In brief, October 2009

Ari Vatanen has revealed that a Spaniard, a Singaporean and a German will be his three main prospective cabinet members who will join him in his fight for the FIA presidency. Should Vatanen beat Jean Todt on October 23 he will be backed by Fernando Falcó y Fernández de Córdova as president of the FIA Senate, Bernard Tay as deputy president for mobility, and Hermann Tomczyk as deputy president for motorsport. Vatanen interview, page 76

Kimi Räikkönen enjoyed a spectacular WRC debut on Rally Finland at the wheel of a Group N Abarth Grand Punto, running as high as third in class before rolling into retirement. The Ferrari ace is being linked with an eventual move into rallying.

It looks increasingly likely that the Canadian GP will return to the calendar in 2010, after financial problems meant that it was dropped from this year’s schedule. Bernie Ecclestone has also indicated that next year’s Malaysian GP will start at 4pm rather than 5pm, in order to give an extra margin to complete a wet or suspended race before darkness falls.

Jenson Button completed the London Triathlon in a personal best time of 2hr 07min 02sec. The World Championship leader, who finished six minutes ahead of 125cc bike star Bradley Smith, was raising funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation children’s charity.

Button has said he will attend this year’s Race of Champions at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing. The event takes place on November 3/4, just two days after the F1 finale in Abu Dhabi. Both Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher have already signed up for the RoC.

Donington Park is running out of time to hit its first target of £25m in pure equity to keep its British GP plans alive. The circuit is facing a September deadline set by Bernie Ecclestone, and must then raise £110m through a bond scheme to complete the major circuit changes.