Green issues are being pushed to the fore in the run-up to the Japanese Grand Prix. During the Fuji race-weekend, all the cars will running with green-striped tyres to show support for the FIA’s ‘Make Cars Green’ campaign. The softer compound tyres will have a single white stripe alongside the green stripes in order to easily differentiate the two types of tyres.

Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) system have said that their trams were not responsible for the gearbox troubles which caused Red Bull’s Mark Webber to retire from the Singapore Grand Prix.

FIA President Max Mosley has said that F1 will be in serious difficulties if drastic cost-cutting measures are not in place by 2010.

“It has become apparent, long before the present economic difficulties, that Formula One was unsustainable,” Mosley explained to the BBC.

The Canadian Grand Prix will not feature on the 2009 Formula 1 calendar, meaning North America will not be hosting any F1 races next season. It will be the first time since 1987 that Montreal will not be hosting a grand prix.

The 2009 calendar is currently:

British driver Paul di Resta is being given a four day test by McLaren at Silverstone later in the month. The 22 year old Scottish driver currently races in the DTM series for Mercedes, finishing 5th last year and being the highest driver in the standings to drive a non-2007 car. He is currently in second place in this season’s DTM championship.

Marco Piccinini, the FIA’s Deputy President and chair of the World Motor Sport Council, will be stepping down at the end of his term in November to concentrate on other professional commitments.

Piccinini was elected as Deputy President of the FIA in 1998 and was re-elected in both 2001 and 2005.

Following issues with their ‘traffic light’ pit-stop system in Singapore, Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that Ferrari will be using the more traditional pit-stop lollipop for the remainder of the 2008 season.

BMW Sauber have confirmed that they are retaining both Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica for the 2009 season, with Christian Klien staying as their test driver.

“We see Nick and Robert as a strong driver pairing and Christian as an experienced test driver,” Mario Theissen explained. “We are in no doubt that we will again achieve our ambitious aims with them in the team’s fourth year.”

Donington Park organisers are hoping to hear whether planning permission for circuit redevelopment will be granted by the end of the year. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Donington Park would be the new home of the British Grand Prix from 2010 onwards.

GP2 series organisers have revealed that they are launching a new series – GP3 – in 2010. The series will feature cars with 2 litre engines with around 250 bhp. The chassis, engines and tyres have yet to be confirmed – organisers will be consulting with manufacturers who show an interest in the series before finalising any plans.