (1975 – 1978)
In Group G the most modern cars took to the track. It was also the most closely contested group with some daring moves and last lap drama. After qualifying, Martin Stretton’s Tyrrell P34 was in a Penske PC3 sandwich with Paul Edwards in front of him and Simon Hadfield behind. In the previous four editions, Stretton had won at least one race, so there was additional pressure on him to continue his streak. A good start saw Stretton jump ahead of the Penske next to him and then reached the first right hander ahead of Edwards and Hadfield. Several accidents brought the safety car out twice and at the second restart Hadfield also managed to get past Edwards. Not giving up, the American did the impossible and passed Hadfield right before the Loews hairpin. In the final lap he tried to pass Stretton on the outside of the hairpin where there clearly was no room. The two exchanged some paint and the charging Edwards was sent off and kissed the barrier. Stretton was understandably delighted with his victory. Italian Mauro Pane was equally ecstatic with his third place finish in a similar six-wheeled Tyrrell. First in class and fourth overall was John Bosch in his Ferrari 312 T3; one of four flat-12 engined Ferraris in the race.

6 ème GRAND PRIX DE MONACO HISTORIQUE
>  Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th May 2008  <

66 ème GRAND PRIX AUTOMOBILE DE MONACO
>  From Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th May 2008  <

Join the F1Corporate Travel & Corporate Group at the Monaco Grand Prix Events in May 2008. Our expert consultants will be pleased to propose a tailormade package to suit your requirements for this extraordinary event in France. The Formula One Grand Prix Monaco will be held 2 weeks after the Historic Grand Prix of Monte Carlo. F1 Tickets will be available from November 2007 onwards. Presale Formula One Monaco Tickets can be booked on F1Corporate.com

The European Grand Prix will be held on a new street circuit in the Spanish city of Valencia from 2008.
The seven year deal was announced in Valencia today, and means that Spain will henceforth have two grands prix as Barcelona has a contract to host the Spanish GP until 2011. Formula 1 is currently extremely popular in Spain due to Fernando Alonso’s world championship success, with a huge crowd expected for this weekend’s Catalunya race.
Although Valencia has a permanent racetrack on the outskirts of the city - which is regularly used for F1 testing - the European GP will be held on a street track around the harbourside. Valencia’s deal to host this year’s America’s Cup yacht race has revitalised the city’s port area and brought considerable investment and development. A  F1 Grand Prix is seen as an ideal way to maintain the Valencia’s profile after the yacht event this summer, and for F1 to capitalise on the ‘Alonso effect’ in Spain. McLaren launched its 2007 car in Valencia in January, with Alonso conducting an F1 demonstration in the city’s streets as part of the event.

Source: www.ITV-f1.com

Formula One race viewing VIP terraces  and private function rooms available for the 2008 Monte Carlo F1 race.

Prices start from EURO 1200 - 3500 per person for two action packed F1 race days.

F1Corporate is proud to secure race viewing opportunities for our valued guests since 2003. The quality of unrestricted and prestigous race viewing positions in Monaco during Formula One has been appreciated by over 300 guests.

Contact Daniel on ‘travel-at-f1corporate.com’ for details.
Note: This package allows to have a panoramic sight of all the principality (port, Prince’s Palace and old town) by overhanging the starting line and a big part of the circuit, all this in a comfortable and optimal service.
———————————————- 
LE PANORAMA  
Astonishing view on Sainte Dévote, Beaurivage hill, the port and the giant screen.   15 to 100 guests
L’ERMANO PALACE  
Beautiful view on the race, the stands, Sainte Dévote, the port and the giant screen.   16 to 40 guests

LES CARAVELLES 
Extraordinary place to see the end of the start/finish straight, Sainte Dévote and the giant screen.   12 guests

LE SHANGRILA  
The best view of the race. The start/finish straight, the swimming pool and the giant screen.   24 guests

LE BEAURIVAGE  
Superbe view on the whole start/finish straight and Sainte Dévote.   8 to 20 guests

The Hungaroring circuit is 19 km from the centre of Budapest, alongside the M3 motorway at the border of the village, Mogyoród. The track is in a natural valley, surrounded by 50 hectares of rolling hillside. With this exceptional natural advantage, almost 80 percent of the racetrack is visible from any point. This is the reason why it is called “The Shallow Plate”, it is because the spectators are watching races sitting by the side of an imaginary plate. At the Grand Opening, the total length of the Hungaroring was 4013,786 metres. A minor correction was made during 1989, as a result of cutting an S-curve combination, the circuit became faster, giving an extra overtaking opportunity to the drivers; hence, the full track length was reduced to 3968 metres.

