Formula One News — April 1997

THE rumors in the Brazilian Grand Prix paddock suggesting that Julian Jakobi and Craig Pollock - Jacques Villeneuve's agent and manager respectively - are planning to join forces to establish their own Formula 1 team appear to be rather more advanced than the project is itself.

JORDAN drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher have agreed to disagree after their collision in the recent Argentine Grand Prix.

PIERRE DUPASQUIER, head of Michelin's motor sport division, popped up at Imola last week, but claimed that the French tire company has no immediate plans to enter Grand Prix racing.

THERE was a lot of talk in the Imola paddock about who will supply the Jordan team with engines in 1998 as Peugeot is expected to begin an exclusive deal with Prost Grand Prix.

POWER HORSE, one of the major sponsors of the Arrows F1 team, is rumored to be in financial difficulties following problems with the Promotor-Yamaha 500cc motorcycling team which Power Horse owner Alfred Inziger controls.

AS we predicted in June last year Adrian Newey is to join McLaren, becoming technical director of the team on August 1.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE has spoken out against the "ridiculous" new regulations which the FIA has introduced for 1998 in an effort to slow down F1 cars.

THE French Grand Prix will go ahead as planned on June 29, following a fierce battle within the French government.

FERRARI President Luca di Montezemolo told Italian pressmen at Imola that Goodyear is "a sleeping giant" which needs to wake up to the challenge from Bridgestone.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is trying to convince the Malaysian government to push forward its plans to hold a Grand Prix in 1999.

HUGUES de Chaunac-Lanzac, the French aristocrat who is close to Alain Prost, has started to prepare for his new role in Prost Grand Prix.

RUMORS in France are suggesting that Japanese driver Shinji Nakano will be dropped by Prost in the weeks ahead.

THE deal currently being put together for Williams to take over some of BMW's sporting operations from McLaren is not entirely surprising, given that Mercedes - which supplies McLaren with engines in F1 - is now involved as a direct rival to the McLaren-BMWs in the FIA Grand Touring Championship.

THE Societa Allestimento Gestione Impiante e Servizi (SAGIS) at Imola has signed a new contract with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone for the San Marino Grand Prix to be held at the circuit until after the race in the year 2001.

AS part of his program to strengthen the F1 package in the long-term, Bernie Ecclestone is talking about introducing a $24m deposit for any new teams wanting to enter the Formula 1 World Championship.

THE Formula 1 teams returned to Europe last week after the two South American races and almost immediately testing began in preparation for the European season which begins next week at Imola.

FERRARI has sold its Ferrari Design and Development facility in Shalford, Surrey, to John Barnard.

IT is ironic that with Jacques Villeneuve the strong favorite to win the Formula 1 World Championship this year, the Canadian government is risking the health of the motor sports industry in the country with tough anti-tobacco legislation.

THE TAG McLaren empire has promised that it will be employing 1000 people within the next three years.

ALTHOUGH there were reports last week that Lola boss Eric Broadley wants to get back into the FIA Formula 1 World Championship later this year, our sources suggest that the entire Lola Cars company is in more financial trouble than had been thought as a result of the abortive Mastercard Lola Formula 1 team.

FORMULA 1 team boss Eddie Jordan and star driver Michael Schumacher have finally managed to settle a dispute, which has been going on since Schumacher walked out of a Jordan drive in September 1991 to join Benetton.

RALF SCHUMACHER may have celebrated Jordan's 100th Grand Prix with third place in Buenos Aires - in only the young German's third Grand Prix - but there was little rejoicing in the Jordan garage as on his way to the podium Ralf had collided with his team mate Giancarlo Fisichella and put the Italian out of the race, thus depriving Jordan of the chance to score more points in the Constructors' Championship.

WILLIAMS and BMW are going to work together in the future, but rumors suggesting that this will be in Grand Prix racing are wide of the mark.

IN recent days Alain Prost has been putting into place some of the new marketing structure for Prost Grand Prix.

WHEN it was first suggested that Tom Walkinshaw was in the process of trying to do a deal with Ferrari designer John Barnard, Tom did his best to play down the stories, saying that vague talks had been taking place but that nothing was finalized.