NEWS ARCHIVE
ALESI TOPS THE TIMES AGAIN IN TESTING AT THE CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA
JEAN ALESI topped the times for the second successive day in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, as he completed Prost's four-day workout in Spain.
ARROWS CONFIRM DRIVER LINE-UP
ARROWS confirmed on Wednesday that Pedro de la Rosa has been dropped from the team and will be replaced for the 2001 season by the up-and-coming Brazilian driver Enrique Bernoldi.
BAT STRENGTHENS ITS HAND IN BAR
THERE has been yet another reshuffle in the management of the British American Racing hierarchy with parent company British American Tobacco quite clearly strengthening its position with the appointment of BAT main board member the Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke as chairman of British American Racing (Holdings) Ltd.
MONTOYA GETS FIRM BACKING FROM HEAD
BMW-WILLIAMS technical director Patrick Head has backed the decision to bring Juan Pablo Montoya to the team in replace of Briton's Jenson Button.
RAIKKONEN COULD BE KICKED OUT OF F1
SAUBER new-boy Kimi Raikkonen could be kicked out of Formula One after the fourth round of the series in Imola in April, said a report in Swiss magazine Motorsport Aktuell.
THE THINGS THAT F1 CYNICS WILL SAY...
THE recent spate of fast laps from Jean Alesi in the new Prost-Ferrari AP04 is good news for the French team but there are more than a few people in the cynical F1 community who feel that the remarkably quick laps being produced are probably more to do with an impending sponsorship deal than the actual speed of the new car.
WHY HAS SAUBER PICKED STEPHEN TAYLOR AS NEW CHIEF DESIGNER?
IT is rare that a major position in Formula 1 goes to an engineer with an unknown name, but last week Sauber announced that it had signed up 37-year-old British engineer named Stephen Taylor to be its new chief designer.
ALESI BLASTS BARCELONA CIRCUIT LAP RECORD
FRENCHMAN Jean Alesi blasted the lap record at the Circuit de Catalunya as he demonstrated the potential of Prost's new Ferrari-powered AP04.
BERNOLDI AND ARROWS
THE Arrows team has been running Brazilian youngster Enrique Bernoldi in recent days in Barcelona and this has led to speculation that the team may decide to take on the Formula 3000 graduate.
BERNOLDI SIGNS FOR ARROWS!
SOURCES in Brazil tell us that Enrique Bernoldi has signed to be Jos Verstappen's team mate with the Orange Arrows team - leaving the more experienced Pedro de la Rosa out of work unless he agrees to drive alongside fellow countryman Fernando Alonso at Minardi.
ECCLESTONE COULD FACE $20 MILLION LAW SUIT
NO sooner has Bernie Ecclestone apparently emerged successful from his tussle with the European Union regulators over the manner in which he runs his F1 business than he now faces the prospect of a new legal battle in the USA.
FERRARI PRESIDENT VOWS TO KEEP WINNING TEAM
FERRARI president Luca de Montezemolo vowed to do everything possible to keep the title-winning team together for years to come, at the launch of the team's F2001 challenger at Fiorano on Monday.
FERRARI TO USE GIOVANARDI IN BADOER'S ABSENCE
FERRARI have appointed Fabrizio Giovanardi as a temporary test driver following injuries sustained by Luca Badoer in an accident during a testing session at the Circuit de Catalunya.
RESIDENTS SUPPORT HOCKENHEIM REDEVELOPMENT
THE residents of the town of Hockenheim have voted in favor of work to redevelop the track in order to keep hold of the German Grand Prix.
SCHUMACHER AIMS TO REMAIN ON TOP
REIGNING world champion Michael Schumacher on Monday warned title rivals Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard that they will be second best again this year.
STODDART BUYS MINARDI
AS we have been predicting for some time, Australian businessman Paul Stoddart has bought the Minardi team.
WEBBER GETS FITNESS HELP FROM OARSOME FOURSOME'S TOMKINS
BENETTON test driver Mark Webber has taken an unusual step to prove he is fit enough for Formula One - by turning to Australia's Oarsome Foursome for help.
BERNOLDI PRESSES ARROWS CLAIMS AS MONTOYA GOES QUICKEST
BRAZILIAN driver Enrique Bernoldi pressed his claims for a drive with Arrows after he produced an impressive performance in the ninth consecutive day of testing in Barcelona on Monday.
DAIMLERCHRYSLER PUTS THE BOOT INTO THE US
DAIMLERCHRYSLER - the parent company of Mercedes-Benz - is reported to be planning to slash 20% of its US workforce in the next three years.
KIRCH UPS EM.TV BID AS RIVALS GATHER
THE Kirch media empire has decided to improve its bid to get control of the struggling EM.TV company, owner of 50% of Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One group of companies.
MOUNT FUJI MAY NOT BE SUCH A GOOD INVESTMENT
TOYOTA recently bought the Mount Fuji International Speedway with the intention of rebuilding the facility to use as a test track for its Formula 1 program and as a future home of the Japanese Grand Prix.
NEW FERRARI F2001 THE TOOL FOR SCHUMACHER TO RETAIN TITLE
FERRARI may be poised to offer Michael Schumacher an inflation-busting five year extension to his F1 contract, but his enthusiasm to ink such a deal could depend on the competitive success of the new F2001 contender which broke cover at the Italian team's Fiorano test track this morning.
