Formula One News — May 1996

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER set the fastest time of the four-day Imola test last week in his Ferrari F310 - but whether this is significant remains to be seen as the Williams domination in racing trim seems to be pretty much undented by progress being made by the opposition in qualifying.

HAVING raced so far this year in mustard yellow colored cars the Jordan team has taken the opportunity since the San Marino Grand Prix to undergo a complete facelift, with the cars and all the team equipment being repainted in metallic gold - the colors of sponsor Benson & Hedges.

FERRARI has signed a technical agreement with the aircraft engine division of General Electric.

THE Silverstone racing circuit - home of the British Grand Prix - has announced plans to provide spectators with live television programming - at the race track.

AS we suggested in February, former Team Lotus chief designer Chris Murphy has returned to Lola Cars to head the F1 design team.

BERNIE ECCLESTONE has announced an agreement to launch the first digital broadcasting of Formula 1 racing at the German GP at Hockenheim in July.

STEWART GRAND PRIX technical director Alan Jenkins last week visited the headquarters of Dave Price's DPS composite company to discuss the possibility of Price's company building chassis for the Stewart F1 team.

THE Imola paddock was full of former F1 drivers, notably Riccardo Patrese, Andrea de Cesaris, Pierluigi Martini, Luis Sala, Rene Arnoux and Paul Belmondo.

TWO years have passed since the death on May 1, 1994 at Imola of Brazilian Ayrton Senna, and there has still been no official word from Italian investigators as to what they think caused the accident and what action should be taken as a result.

WE hear that Jackie Stewart is trying to convince King Hussein of Jordan that he should build a racing circuit near Amman in Jordan.

TOM WALKINSHAW, the boss of the Arrows F1 team, is in the process of hiring new design engineers to strengthen his team at the new TWR F1 headquarters at Leafield, in England.

THE importance of the Far East in the future of F1 is becoming more and more pronounced with the news that there are plans to hold a Grand Prix in South Korea in 1998.

THE Arrows team had a near-miss at Imola when Jos Verstappen was waved out of his pit during a refueling stop with the refueling gear still attached to the car.

THE major Formula 1 team principals met with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone on Friday afternoon at Imola to discuss the problem of what happens to Grand Prix racing after Ecclestone.

AS the F1 big rigs were rolling out of Imola on Sunday night, the F1 test teams began arriving for a four-day test which is due to start on Tuesday.