In brief, May 2009

Dubai’s $360m Formula 1 theme park has been put on hold for economic reasons. The project, which is currently 50 per cent complete, is now scheduled to be finished in 2010.

Tyler Alexander, one of the few remaining McLaren employees who worked with Bruce McLaren, is retiring from the company after five decades. After joining the team in 1963 as a mechanic, he became one of Bruce’s right-hand men and one of the team’s principal figures.

Lewis Hamilton collected his MBE from the Queen on March 10, before going to Barcelona for testing. The World Champion said: “To be recognised alongside people who make an outstanding contribution to society is truly humbling.”

Jean Todt has resigned as CEO of Ferrari, ending an involvement with the company that lasted nearly 16 years. Todt, 63, who gave up his role as team principal at the end of 2007, continues to be linked with a future role as FIA president.

The McLaren Group added its name to the Women’s World Bobsleigh Championships after Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke triumphed with the assistance of McLaren Applied Technologies. The company identified key areas that could be improved on the existing sled and modified it for the start of the season.

The FIA has confirmed that F1 teams will be allowed three days of ‘young driver’ testing between the last race and December 31 – the only testing permitted during that period. The driver must not have competed in more than two GPs or run more than four days of F1 testing in the preceding 24 months.

A potential new home for the French GP has been found at a site between the villages of Flins-sur-Seine and Les Mureaux, just west of Paris. Close to the River Seine and a Renault facility, the new venue is to be created by Buckinghamshire-based Apex Circuit Design. The firm was behind the Dubai Autodrome.