BRIDGESTONE -- MICHELIN HAS MADE US QUICKER
BRIDGESTONE technical manager Yoshihiko Ichikawa has admitted that the introduction of tire rivals Michelin into Formula One this season has made them produce a better product.
F1 DRIVES MORGAN GRENFELL TO VERGE OF MAJOR PROBLEMS
THERE is blood on the carpet at Morgan Grenfell Private Equity this week, according to London financial sources - and much of it is due to the venture capital company's controversial dabbling in Formula 1 investments over the past couple of years.
SAUBER DUO RUBBISH YOUNGSTERS TAG IN TESTING
YOUNGSTERS Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen rubbished suggestions that Sauber have taken a gamble on them as they left their rivals for dead in the eighth day of testing at Barcelona on Sunday.
SCHUMACHER -- TOO MANY QUESTION MARKS FOR TITLE CHALLENGE
BMW-WILLIAMS driver Ralf Schumacher insisted on Saturday that there were too many question marks hanging over the team to mount a realistic title challenge this season.
CREDIT SUISSE JOINS FORMULA 1 'BATTLE OF THE BANKS'
ONE of the main announcements surrounding the launch of the Red Bull Sauber Petronas C20 was that financial giant Credit Suisse has come on board as a major backer of the team, joining such institutions as HSBC and MasterCard in Formula 1's own battle of the banks.
F1 CHIEFS OFFER KEY CONCESSIONS TO EU CRITICS
MOTOR RACING's governing body yesterday reached what it hopes is the end of a tortuously confrontational battle with the European Union with a raft of measures it believes will satisfy competition commissioner Mario Monti.
GENE QUICKEST IN BARCELONA TESTING
SPANIARD Marc Gene topped the times on the sixth day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday and then labelled it the best day he has had with BMW-Williams.
WILLIAMS HAPPY WITH DRIVER FRICTION
TEAM BOSS Sir Frank Williams admitted on Saturday that the friction between Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya would spur Williams up the Formula One grid this year.
WILLIAMS LAUNCHES FW23
THE clear, crisp, sunny surroundings of Silverstone's national circuit echoed to the metallic rasp of the new 90-degree BMW V10 engine today as Ralf Schumacher shook down the new Williams FW23 prior to the car's departure for testing at Barcelona.
EUROPEAN ANTI-TRUST CASE TO BE SETTLED
THE European Union and the FIA today disclosed that the two sides are close to settling the anti-trust investigation against the FIA and the Formula One Administration.
HOW THE EU-F1 DEAL WAS DONE
THE battle between the Formula 1 authorities and the European Commission is over but the full details of the deal have yet to emerge.
POLLOCK AIMS HIGH AT BRITISH AMERICAN RACING LAUNCH
BRITISH AMERICAN RACING managing director Craig Pollock has urged his team to aim for third place in this season's manufacturers' championship.
SAUBER CONFIRM CHIEF DESIGNER APPOINTMENT
SAUBER announced on Friday that Briton Stephen Taylor has joined the team as chief designer.
VILLENEUVE BACKS PANIS TO SHOOT BAR TO FRONT OF GRID
JACQUES VILLENEUVE has backed new British American Racing team-mate Olivier Panis to shoot the team to the front of the grid.
FRENTZEN - IT'S HARD TO ASSESS EJ11
GERMAN Heinz-Harald Frentzen has said that it is impossible to analyse the true performance of Jordan's new EJ11 car, because all of their rivals are still running last year's challengers.
MAZZACANE IMPRESSED AFTER DEBUT IN AP04
ARGENTINE driver Gaston Mazzacane said he was impressed with Prost's new AP04 car after he sampled it for the first time at Barcelona on Wednesday.
OFFICIAL F1 GAME LAUNCHED
AN F1-endorsed "F1 World Grand Prix II" computer game has been released on the Sega Dreamcast -- which is set to rival the forthcoming Sony Playstation II World Rally game.
PANIS UPSTAGES SCHUMACHER IN BARCELONA TEST
BRITISH AMERICAN RACING test driver Olivier Panis upstaged Michael Schumacher as the Frenchman pipped the German three-time world champion to the fastest time in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona on Thursday.
SAUBER BULLISH AS IT UNVEILS 2001 CHALLENGER
A clear determination exuded from the Red Bull Sauber Petronas combination yesterday (Wednesday), at the launch of the team's new challenger for the 2001 season, the C20.
SCHUMACHER BECOMES BULLET-PROOF FOR NEW SEASON
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER will wear a bullet-proof helmet as he attempts to regain his world drivers' title this season.
MINARDI SALE DRAWS CLOSER
AS we have been predicting for some days Minardi will be sold to Australian businessman Paul Stoddart of the European Aviation Group, probably after the weekend.
RAIKKONEN TO BE GUIDED BY EECKELAERT IN 2001
FORMULA ONE new-boy Kimi Raikkonen will be guided in his rookie season by chief engineer Jacky Eeckelaert -- one of the most accomplished backroom members on Formula One.
RINLAND ON THE MOVE
SAUBER team chairman Peter Sauber confirmed on Wednesday that the Swiss team's chief designer Sergio Rinland will leave the team before the start of the 2001 season in March.
