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]

It's a sad state of affairs when the pure talent of a racing driver isn't enough to advance his career. In the case of Sebastien Bourdais, the top teams on the F1 grid have apparently been blind to his domination in Champ Cars, as our favorite Frenchman (okay, second favorite, after Talladega Nights arch-villain Jean Girard) looks like he's headed for his fourth consecutive title in the open-wheel series.

Enter Nicholas Todt, who is out to change Bourdais' fortunes and secure him a drive for the 2008 Formula One season. The fellow Frenchman did wonders for Felipe Massa, who started out at Sauber (then powered by Ferrari), then took a test seat at Ferrari (where Nick's dad Jean is king), before moving him back to Sauber (still with Ferrari engines) to race for another season, before taking the race seat at Ferrari alongside Schumacher. Now Massa is a contender for the title.

Nicholas Todt has now signed on to manage Bourdais' racing activities in Europe. In between ChampCar races, Bourdais is driving at Le Mans for Peugeot, and has been testing for Scuderia Toro Rosso. Todt has reportedly arranged for the talented 28-year-old driver to test again for the STR, which uses engines supplied by (you guessed it) Ferrari, and the rumors are that they might have secured a race seat with the squad for next season.

Could Bourdais prove to be the next star "rookie" in F1? Time will tell, we hope, but this proven entity is no rookie. Shame he'll have to start from the back of the grid, but his apparent willingness to do so only confirms his determination.

Related post:
F1 is missing out on Sebastein Bourdais

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

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]

Piece by piece, Ferrari has been confirming the reports and ending the speculation with several announcements about the future of some of their key personnel and the positions they hold in the Scuderia family.

The most recent news came today with the announcement that now-retired driving legend Michael Schumacher would stay on as a "special assistant" to the new CEO of the Ferrari empire (more on that below). Since joining Ferrari, Schumacher has been more than a driver, he was the center of the team, having completely rejuvenated the historic squad from a losing relic into the dominant force in racing. What does the job of "special assistant" entail? Hard to say at this point, as Schumacher looks forward to sitting back and reflecting on life before taking on any substantial new tasks. But don't expect to see him trackside at the races and test sessions, or sitting behind a desk at Maranello, either. He'll likely become more of a consultant to the company, enjoying the quiet life he's so richly deserves while contemplating what he can do for the team with which he's celebrated so many victories.

The new CEO he'll be advising is Jean Todt, who moves up from general manager to focus more broadly on the company as a whole (or so he hopes). When outgoing CEO Luca di Montezemolo became chairman of parent company Fiat, Todt was put in charge of Ferrari as general manager but stayed directly involved in the racing team as well.

That leaves two positions open at Todt becomes CEO: general manager and team principal. Amedeo Felisa moves up from deputy managing director to general manager, following Todt up the hierarchy as his right-hand man. Ross Brawn will be leaving for a year's sabbatical, vacating his post as technical director of the team. It seems Todt will be managing the Scuderia for one more season, fuelling the speculation that when Brawn returns, the job will be his (and maybe then Todt will have a bit more room to breathe). Taking Brawn's job as technical director is Mario Almondo, who for over ten years served as industrial director. Other promotions include Paolo Martinelli, who moved up to a new job at Fiat, and Gilles Simon who takes Paolo's job as head of the engine department.

All these changes and more amount to the biggest shake-up Ferrari has felt in years, and we'll be watching to see the effects brought to bear on its legendary racing activities and delectable road cars.

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[Source: International Herald-Tribune and GrandPrix.com]

Only a few days after the end of the 2006 season, reports are surfacing indicating that there's going to be a real shake-up in the management at Ferrari, primarily at the "Scuderia" F1 racing division, but also affecting the road car division as well.

It's been long expected that Technical Director Ross Brawn would retire with Michael Schumacher. It was Schumi that brought him in to direct the team, and insiders expect him to announce his retirement or "sabbatical" later this week. Nigel Stepney has been serving as race & test director, but with Brawn's departure, he could be considered for the promotion. Although Stepney didn't positively confirm that Brawn is leaving, he did indicate that some senior management are, and that the vacancies are likely to be filled from within "the family". Another candidate for the technical director post is Ross Brawn's protégé Luca Baldisseri, Schumacher's race engineer.

Meanwhile, team principal Jean Todt is expected to move away from directly managing the race team. Todt was promoted to Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo's position when Luca was promoted to chairman of the Fiat group, but Jean has been holding on to both posts in the interim, supervising both road and race divisions. (Some have suggested that Todt could eventually replace Max Mosley as head of the FIA.) Sporting Director Stefano Domenicali is tipped to succeed Todt as team principal, with Industrial Director Mario Almondo moving up to sporting director.

Together with the arrival of Kimi Raikkonen to take Michael Schumacher's seat as the champ retires, these management shifts amount to big changes at Ferrari. For the Scuderia, that could mean an adjustment period of another year before the team can seriously contend for the championship. Time will tell.

[Source: F1i.com]