Formula One News — May 1995

Karl Wendlinger's future as a Formula 1 driver is bleak because of his lack of performance this year for the Sauber-Ford team.

Nick Wirth's Simtek team nearly didn't make it to Barcelona because of a shortage of cash, and the team is now desperately trying to put together a deal to keep the funding flowing this year.

The much-maligned Formula 1 refueling machines came in for heavy criticism in Barcelona once again after two separate incidents during the Spanish Grand Prix.

Former F1 racer Fabrizio Barbazza remains in hospital in Gainesville, Georgia, recovering from a dreadful accident last week during an IMSA race at Road Atlanta.

Protesters trying to stop the Australian Grand Prix taking place in Albert Park, Melbourne, in March next year are now threatening to invade the track on race day or pour oil onto the road surface.

World events barely register with Formula 1 racing teams - unless they cause the cancellation of events - but there are times when the world shakes F1 out of its reverie.

Italy's high profile in Formula 1 may have waned in recent years, but the Italian Grand Prix has been one of the mainstays of the Formula 1 World Championship since the series began in 1950.

Another man expected to have a big F1 future is Minardi's test driver Giancarlo Fisichella, who had his first test with the Italian team last week at Imola.

The Benetton team sometimes has the strangest ideas about public relations.

Gerhard Berger took his Ferrari 412 T2 to the fastest time in last week's four-day test at Imola, Italy.

Formula 1 bosses are beginning to worry that the revenue generated by the Grand Prix circus is going to take a plunge because of the advent in the next couple of years of digital television.

Reports from Italy suggest that Argentine engineer Sergio Rinland has left the Forti Corse F1 team - just a few weeks after he joined the new Grand Prix team.

The area around Barcelona has been the home of Spanish motor racing since the first international races in that country in 1908.

The Imola tourist board will not have appreciated the publicity the region received last weekend when both Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi had their road- going Ferraris stolen by car thieves while in town for the San Marino GP.

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone wants Indycar's new star Jacques Villeneuve to try his hand at Grand Prix racing in 1996, because he reckons the Villeneuve name could be big box office.

Flavio Briatore did not have a good weekend at Imola.

FIA President Max Mosley spoke out at Imola, saying that "the time has come when Formula 1 needs a more adult approach from the participants.

The FIA is investigating a range of new safety measures for Formula 1 in the years ahead.

Nokia Tyrrell Yamaha is about to announce a major switcharound of personnel with team manager Rupert Manwaring switching to the marketing department after five years in the job.

There is a real bonanza at the moment for Formula 1 lawyers as the Grand Prix teams are busy suing one another.

British racing car builder Lola is going ahead with its plan to enter Formula 1 with a factory team in 1996.

Andrea Montermini amazed Italian doctors with his powers of recovery last week when he suffered an appendicitis on the Tuesday before Imola.