Politician axes F1 demo in Austria

[Wizzo]

Four years after F1 GP left the country, a federal politician has intervened to prevent Austrian fans from once again experiencing formula one action.

As the centrepiece of the official opening of the A6-Autobahn at the Czech border on 18 November, it was planned that David Coulthard's Red Bull single seater would christen the stretch with a more than 300kph run.

But minister Werner Faymann put the brakes on the plans because it would have sent the "wrong signal" both in terms of traffic safety and the environment, he reportedly told the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten.

Meanwhile, Dietrich Mateschitz's team will in March next year auction on eBay the special-liveried F1 cars raced by Coulthard and Mark Webber in the 2007 British grand prix for the spinal chord injury charity Wings For Life.