Autoblog

While we get all revved up over the revival of Speed Racer in film form, our funny friends in France are gearing up for the remake of their own children's classic, Asterix. The new film, which opens in French theaters next month, is slated to feature cameos by a number of sports figures, including Ferrari stars Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt.

Set in the ancient Roman era, Asterix is a classic series of French children's comic books which has been translated into dozens of languages around the world. The film which, like Speed Racer, is shot with live actors (rather than animated like the original), is called Asterix aux jeux olympiques ("Asterix at the Olympic Games"). Schumacher appears in a seven-minute segment in the movie as a chariot racer called – you guessed it – Schumix, while Todt gives orders from the pit wall...dressed in red, of course. (Hopefully the German authorities won't give Michael a hard time about driving the chariot this time.)

In addition to the Ferrari champions, several other European sports celebrities make cameos in the movie as well, including French tennis player Amelie Mauresmo, retired French soccer player Zinedine Zidane (of World Cup head-butting infamy) and British footballer David Beckham. This is, of course, the second such cameo Schumacher has made, after his appearance in Disney/Pixar's Cars.

[Source: F1-Live]

When Ross Brawn took a sabbatical last year from Scuderia Ferrari, the rumors started flying. Would he return to Ferrari? Would he sign with another team? Or would he retire from racing altogether? The rumor mill can stop churning now, as the mastermind behind Ferrari's dominance of the Formula One circuit, it has been announced, is heading over to Honda.

When Schumacher moved to Ferrari from Bennetton ten years ago, Brawn came with him and took up the position of technical director, the number-two spot on any F1 team, and together the pair built the team up. But when Schumacher retired, Brawn took a sabbatical, leaving his options open for a return. Some pundits speculated that Brawn would return to Maranello and take over management of the team from overworked CEO Jean Todt, but in the post-Schumacher era, Brawn will be hawking his wears elsewhere.

Following the revelation, Ferrari announced some changes of its own, promoting Stefano Domenicali from sporting director to team principal, allowing Todt to focus on the bigger picture. Several other changes in the technical staff were also announced.

Honda, meanwhile, has one of the biggest budgets in F1, but has seen little success in return. This past season, the Honda team has been embarrassed by the comparative success of their B-team Super Aguri... along with just about every other team, big and small. With Brawn behind the proverbial wheel, however, Honda is bound to become a force with which to be reckoned.

[Source: Autosport]

In the pit lane, Jean Todt is known for saying little and saying it curtly when he does. It seems nearly every time Speed TV attempts to interview him before a race, he waves the camera off and returns to his charges. In his role as CEO of Ferrari, however, he appears to be quite a bit more loquacious. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he practically said more in one sitting than he has in 14 years as manager of the Scuderia.

Chief among his revelations was that "Ferrari has never considered a four-door car." Many Ferrari fans will find this heartening news in an age of once-restrained brands oozing into every segment possible. In the same interview, nevertheless, Todt says that "we must pay attention to everything that is happening in our business." With the 4-door-super-sedan-slash-GT trend having climbed the social ladder all the way to Aston Martin's rung, it could be wondered whether Ferrari will continue to keep the doors closed on any sedan considerations.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

An F1 team owned by a rapper? You've got to be kidding, right? Well, he might be, but Sean "Puffy" Combs is reportedly considering buying a team. If car manufacturers, retired drivers, clothing labels and even beverage companies can own F1 teams, why can't a recording artist? In the fast-changing world of Formula One, if you've got the green, you can have the team. And nobody's more about the Benjamins than Puffy.

The notoriously impulsive hip-hop icon made the announcement that he intended to buy an F1 team at a party in London celebrating the launch of his new cologne, where he was seen spending most of the night talking with Lewis Hamilton. We'd be seriously surprised if Diddy actually went through with it, but at the very least this looks like the premise for a movie only slightly better than Soul Plane.

Feel free to post your jokes and speculation in the comments section below...just keep it tasteful, biotch!

[Source: London Times via Jalopnik]

Who ever would have thought a Will Ferrell movie would ever be considered "prophetic," even jokingly? The absurd story of a French racing driver switching over from F1 to stock cars as the last remaining challenge is coming to life again and again. But unlike Jacques Villeneuve (or Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya), Jean Alesi isn't gunning for NASCAR. The former Formula One star is the first big name to sign on to the Speedcar Series.

The new racing league will pit 24 drivers against each other in identical 600-hp stock cars in 18 races over 9 weekends across Asia. We hope to get a glimpse at the cars in a few days when Alesi hits the Virginia International Raceway for the first test session on March 5-6. What we know now is that the specially-built cars will feature a tubular fiberglass chassis and power from 600-hp engines built in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The inaugural season of the Speedcar Series, which is backed by F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, kicks off in November and runs through April 2008.

[Source: Speedcar Series via F1-Live]

The motorsport press rumor mill is grinding away at full speed on a juicy bit of gossip and speculation that Michael Schumacher is being groomed to take over as head of Scuderia Ferrari. After his retirement, Schumacher took on a role as a special advisor to Ferrari chief Jean Todt. It was supposed to be a low-key, backstage kind of position that would let the seven-time world champion continue to impart his experience to the team, but it apparently hasn't been as hands-off as they made it out to be: Schumacher has reportedly made more visits to Maranello and sat in on more key meetings in the past few months since his retirement than he did during the entire 2006 season.

An unnamed source inside Ferrari was quoted as saying that Schumacher's current level of involvement points to only one conclusion: that he's preparing to step in as team leader -- and it would make sense. A lot of F1 pundits said that it would be entirely likely for Schumacher to head up a team after retiring from active racing, but how could he leave Ferrari for another team? Ferrari today is the house that Michael built. He brought in the key staff, revamped the way the team works and turned it into a winning tour de force. Jean Todt has been looking to step away from directly managing the team since being promoted to overall head of Ferrari, but hasn't been able to up to this point. He's needed a capable successor.

Of course, Schumacher's representatives have denied it up and down, but it's hard to avoid the logical conclusion when all the pieces fit.

[Source: F1i]