SCHUMACHER TOPS THE TIMES IN SECOND DAY BACK TESTING
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER topped the times in his second day of testing for Ferrari at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona on Wednesday.
US INVESTMENT BANK SET TO STEP IN KIRSCH VOID
AMERICAN investment bank Hellman & Friedman are holding talks with EM.TV about buying a 50 per cent stake in F1 holding company SLEC, according to reports.
CART GOES TO MONTREAL
THE CART racers will be competing on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in August 2002.
IRVINE STARS IN BECKS ADVERT
JAGUAR RACING driver Eddie Irvine has turned his attentions to acting after starring in a commercial for Becks at Silverstone on Monday.
JAGUAR LABEL LAUDA MOVE AS "PURE SPECULATION"
JAGUAR RACING said on Tuesday that rumors claiming former world champion Niki Lauda is to join the team are "pure speculation".
MINARDI ANNOUNCEMENT IMMINENT
AN announcement is expected within days that Australian Paul Stoddart has bought the Minardi team and Australia will have a Formula 1 team to support for the first time in nearly 20 years.
MUCH MANEUVERING AROUND EM.TV
THE deal between Leo Kirch and EM.TV which was designed to rescue Thomas Haffa's ailing media company looks to have come unstuck and now various groups are circling the stricken company - which owns 50% of the Formula One group of companies - trying to decide what to do next.
PROST TARGETS GOOD START TO THE SEASON AS MAZZACANE PREPARES TO TEST
ALAIN PROST has said that he expects his team to make a good start to the 2001 season and to score the championship points that eluded his outfit last year.
SCHUMACHER ACQUAINTS HIMSELF WITH NEW FERRARI PERSONNEL IN TESTING
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER admitted he was "happy" after he made his first testing appearance for Ferrari since completing last year's World Championship winning season in Malaysia in October.
TIRE WAR CONTROVERSY BREWS UP AS MICHELIN FLEXES ITS MUSCLES
IT is ironic that at a time when grand prix racing has become one of the great international televised sporting spectaculars, the outcome of the 2001 world championship could be decided simply by what tires the winning car is contracted to race on.
BADOER RULED OUT OF ACTION FOR TWO WEEKS
FERRARI confirmed on Monday night that test driver Luca Badoer will be forced out of action for two weeks following his horror crash in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday.
BADOER TO UNDERGO FURTHER TESTS
FERRARI test driver Luca Badoer will undergo further tests in Italy this afternoon (Monday) after being released from the hospital following a horrific crash at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday.
COULTHARD ON TOP AT BARCELONA
BRITON David Coulthard topped the times on the second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Monday as he stepped up his preparations for the 2001 season.
F1 STAKE NOW AT THE CENTER OF POTENTIAL MAJOR LEGAL DISPUTE
THOMAS HAFFA's EM.TV organization was the center of a potential major legal confrontation yesterday after Morgan Grenfell Private Equity, the London-based equity house, threatened possible action after the deal involving shares in Bernie Ecclestone's F1 holding company "went badly wrong."
INSIDE F1 ANNOUNCES YOUNG DRIVER OF THE YEAR
INSIDEF1.COM has announced that 19 year-old Californian Patrick Long is the man most likely to take the United States of America back to the top of the Grand Prix racing world by electing him its 2001ÊYoungÊDriver Award recipient.
MCLAREN CONFIRM LAUNCH DATE
THE West McLaren-Mercedes team announced on Monday that the wraps will be pulled off their new MP4/16 car at the Valencia circuit, Spain on Wednesday, February 7.
BADOER ESCAPES SERIOUS INJURY
FERRARI test-driver Luca Badoer escaped serious injuries after being rushed to hospital following a freak accident during a testing session at the Circuit de Catalunya circuit in Spain.
BAR TO LAUNCH REPLICA AFTER VILLENEUVE ACCIDENT
BRITISH AMERICAN RACING will not launch their 2001 challenger on Friday as planned -- because Jacques Villeneuve pranged the only new car the team have.
DENNIS SPEAKS OF REVOLUTIONARY NEW MCLAREN FACTORY
MCLAREN team-boss Ron Dennis has spoken for the first time of his plans for a new £400 million factory, which he confidently predicts "will be an industrial utopia for my workers".
I'D TAKE PAY-CUT TO RACE IN F1 - SAYS MONTOYA
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA admits he would race in Formula One for half the money than what he was earning in America.
MR. AND MRS. E TAKE SIXTH PLACE IN WEALTH TABLE
BERNIE ECCLESTONE and his wife Slavica take sixth place in a survey of Britain's top 300 millionaires published in the Mail on Sunday newspaper this week.
STODDART CONFIRMS MINARDI TALKS
EUROPEAN AVIATION chairman Paul Stoddart has confirmed that he is set to secure the future of ailing Minardi by buying into the team.
TRULLI BACKS RAIKKONEN TO MATCH BUTTON
ITALIAN Jarno Trulli has backed Kimi Raikkonen to match Jenson Button's debut season and become an instant success in Formula One.
BAR STILL SET FOR BARCELONA TEST DESPITE VILLENEUVE CRASH
BRITISH AMERICAN RACING confirmed on Friday that they will still test in Barcelona next week, despite Jacques Villeneuve's crash at Jerez this week.