The smallest radius of a curve is 20 metres, while the largest is 400 metres. The full length of the start-finish line is 700 metres; the top speed here is approximately 320 km/h. The track is at its widest here: 15 metres, elsewhere the width varies between 10 and 11 metres, relative to the possible highest speed. The surface structure is a triple layer of asphalt, 5 cm thick each on 20-cm thick rubble and 20-cm thick concrete. The relative level difference between the highest and lowest point of the Ring is 36 metres. The greatest slope is 6,4%, while the largest descent is as much as 6,7%.The Hungaroring circuit meets the highest technical requirements and has become one of safest racetracks in the world. Due to the reconstruction works being carried out at Hungaroring Circuit - being negotiated and agreed with the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile), FOM (Formula One Management Ltd.) and the local ASN, the National Automobile Sport Federation of Hungary - in the year 2003 the start-straight has become 202 metres longer while the circuit length changed to 4384,08 metres.

The Nurburgring is hoping to run their 2009 race under the ‘German GP’ name after Valencia signed a deal to use the ‘European GP’ name. With Germany’s two F1 tracks, the Nurburgring and Hockenheim, alternating races after the country lost one of its grands prix at the end of last season there was some debate over whether the Nurburgring would be allowed to call this year’s event the German GP. However, with the Automobil Club of Germany, which runs the Hockenheim event, refusing to relinquish the name, this year’s Nurburgring race was billed as the ‘European GP.’
But with Spain’s second track, Valencia, having secured the rights to hose the European GP from next season onwards, the Nurburgring will need to find a new name for its race when F1 returns to the circuit in 2009. And the circuit’s general manager is hoping that the Automobil Club of Germany will allow them to use ‘German GP.’ “Paramount for me was to have a Grand Prix in the first place, the name has second priority,” Walter Kafitz told Autosport. “However, I would have preferred that the race would be called German Grand Prix and due to the upcoming event at Valencia, a solution has to be found in the quarrel between the two German car federations AvD and ADAC about the name. “But I am hopeful that this will happen. And if not, there will always be another path. It is, after all, easier to find a name than to get a Formula One race.”

Thursday, August 2nd 2007
11:00 Streetparade
Presentation of F1 cars, Historic F1 cars, Dakar cars and Red Bull airshow. Location: Tunnel - Clark Ádám square - Chain Bridge - Roosevelt Square

16:00-19:00 Public Pit Walk
for all guests with a valid grand prix ticket 
Friday, August 3th 2007
 
08:15-09:00 Formula One Paddock Club Pit Walkabout
09:00-10:00 Historic Formula One Free Practice
10:00-11:30 Formula One 1. Free Practice
12:00-12:30 GP2 Free Practice
14:00-15:00 Formula One 2. Free Practice
16:00-16:30 GP2 Qualifiying
17:00-17:45 Porsche Supercup Free Practice
 
Saturday, August 4th 2007
 
09:30-10:00 Historic Formula One Qualifiying
10:00-10:45 Formula One Paddock Club Pit Walkabout
11:00-12:00 Formula One 3rd Free Practice
12:25-13:10 Porsche Supercup Qualifiying
14:00-15:00 Formula One Qualifiying
15:40 GP2 Pit lane open
15:50 GP2 Pit lane closed
16:00-17:15 GP2 First Race (42 laps)
17:45-18:15 Historic Formula One Race (10 laps)

20:30 Omega Concert Order your tickets here!

Sunday, August 5th 2007
 
08:00-09:30 Formula One Paddock Club Pit Walkabout
09:40 GP2 Pit lane open
09:50 GP2 Pit lane closed
10:00-10:45 GP2 Second Race (28 laps)
11:25-12:00 Porsche Supercup Race (14 laps)
12:15-13:00 Formula One Paddock Club Pit Walkabout
12:30 Formula One Drivers’ parade
12:45-13:15 Formula One Grid Presentation
13:30 Formula One Pit lane open
13:45 Formula One Pit lane closed
14:00 Formula One Grand Prix of Hungary (70 laps)
~ 15:50 Formula One Winners ceremony

Please note that this timetable is subject to amendments

Length : 4.3

Profile :
Time difference: GMT +2

No of Laps: 70
Race Distance: 306.663 km
Lap Record: Michael Schumacher (GER), Ferrari, 2004, 1min 19.071

Directions :
The Hungaroring is close to Budapest and its International Ferihegy Airport and the track is easy to reach. It is surrounded by beautiful countryside and has a natural amphitheatre setting. You can reach the circuit from Budapest by driving north-east on the E71/M3 towards Miskok.

Address :
Hungaroring PF10
2146 Mogyorod
PO Box 10
Hungary

History :
The Hungaroring held its first Grand Prix in 1986 and has since been ever-present on the Formula One calendar.

The circuit is a modern complex and facilities are good. But overtaking is difficult and this often turns the races into a procession.

Fernando Alonso kept a cool head in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable and outduelled Felipe Massa to take his third victory of the season at the Nurburgring. In the process, he slashed McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead to just two points as the British rookie left Germany empty-handed after a nightmare weekend. A downpour of Biblical proportions halfway round the opening lap sent cars aquaplaning every which way and forced a safety car deployment and then a 20-minute red-flag stoppage. Massa led the majority of the race thereafter before the rain returned in the closing stages to set up a thrilling climax.

