21/09/2006
NEWS STORY
There must be days when BusinessF1 editor Tom Rubython dreads the pitter-patter of the postman's feet beating a path to his office.
We learn that FIA delegate Charlie Whiting (right) is seeking around £200,000 in libel damages from Mr Rubython and his magazine, claiming that a recent story was defamatory. As if!
Whiting is seeking damages, and indeed "aggravated damages" for libel, in addition to an injunction against the magazine.
Whiting is the latest in a long line of F1 people to have taken action against BusinessF1 and its editor, indeed the FIA's Technical Delegate is one of several employees of the FIA to take Mr Rubython to court.
To add to his woes, as Pitpass recently revealed, BusinessF1 faces competition from a brand new Formula One business publication - Grand Prix Business - which appears to have the full support of FIA President Max Mosley, who said: "The FIA welcomes the news that the business of the sport will be covered by a serious magazine. Although we are not responsible for the commercial side of Formula One and function solely as its regulator, the FIA is glad that this important subject will be dealt with in a responsible manner which will clearly be of benefit to the entire sport."
It's rumoured that publishing giant, Haymarket, which publishes Autosport, in addition to more than one hundred other magazines, has had its nose put out of joint, since it too was aiming to publish a magazine dealing with the business side of the F1 industry.