ECCLESTONE AND HAFFA TO MEET IN AUSTRIA
THIS weekend Bernie Ecclestone and Thomas Haffa, his partner in the Formula One group of companies, are due to meet in Austria, probably during the annual Hannenkamm ski racing festival at Kitzbuhel.
FORMULA ONE TO ROCK AT ROYAL ALBERT HALL
FORMULA ONE analyst Tony Jardine has been confirmed as the host of The Grand Prix party next month, and will be joined by British television presenter Carol Vorderman.
JORDAN QUIT SILVERSTONE AND HEAD TO BARCELONA
JORDAN have confirmed that were forced to abandon testing at Silverstone after the snow forecasted for the weekend began to fall early on Friday morning.
INFINEON TEAM UP WITH JORDAN
INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG announced on Thursday that they have extended their involvement and profile in Formula One by sponsoring Jordan.
JORDAN LAUNCH HIJACKED BY THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST
EDDIE JORDAN realized that things had gone awry immediately after the roguish, playful New Year greetings in the little media soiree.
MAJOR RESHUFFLE AT MARANELLO
THERE has been a major reshuffle of the staff of Ferrari with Britain's Nigel Stepney moving into a new role as racing manager.
MERCEDES RUMORS
THERE has been speculation in recent days in The Sunday Times in London that a number of car companies will bid for Mercedes-Benz if Jurgen Schrempp, the chairman of the German automobile firm's parent company DaimlerChrysler, is ousted.
RAIKKONEN IS A FUTURE WORLD CHAMPION - SAYS SCHUMACHER
FERRARI driver Michael Schumacher believes Sauber's new recruit Kimi Raikkonen has the pedigree to become a future world champion in Formula One.
BAR DEVELOPMENT HURT BY NEW CRASH
THE British American Racing team has suffered a number of serious accident overs the years because of suspension failures but the timing of the latest crash at Jerez de la Frontera could not have been worse for the team.
BENETTON CONTINUES RESTRUCTURING
THE Benetton team - which will soon become known as "Renault Sport UK" - has been restructuring in recent weeks with the arrival of new engineers and new administrators.
FERRARI INVITED TO THE U.S.
PIERO FERRARI, the son of the Italian company's founder Enzo, has received a personal invitation from George Bush Junior to take part in the newly-elected US President's inauguration ceremony on Saturday in Washington.
I'LL TRULLI ONLY SPEAK ENGLISH
ITALIAN Formula One driver Jarno Trulli has vowed only to speak English around his Jordan team-mates, despite being reunited with race engineer and compatriot Gabriele Delli Colli.
IRVINE TO GET NEW RACE ENGINEER FOR 2001
JAGUAR driver Eddie Irvine will have a new race engineer for the 2001 season when Bobby Rahal finalizes negotiations with Prost's Humphrey Corbett.
STODDART TO BUY MINARDI?
PAUL STODDART, the Australian multimillionaire who runs the European Formula F3000 team, is rumored to be on the verge of buying Minardi.
WILL HUGO FASTER MIKA?
DOUBLE world champion Mika Hakkinen has declared that the birth of his son Hugo will enable him to drive even faster in the forthcoming 2001 season -- because he is more confident as a person.
ANDERSON ON WAY TO ARROWS
FORMER Jaguar technical director Gary Anderson is to join Arrows for the 2001 Formula One World Championship.
BUZZIN HORNETS LOGO REPLACED BY SHARK AT JORDAN
THE old days of the Buzzin Hornets appear to be over for the revamped and newly-named Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda team - as they are being replaced by a new shark replica on the nose of the new EJ11 car.
HAKKINEN FINISHES ON TOP IN VALENCIA, AS IRVINE CRASHES
MCLAREN's Mika Hakkinen demonstrated his intent to regain his world championship crown as he topped the times for the second successive day on the final day of testing at Valencia on Wednesday.
IRVINE SMASH SETS JAGUAR BACK
JAGUAR's early advantage as the first F1 team to unveil its new 2001 challenger encountered an unwelcome setback yesterday when its number one driver Eddie Irvine seriously damaged the new car in a high speed smash.
JEREZ TEST ENDS WITH BADOER ON TOP
FERRARI test driver Luca Badoer narrowly outpaced British American Racing's Olivier Panis to top the times on the final day of a three-day test at Jerez on Wednesday.
JORDAN TEST NEW EJ11 CAR AT SILVERSTONE
AFTER the hype of their launch on Tuesday, Jordan ran their new EJ11 car for the first time at a cold Silverstone on Wednesday.
JORDAN TO DELIVER THE FINANCES FOR TITLE GLORY
JORDAN chairman and chief executive Eddie Jordan has promised to devote more finances than ever in a bid to see his team crowned world champions.
PANIS ON TOP AT JEREZ AS BECKHAM VISITS
FRENCHMAN Olivier Panis impressed the onlooking David Beckham as he topped the times on the second day of testing at Jerez on Tuesday.
PROST COMPLETE SUCCESSFUL SECOND DAY
FRENCHMAN Jean Alesi completed the second of two days testing at Magny-Cours for Prost and team principal Alain Prost admitted he was impressed with the car's performance.
