Category: News

The Australian opening dates for the Ayrton Senna movie-length documentary have been subject to change and confusion. The film has already had a short run in Adelaide, and Sydney gets its chance this weekend, too.

According to Asif Kapadia, writer/director, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation will host a premiere of Senna on Wednesday 20 July. At this stage no further details are known, but when we know more we’ll be sure to share it with you.

General national release of Senna is set for 11 August via Village Cinemas.

[Source: @asifkapadia]

UPDATE: Further details of this premiere event have been posted to grandprix.com.au

With a Grand Prix weekend ahead of them Formula One teams are expressing their concerns over the handling of the Bahrain race. Currently, the official stance says Bahrain has been reinstated for 30 October and the inaugural Indian Grand Prix has been pushed back until 11 December.

FOTA represents 11 of of 12 F1 teams and has written a letter to the FIA stating, “the amended 2011 calendar is unrealistic.” A copy of the letter can be seen below, where concerns over safety and logistics are outlined, along with matters of protocol that should be followed when making alterations to the agreed calendar.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Autosport the Team Principals from Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, and Lotus Renault GP, Eric Bouillier have placed their thoughts on record.

Christian Horner: “It’s an unfortunate situation. Obviously with the way things have been handled, with the uncertainty, maybe it could have been handled better, but we are where we are.”

Eric Boullier: “F1 is a non-political sport. We cannot do whatever we want, because there are issues like this. We need to be a little bit more cautious.”

Organisers for the Indian Grand Prix have also written to the FIA to lodge their complaint over the rescheduling of their race.

It can now only be a matter of days before the FIA responds to these concerns. One would expect the Bahrain race to be finally scrapped from the 2011 calendar and the Indian GP to be moved back to 30 October. But as the great Murray Walker once said, “Anything can happen in Formula 1, and it usually does!”

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

UPDATE: The BBC has more and quotes FIA President, Jean Todt, “I have listened to your [the teams’] last-minute objections and have asked the commercial rights holder to re-examine his calendar proposal, and if necessary, to submit a revised proposal to the World Council.”

Interesting that Todt is looking to drop Bernie into the frying pan and distance the FIA from the decision to reinstate the Bahrain GP.

Just days after the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) declared it was safe to reschedule the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2011 the future of the event now finds itself in total disarray.

First, Mark Webber expressed his disapproval when he said, “It’s obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a decision but sadly I feel that they still haven’t made the right one.”

And in the days that have followed the dissent has grown to a stage where it’s virtually untenable to race in Bahrain in 2011.

Former FIA whipping boy President, Max Mosley, pointed out the WMSC broke its own rules by altering the 2011 calendar before gaining approval from all the teams. In an interview with BBC Radio4 Mosely said, “I don’t think there is the slightest chance the grand prix will actually happen. Apart from anything else, you cannot change the calendar in the way that it’s proposed to change without the unanimous agreement of the teams.”

FOTA, the body representing 11 of the 12 current F1 teams, has thrown its hat into the ring by writing to the FIA demanding the plans to return to Bahrain this year are scrapped amid fears of safety and logistical concerns.

Mark Webber has published his thoughts on the decision to reschedule the Bahrain Grand Prix for 30 October and it’s fair to say he’s not happy.

“In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in hope of being able to re-schedule it in 2011,” says Webber.

“It would have sent a very clear message about F1’s position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues. It’s obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a decision but sadly I feel that they still haven’t made the right one. Like it or not, F1 and sport in general isn’t above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope F1 is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn’t the right time.”

On the surface, Webber’s position is admirable. Assuming all is equal between now and late October, will Mark back his beliefs and choose not to race?

Follow the source link below for the full statement.

[Source: markwebber.com | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Last month’s story about News Corp considering forming a consortium to buy the rights to Formula One has suddenly become more serious with confirmation that the, erm, wheels are in motion.

News Corporation and Italian investment company EXOR released a joint statement which reads, “EXOR, one of Europe’s largest listed investment companies, and News Corporation, the global media group, confirm that they are in the early stages of exploring the possibility of creating a consortium with a view to formulating a long-term plan for the development of Formula 1 in the interests of the participants and the fans.

“Over the coming weeks and months, EXOR and News Corporation will approach potential minority partners and key stakeholders in the sport. There can be no certainty that this will lead to an approach to Formula 1’s current owners.”

EXOR is controlled by the Agnelli family, who have close ties to Ferrari. Indeed, the company owns 30% of Italian car giant Fiat, owners of Ferrari, as well as a 60% stake in Juventus football club.

[Source: Autosport]

Village Cinemas have confirmed with an AUSmotive reader that Senna is currently scheduled to premiere on their screens on Thursday 11 August. Previous word from Manish Pandey, the film’s writer, advised the documentary would debut in Australia on Thursday 21 July.

The note from Village indicates the dates are set by the distributor, and if we hear anything new we’ll share it with you as soon as we can.

[Thanks to David for the tip]