In the slippery conditions Alonso outclassed Massa, reeling him in and passing him audaciously with four and a half laps to go. Hamilton’s race was ruined by a puncture from first-lap contact, a spin in the early storm and an ill-timed switch to dry tyres, and he took the chequered flag in ninth place with no points to show for his unstinting efforts. The race started in dry conditions, Kimi Raikkonen getting away well from pole and Massa outdragging Alonso to the first corner to make it a Ferrari 1-2.

The BMWs followed in fourth and fifth, but Nick Heidfeld then tagged team-mate Robert Kubica at the exit of turn one and again, more heavily, in turn two. Hamilton, who had made a lightning start to move from 10th to sixth, got caught up in the melee and sustained a left-rear puncture, forcing him to nurse his McLaren back to the pits. Soon that drama paled into insignificance, however, as the threatening clouds deposited their contents and saturated the track surface. Raikkonen misjudged his braking point for the top chicane at the end of the opening lap and took that as his cue to come into the pits for intermediate tyres – only to repeat his error and overshoot the pit lane entry. He therefore had to complete another lap on dry tyres while the rest of the field dived in for intermediates.

But in the meantime the rain had been coming down in stair-rods and the inters proved hopelessly inadequate for the conditions. Jenson Button, Hamilton, Adrian Sutil and both Toro Rossos all aquaplaned off the flooded track under braking for turn one, while Vitantonio Liuzzi nearly collected the safety car – which had just been deployed – and a recovery vehicle.

In the midst of all this, debutant Markus Winkelhock, who had started from the pit lane on intermediates, incredibly took the lead in the unfancied Spyker – indeed, he completed the second lap with a 33s margin over Massa! But with six cars stranded in the run-off area at the first corner and those that were still going thrashing around like beached whales, officials sensibly ordered a red flag to suspend the race. Hamilton’s afternoon looked certain to be over, but remarkably he had kept his engine running throughout and was permitted a bump-start because his car was in a dangerous location. Moreover, the 2007 regulations allowed him to regain the lap he had lost while sitting in the gravel, meaning he would take the restart 17th and last – but, crucially, on the lead lap. The field was given several sighting laps under the safety car before the race got back underway in anger, and as Hamilton was waved past to join the back of the queue he was the only driver to get a feel for the conditions at something approaching racing speeds. Rather than counting his blessings that he was still in the race at all, Lewis then chose to gamble on a switch to dry-weather tyres. It was one of those decisions that just might have proved a masterstroke, but instead backfired and left him to spend the rest of the day in forlorn pursuit of points. The road was still much too wet for ’slicks’, as Hamilton discovered when he went off at the Dunlop hairpin on his out-lap. By lap 10 the lightly grooved tyres were the ones to have, but in the interim Lewis had lost great chunks of time and fallen a lap off the pace once more. Winkelhock’s taste of glory was brief and he soon tumbled down the order at the restart, leaving Massa in the lead from Alonso, the battling Red Bulls and Heikki Kovalainen’s Renault. Raikkonen was down in sixth after his lap one faux pas, but recovered three of his lost places by pitting for dry tyres a lap earlier than most others. Hamilton aside, Kimi was now the fastest man on the track and closed rapidly on Alonso, who was steadily losing touch with leader Massa. On lap 35 the hydraulics seized up and the disconsolate Finn pulled off by the side of the track, his renascent title chances having taken a major blow. Massa’s F2007 was going like a dream and Felipe pumped in a series of fastest laps to increase his cushion over Alonso to 11.4s ahead of the last scheduled pit stops. Mark Webber, Alex Wurz and Kovalainen were still hotly disputing third, fourth and fifth places, and Coulthard and the BMW pair were scrapping over sixth – but it seemed that the battle for the lead had been settled in Massa’s favour. Mother Nature had another twist in store, however, as the clouds darkened again in the closing stages in a sign that more rain was on the way. Renault was so convinced of this that it took the bold gamble of bringing fifth-placed Kovalainen in for intermediate tyres before the first drops had fallen. As with Hamilton’s early switch to dries, it didn’t pay off – this time because the rain didn’t arrive quite on cue and Heikki lost too much time nursing the inters on a bone-dry surface. The rain materialised three laps later, triggering another stampede on the pit lane. Alonso, who had already cut Massa’s lead substantially since the previous stops, proved much faster than the Brazilian on the wet track and was soon filling his mirrors, looking this way and that for a way past. Massa fended him off for the best part of two laps before the world champion showed his overtaking prowess with a virtuoso move around the outside of the fast, cambered turn five. The two cars momentarily banged wheels and after the race the pair exchanged words, but to most observers Alonso’s move was a fine piece of opportunism and the contact unintentional and (fortunately) inconsequential. Webber drove a strong race throughout and took a well-deserved second career podium finish, withstanding intense pressure from Wurz as he grappled with a tyre vibration in the last stint. The Williams driver was another to shine in the changeable conditions, and his second big points haul of the season moves him up to ninth place in the drivers’ standings. Coulthard capped Red Bull’s stellar day by finishing a strong fifth, having pulled away from the squabbling BMWs in the wet closing stages. Heidfeld took advantage of a late mistake by Kubica to snatch sixth, leaving the unfortunate Kovalainen to claim the final point for Renault.