SAUBER SIGN NEW PARTNERSHIP DEAL WITH CREDIT SUISSE
SAUBER announced on Wednesday a new partnership deal with leading financial services company Credit Suisse.
FISICHELLA NAMED ITALIAN DRIVER OF THE YEAR FOR FOURTH TIME
BENETTON's Giancarlo Fisichella has received the award for the best Italian driver in Formula One for the fourth successive year.
HAKKINEN BACK AT VALENCIA AS VERSTAPPEN TOPS TIMES
DOUBLE world champion Mika Hakkinen returned to the cockpit of his McLaren Mercedes-Benz at Valencia on Monday when he tested the car for the first time since the Malaysian Grand Prix in October.
JORDAN GETS HAMIDY
EDDIE JORDAN has announced that Arrows chief designer Egbahl Hamidy is to join the Silverstone team bat the end of February.
MICHELIN SIGN DEAL TO BRANCH OUT FROM TIRES
FRENCH tire manufacturer Michelin's name will appear on a host of non-motorsport products in 2002 after they agreed a ground-breaking deal with The Licensing Company (TLC).
NEW JORDAN-HONDA EJ11 UNVEILED AT SILVERSTONE
THE first of the new generation, works Honda-engined Jordan F1 cars was unveiled at Silverstone today (Tuesday) just a stone's throw from the British team's factory and at the venue where the car will undergo its preliminary shakedown runs during the remainder of this week.
SATO DELIGHTED WITH TIME-TOPPING PERFORMANCE AT JEREZ
JAPANESE rookie Takuma Sato topped the times on the opening day of testing at Jerez on Monday as he made the perfect start to his new role as a British American Racing test driver.
COULTHARD INVESTS IN LUXURY MONACO HOTEL
BRITON David Coulthard has followed Jacques Villeneuve's example by pursuing business interests outside of Formula One.
DE LA ROSA WARY OF BACKROOM CHANGES
SPANIARD Pedro de la Rosa believes Formula One could pay the price for the backroom changes that have hit the sport this winter.
ECCLESTONE TARGETING MIDDLE EAST GRAND PRIX
FORMULA ONE supremo Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that the Middle East could host a Grand Prix and said he hopes to tie up a deal this year.
ITV DENY BLUNDELL RUMORS
ITV SPORT have denied speculation that Mark Blundell will be taking over Murray Walker's role as commentator when he retires at the end of the 2001 season.
PROST START TESTING NEW CAR
FRENCHMAN Jean Alesi tested Prost's new Ferrari engines for the first taste on Monday when he shook down the AP04 chassis at Magny-Cours.
"MY LOYALTIES WILL NOT BE DIVIDED IN 2001" - BUTTON
JENSON BUTTON said on Sunday that he will have no divided loyalties in his Benetton this season -- and vowed to beat BMW-Williams duo Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya in 2001.
DENNIS BACKS COULTHARD
MCLAREN chief Ron Dennis believes that David Coulthard can step out of team-mate Mika Hakkinen's shadow and become a world champion this year.
ELECTRONIC PROBLEMS LURKING FOR JAGUAR
ONE of the abiding problems for a major multi-national company - be it automotive or anything else - is that the left hand very often doesn't fully know what the right hand is doing.
FERRARI END MARLBORO EVENT WITH SKIING SPECTACULAR
FERRARI ended their annual pre-season break at Madonna di Campiglio in the Dolomites with a giant slalom race and other skiing activities on Friday.
MCNISH CONFIDENT OF TOYOTA RACE DRIVE
SCOT Allan McNish said on Sunday that he is confident of securing a race drive with Formula One new-boys Toyota in 2002.
TODT SET TO REMAIN AT FERRARI
FERRARI sporting director Jean Todt has confirmed that he is set to remain at Ferrari for the rest of his motorsport career -- amid rumors that he will retire at the end of the season.
TRACTION CONTROL OFFERS NO ADVANTAGE - MONTOYA
COLOMBIAN driver Juan Pablo Montoya is confident he will make an impression in his first season in Formula One with BMW-Williams this year and said that the coinciding introduction of traction control into the sport will make no difference to his performance.
VILLENEUVE AND POLLOCK STAGE 24-HOUR SKI RACE FOR CHARITY
JACQUES VILLENEUVE will join forces with his former Williams team-mate Damon Hill this weekend to participate in a 24-hour ski race for charity.
A RESHUFFLE AT FERRARI?
There have been reports on the Internet that there is to be a reshuffle of the race team management at Ferrari with Britain's Nigel Stepney taking a much bigger role.
DENNIS GIVES THUMBS-UP TO POLLOCK
MCLAREN chairman Ron Dennis has expressed his respect and regard for British American Racing cofounder Craig Pollock, and believes that his team will have the edge over rival Honda-users Jordan in the 2001 World Championship.
MANNING HAPPY WITH BAR CONTINUITY
BRITON Darren Manning is prepared to wait for his chance in Formula One and believes another year as British American Racing test driver could benefit him.
SAFETY IS THE BIGGEST THING, BUT COULD RUIN SPORT, SAYS LAUDA
NIKI LAUDA has said that safety is the most important aspect of Formula One but warned it could ruin the sport's popularity.
