Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have counterattacked the FIA in the French civil courts over the Renault team crashgate affair. The case has been heard now, but a verdict will not be reached until 5 January. They are trying to sue the FIA for $1.5 million and $750,000 respectively and to have their penalties of their respective bans from the series changed. Briatore was banned for life and Symonds for five years. It's a real test case to see what power the FIA has in handing out such penalties.

As expected, Nico Rosberg will race for the new Mercedes Grand Prix team next year, the team announced today. Who will race with him? Another German? A Raikkonen (a species all its own)? Or Michael Schumacher? (Another species all his own.) An announcement is expected soon, or perhaps not, according to Norbert Haug, of Mercedes...

The Williams Formula One team has held out against selling equity to a car manufacturer all throughout this period of manufacturer ownership or part ownership that began a decade ago. But today the team, owned since 1977 by Frank Williams and Patrick Head, announced that it sold a minority share in the team to an Austrian investor named Toto Wolff. It is no surprise to me that Wolff is, like Frank and Patrick, a racer himself. He has raced in German Formula Ford and in several touring car series.

Do you get the feeling there's more news in the off-season than during the F1 season? These days, at least, that seems to be the case. McLaren has just announced that it has hired the reigning world champion Jenson Button away from Brawn to drive for the team in a multiple-year contract. This is especially cool news when you think about how he will be teammate to Lewis Hamilton, and now we will have both world champions from the last two seasons racing against each other next year!