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The 2005 Formula One season was a watershed
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-20 11:16

He said he'd been in constant touch with the Ferrari plant in Maranello about the design of the new car.

"That's why I wanted to drive again and I am really looking forward to it," he said.

Four teams were sold or renamed in 2005. BAR, Jordan, Sauber and Minardi gave way to Honda, Midland, BMW and Red Bull as rich corporations replaced small, independent teams.

From the first race in Melbourne to the 2005 final in Shanghai, attention was divided between action on the track _ and a potential breakaway series that could begin with the 2008 season.

Five teams have agreed to stay with commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone when the current Concorde Agreement ends after the 2007 season. They are Ferrari, Williams, Midland and Red Bull's two teams _ Red Bull and Toro Rosso. The Concorde Agreement between the FIA and F1 teams spells out how the sport is governed and how revenue is divided.

The five carmakers in F1 _ DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes, Renault, BMW, Honda and Toyota _ are threatening to set up a rival series in 2008.

Some are hopeful of preventing a split.

"There is a gradual passage toward agreement," Honda team director Nick Fry said. "We are not there yet, but talks are extremely constructive.

"I think there will be more movement, probably not before Christmas but in the first of next year. ... I would be very disappointed if we went in to next season in a situation of flux."

In 2005, the sport introduced a new venue in Istanbul, Turkey, and Jordan's Narain Karthikeyan became the sport's first Indian driver. He scored five points.

The low point came in the U.S. Grand Prix when the Michelin teams _ meaning 14 cars _ sat out the race with concerns over tire safety. It was Schumacher's only win of the season, which was greeted by boos and catcalls at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

At the end of the year, Michelin announced it would depart F1 after the 2006 season, leaving Japanese builder Bridgestone as the only tire maker.

Next season promises more changes.

There will be another new qualifying format _ one of a half-dozen changes in the last few seasons. Under the new format, qualifying will take place in three phases.
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