TODT SET TO OPEN TALKS WITH FERRARI
FERRARI sporting director Jean Todt has indicated that he will open talks about his future with Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo in the next few weeks and said he has no intention of leaving the team.
BENETTON GETS MORE ENGINEERS
THE Benetton team has confirmed that Jordan's former chief designer Mark Smith has joined Mike Gascoyne's crew at Enstone.
BIG NUMBERS
EVER since the Formula 1 authorities crossed swords with the British government a few years ago about just how important the British motorsport industry has become, there have been question marks.
BRIDGESTONE ANNOUNCE CHANGES AT THE TOP
FORMULA ONE tire suppliers Bridgestone have announced that their president, chairman of the board and chief executive officer Yoichiro Kaizaki will retire.
FORMULA 1 TEAMS PLAN FOR FUTURE
WE hear that Ford may soon join Honda and Renault to create structures which will help nurture young drivers from the start of their careers right through to Formula 1.
JODY SCHECKTER BACKS WILLIAMS TO TOPPLE BIG TWO
FORMER world champion Jody Scheckter has backed BMW-Williams to end Ferrari and McLaren's dominance of Formula One, but said it could be three years before the big two are toppled.
ROBINSON CALLED TO BAR
JAMES ROBINSON, the former senior operations engineer at Williams, is understood to have joined British American Racing in a senior engineering role.
SAUBER CONCLUDE SUCCESSFUL TESTING SESSION
SAUBER completed a successful second day of testing at the Fiorano circuit in Italy Thursday as the Swiss team's new driver Kimi Raikkonen got his first taste of the new C20 car.
SCHUMACHER HUNGRY FOR SUCCESS
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER is more determined to achieve success this season - despite capturing his third world title last year.
WORLDCOM TO JOIN WILLIAMS
THERE has been some questions about the future of Worldcom in Formula 1 following the expected announcement that AT&T is joining Jaguar Racing.
"I'VE NOTHING TO PROVE" - BARRICHELLO
RUBENS BARRICHELLO has kicked off the round of Ferrari press conferences during the traditional Marlboro week at Madonna di Campiglio in the Italian Dolomites by announcing that he is ready to give battle in 2001.
ARROWS UNVEIL THREE-SEATER
ARROWS unveiled their new three-seater concept on Thursday, with the promise that it will be the closest Formula One fans will get to the experiences of the sport.
IRVINE SEARCHING FOR SUCCESS, BUT NOT HOPEFUL
EDDIE IRVINE believes he will find it hard to win another grand prix as he prepares himself for a second year of turmoil at Jaguar Racing.
SAUBER CONFIRM FIORANO TEST
SAUBER have confirmed that they are continuing to test their C20 car at Ferrari's Fiorano circuit today (Thursday).
STEWART GOES FOR CROSS-PARTY SUPPORT
JACKIE STEWART is approaching all three main political parties in Britain in an effort to convince politicians of every persuasion that the country's motor racing industry is worthy of additional support from those who wield the levers of power - and may do so in the future.
UK MOTOR SPORT INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENT
BRITAIN's Motor Sport Industry Association seized the initiative on the opening day of the Autosport International Show, by announcing the initial results of a survey on the scale, scope and future of the sport in the UK.
BAR ANNOUNCE TEST DRIVER LINE-UP
BRITISH AMERICAN RACING have announced their test driver line-up for the 2001 season with Briton Darren Manning retaining his position alongside French development driver Patrick Lemarie.
BAR THE FIRST TEAM TO RUN 2001 CAR
BRITISH AMERICAN RACING became the first Formula One team to run their 2001 car at the Silverstone circuit on Wednesday.
BENETTON CONFIRM SMITH APPOINTMENT
BENETTON confirmed on Wednesday the signing of chief designer Mark Smith from the Jordan team.
BURTI LOOKING TO MATCH IRVINE, BUT NOT HOPEFUL
BRAZILIAN Luciano Burti wants to match the performance of Jaguar team-mate Eddie Irvine, but is not confident of achieving his goals.
FISICHELLA TOPS THIRD DAY OF TESTING AT JEREZ
GIANCARLO FISICHELLA, in his Benetton-Renault, topped the times after the third day of testing at the Jerez circuit, Spain on Wednesday.
JORDAN TEAM UP WITH PUMA
THE Jordan team confirmed on Wednesday that they have signed a deal with German based athletic equipment company Puma.
LLOYDS CHAIRMAN BROUGHT IN TO RESCUE ROCKINGHAM
ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY has this week taken firm steps to secure its future after management and building problems have threatened the future of the first British CART oval track which is scheduled to hold a round of the US Champcar series this year.
MAZZACANE JOINS PROST
GASTON MAZZACANE has plunged the Minardi team into further crisis after confirming a move to the Prost Grand Prix team for the 2001 season.
RAHAL REMAINS CAUTIOUS AS JAGUAR STARTS TESTING
JAGUAR RACING Chief Executive Officer is continuing to play his cards close to his chest as Luciano Burti prepares to give the team's new R2 challenger its first shakedown run at Silverstone today (Wednesday).
