Wow that camera man was lucky. Broken collarbone and a couple of broken ribs I heard. Could have been much worse. Funny that all pit crew are required to wear helmets and fireproof overalls but other people in pit lane, who are just as close to the action in some cases, are not.

The FIA has banned media and 'non-essential personnel' from Grand Prix pit lanes after a cameraman was injured at last Sunday's German Grand Prix.

A loose wheel from the car of Red Bull's Mark Webber struck cameraman Paul Allen, breaking his collarbone.

The ban, issued by Formula 1's ruling body, covers "anyone other than event marshals and team personnel".

On Monday, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said that cameramen would only be allowed to film from the pit lane wall.

Other media will also be kept out of the pit lane, with the FIA saying in a statement: "Access for approved media will be confined to the pit wall."

Sunday's incident occurred as Red Bull driver Webber was leaving the pits following a tyre change that had taken longer than usual.

The Australian was released without the right rear wheel being properly secured and after it came free of the car it bounced into Allen, striking the Briton from behind.

The FIA also announced that it will seek an immediate change to regulations so that all team personnel working on cars during pit stops wear head protection, and that

GTFO

We have a Formula One thread, but not a general Motorsport thread in general.

Given the F1 thread doesn't get much use, apart from the F1 and that's when I've gotten around to watching the races, I can turn it into a 'Motorsport' general thread if you want.

Anyone into Rallying? Was a spectator official at the International Rally of Queensland. Tough work but I had some good fun.

Neal Bates was something special to watch. The way he had the car going around the corners was amazing.

Some bloke had an old Nissan Patrol going around as well. :lol: He was going absolutely mental. I'm pretty sure he eventually crashed out. :(

Jack Monkhouse was great as well, a shame he had so many issues with his car. :(

But the two Skoda's were a class above everyone, two very good cars.

But the event was marred by the death of a co-driver. Very sad, RIP. :(

German prosecutors have indicted Formula 1 motor racing boss Bernie Ecclestone on a bribery charge.

The charge relates to a $44m (£29m) payment to German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky of Bayern Landesbank, linked to the sale of a stake in F1.

Mr Ecclestone denies bribing Gribkowsky, and says the money was intended to stop the banker from exposing him to a UK tax inquiry.

Mr Gribkowsky was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail in Munich.

Speaking to the Financial Times on Wednesday, Mr Ecclestone said: "I have just spoken to my lawyers and they have received an indictment. It's being translated into English."

"We are defending it properly. It will be an interesting case. It's a pity it's happened."

Mr Ecclestone has six weeks to respond to the indictment, Formula One Group said in a statement.

'Silly things'

The charges are related to the 2006 sale of a 47% stake in Formula 1 by Bayern Landesbank, which had acquired it from the bankrupt Kirch media group.

Gribkowsky had been in charge of managing the sale to private equity group CVC Capital Partners.

CVC has since reduced its stake in a series of deals. It has not commented on the indictment.

At his trial last year, Gribkowsky admitted corruptly receiving $41.4m (£26.6m) in bank commissions and a large payment via the Ecclestone family's Bambino Trust.

He maintained he had been paid to undervalue the shares.

But Mr Ecclestone says he paid Gribkowsky to keep him quiet, believing the banker was planning to give false information to the UK authorities about his tax affairs.

Mr Ecclestone said at the time that proving the allegation was false "would have been very expensive for me".

"The tax risk would have exceeded £2bn. I paid him to keep calm and not to do silly things," he said.

Mr Ecclestone has until mid-August to respond to the charges. The court will then decide whether to take the case to trial - it could be heard by mid-September.

He faces a possible jail term if found guilty, something he has previously said would force him to stand down as head of F1.

His lawyer told the Financial Times the indictment was largely based on statements from Gribkowsky, and that Mr Ecclestone intended to dispute these.

Good on Webs for giving the team a spray, imo.

Cynic in me says they're doing it on purpose.

Rally is shit. Deal with it :lol:

WRC > F1

But when you get in these arguments it's about as mind numbing as bogans comparing ALF and NRL. WRC and F1 are both great.

Let me put it to you this way: The WRC was won by a privateer for 7 consecutive seasons.

Kind of takes away from the prestige of it if a guy who's basically building a hobby car wins the world title doesn't it?

No disrespect to Sebastian Loeb, but still...

Although I agree with you, by that definition, Red Bull are privateers too.

By definition any team is a privateer I guess if you want to get technical. But my point was that it was one guy and his hobby money before Citroen finally went "well fuck...this guys actually good I guess we should start a team".

Ferrari are Team Scuderia. I don't think they're a factory team?

By definition any team is a privateer I guess if you want to get technical. But my point was that it was one guy and his hobby money before Citroen finally went "well fuck...this guys actually good I guess we should start a team".

Bumpy bump. Tempted to go, but the lure of watching it on TV instead is strong.