22 Dec 2006
News review - October to December
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From the promotion of Ferrari’s Jean Todt to Marco Andretti’s Formula One debut, we take a look back at the stories that caught our attention during the final three months of 2006...
October
Venezuelan GP2 driver Ernesto Viso makes his Formula One debut with Spyker. McLaren announce Pedro de la Rosa will continue to race for the team at the final Grand Prix of the season, ending media speculation over a possible appearance by Lewis Hamilton.
Toyota sign Super Aguri’s Franck Montagny as the team’s 2007 third driver. Ferrari team boss Jean Todt is promoted to the role of Chief Executive Officer, while technical director Ross Brawn announces he will leave the team. With the event moving to the Fuji Speedway in 2007, Suzuka hosts its final Japanese Grand Prix.
November
Toro Rosso’s Vitantonio Liuzzi and MotoGP star John Hopkins get to try out each other’s machinery at a one-off event at Valencia. Financial services company ING announce they will sponsor the 2007 Australian Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen makes a final appearance for McLaren at the annual Mercedes ‘Stars and Cars’ event in Germany. Williams appoint Kazuki Nakajima, son of Satoru, as an official tester with the team.
Bridgestone finalise contracts for 2007 to provide tyres to the six Formula One teams who were running Michelin rubber in 2006. Super Aguri announce that long-standing Honda tester Anthony Davidson will join the team’s race line-up in 2007. Honda confirm former Red Bull racer Christian Klien will join the team as official tester.
Adam Parr replaces Chris Chapple as Williams’ new Chief Executive Officer. German teenager Marco Holzer and former Formula One racer Alex Zanardi test for BMW Sauber.
December
Toyota appoint Tadashi Yamashina as a new Vice Chairman of their motorsport division in a bid to improve their Formula One team’s technical development. The FIA publish the official entry list for the 2007 championship - only Toro Rosso’s line-up and one Spyker driver are yet to be confirmed.
American youngster Marco Andretti - son of Michael and grandson of Mario - makes his Formula One testing debut with Honda. Meanwhile, Toro Rosso try out three-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais. On the final day of 2006 testing, Fernando Alonso makes a surprise debut for McLaren.
Super Aguri announce F3 Euroseries driver Giedo van der Garde will joine the team as reserve and test driver for the 2007 season. Former Grand Prix driver Clay Regazzoni, who made his Formula One debut for Ferrari in 1970, dies in a road accident near Parma, Italy. Tony Purnell, formerly team principal of Jaguar and Red Bull, is appointed as a technical consultant to the FIA.
Spyker sign Japanese Formula Three champion to partner Christijan Albers in 2007, while German GP2 star and former Jordan racer Timo Glock is confirmed by BMW Sauber as the team’s new second test driver.
More news from 2006 - January to March, April to June and July to September.
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