SILVERSTONE MUST HAVE GOVERNMENT HELP, SAYS STEWART
TRIPLE WORLD CHAMPION Jackie Stewart has said his dream of turning Silverstone into the best motorsport venue in the world will not happen unless the British Government help with the £110 million (pounds) funding for the project.
AT&T ANNOUNCE THREE-YEAR JAGUAR AGREEMENT
DATA communications company AT&T have agreed a major three-year global sponsorship deal with the Jaguar team.
JAGUAR TO TAKE IT STEADY IN SECOND F1 SEASON
JAGUAR RACING is out to "seek respectability" in the F1 pit lanes and has to face the reality that success may take some time to achieve, warned the team's chief executive officer Bobby Rahal at the launch of the Jaguar R2 grand prix challenger this morning (Tuesday) where communications giant AT&T was also confirmed as a new sponsor.
SCHUMACHER CONTINUES DOMINANCE AT JEREZ
GERMAN Ralf Schumacher continued his dominance on the second day of testing at Jerez on Tuesday as he powered his BMW-Williams to the top of the timesheets.
ARROWS APPOINT NEW RACE TEAM MANAGER
THE Arrows Formula One team announced on Monday that Michael Ainsley-Cowlishaw has joined the team as race team manager.
BUTTON PLEASED WITH FITNESS AFTER ATTENDING LANZAROTE TRAINING CAMP
JENSON BUTTON has said he is pleased with his level of fitness after attending Benetton's training camp in Lanzarote.
JAGUAR PREPARE TO UNVEIL 2001 CHALLENGER
JAGUAR's new chief operating officer Bobby Rahal has promised that the changes he has made will boost the team's chances of Formula One success, on the eve of the launch of their 2001 challenger.
JENSON BUTTON AND THE CONFIDENCE OF YOUTH
JENSON BUTTON would have rammed Damon Hill off the road had he been competing in the 1994 Australian Grand Prix - if it meant his winning the World Championship.
JORDAN LAUNCH TO BE SCREENED LIVE ON THE INTERNET
JORDAN GRAND PRIX announced on Monday that the launch of their 2001 world championship challenger will be screened live on the Internet.
SCHUMACHER TOPS TIMES ON JEREZ FIRST DAY
BMW-WILLIAMS driver Ralf Schumacher topped the times on the first day of testing at Jerez on Monday.
ALONSO SET TO ANNOUNCE RACE FUTURE
SPANISH driver Fernando Alonso has said he will announce his Formula One future within the next two weeks -- with Minardi favorite to secure his services.
FERRARI GALLERY ANNOUNCES RECORD NUMBER OF VISITORS
THE Ferrari Gallery, close to the team's Maranello base in Italy, has announced a record number of visitors after 157,000 people visited in the year 2000.
KIRCH PUSHES FOR THE REMOVAL OF EM.TV MANAGEMENT
THE convoluted political battles over the control of EM.TV, the German media company which controls 50% of the Formula One group of companies, continues with "white knight" Leo Kirch now rumored to be pushing for the removal of the current management at EM.TV.
MAJOR TESTING RESTARTS TOMORROW
THE first tests of the 2001 season will begin tomorrow at Jerez in southern Spain with Williams and Benetton both in action for three days.
WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH ALL THE NEW RACES?
IT seems that barely a month passes without some new rumors about a new candidate for a Formula 1 Grand Prix.
INDONESIA'S RISING STAR SIGNS FOR ASTROMEGA
ANANDA MIKOLA has signed a two-year contract to race for the Astromega team in Formula 3000.
JORDAN DENY PROBLEMS AS NEW SEASON APPROACHES
THE Jordan-Honda formula one team have shrugged aside suggestions that it is facing a any sort of crisis after it was announced that their chief designer Mark Smith has quit to join the rival Benetton squad x just over a week before their new car is due to be unveiled.
MOBILE PHONE MONEY
FORMULA 1 has enjoyed a large amount of money in recent years from mobile telephone companies which are keen to link their image with the fast, high-technology of Grand Prix racing.
SCHUMACHER AND BARRICHELLO SET TO END HOLIDAY
FERRARI drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello are set to conclude their final week of vacation in a northern Italy ski-resort before getting down to the serious business of Formula One testing.
TODT GETS A STREET NAMED AFTER HIM
IT seems that winning a World Championship with Ferrari is nowadays considered as important as winning wars in the old days.
EM.TV SHARES TAKE ANOTHER PLUNGE
THE EM.TV share price took another dive on Friday morning following reports in the Wall Street Journal Europe that the company's deal with Leo Kirch may not go through.
FORD CONFIRMS JAGUAR F-TYPE
JAGUAR will build its planned F-Type roadster in 2004. It will be the company's first real sportscar since the famous E-Type was discontinued.
KIRCH TO WITHDRAW FROM EM.TV DEAL?
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE is reporting that the talks between Kirch and EM.TV have broken down over the price being paid for EM.TV's stake in Formula 1.
LAUDA STAYS ASSOCIATED WITH HIS AIRLINE
NIKI LAUDA will remain associated with the airline that carries his name as the man in charge at the Milan-based Lauda-Air Italy, according to aviation sources which also believe that the former triple World Champion's recent resignation as boss of the entire company could have major repercussions for the Austrian airline market.
