Formula One News — March 1997

THE Canadian government last week approved its controversial anti-tobacco law, known as Bill C71, which will restrict sponsorship of sporting events and cultural activities.

FORMULA 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says he agrees with Jacques Villeneuve's view that Grand Prix racing needs to relax a bit about safety issues.

WHEN Peugeot signed a deal with Alain Prost to supply his Grand Prix team with its V10 engines in 1998, the company scored a major PR victory over its French rival Renault.

THERE are whispers in the F1 paddock that there are plans for a big new Formula 1 team within the next couple of years.

PHILIPPE GURDJIAN, the promoter of the French Grand Prix, was much in evidence in Melbourne, where he met with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone trying to sort out the problems surrounding the Magny Cours event.

FORMULA 1's plans to expand into Asia seem to be accelerating with Bernie Ecclestone apparently trying to convince the Malaysian government that it should hold a race in 1998 rather than 1999.

THE Australian Grand Prix is likely to suffer serious financial losses this year thanks to an industrial dispute which saw Melbourne's public transport system close down for the weekend.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER found himself at the center of a media storm last week after remarking innocently that the Albert Park circuit was "nothing special" and that it could have been designed to be more challenging.

MCLAREN has yet to reveal its secret project which involves David Brown but the appearance of the former F1 engineer at the recent Indycar race at Miami, keeping an eye on the activities of Dario Franchitti suggests that it could be an American project - as we recently suggested.

ONE rumor which was doing the rounds in the paddock in Melbourne was that McLaren boss Ron Dennis is intending to bid to sign up Michael Schumacher for the 1998 season.

THERE was much rejoicing last weekend in Melbourne when McLaren's David Coulthard gave the team its first Grand Prix victory since Ayrton Senna's win in Adelaide in November 1993, ending an unsuccessful run of 49 races.

FORMULA 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone could become one of the wealthiest people in Britain if his plans to float his company Formula One Promotions and Administration (FOPA) company go ahead this summer.

THE euphoria at Magny-Cours following the takeover of Ligier by Alain Prost is beginning to wear off and there are rumors that Prost intends to move the team to a new base as soon as he can.

FREDERIC SAINT-GEOURS, Deputy Managing-Director or Automobiles Peugeot, has made it quite clear that if Eddie Jordan wants Peugeot V10 engines in 1998 the Irishman's F1 team is going to have to make a big impression in the early Grands Prix this season.

THE protesters who have spent the last 18 months trying - unsuccessfully - to disrupt the running of the Australian Grand Prix in Albert Park, Melbourne, struck again last Friday, spraying diesel oil along the entire length of the circuit's main straight as preparations for the race were entering their final phase.

DONALD E. PANOZ, the pharmaceutical multi-millionaire who is funding the construction of his own revolutionary road cars, says that he wants Grand Prix racing to visit Road Atlanta which he recently bought.

THE Formula 1 teams head to Melbourne to begin a tire war between Goodyear and Bridgestone.

WORLD CHAMPION DAMON HILL has not had a successful time in testing in recent weeks with the new Arrows-Yamaha A18 and the nightmare continued last week at Silverstone when Damon's car suffered a front wing failure during its final shakedown runs.

JAN MAGNUSSEN was back in action last week at Silverstone just nine days after he had to have six stitches in a leg wound after a suspension failure caused his Stewart-Ford SF1 to crash heavily in testing at Estoril on February 15.

HOCKENHEIM, one of the fastest Grand Prix track these days with an average lap speed of around 140mph, is to improve its safety measures.

THE FIA has just released the latest viewing figures for Grand Prix racing, revealing that 40.99 billion people saw something about Formula 1 on a television set in the course of 1996.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE is heading to Melbourne minus the motor engineer he has worked with since he entered Formula 1 last year.