F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone warned Italian Grand Prix organizers that "there can be no cut-price deal to keep Monza on the calendar after 2016," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. He said, "They've got a contract, all they've got to do is find a pen. It's easy. We had a deal with them two years ago, if they just continue with that it's all OK. We are happy to be at Monza, obviously. But we are not doing cut-price things." Asked whether he felt the organizers would sign up to the deal on the table, Ecclestone replied, "No idea. Haven’t got a clue." Monza, the fastest track in F1, "has been on the calendar since the championship started in 1950 and is loved by Italians as the 'Pista Magica'" (REUTERS, 8/22). NBC SPORTS' Luke Smith wrote Sebastian Vettel "lashed out at Formula 1 tire supplier Pirelli after suffering a tire failure on the penultimate lap" of the Belgian Grand Prix. Ferrari "opted to gamble with a one-stop strategy at Spa, despite Pirelli recommending that teams either pit two or three times for tires across the course of the race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps" (NBC SPORTS, 8/23). REUTERS' Alan Baldwin wrote Ecclestone "met disgruntled Belgian dairy farmers on Saturday after fears they could blockade the country's grand prix circuit in a campaign for higher milk prices." The 84-year-old Briton "talked to a farmers' leader in front of a plastic cow in the fan village at the Spa circuit and then chugged from a litre of milk -- jokingly pretending to faint as he did so." A police spokesperson said that "the farmers had agreed not to stage a more serious protest, such as blocking access roads, in return for being allowed to make a symbolic gesture and meet Ecclestone" (REUTERS, 8/22).
CELEBRATIONS CUT SHORT: F1I's Chris Medland wrote Lotus' celebrations following the Belgian Grand Prix "were short-lived after bailiffs moved in at Spa-Francorchamps." Following Romain Grosjean's third place in the race, bailiffs "were present at the team's garage and trucks while the pack-up was ongoing, and also spent time at the Lotus motorhome." The team "was subject to court action ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, with former reserve driver Charles Pic claiming he had not been allowed to complete the agreed number of days driving the Lotus last year." The bailiffs "present at Spa on Sunday evening were associated with Pic's lawsuit, though the team is hopeful of reaching a resolution outside the race weekend" (F1I, 8/23).
