Grapevine: News from the Paddock

Some-Fin Blue

Toyota's official end of season team photograph was delayed by several minutes on Thursday afternoon because Mika Salo, his hair dyed a fetching shade of petrol blue, was late on parade. Sources close to the team, mostly with a cynical turn of mind, suggested he had done the colour-change from blond to azure deliberately to upset the hierarchy at Toyota. Salo said he did it for no reason at all - just a spur of the moment thing. But when the truth emerged it was to give special publicity to a shampoo company who have sponsored Salo this year.

Dyeing to Get in on the Act

It seems that hair dying is all the rage in Japan and, after Salo led the hair parade with his blue locks, the Jordan mechanics - every one of them - bowled along with the show by turning up with their hair dyed yellow. It was done following a holiday in Honolulu en route to Japan from the United States. "I wish I had not done it at all," said one of the boys. "It's bad news. I'm going to get so much stick when I get back home. It was just done for fun."

The Tenth Commandment

A document has been sent to all of the teams, outlining nine proposals for change, dubbed by members of the media as 'The Nine Commandments of Mosley'. They will be discussed by the F1 Commission on October 28 and are detailed as follows:

Driver swapping: Drivers race every car on the grid during the course of a season then opt for the ones they race twice decided on points position.

Aggregated qualifying: Four half-hour sessions on Fridays and Saturdays instead of the normal one hour on Saturday.

Bespoke tyre: Bridgestone and Michelin can produce different tyres for each of their teams instead of the current plan.

Success ballast: A penalty of 1kg in ballast weight per point scored during 2003, amounting to a loss of .03 of a second a lap.

Testing restrictions: Limiting testing during the 2003 season to just 12 days per car.

Aerodynamic freeze: From the 2003 season, only two sets of bodywork can be homologated at the start of the season with a change mid year allowed.

Long-life engines: Only one engine per weekend in 2003, one engine per four races in 2004, and one engine every eight in 2005.

Long-life gearbox: Gearbox assemblies to have required life for a number of races.

Standardised parts: All teams on the grid would have to use standardised electronics, ECUs, brakes and fixed ballast.

After reading through the nine ideas posted in a bid to close up the Formula One field in the future, however, several observers have suggested that the FIA should consider adding a tenth - the permanent exclusion of World Champion Michael Schumacher. It would certainly be the most effective way of eliminating the metronomic predictability his brilliance has ensured.