In brief, July 2008

Team principals discussed the Mosley scandal with Bernie Ecclestone at the Spanish GP. A majority was in favour of a joint letter expressing the teams’ displeasure, but Ferrari, Red Bull and Toro Rosso said they could not sign without conferring with Luca di Montezemolo and Dietrich Mateschitz. The FIA General Assembly meets on June 3 to decide Mosley’s fate.

Force India owner Vijay Mallya and A1GP boss Tony Texeira got into a war of words after the latter criticised Mallya for not employing Indian drivers and creating a bad impression in his country by running at the back of the F1 grid. Mallya replied that he would rather compete against the best in the world than in a second-division series.

Heikki Kovalainen’s massive Spanish GP accident has led to calls for the wider introduction of barriers constructed by TechPro, which have already been tried out at Monza. The tyre barrier incorporates a 4mm steel layer, which should stop a car’s nose penetrating the traditional rubber conveyor belt, as happened to Kovalainen.

GP2 driver Bruno Senna had a lucky escape when he struck a stray dog during the Sunday morning race in Turkey. There was a safety car period after a second dog got onto the track. Emergency measures were taken to prevent a recurrence in the afternoon’s GP. The FIA is investigating the incident, and sanctions could follow.

A small Scottish company called YourF1.com has claimed that Honda Racing’s Earthcar concept was taken from proposals it put forward in a meeting with Honda in January 2003. The company says the matter cannot be resolved out of court and a possible claim of £4.2 million has been estimated.

Michael Schumacher has launched a new official website, www.michael-schumacher.de, which will manage the seven-time World Champion’s “web presence”. It will carry the latest news about the German and include a review of his career.