MINARDI DUO JOIN PROST
PROST GRAND PRIX have confirmed they have captured two of Minardi's key mechanics as they prepare to unveil their 2001 challenger.
RILEY & SCOTT SPLITS WITH REYNARD
THE problems surrounding the Reynard company continue with the news that its US subsidiary Riley & Scott is to become independent once again.
SOCCER RIVALS F1 FOR SPONSOR MONEY
THE English football industry is booming at the moment and there is a currently a big battle going on to sponsor the Premier League.
STEWART LOOKING FOR GOVERNMENT HELP FOR SILVERSTONE
THREE-TIME Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart is urging the British Government to offer financial assistance to turn Silverstone into the best Grand Prix circuit.
WHY ARE ENGINEERS LEAVING JORDAN?
THE announcement that Jordan Grand Prix is to lose its chief designer Mark Smith to Benetton is the latest in a series of high-profile engineers who have left the Silverstone team.
ALESI KEEN TO KEEP PROST TEAM FRENCH
JEAN ALESI has urged Prost Grand Prix boss Alain Prost to appoint another French driver to partner him for the 2001 Formula One World Championship.
IT'S A DEPRESSING TIME FOR THE CAR COMPANIES
THE announcement of the December sales figures of cars in the United States have sent shivers down the spine of the automobile industry.
JORDAN ANNOUNCE PLAN TO TAKE TO THE WAVES
JORDAN GRAND PRIX will take to the waves after they announced on Thursday that they will enter a team in the Honda Formula 4-stroke Race Series.
JORDAN DESIGNER SMITH QUITS FOR BENETTON
CHIEF DESIGNER Mark Smith has quit Jordan to join Benetton just two months before the start of the new Formula One season, it was revealed on Thursday.
NEW RACE ENGINEER FOR TRULLI
JORDAN GRAND PRIX announced on Thursday the appointment of Gabriele Delli-Colli as Jarno Trulli's senior race engineer for the 2001 world championship.
THE DEPARTURE OF RICK GORNE FROM BAR
RICK GORNE's departure from British American Racing will probably very little effect on the team.
EM.TV-KIRCH DEAL MAY NOT HAPPEN
AS the investigation into share trading at EM.TV continues, the German magazine Der Spiegel is reporting that the company boss Thomas Haffa sold around $20m worth of the company's stock in December, possibly in contravention an agreement that the stock would not be sold for a specified period.
FOUNDER GORNE DEPARTS BRITISH AMERICAN RACING
RICK GORNE, a founder of British American Racing, has left the team it was announced on Wednesday.
GOODBYE GORGEOUS GEORGE
THE well-known British lawyer "Gorgeous" George Carman has died at the age of 71.
HONDA TARGET WINS WITH JORDAN AND BAR NEXT SEASON
HONDA chief Takeo Fukui has set his sights on a Grand Prix win in the 2001 season as his company provides engines for the Jordan and British American Racing teams.
RENAULT ANNOUNCE PLANS TO NURTURE FUTURE TALENT
RENAULT have announced plans to nurture talent of the future by creating a "nursery system" within the company.
WHAT FUTURE FOR F1 AND MOSCOW?
THE recent attempt on the life of Iosif Ordzhonikidze, Moscow's deputy mayor, was immediately traced back by the authorities investigating the attack to December 19 when he signed a deal with TWR approving its construction of a Grand Prix-standard circuit.
HAKKINEN OLD BEFORE HIS TIME
DOUBLE world champion Mika Hakkinen, along with German tennis legend Boris Becker, recently aged 50 years in order to film a German television commercial for Mercedes-Benz.
HEIDFELD TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR YOUNG GERMAN DRIVERS
SAUBER driver Nick Heidfeld will lend support to a new development program that will help young German drivers break into and progress through motor racing.
HONDA HOPE TO SECURE JAPANESE GP
HONDA have vowed to invest in and renovate their Suzuka circuit in a bid to secure the hosting rights of the Japanese Grand Prix after their current contract expires.
MCNISH NOT TOO OLD FOR FORMULA ONE
AMERICAN LE MANS Series Champion Allan McNish has said he is not too old to dream of a Formula One future.
MINARDI TO KEEP PLACE IN 2001 - PROMISES BOSS GIANCARLO MINARDI
GIANCARLO MINARDI, team founder of Minardi, has promised his team will be on the grid for the start of the 2001 Formula One season in March.
BARCELONA CIRCUIT SET FOR FACE-LIFT
SPAIN's Catalunya circuit is set to hold an extra 20,000 spectators for the 2001 season.
BENETTON SET TO LAUNCH 2001 CHALLENGER IN VENICE
BENETTON are planning to launch their 2001 challenger at St. Mark's Square in Venice in February.
BUTTON KEEN TO UNDO PREDECESSOR AT WILLIAMS
JENSON BUTTON has insisted he intends to put Williams new-boy Juan Pablo Montoya firmly in his place next season, as the Briton looks to better his eight place in the drivers' championship.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
EVERYONE at Inside F1 in New York and in Europe wishes our readers a very Happy New Year and we hope that you will continue to support our service as the Formula 1 community prepares for the new season ahead.
JAGUAR PLANS RUN INTO DOUBT
JAGUAR's plans to build a new factory at Silverstone have run into difficulties, despite having planning permissions approved.